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Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
( es, Fuerzas Armadas del Uruguay or ''FF.AA. del Uruguay'') consist of an army, navy, and air force. These three branches are
constitutionally A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
subordinate to the President of Uruguay through the Minister of Defense. The government has trimmed the armed forces to about 16,800 for the army; 6,000 for the navy; and 3,000 for the air force. As of February 2003, Uruguay has more than 2,500 soldiers deployed on 12 UN Peacekeeping missions. The largest groups are in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
and
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, an ...
. There is also a 58-man contingent in the MFO in the Sinai. The current Minister of Defense is Javier García.


Army (Ejército Nacional)

The Army consists of some 15,000 personnel organized into four
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
s. It is equipped with 15 Israeli Ti-67 (T-55) main battle tanks, 17 American M24 and 46 M41A1 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 24 American M113A1 armored personnel carriers, 15 Czech
BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...
infantry fighting vehicles and 130
OT-64 SKOT The OT-64 SKOT ( Czech acronym for: ''Střední Kolový Obrněný Transportér'', and/or Polish Średni ''Kołowy Opancerzony Transporter'' – medium wheeled armoured transporter) is an amphibious, armored personnel carrier ( 8x8), developed j ...
APCs, 64 German Condor APCs, 15 Brazilian
EE-9 Cascavel The EE-9 ''Cascavel'' (, translated to ''Rattlesnake'') is a six-wheeled Brazilian armoured car developed primarily for reconnaissance. It was engineered by Engesa in 1970 as a replacement for Brazil's ageing fleet of M8 Greyhounds. The vehicle ...
and 18 EE-3 Jararaca armored cars, and 48 Russian lightly armored GAZ-3937 amphibious vehicles. In 2008, Uruguay also purchased 44 6x6 Canadian-made
AVGP The AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose), later known as the LAV I, is a series of three amphibious armoured fighting vehicles ordered by the Canadian military in the 1970s. The vehicles, named Grizzly, Cougar and Husky respectively, were bas ...
APCs rehabilitated by FAMAE in Chile after retirement from the Canadian Army, receiving a second batch of 100 of Grizzlys and 5 Huskys, the recovery version. It has 4 sets of
RM-70 The RM-70 (''Raketomet vzor 1970'') multiple rocket launcher is a Czechoslovak Army version and heavier variant of the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent area-saturation rocket artillery system tha ...
multiple rocket launchers. The army operates 40 Land Rover Defender 110SW vehicles, and is looking to buy between 30 and 40 more. The current assault rifle used by the army is the Argentinian-built version of the Belgian
FN FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of ...
; it is being replaced by the Austrian
Steyr AUG The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. It was adopted by the Austrian Army ...
following a bidding contest in 2007 and 2008. In addition, about 300 Russian AK-101s are already used, and the elite airborne, commando, and antiterrorist Battalion 14 (''Batallón de Infantería Paracaidista Nro 14'') exclusively employ German
HK G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...
s. The Army will receive locally produced
Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
pistols as replacements for its legacy
Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal ...
and
M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for t ...
pistols. DIO, an Iranian company, was involved in the bidding to replace the FN FAL with its KH-2002; but since there is a UN embargo banning arms exports from Iran, the company attempted to smuggle the 15,000 test bullets through Venezuela. This failed and prompted an investigation. Uruguay special forces are now fielding an indigenous .50 BMG sniper rifle called the FS50 Peregrino. It is a single-shot bolt-action rifle that was developed in Uruguay for about two years. The Uruguayan Army was considering buying either the
Panzerfaust 3 The Panzerfaust 3 (lit. "armor fist" or "tank fist") is a modern semi-disposable recoilless anti-tank weapon, which was developed between 1978 and 1985 and first entered service with the Bundeswehr in 1987 (although they did not officially adopt ...
or
RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
as short-range anti-tank weapons. Acquisition of the rockets was cancelled due to lack of funds.


Navy (Armada Nacional)

The Navy consists of about 5,700 personnel under Admiral Jorge Wilson and is organized into four commands: the Fleet Command (''Comando de la Flota'' or ''COMFLO''), the Coast Guard (''Prefectura Nacional Naval'' or ''PRENA''), the Chief Directorate of Naval Materiel (''Dirección General de Material Naval'' or ''DIMAT''), and the Chief Directorate of Naval Personnel (''Dirección General de Personal Naval'' or ''DIPER''). The Navy General Staff (''Estado Mayor General de la Armada'' or ''ESMAY'') acts as an advisory body to the admiral. The current fleet consists of 2 ex-Portuguese ''João Belo'' class and 1 ex-French ''Commandant Rivière'' class (in reserve) frigates, 1 ex-German ''Lüneburg'' class auxiliary oil replenisher, 3 ''Vigilante'' class and 2 ''Castrates'' class patrol boats, 3 ex-East German ''Kondor II'' class minesweepers, and other smaller craft. The Navy also includes a battalion-sized Marine Corps (''Cuerpo de Fusileros Navales'') and a small naval air station at Laguna del Sauce. The Uruguayan Naval Academy (''Escuela Naval'' or ''ESNAL'') is located in Carrasco, a suburb of
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern c ...
. Instruction consists of a 4-year course of study culminating in a cruise on the instructional
tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or f ...
''ROU Capitán Miranda'', which lasts several weeks and takes graduates to various ports around the world.


Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya)

The Air Force consists of about 3,000 personnel and organized into three Air Brigades (I, II, & III) and 7 Squadrons. Combat aircraft consist of Argentine IA-58 Pucarás and Cessna A-37B Dragonflies. Transport aircraft consist of Lockheed
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
s, Brazilian Embraer Bandeirantes and Embraer Brasilias, Spanish CASA C-212-200 Aviocars, and Cessna 206H Stationairs and T-41D Mescaleros. Helicopters consist of the Bell UH-1H Iroquois and 212 Twin Huey, the Eurocopter AS-365N2 Dauphin, and the Westland HC-2 Wessex. The Air Force Academy (''Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica'') is located at General Artigas Air Base in Pando, Canelones; the Air Force Technical Academy (''Escuela Técnica de Aeronáutica'') in Toledo Sur, Canelones; and the Air Force Command Academy (''Escuela de Comando y Estado Mayor Aéreo'') at Captain Boiso Lanza Air Base in
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern c ...
. Training aircraft consists of Italian Aermacchi SF.260s,
Beech Baron The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production. Design and development The ...
s, and Swiss Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainers.


See also

* Cockade of Uruguay#Military


References


External links


Ministerio de Defensa Nacional
- Official site of the Uruguayan Department of National Defense (in Spanish)
Ejército Nacional
- Official site of the Uruguayan Army (in Spanish)
Armada Nacional
- Official site of the Uruguayan Navy (in Spanish)
Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya
- Official site of the Uruguayan Air Force (in Spanish)
Memorias del tiempo de vuelo
- Actual and Historical Site about Uruguayan Air Force (in Spanish)
Uruguay Militaria
- Uruguayan armed forces discussion forum (in Spanish)
World Ranks


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