| Benin Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Service branches |
Army (l'Armée de Terre) Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB) Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) National Gendarmerie |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Yayi Boni |
| Manpower | |
| Active personnel | 4750[1] |
| Expenditures | |
| Percent of GDP | 1% (2011)[1] |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |
 France  Russia United States |
The Benin Armed Forces (FAB) constitutes the army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie of Benin. For a number of years, the Belgian Armed Forces have had an active programme of co-operation with Benin, offering training and coaching, donating redundant military equipment and using the county for limited military exercises.[2]
Army[]
Beninese soldiers on a firing range at Bembèrèkè in June 2009
Beninese soldiers training with a Type 56.
A Beninese soldier with a Type 56
As of 2012, the Army has a strength of 4300.[1] It includes 1 armoured squadron, 3 infantry battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery battery, and 1 engineer battalion.[1]
Equipment[]
Small Arms[]
- Mortars
Vehicles[]
| Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT-76 |  Soviet Union
|
Light tank | 18[1] | operational status uncertain | |
| Casspir |  South Africa
|
Armored personnel carrier | Casspir 2000 | 0 | 10 on order[5] |
| M8 Greyhound | United States | Armored car | 7[1] | ||
| Véhicule Blindé Léger | France
|
Light Armoured car | 10[1] | ||
| BRDM-2 | Soviet Union
|
Light Armoured car | 14[1] | ||
| M113 | United States | APC | 22[1] | ||
| L118 Light Gun |  United Kingdom
|
Howitzer | 12[1] | ||
| M101 howitzer | United States | Howitzer | 4[1] |
Air Force[]
After achieving independence from France in 1960 the Benin Airforce was transport equipped with seven French-supplied Douglas C-47s, four MH.1521 Broussards and two Agusta-Bell 47Gs. Two F-27s were entered service in 1978 for transport duties before being transferred to Air Benin. Also during the same era two AN-26s were acquired. In late 1985 two Dornier Do-28s entered service to replace the C-47s. A single DHC-6 Twin Otter was acquired in 1989.
The Benin Air Force maintains a small transport and utility fleet of 14 aircraft, including seven helicopters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[6][7] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Agusta A109 |  Italy
|
scout/attack helicopter | A109HO | 2 | 5 delivered | |
| Eurocopter AS 350 Ecureuil | France
|
utility helicopter | AS 350B | 1 | 2 AS-350B+1 AS-355M delivered | |
| Transports | ||||||
| Boeing 727 | United States | VIP-transport | 727-256 Adv. | 1 | Acquired from Iberia and modified in 2007/08.[7] | |
| British Aerospace HS.748 | United Kingdom
|
transport | HS.748 | 1 | 2 delivered | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter |  Canada
|
transport | DHC-6-300 | 1 | ||
| Dornier Do 28 |  Germany
|
utility | Do.28D-2 | 2 | ||
| Douglas DC-3 | United States | transport | C-47B | 2 | 8 delivered | |
| Aero Commander | United States | transport | 500B | 1 | ||
| Surveillance | ||||||
| LH-10 Ellipse | France
|
Surveillance | Grand Duc | 2[8] | In service 2011 | |
Beninese Air Force also has two An-26s, and one Boeing 707, but these are currently grounded.[9]
[]
As at 2012 the navy has a strength of approximately 200 personnel. It operates two ex-Chinese patrol boats, which are designated the Matelot Brice Kpomasse class.[1]
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benin Armed Forces. |
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 IISS (2012), p. 422
- ↑ Mathurin C. Houngnikpo, Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Benin, 78.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 Jane's Infantry Weapons 2007
- ↑ Photo Details. Marines.mil (16 June 2009). Retrieved on 2012-05-20.
- ↑ Benin purchases ten Casspir 2000 mine protected vehicles - Armyrecognition.com, 10 February 2013
- ↑ Aviation Week & Space Technology 2009, 26 January 2009 240. Web.11 August 2009. <http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/sourcebook/content.jsp?channelName=pro&story=xml/sourcebook_xml/2009/01/26/AW_01_26_2009_p0240-112924-15.xml&headline=World%20Military%20Aircraft%20Inventory%20-%20Benin>.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Airliners.net
- ↑ Afrique, Benin, Aeronautique, un avion pour la surveillance active, 21 November 2010
- ↑ Beninese military aviation OrBat
- Works consulted
- International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (2012). The Military Balance 2012. London: IISS. ISSN 0459-7222.
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
The original article can be found at Benin Armed Forces and the edit history here.