Military Wiki
Military of Gabon
Coat of arms of Gabon
Coat of arms of Gabon
Founded 1960
Service branches Land Forces[1]
Air Force
Navy
Manpower
Military age 20 years of age[1]
Expenditures
Budget 70.8 million (FY01)[1]
Percent of GDP 1.34% (FY12)
Industry
Foreign suppliers Flag of France France
United States
Related articles
History 1964 Gabon coup d'etat
2012–2013 Central African Republic conflict

Gabon has a small, professional military of about 5,000 personnel, divided into army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and national police. Gabonese forces are oriented to the defense of the country and have not been trained for an offensive role. A well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard provides security for the president.

Army[]

Order of battle[]

  • 1 Republican Guard Battalion group – Libreville[citation needed] with:
    • 1 Light Armored Recon. Squad;
    • 3 Infantry Coys;
    • 1 Artillery Battery;
    • 1 Air Defense Battery.
  • 1 Airborne Regiment with:
    • 3 Airborne Coys;
    • 1 Recon and Support Coy;
    • 1 Command Coy.
  • 1 Light Armored Recon Battalion with:
    • 1 Logistic and Command Coy;
    • 2 Armored Sqds.
  • 1 Support Command Regiment with:
    • 1 Artillery Battery;
    • 1 Mortar Battery;
    • 1 MRLS Battery;
    • 1 Engineer Coy;
    • Logistic Units.
  • 7xMilitary Regions with:
    • 1 Motorized Infantry Battalion or Coy-each.

Air Force[]

Order of battle[]

  • Fighter Squadron 1-02 Leyou at BA02 Franceville with:
    • Mirage F-1AZ
    • MB-326M Impala I
  • Heavy Transport Squadron at BA01 Libreville with:
    • C-130 Hercules
    • CN-235
  • Ministerial Air Liaison Group (Groupe de Liaison Aérien Ministériel or GLAM) at BA01 Libreville with:
    • 1 Falcon-900EX
    • 1 Gulfstream-III

Facilities[]

  • BA01 Libreville
  • BA02 Franceville
  • Tchibanga

Current inventory[]

ATR 42-300M Gabon Government TR-KJD - MSN 131 (9900039856)

A Gabonses ATR-42 on approach

Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service[2] Notes
Combat aircraft
Mirage 5 France sea attack Mirage 5G 3
Mirage F1 France fighter 6[3]
Transport
ATR 42 France VIP 1[4]
C-130 United States transport C-130H 1
CN-235 Spain / Indonesia transport 1[5]
Helicopters
AS332 France transport 1
SA330 France transport / utility 5[3]
EC135 France utility 2[3]
AS350 France liaison 1[3]
EC120 France light utility 2
Alouette III France light utility 2[3]
SA342 Gazelle France scout / attack SA 319 2
Trainer Aircraft
T-34 Mentor United States trainer 4[3]
Mirage 5 France conversion trainer Mirage 5DG 2[3]

Retired aircraft[]

Previous aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the CM.170 Magister, C-130H Hercules, Embraer EMB 110, Fokker F28, Aérospatiale N 262, Reims C.337, and the Alouette II helicopter.[6][7]

Navy[]

Equipment[]

Tapageuse-01

The Gabonese Navy uses a P400-class patrol vessel similar to this one

Vessel Origin Type In service Notes
Kership France offshore patrol 1 on order[8]
P400 France coastal patrol 3[9]
BATRAL France landing craft 1[9] 2 ordered only one received

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "CIA World Fact 2015". cia.gov. 2015. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gb.html. Retrieved 4 June 2015. 
  2. World Air Forces 2016. Flightglobal International. December 2015. p. 19. https://d3fod5fkpt74ph.cloudfront.net/f5975bad82fe4e9e8d7f2e21e2e6f39e/3395ff5ac4d54a05bf6baa0c63895356.pdf. Retrieved 8 April 2016. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "World Air Forces 2015 pg. 16". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. http://forms.flightglobal.com/WorldAirForces2015?product=PREM&mode=DOWNLOAD&DMDcode=FGWC4&fcid=%7B05ceef25-b72e-4bea-9a83-a7ab7d02e55a%7D_FC078_PREM_201412&fcfileext=pdf. Retrieved 1 June 2015. 
  4. "ATR42 Gabon TR-KJD". airport-data.com flightglobal.com. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/TR-KJD.html. Retrieved 1 June 2015. 
  5. World Air Forces 2014 "WAF 2014". Flightglobal Insight. 2014. http://img.en25.com/Web/flightglobal/%7B88f2f053-6c3d-4ab4-a297-0b453358a560%7D_FC055_PREM_201312.pdf?elq=&elqCampaignId= World Air Forces 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015. 
  6. "World Air Forces 1987 pg. 56". flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1987/1987%20-%202506.html. Retrieved 1 June 2015. 
  7. "World Military Helicopter Markey 1971 pg. 577". flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202091.html. Retrieved 1 June 2015. 
  8. http://www.naval-technology.com/news/newskership-to-deliver-two-offshore-patrol-vessels-to-gabonese-navy-4427093
  9. 9.0 9.1 Trade Registers. Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved on 29 May 2015
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