| Military of Kyrgyzstan | |
|---|---|
 Military guard of honor near a monument in Bishkek's main square | |
| Founded | circa 1992 |
| Service branches | Land Forces, Air Forces, Border Guards, Interior Troops, Ministry of Emergency Situations |
| Headquarters | Bishkek |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Roza Otunbayeva |
| Minister of Defence | Ismail Isakov[1] |
| First Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of General Staff | Colonel General Alik Mamyrkulov |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Conscription | 18 months |
| Available for military service | 1,234,457 (2002 est.), age 15–49 |
| Fit for military service | 1,001,274 (2002 est.), age 15–49 |
| Reaching military age annually | 50,590 (2002 est.) |
| Active personnel | 15,500 (IISS 2007) |
| Reserve personnel | 10,000 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | 1.4 billion soms (IISS 2007) |
The armed forces of Kyrgyzstan, originally formed from former Soviet forces of the Turkestan Military District stationed in the newly independent state, includes the Army/Land Forces, the Air and Air Defence Forces, the Northern and Southern Groups of Forces, Interior Troops, and Border Troops.
For much of the Soviet period, since 1967, the 8th Guards 'Panfilov' Motor Rifle Division was the main military force in the country, and the Division was only disbanded in January 2003.[2] In 1967 the Division had been moved to Bishkek from the Baltic Military District, where it had previously been based.
In terms of foreign presence, the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom coalition use the Manas Air Base (Bishkek's international airport) while Russia has the 999th Air Base at Kant which was set up by Moscow to counter the American military presence in the Former Soviet state.
Army[]
The Army of Kyrgyzstan includes the 1st Motor Rifle Brigade (Mountain) at Osh, a brigade at Koi-tash, in the Bishkek area, the 25th Special Forces Brigade, independent battalions at Karakol and Naryn, and other units.
Two Groups of Forces, the Southern, and more recently the Northern, have been active during Kyrgyzstan's history. In 2004, the Northern Group of Forces was reported as consisting of the Balykchynsky brigade, the brigade deployed in suburb of Bishkek, separate battalions in Karakol and Naryn,and other army units.[3]
Equipment[]
Armoured vehicle numbers are from the relevant Articles.
Tanks[]
- T-72 MBTs - 215
AIFV / APC[]
Artillery[]
Towed
Self-Propelled
Heavy Mortars
MRLs
- BM-21 - 21
Light equipment[]
- Makarov PM Pistol
- TT-33 Pistol
- AK-74 Assault Rifle
- AKM Assault Rifle
- AK-47 Assault Rifle
- AKS-74U Carbine
- SKS Carbine
- RPK Light Machine Gun
- PKM General Purpose Machine Gun
- NSV Heavy Machine Gun
- DShK Heavy Machine Gun
- Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle
- RPG-7 Rocket Launcher
- GP-25 Grenade Launcher
- AGS-17 Automatic Grenade Launcher
- SPG-9 Recoilless Gun
- PP-2000 Fully Automatic Handgun(SMG)
- AK-101 Assault Rifle
Air Force[]
In downtown Bishkek. The sign says, "National Guard"
Kyrgyzstan's air arm was inherited from the central Soviet air force training school. This presented the nation a fleet of nearly 70 L-39s, dismantled MiG-21’s and several Mi-8’s and Mi-24’s. However, only a few L-39s and the helicopters are capable of flight. All Kyrgyz military aircraft are reportedly based at Kant, alongside the Russian 999th Air Base.[5] Because of expense and military doctrine, Kyrgyzstan has not developed its air capability; a large number of the MiG-21 interceptors that it borrowed from Russia were returned in 1993, although a number of former Soviet air bases remain available. In 1996 about 100 decommissioned MiG-21s remained in Kyrgyzstan, along with ninety-six L-39 trainers and sixty-five helicopters. The air defence forces have received aid from Russia, which has sent military advisory units to establish a defence system. The Russians also help patrol Kyrgyz airspace as part of the Joint CIS Air Defence System Presently Kyrgyzstan has twenty-six SA-2 and SA-3 surface-to-air missiles in its air defence arsenal. In 2002 the Kyrgyzstan government allowed the United States to use Manas air base for support operations in the War on terror. This agreement lasted till June 2014.[6][7]
Roundel of the Kyrgyzstan Air Force
Aircraft[]
Current inventory[]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Mil Mi-8 | Russia | utility | 8[8] | |||
| Mil Mi-24 | Russia | attack | 4[8] | |||
| Trainer Aircraft | ||||||
| Aero L-39 | Czech Republic | trainer | 3[8] | sold surplus units to Lithuania[9] | ||
Air defense[]
References and links[]
- ↑ Military Technology, World Defence Almanac Vol. XXXII, Issue 1, 2008, p.248
- ↑ http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/sng/kirgizia.htm - accessed Aug 2007 and Jan 2008
- ↑ Vad777, accessed July 2008, reporting http://www.sk.kg/2004/n19/7.html - 2004, a dead link
- ↑ Jane's Armour and Artillery 1997-98 ISBN 0 7106 1542 6
- ↑ "World Air Forces 2000 pg. 73". flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2000/2000-1%20-%201981.html. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ↑ "World Air Forces 2004 pg. 70". flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/2004/2004-09%20-%202363.html. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ↑ Joshua Kucera. "U.S. Formally Closes Its Kyrgyzstan Air Base". Eurasianet. http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68430. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 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 16 April 2015.
- ↑ "World Air Forces 1998 pg. 74". flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1998/1998%20-%203236.html. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- CIA World Factbook, 2003 edition.
- IISS Military Balance, 2007 edition
Further reading[]
- Martha Brill Olcott, Library of Congress Country Study Kyrgyzstan, National Security, 1996
- Henry Plater-Zyberk, Kyrgyzstan - Focusing on Security, Conflict Studies Research Centre K41, November 2003
The original article can be found at Military of Kyrgyzstan and the edit history here.