The military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

(in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

: Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial) was reorganized in 1979. It consists of approximately 2,500 service members. The army has almost 1,400 soldiers, the police 400 paramilitary men, the navy 200 service members, and the air force about 120 members. There is also a Gendarmerie

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

, but the number of members is unknown. The Gendarmerie is a new branch of the service in which training and education is being supported by the French Military Cooperation in Equatorial Guinea. Overall the military is poorly trained and equipped. It has mostly small arms, RPGs, and mortars

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

. Almost none of its Soviet

Soviet Armed Forces

The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...

-style light-armored vehicles or trucks are operational.

In 1988, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 donated a 68-foot patrol boat to the Equatoguinean navy to patrol its exclusive economic zone. The U.S. patrol boat Isla de Bioko is no longer operational. U.S. military-to-military engagement has been dormant since 1997 (the year of the last Joint Combined Exchange Training

Joint Combined Exchange Training

Joint Combined Exchange Training or JCET programs are exercises designed to provide training opportunities for American Special Forces who are stationed outside of the United States by holding the training exercises in countries that the forces may one day have to operate in, as well as providing...

 exercise). Between 1984 and 1992, service members went regularly to the United States on the International Military Education Training program, after which funding for this program for Equatorial Guinea ceased. The government spent 6.5% of its annual budget on defense in 2000 and 4.5% of its budget on defense in 2001. It recently acquired some Chinese artillery pieces, some Ukrainian patrol boats, and some Ukrainian helicopter gunships. The number of paved airports in Equatorial Guinea can be counted on one hand, and as such the number of airplanes operated by the air force is small. The Equatoguineans rely on foreigners to operate and maintain this equipment as they are not sufficiently trained to do so.

Military appointments are all reviewed by President Obiang

Teodoro Obiang

Teodoro Obiang is the name of:* Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea* Teodoro Nguema Obiang, son of the President...

, and few of the native militiamen come from outside of Obiang's Mongomo

Mongomo

Mongomo is a city in Wele-Nzas Province in mainland Equatorial Guinea.From Mongomo originate the nation's first president Francisco Macías Nguema and of the current President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, hence the name the clan of Mongomo to define those belonging to his ruling clique.The area is...

-based Esangui clan. Obiang was a general when he overthrew his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema

Francisco Macías Nguema

Francisco Macías Nguema was the first President of Equatorial Guinea, from 1968 until his overthrow in 1979.-Rise to power:...

.

In 2002, a report said "The oil companies do not view Equatorial Guinea's military – a product of decades of brutal dictatorial rule – with much confidence. The army is believed to have only about 1,320 men under arms, the navy 120, and the air force 100. Seven of the army's nine generals are relatives of the president; the other two are from his tribe. There is no clear command structure, the level of discipline is low, and professionalism and training are almost non-existent, according to locals and foreign oil workers. Even the presidential guard – an indication of the lack of trust in the country's forces – is composed of 350 Moroccan troops."

In July 2010, after the visit of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...

, the sale of a Barroso-class

Brazilian corvette Barroso (V34)

Cv Barroso is a corvette of the Brazilian Navy, and the lead ship of its class. The fifth Brazilian warship to be named after Admiral Francisco Manoel Barroso da Silva, Barroso was launched on 20 December 2002 and commissioned on 19 August 2008. A sister ship will be constructed and sold to...

 corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 to be constructed in Brazil was announced.

Theft of Military Hardware

It has been reported that in January 2006 a Saint Kitts & Nevis flagged cargo ship loaded with vehicles and parts meant for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279...

 was seized while in port within Equatorial Guinea. It is believed that the seized vehicles (which included 15 Belgian Army Pandur APC

Pandur 6X6 APC

The Pandur is an APC developed and produced by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge . It was developed during the 1980s as a private venture, based in spanish BMR-600 design...

s leased to Beninise army troops) and parts have been used to equip the Military of Equatorial Guinea, and such seizure are considered by some as an act of piracy.

Equipment

• T-55
  T-55
  The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
  
   100mm MBT - 03
  
• BMP-1
  BMP-1
  The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...
  
   AIFV  Czech Republic\-20
• Pandur I APC - 15
• BRDM-2
  BRDM-2
  The BRDM-2 is an amphibious armoured patrol car used by Russia and the former Soviet Union. It was also known under designations BTR-40PB, BTR-40P-2 and GAZ 41-08...
  
   APC - 10
• BTR-152
  BTR-152
  The BTR-152 was a non-amphibious Soviet wheeled armored personnel carrier that entered Soviet service in 1950. By the early 1970s it had been replaced in the infantry vehicle role by the BTR-60...
  
   APC - 10
• AKM
  AKM
  The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
  
   
  
• FN-FAL  Belgium
  
• RPD
  RPD
  The RPD is a 7.62mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54mmR Mosin rifle round...
  
   
  
• RPG-7
  RPG-7
  The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
  
   
• M-43 82mm medium mortars
  
• Ural
  Ural
  Ural may refer to one of the following:*Ural Mountains*Ural *Ural River*Ural Federal District*Ural economic region*Urals oil, a reference oil brand*Ural Automotive Plant*Ural-4320, Ural-375D and Ural-5323, Soviet and Russian military trucks...
  
   trucks

Aircraft inventory

The Air Force operates 13 aircraft plus the presidential flight.
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
| Aero L-39 Albatros || || light attack || 2 ||
|-----
| Antonov An-72

Antonov An-72

The Antonov An-72 is a transport aircraft developed by Antonov in the former Soviet Union. It was designed as a STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commercial freighters.The An-72 gets its nickname, Cheburashka, from the large...

 Coler C || || tactical transport || 2 ||

|-----

| Antonov An-32

Antonov An-32

The Antonov An-32 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft.-Design and development:The An-32 is basically a re-engined An-26. The launch customer was the Indian Air Force, which ordered this aircraft partly due to good relations between then USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and then...

 Cline || \ || transport || 1 ||

|-----

| Casa

CASA

- Aviation :* Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation of Civil Aviation* Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA- Spanish aircraft manufacturer, became EADS CASA in 1999...

 C-212-200 Aviocar ||  Spain || transport || 3 ||
|-----
| Enstrom 480B

Enstrom 480

-See also:-References:*-External links:* * *...

 || || training helicopter || 2
|-----
| Mil Mi-24 HindV (Hind E) || || attack || 6 ||
|-----
| Sukhoi Su-25

Sukhoi Su-25

The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975...

K || || attack || 4 (Including 2 SU-25UBK) ||

Retired aircraft

• 2 Mikoyan MiG-17F Fresco
• 2 SA-316B Alouette III helicopters -in store

Presidential Flight

• 1 Agusta A109
  Agusta A109
  The AgustaWestland AW109 is a light-weight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter built by the Anglo-Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland...
  
     Italy
• 1 Boeing 737
  Boeing 737
  The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
  
  -700
• 1 Dassault Falcon 50
  Dassault Falcon 50
  |-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W R. . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK:Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.-External links:* *...
  
   
• 1 Dassault Falcon 900 
• 1 Embraer
  Embraer
  Embraer S.A. is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft and provides aeronautical services....
  
   ERJ145EP  Brazil
• 2 Mil Mi-17\172 Hip-H
• 1 Yakolev Yak-40 
• 1 Cessna 337 Super skymaster
  
• 1 Sikorsky
  Sikorsky
  Sikorsky is an English-language respelling of the Slavic surname Sikorski. Derived from the Polish word sikora – meaning "chickadee/tit" – it was originally the name of a noble Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth family....
  
   S-92 

Navy

Malabo has laid out USD 100 million for two Saar 4 -class corvettes built by Israel Shipyards, a private yard in Haifa.

• 0 (+2) Sa'ar 4.5 class missile boats
  
• 2 Shaldag class PCs
• 1 Daphne patrol boat - 170 tons full load - commissioned 1963  Denmark
• 2 Zhuk patrol boats
• 2 Kalkan patrol craft - 8.5 tons full load
  
• 1 Esturaio de Muni class OPV
  
• 1 P-183\P-6 class FAC -status unknown.