The Somaliland Armed Forces are the main military forces in Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. They are composed of three principle military units: the army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

, the navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 and the air defence forces. The Somaliland Police Force is also a part of the internal security forces but is subordinate to the military. The current person in charge of Somaliland's Armed Forces is the Minister of Defence Ahmed Haji Abdi Adami.

The Somaliland Armed Forces is the biggest item in the government's budget, with nearly 25% of revenues devoted to the armed forces. An article on the 2006 budget cited a figure of approximately 41 billion Somaliland Shilling

Somaliland shilling

The Somaliland shilling is the official currency of Somaliland, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Somalia. It was introduced on 18 October 1994 at one new Somaliland shilling to 100 Somali shillings...

, approximately $6 million. Due to Somaliland's lack of international recognition, the region receives no foreign assistance to maintain its 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...

.

Army

The army is organized into 12 divisions which comprise 4 tank brigades, 45 mechanized and infantry brigades, 4 commando brigades, surface-to-air missile brigade, 3 artillery brigades, 30 field battalions, and an air defense battalion.

Regular soldiers of Somaliland have been seen with G3 rifles

Heckler & Koch G3

The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....

, SKS carbines

SKS

The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...

 and various versions of the AK-47

AK-47

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

.

The Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

 army operates and unknown number of the following equipment:

• BM-21
  BM-21
  The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
  
   mobile rocket launchers.
• BGM-71 TOW
  BGM-71 TOW
  The BGM-71 TOW is an anti-tank missile. "BGM" is a weapon classification that stands for "Multiple Environment , Surface-Attack , Missile ". "TOW" is an acronym that stands for "Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire command data link, guided missile"...
  
   anti-tank guided missiles.
• BTR-50
  BTR-50
  The BTR-50 The BTR-50 The BTR-50 (BTR stands for Bronetransporter (БТР, Бронетранспортер, literally "armored transporter") is a Soviet amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank. The BTR-50 is tracked, unlike most in the BTR series, which are wheeled. The BTR-50...
  
   tracked armored personnel carriers.
• T-34
  T-34
  The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
  
   medium tanks.
• 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...
  
   main battle tanks.

Because of the UN arms embargo on Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, the semi-autonous Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

 is unable to purchase arms and therefore rely on repairing/modifying old equipment. Some arms are believed to have been delivered by Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 and Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

.

Navy

The Somaliland navy was formed in 2009. The headquarter is located in the coastal town of Berbera

Berbera

Berbera is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia...

where its also a diving center run by foreign divers who train the Somaliland navy. The Navy operates with small speedboats mounted with guns, pick-ups and trucks.