Military of Uruguay

The armed forces of Uruguay are constitutionally subordinate to the president through the Minister of Defense. By offering early retirement incentives, the government has trimmed the armed forces to about 14,500 for the army, 6,000 for the navy, and 3,000 for the air force. As of February 2003, Uruguay has 1,754 soldiers deployed in 11 UN peacekeeping missions. The largest groups are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 1,549 Uruguayan troops control one sector of the country, and the Sinai, where 60 troops are stationed.

Organisation

The armed forces of Uruguay are organised into:

The Uruguayan Army (Ejército Nacional)
The Uruguayan Navy (Armada Nacional), including Naval Aviation, Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval), and Marines
The Uruguayan Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya)

Army

The Army consists of some 15,000 personnel organised into four divisions. It is equipped with 15 T-55 Tiran tanks, 17 M24 Chaffee and 22 M41A1 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 15 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, 90 OT-64, 55 Thyssen-Henschel Condor, and 15 M113A1 APCs, and 15 EE-9 Cascavel and 16 EE-3 Jararaca armored cars.

Navy

The Navy consists of some 2,900 personnel and is organised into four commands. It consists of 3 frigates, 3 patrol crafts, 3 minesweepers and some other smaller craft. The Navy also includes a Marine Corps (Cuerpo de Fusileros Navales) consisting of four brigades (company sized).

The Naval Academy (Escuela Naval) is located in Carrasco, a suburb of Montevideo. Instruction consists of a 5-year course of study culminating in a cruise on the instructional tall ship Capitán Miranda, which lasts several weeks and takes graduates to various ports around the world.

At Laguna del Sauce, the Uruguayan Navy operates a small naval air station and an Order of Battle that includes T-34C Mentors, S-2 Trackers, Westland Wessex, Beech King Air 200, and BAe Jetstream.

Air Force

The Air Force consists of some 3,000 personnel and is organized into three Air Brigades. Combat aircraft include the FMA IA-58 Pucará, and Cessna A-37B Dragonfly. Training aircraft include the Aermacchi SF-260, Beechcraft B-58 Baron, and Pilatus PC-7. Transport aircraft include the Lockheed C-130B Hercules, EMBRAER EMB-110 Bandeirante, EMBRAER EMB-120 Brasilia, Casa C-212-200 Aviocar, Cessna 206H Stationair, and Cessna T-41D Mescalero. Helicopters include the Bell UH-1H Iroquois, Bell 212, Eurocopter AS-365 N2 Dauphin, and Westland HC-2 Wessex.

The Air Force Academy is located in Pando.

Statistics

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 831,297 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 672,030 (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $250 million (1999)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (2000)

External links

Ejército Nacional - Official site of the Uruguayan Army (in Spanish)
Armada Nacional - Official site of the Uruguayan Navy (in Spanish)
Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya - Official site of the Uruguayan Air Force (in Spanish)