Armed Forces of Gabon

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Armed Forces of Gabon
Forces armées gabonaises
2019 Gabonese coup d'état attempt
2023 Gabonese coup d'état
RanksMilitary ranks of Gabon

The Armed Forces of Gabon (French: Forces armées gabonaises) or the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces (French: forces de défense et de sécurité gabonaises) is the national professional military of the Republic of Gabon, divided into the Army, Air Force, Navy, and a National Gendarmerie, consisting of about 5,000 personnel. The armed forces includes a well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard that provides security for the President of Gabon.

Organizational structure

Army

Personnel of the Armed Forces stand in formation during the opening day ceremony of the Central Accord Exercise in Libreville.

The Gabonese Army (

Defense Forces
.

Order of battle

  • Republican Guard Battalion (Libreville)
      • 1 Light Armoured recon unit
    • 3 Infantry companies
      • 1 Artillery battery
    • 1 Air Defence battery
  • Airborne Regiment
    • 1 Command company
    • 1 Recon & Support company
    • 3 Airborne companies
  • 1 Light Armoured Recon Battalion
    • 2 Armoured squads
    • 1 Command & Logistics company
  • Support Command Regiment
    • 1 Artillery battery
    • 1 Mortar battery
    • 1 MRLS battery (8
      Teruel MRL
      )
    • 1 Engineer company
    • Logistic units
  • 7 Military Regions
    • 7 Motorised infantry battalions (1 battalion for each region)

Air Force

Main article: Gabonese 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

Navy

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

The Gabonese Navy (French: Marine Nationale du Gabon) is the official maritime branch of the armed forces. It was created in December 1960 as part of the army, and only became an independent entity in 1983. The navy's core purpose is to monitor the country's coastal waters, including 800 km of coastline.[3]

Other security forces

National Gendarmerie

The

Félix Eboue. The main tasks of the gendarmerie are to defend the country's borders, ensure public safety, and to enforce actions taken by judicial and government authorities. The National Gendarmerie is under the direct command of the President of Gabon.[4][5][6]

Republican Guard

The Gendarmerie is also in charge of the Republican Guard (French: Garde républicaine, GR).[7] It is viewed as the most powerful and sophisticated of the security forces. It is primarily tasked with protecting the president and ensures regime stability.

Equipment

Small arms

Name Origin Type Variant Notes
M16 rifle[8] United States Assault rifle
FN FAL[8] Belgium Battle rifle
FN CAL[8] Belgium Assault rifle
FN MAG[8] Belgium General-purpose machine gun
AK-47[8] Soviet Union Assault rifle
AKM[8] Soviet Union Assault rifle
RPD[8] Soviet Union Light machine gun
FAMAS[8] France Assault rifle Bullpup design
MILAN[9] France Anti-tank guided missile
M40[9] United States Recoilless rifle M40A1

Armour

Name Origin Type In Service Notes
Armored fighting vehicles
AML-60/AML-90 France/South Africa Reconnaissance vehicle 24[9] Including the South African Eland derivative.[10]
EE-3 Jararaca Brazil Reconnaissance vehicle 12[9]
EE-9 Cascavel Brazil Reconnaissance vehicle 14[9]
ERC-90F4 Sagaie France Reconnaissance vehicle 6[9]
RAM MK3 Israel Reconnaissance vehicle 7[9]
Véhicule Blindé Léger France Reconnaissance vehicle 14[9]
EE-11 Urutu Brazil Infantry fighting vehicle 12[9] Armed with 20mm gun.[9]
VN-1 China Infantry fighting vehicle 5[9]
Type 07P China Infantry fighting vehicle 14[11]
V-150 Command United States Armoured personnel carrier 9[9]
Bastion France Armoured personnel carrier 5[9]
WZ-523 China Armoured personnel carrier 3[9]
Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé France Armoured personnel carrier 5[9]
VXB-170 France Armoured personnel carrier 12[9]
Pandur I Austria Armoured personnel carrier 1[12][9]
ZFB-05 China Armoured personnel carrier 3[11]
Aravis France Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected 8[9]
Matador South Africa Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected 24[11]
Ashok Leyland MPV India Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected 34[9]

Artillery

Name Origin Type In Service Notes
M101 United States 105mm towed howitzer 4[9]
Type 63 China 107mm multiple rocket launcher 16[9]
Type 90 China 122mm multiple rocket launcher 4[11]
Teruel
 Spain 140mm multiple rocket launcher 8[9]
MO-120-RT France 120mm mortar 4[9][11]

Air defense

Name Origin Type In Service Notes
ERC-20 France 20mm self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon 4[9]
ZPU-4 Soviet Union 14.5mm towed anti-aircraft gun Unknown[9]
ZU-23-2 Soviet Union 23mm towed anti-aircraft gun 24[9]
M1939 Soviet Union 37mm towed anti-aircraft gun 10[9]
L/70 Sweden 40mm towed anti-aircraft gun 3[9]


Current inventory

Main article: Gabonese Air Force § Current inventory

Retired aircraft

Previous aircraft operated were the

Alouette II helicopter.[13][14]

Naval equipment

Vessel Origin Type In service Notes
Kership France Offshore patrol 1 on order[15]
P400 France Coastal patrol 3[16]
BATRAL France Landing craft 1[16] 2 ordered, only one received

Ceremonial traditions

References

  1. ^ a b "CIA World Fact 2015". cia.gov. 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  2. ^ Mounombou, Stevie (2021-03-09). "Gabon:Qui est Félicité Ongouori Ngoubili, nouvelle ministre de la Défense nationale?". Gabon Review. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  3. ^ "Calaméo - Marine nationale GABON". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  4. ^ "La Gendarmerie Nationale || Ministère de la Défense Nationale". Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  5. ^ "Gabon - Gendarmerie Nationale". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  6. ^ "JournalDuGabon.com: La sécurité gabonaise change de visage". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  7. ^ "Gabon, une "garde républicaine" préposée aux basses oeuvres - Mondafrique". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 9781032012278
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-911096-52-8
    .
  11. ^ a b c d e "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org.
  12. ^ "Pandur 6×6 Wheeled Armoured Vehicles". Army Technology.
  13. ^ "World Air Forces 1987 pg. 56". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  14. ^ "World Military Helicopter Markey 1971 pg. 577". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Kership to deliver two offshore patrol vessels to Gabonese Navy - Naval Technology". 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
  16. ^ a b Trade Registers Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved on 29 May 2015
  17. ^ "People's Daily Online -- PLA helps traing [sic] honor guard for Gabon". en.people.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  18. ^ "Gabon's Communication minister appreciates good Gabono-Chinese relations". Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  19. ^ "Festival international de Musiques militaires Saumur 2019; Musiques et artistes invités 2019". www.comitedesfetes-saumur.fr. Archived from the original on 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
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