Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo
Index
1. Order of battle
2. Overview
3. Defence economics
4. State of military forces
5. Country threat report
6. External deployments
1. Order of Battle
| Total force strength | Army: 10 000 Navy: 300 Air: 500 Gendarmerie: 1 400 National People’s Militia: 4 500 |
| Army (Armee de Terre) | |
| Structure | 2 armoured battalions 2 infantry battalions 1 para-commando battalion 1 commando battalion 1 artillery group 1 engineer battalion |
| Armour | 25: T-54/55 15: Type 59 8: Type 62 3: PT-76 |
| Reconnaissance | 24: BRDM-1/2 |
| APC | 20: BTR-152 18: BTR-50 28: BTR-60 18: Mamba 9: ZFB-05 32: Marauder |
| Self-propelled artillery | 3: 2S1 Carnation |
| Towed artillery | 8: D-30 122 mm 5: M-46 130 mm 10: M-1944 |
| Multiple Rocket Launcher | 10: BM-21 122 mm BM14/16 122/140 mm |
| Mortar | 28: M-43 120 mm ?: 82 mm |
| Recoilless rifle | 5: ZIS–2 M-1943 |
| Rocket launcher | RPG-7 Knout 73 mm |
| Anti-tank missile | AT-3 Sagger |
| Air defence gun | 28: M-1939 37 mm 16: ZPU-2/4 14.5 mm S-60 57 mm KS-19 100 mm |
| Air Force (Armee de l’Air Congolaise) | |
| Combat aircraft | 4: Mirage F1 12: MiG-21 (non-operational) |
| Trainer aircraft | 4: L-39 Albatros |
| Transport aircraft | 1: An-12BK Cub 5: An-24 Coke 1: An-26 Curl 1: N-2501 Noratlas 1: B727 1: F-28 |
| Combat helicopter | 2: Mi-24 Hind (In store) 6: Mi-35 |
| Transport helicopter | 2: Mi-14 1: Mi-26 1: AS 365 Dauphin II 1: SA 318 Alouette II 1: SA 316 Alouette III 3: Mi-8 Hip (In store) 1: SA 365 Dauphin |
| Navy | |
| Patrol | 3: Zhuk class harbour patrol (Non-operational) 3: Pirana class (Non-operational) 4: Arco class river patrol |
| Tug | 1: Hinda class |
2. Overview
Minister of the Presidency in charge of National Defence: Div Gen Charles Richard Mondjo
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces: Maj Gen Guy Blanchard Okoi
Member of: UN, AU, ICAO, AfDB, Seabeds Committee
3. Defence economics
Defence budget percentage per GDP (2000-2010)
Defence budget per US$ Mil (2000-2011)
Defence budget percentage growth (2000-2011)
4. State of military forces
The Republic of Congo has a long history of conflict and political instability, most recently the civil war between 1997 and 2003. The current state of the country’s armed forces is difficult to fathom but it is believed that the army is relatively weak due to limited and poorly maintained equipment, poor discipline and low morale. The military is mainly geared towards internal security. Some new acquisitions have been made over the last decade, notably helicopters and fighter jets for the Air Force and armoured vehicles for the Army.
5. Country threat report
| Threat type | Overview |
| External | • Congo is currently facing no external military threat. |
| Internal | • Congo is currently considered to be internally stable. |
| Regional | • The security situation within the DRC and the Central African Republic may affect Congo’s external security policy making. • Although not a threat as such, Maritime piracy in the gulf of Guinea has to be considered as a potential future threat. |
| Political | • Congo is currently considered to be politically stable. |
| Economic | • Oil is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for around 95% of export earnings and 50% of GDP. |
6. External deployments
| Operation | Country | Personnel/assets |
| Peace building | CAR | 150 |
Contact details:
Ministry of National Defence
Quartier General
Brazzaville
Congo
Tel +242 833 365/831 728
Armed Forces HQ
P.O. Box 138
Brazzaville
Congo
Tel +242 940746
Note: The information presented here is as accurate as possible but errors and omissions may occur.
