Madagascar People’s Armed Forces
Index
1. Order of battle
2. Overview
3. Defence economics
4. State of military forces
5. Country threat report
1. Order of Battle
| Total force strength | Army: 13 800 Air Force: 700 Navy: 350 Paramilitary: 12 000 (including maritime police, Presidential Security Regiment) |
| Army | |
| Armour | 12: PT-76 |
| Armoured fighting vehicle | 3: AMF |
| Reconnaissance | 35: BRDM-2 10: Ferret 20: M-3A1 8: M-8 |
| Towed artillery | 5: M-101 105 mm 12: D-30 122 mm |
| Mortar | 8: M37 82 mm 8: M43 120 mm |
| Recoilless rifle | ?: M-40A1 106 mm |
| Rocket launcher | ?: RPG-7 Knout 73 mm |
| Air defence gun | 26: ZPU-4 14.5 mm 20: Type-55 37 mm |
| Structure | 2 intervention forces regiments 1 field artillery regiment 1 anti-aircraft artillery regiment 1 support regiment 9 military regiments 3 engineer regiments 1 public disaster protection regiment |
| Air Force | |
| Transport/utility aircraft | 1: An-26 1: BN-2 Islander 2: C212 Aviocar 1: Cessna 172 1: Cessna 310 2: Cessna 337 Skymaster 1: PA-23 Aztec 5: Joker 300 1: Rallye |
| VIP aircraft | 4: Yak-40 Codling |
| Transport helicopter | 4: SA 318C Alouette II 5: Mi-8 Hip |
| Navy | |
| Patrol/Strike boat (Gun/Missile/OPV/IPV) | 6 small coastal patrol craft 44 MLBs (ex-USCG 1: Chamois class |
| Amphibious/Transport/Supply | 1: Former French Edic landing craft 1: coastal tug |
2. Overview
Head of State: President of the HAT (High Transitional Authority) Andry Nirina Rajoelina
Defence Minister: Lieutenant General Rasolofonirina Beni Xavier
Prime Minister: Omer Beriziky
Chief of General Staff: Brigadier General Andre Ndriarijaona
Minister of the Armed Forces: General (ret) Andre Lucien Rakotoarimasy
Commander-in-Chief of the Army: General Jean-Andre Ndriarijaona
Commander-in-Chief of the Gendarmerie: General Richard Ravalomanana
Member of: UN, AU, IAEA, Seabeds Committee, SADC, COMESA
Conscription: 24 months
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
Madagascar’s military played a major part in the 2009 political crisis, as it supported present leader Andry Rajoelina in ousting then President Marc Ravalomanana. In March 2009 Ravalomanana handed over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on opposition leader Rajoelina, who subsequently pledged to hold presidential elections. Madagascar’s military has agreed to remain neutral during the upcoming presidential elections, but these have been consistently delayed.
Madagascar’s armed forces are not considered to be accountable, disciplined or independent as the army and gendarmerie have been used as pawns in political power struggles. Regular forces are ill-equipped and underpaid with too many high-ranking officers.
Madagascar received substantial military assistance from a number of foreign countries, but since the end of the Cold War this has declined and much of the country’s air force has fallen into disrepair as a result, with its MiG-21s being put in storage. Considering it is an island nation, Madagascar’s navy is inadequate to protect its maritime domain and the country’s armed forces as a whole are considered inadequately equipped to defend the territory from external threats.
5. Country threat report
| Threat type | Overview |
| External | • Maritime piracy in the Indian Ocean remains a threat to Madagascar’s maritime domain. Drug smuggling and trafficking are further problems. Internal • Madagascar is currently facing no internal security threat. |
| Regional | • Insecurity on Africa’s eastern coast may affect Madagascar’s foreign security policies. |
| Political | • In March 2009, the democratically elected government of Madagascar resigned in actions that was widely described as a coup d’état. Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for mid-late 2013, but the political situation is still unstable as the transitional government pursues legitimacy via a political road map established by international mediators. |
| Economic | • Agriculture provides employment to nearly 70 percent of Madagascar’s economy and accounts for nearly 24 percent of the country’s GDP. • The political crisis has brought major economic hardship to Madagascar. |
Contact:
Ministry of National Defence
PO Box 08 Amphahibe
101 Antananarivo
Madagascar
Tel +261 20 2222211
Fax +261 20 2235420
