Military of Benin
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The military of Benin constitutes the army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie of Benin. Since a number of years, the military of Belgium has had an active programme of co-operation with Benin, offering training and coaching, donating redundant military equipment and using the county for limited military exercises.
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[edit] General
Military branches: Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,402,566
females age 15-49: 1,445,082
note: both sexes are liable for military service (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 717,289
females age 15-49: 732,196 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 69,065
females: 67,961 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $27 million (FY96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY96)
[edit] Army
[edit] Personnel
4,300^
[edit] Structure
- 1 armoured squadron
- 3 infantry battalions
- 1 commando/airborne battilion
- 1 artillery battery
- 1 engineer battalion
[edit] Equipment
- MBT: x20 PT-76
- ARV: x10 VBL, x14 BRDM-2, x7 M8
- APC: x16 M113 (ex-belgian)
- Artillery: x12 L-118, x4 M-101
- Anti-Tank: RPG-7, LRAC
- Surface-to-air missile: SA-7 Grail, SA-9 Gaskin
- AA Gun: ZPU-4
[edit] Air Force
The Benin Air Force maintains a small transport and utility fleet of 14 aircraft, including seven helicopters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta A109 |  Italy |
scout/attack helicopter | A109HO | 2 | 2 more to be delivered from Belgium[2] |
| British Aerospace HS.748 |  United Kingdom |
transport | 1 | ||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter |  Canada |
transport | DHC-6-300 | 1 | |
| Dornier Do 28 |  Germany |
utility | Do.28D-2 | 2 | |
| Douglas DC-3 |  United States |
transport | C-47B | 2 | |
| Eurocopter AS 350 Ecureuil |  France Germany Spain |
utility helicopter | AS 350B | 2 | |
| Aero Commander | United States |
transport | 500B | 1 | |
| Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette II | France |
utility helicopter | SE-2120 | 1 |
Beninese Air Force also has two An-26and one Boeing 707 but these are currently grounded.[3]
[edit] Navy
- 2 Inshore patrol boats donated by China in 2003. In service class name Matelot Brice Kpomasse.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.
New information from IISS World Military Balance 2008 and Jane's World Fighting Ships 2007-2008.
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