| Benin Armed Forces |
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|---|---|
| Service branches | Army (l'Armée de Terre) Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB) Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) National Gendarmerie |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Yayi Boni |
| Expenditures | |
| Percent of GDP | 1.7% (FY96) |
The Benin Armed Forces (FAB) constitutes the army, navy, air force, and national gendarmerie of Benin. For a number of years, the Belgian Armed Forces have 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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The Army has a strength of 4,800. It includes 1 armoured squadron, 3 infantry battalions, 1 commando/airborne battalion, 1 artillery battery, and 1 engineer battalion.
After achieving independence from France in 1960 the Benin Airforce was transport equipped with seven French-supplied Douglas C-47s, four MH.1521 Broussards and two Agusta-Bell 47Gs. Two F-27s were entered service in 1978 for transport duties before being transferred to Air Benin. Also during the same era two AN-26s were acquired. In late 1985 two Dornier Do-28s entered service to replace the C-47s. A single DHC-6 Twin Otter was acquired in 1989.
The Benin Air Force maintains a small transport and utility fleet of 14 aircraft, including seven helicopters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[3][4] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Agusta A109 | Italy | scout/attack helicopter | A109HO | 2 | 5 delivered | |
| Eurocopter AS 350 Ecureuil | France Germany Spain |
utility helicopter | AS 350B | 1 | 2 AS-350B+1 AS-355M delivered | |
| Transports | ||||||
| Boeing 727 | United States | VIP-transport | 727-256 Adv. | 1 | Acquired from Iberia and modified in 2007/08.[4] | |
| British Aerospace HS.748 | United Kingdom | transport | HS.748 | 1 | 2 delivered | |
| 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 | 8 delivered | |
| Aero Commander | United States | transport | 500B | 1 | ||
| Surveillance | ||||||
| LH-10 Ellipse | France | Surveillance | Grand Duc | 2.[5] | In service 2011 | |
Beninese Air Force also has two An-26s, and one Boeing 707, but these are currently grounded.[6]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.
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