Uganda People's Defence Force
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| Military of Uganda |
|
|---|---|
| Service branches | land forces, Air Wing (plus paramilitary forces) |
| Military age | 15 years of age |
| Available for military service |
4,952,945, age 15–49 (2000 est.) |
| Fit for military service |
2,687,924, age 15–49 (2000 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually |
unknown (2000 est.) |
| Active personnel | 40-45,000 (IISS 2007) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $95 million (FY98/99) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.9% (FY98/99) |
The Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF), previously the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates the UPDF has a total strength of 40-45,000, and consists of land forces and an Air Wing.[1]
The IISS Military Balance 2007 says there are 1,800 paramilitary personnel also, which include the Marines - Uganda's naval force - with 400 personnel, and eight riverine patrol craft, all of less than 100 tonnes. There is also a 800-strong Uganda Police Force Air Wing with one Bell JetRanger, and a 600-strong Border Defence Unit equipped only with small arms.
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[edit] History
On 9 October 1962 Uganda became independent from the United Kingdom, with one battalion of the King's African Rifles becoming the Uganda Rifles.[2] On 23 January 1964 1st Battalion, Uganda Rifles, plus the embryonic 2nd Battalion mutinied, seizing its British officers. Following an invitation from President Obote British forces from Kenya (24th Infantry Brigade) intervened later the same day, and two days later brought the mutiny to an end.
In 1970, the International Institute for Strategic Studies assessed the Ugandan armed forces to consist of 6,700 personnel, comprising an Army of 6,250 with two brigade groups, each of two battalions, plus an independent infantry battalion, with some Ferret scout cars and BTR-40 and BTR-152 armoured personnel carriers, plus an air arm of 450 with 12 Magister armed trainers and seven MiG-15s and MiG-17s.[3]
In 1979, before the Uganda-Tanzania War, the Ugandan armed forces were reported, by the IISS, as comprising of 20,000 land forces personnel, with two four-battalion brigades and five other battalions of various types, plus a training regiment.[4] There were a total of 35 T-34, T-55, and M-4 Sherman medium tanks. An air arm was 1,000 strong with 21 MiG-21 and 10 MiG-17 combat aircraft. The IISS noted that the Ugandan armed forces collapsed in the face of the Tanzanian onslaught and the serviceable aircraft were removed to Tanzania.
The National Resistance Army was renamed the Uganda People's Defence Force following the enactment of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. At present UPDF's primary focus is the conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group operating in the country's North which has been condemned by the UN and was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government in 2001. Since March 2002 UPDF has been granted permission to carry out operating against LRA bases across the border in the Sudan, and these raids, collectively known as Operation Iron Fist, have resulted in the repatriation of many abducted children being held by the rebels as child soldiers or sex slaves.
The UPDF has also been the subject of controversy for having a minimum age for service of 13. Many international organizations have condemned this as being military use of children. This has created an image problem for the UPDF and may have impacted the international aid Uganda receives. Western nations have sent a limited level of military aid to Uganda.[5] As of 2003 at least, there was a severe problem of 'ghost' soldiers within the UPDF.[6]
Prior to 2000, US military forces participated with UPDF in training activities under the African Crisis Response Initiative. This cooperation was terminated in 2000 as a result of Uganda's incursion into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Following the June 2003 UPDF withdrawal of troops from the DRC, limited nonlethal military assistance has restarted. The UPDF participates in the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance with the United States.
[edit] Land forces
The IISS Military Balance 2007 estimates that the land forces include five divisions (each with up to five brigades), one armoured and one artillery brigade. The divisions are the 1st at Kakiri in Wakiso District, the 2nd, HQ at Mbarara, the 3rd (HQ Mbale),[7] the 4th with its headquarters at Gulu, [8] and the 5th at Pader. The armoured brigade appears to be at Masaka.[9]
The 2nd Division, according to afdevinfo.com, includes of the divisional headquarters at Mbarara, the 17th, 69th, 73rd, and 77th Battalions, the Rwenzori Mountain Alpine Brigade, possibly another Alpine brigade, and the 3rd Tank Battalion, and has been heavily involved with border operations since the Congo Civil War began in the 1990s.
Most of its military equipment used are Soviet made but recently it has been receiving weapons from China.
- MBT 20x T-55, 20x PT-76 (IISS Military Balance 2007 lists 152 T-54/55, but indicates their serviceability is in doubt).
- IFV 19x BMP-2
- APC BTR-152, Buffel
- AA Gun ZPU-4
- 2 Chubby (mine detection system)
[edit] UDPF Air Wing
There are conflicting reports on what aircraft the Air Wing has in service. According to the IISS Military Balance 2007, it includes some 15 combat capable aircraft, which include 5 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Floggers and 6 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbeds, 3 Aero L-39 Albatroses, one Aermacchi SF-260, and one Mil Mi-24 Hind, with five further 'Hinds' unserviceable.
An earlier report says aircraft include 3 Agusta-Bell AB-206 JetRangers, 4 Agusta AB-212, 1 FFA AS-202 Bravo, 5 Bell 412, 1 Gulfstream III, 3 L-39ZA Albatros, 4 Aermacchi SF.260, 7 Mil-17 Hip-Hs, 5 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF Fishbed-Js, and 2 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM Mongol-Bs.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ IISS Military Balance 2007, p.297
- ^ Regiments.org, East African mutinies, accessed December 2007
- ^ IISS Military Balance 1970-71, p.53
- ^ IISS Military Balance 1979-80, p.55
- ^ Uganda: Child soldiers at centre of mounting humanitarian crisis
- ^ The Weekly Observer, Committee wants death penalty for ghost creators, 2005
- ^ 3rd Division Mbale - Uganda
- ^ The Official Website: State House, Republic of Uganda
- ^ The Republic Of Uganda Ministry Of Defence Official Website
[edit] External links
- www.defenceuganda.mil.ug (Ministry of Defence website)
- "Assessing the cost of an army" by Joshua Kato, Sunday Vision, 30 June 2006
- Library of Congress Uganda Country Study
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