Military of Chad - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

of Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

consists of the Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force

Chad Air Force

The Chadian Air Force, in French Force Aérienne Tchadienne, was formed in 1961 as the Escadrille Nationale Tchadienne , and was given its current name in 1973...

, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

, and National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT). Currently the main task of the Chadian military is to combat the various rebel forces inside the country.

History

From independence through the period of the presidency of Félix Malloum (1975–79), the official national army was known as the Chadian Armed Forces

Chadian Armed Forces

The Chadian Armed Forces were the army of the central government of Chad from 1960 to 1979, under the southern presidents François Tombalbaye and Félix Malloum, until the downfall of the latter in 1979, when the head of the gendarmerie, Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué, assumed command...

(Forces Armées Tchadiennes—FAT). Composed mainly of soldiers from southern Chad, FAT had its roots in the army recruited by France and had military traditions dating back to World War I. FAT lost its status as the legal state army when Malloum's civil and military administration disintegrated in 1979. Although it remained a distinct military body for several years, FAT was eventually reduced to the status of a regional army representing the south.

After Habré consolidated his authority and assumed the presidency in 1982, his victorious army, the Armed Forces of the North (Forces Armées du Nord—FAN), became the nucleus of a new national army. The force was officially constituted in January 1983, when the various pro-Habré contingents were merged and renamed FANT.

The Military of Chad was dominated by members of Toubou

Toubou

The Tubu are an ethnic group that live mainly in northern Chad, but also in Libya, Niger and Sudan....

, Zaghawa, Kanembou

Kanembu people

The Kanembu are an ethnic group of Chad, generally considered the modern descendants of the Kanem-Borno Empire. The Kanembu number an estimated 655,000 people, located primarily in Chad's Lac Prefecture but also in Chari-Baguirmi and Kanem prefectures. They speak the Kanembu language, a variant...

, Hadjerai, and Massa ethnic groups during the presidency of Hissène Habré

Hissène Habré

Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...

. Current Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

ian president Idriss Déby

Idriss Déby

General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...

, revolted and fled to the Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, taking with him many Zaghawa and Hadjerai soldiers in 1989.

Chad's armed forces numbered about 36,000 at the end of the Habré regime, but swelled to an estimated 50,000 in the early days of Déby's rule. With French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

support, a reorganization of the armed forces was initiated early in 1991 with the goal of reducing its numbers and making its ethnic composition reflective of the country as a whole. Neither of these goals was achieved, and the military is still dominated by the Zaghawa.

In 2004, the government discovered that many of the soldiers it was paying did not exist and that there were only about 19,000 soldiers in the army, as opposed to the 24,000 that had been previously believed. Government crackdowns against the practice are thought to have been a factor in a failed military mutiny in May 2004.

The current conflict, in which the Chadian military is involved, is the civil war against Sudanese-backed rebels. Chad successfully manages to repel the rebel movements, but recently, with some losses (see Battle of N'Djamena (2008)

Battle of N'Djamena (2008)

The Battle of N'Djamena began on February 2, 2008 when Chadian rebel forces opposed to Chadian President Idriss Déby entered N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, after a three-day advance through the country. The rebels were initially successful, taking a large part of the city and attacking the heavily...

). The army uses its artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

systems and tanks, but well-equipped insurgents have probably managed to destroy over 20 of Chad's 60 tanks, and probably shot down a Mi-24 Hind gunship

Gunship

The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...

, which has bombed enemy positions near the border with Sudan

Sudan

. In November 2006 Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

supplied Chad with four Aermacchi SF.260W light attack planes. They are used to strike enemy positions by the Chadian Air Force, but one has been shot down by rebels. During the last battle of N'Djamena

N'Djamena

N'Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. A port on the Chari River, near the confluence with the Logone River, it directly faces the Cameroonian town of Kousséri, to which the city is connected by a bridge. It is also a special statute region, divided in 10 arrondissements. It is a...

gunships and tanks have been put to good use, pushing armed militia forces back from the Presidential palace. The battle impacted the highest levels of the army leadership, as Daoud Soumain

Daoud Soumain

Daoud Soumain was the Chadian Chief of Army Staff. While Deputy Chief of Staff he was given in 2003 command of the Chadian contingent sent in the Central African Republic, which had been sent to consolidate the CAR President François Bozizé's rule as he had just risen to power...

, its Chief of Staff, was killed.

Spending

The CIA World Factbook estimates the military budget of Chad to be 4,2% of GDP as of 2006.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cd.html. Given the current GDP ($7.095 bln) of the country, military spending is roughly estimated to be $297,990,000.

Small arms

FAMAS

The FAMAS is a bullpup-styled assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS located in Saint-Étienne, which is now a member of the French government-owned Nexter group...

assault rifle Type 56 assault rifle

Type 56 Assault Rifle

The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, which has been manufactured since 1956. It was produced by State Factory 66 from 1956-73, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards.-Service history:...

AK-47

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

/AKM

AKM

The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....

AR M16 Rifle

M16 rifle

The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...

AR FN MAG

FN MAG

The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...

LMGBrowning machine gun M2HB HMG RPK

RPK

The RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...

light machine gun RPG-7

RPG-7

The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...

APILAS

APILAS is a portable one-shot 112 mm recoilless anti-tank weapon, designed in France by GIAT Industries...

112mm light ATRL M72 LAW

M72 LAW

The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...

light ATRL M-61 81mm Medium-Mortar 60mm Light Mortar

Vehicles

T-62M

T-62

The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be...

main battle tank (12 captured from Libya- status unknown) T-55

T-55

The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...

main battle tank (~40)(a total of 113 T-55 MBTs+3 T-54 MBTs captured from Libya) Technical (fighting vehicle)

Technical (fighting vehicle)

A technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to provide an offensive capability similar to a military gun truck...

BTR-80UM

BTR-80

BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...

APC (24)
BTR-3U

BTR-3

The BTR-3 is an 8×8-wheeled armored personnel carrier was designed by Adcom Manufacturing from UAE in 2000/2001 and manufactured by KMDB in Ukraine. The most significant of exports was to the Myanmar Army which acquired 1,000 BTR-3Us, to be assembled in Myanmar...

APC (12)
Panhard

Panhard

Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...

VABVTT

Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé

The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB is an armoured personnel carrier and support vehicle designed by the Euro Mobilité Division of GIAT Industries of France. It entered service in 1976; around 5,000 were produced.- Design :The VAB was designed as a wheeled troop transporter, complementing the...

(25) APC BRDM-2

BRDM-2

The BRDM-2 is an amphibious armoured patrol car used by Russia and the former Soviet Union. It was also known under designations BTR-40PB, BTR-40P-2 and GAZ 41-08...

APC (10) Humvee ERC 90 Sagaie

ERC 90 Sagaie

The Panhard ERC 90 is a French six-wheeled armoured all terrain vehicle which is highly mobile and amphibious with an option of being NBC-proof. While various models were tested, only two versions of the ERC were developed and produced: the Lynx and the Sagaie...

armored car (4) VBC-90

VBC-90

The VBC-90 is a 6x6 armoured car equipped with a 90 mm high velocity gun in a GIAT TS 90 rotating turret.It equips the armoured squadron of the Mobile Gendarmerie, with 32 units built....

armored car (40)

Belgium Improved AML-90

Panhard AML

-Former Operators:: unknown number of AML-60s and AML-90s in service between 1960-1975.: 34 Eland 90s and Eland 60s in service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1979, passed on to successor state.-Trivia:...

\Eland

Eland Mk7

The Eland is a South African light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Its permanent 4x4 drive gives it its mobility, and it can carry either a 90 mm quick firing low pressure gun, or a 60 mm breech loading mortar as main weapons...

-90(improved in Belgium) armored car-(82) Panhard AML-90\60

Panhard AML

armored car (95) Cadillac Gage LAV V-150 Commando with 90mm Gun (11) Engesa EE-9 Cascavel

EE-9 Cascavel

The EE-9 Cascavel is a 6 x 6 armoured car developed in the 1970s by Engesa of Brazil. It used as many commercially available parts as possible. It also shares many components with the EE-11 Urutu APC...

ARV (20) BMP-1

BMP-1

The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...

AIFV (265) BTR-60PB APC (20)
RAM-2000 APC (37) WZ-551B

WZ551

The WZ551 is a Chinese wheeled armored personnel carrier. It is actually consisted of two families of vehicles with official designations in the People's Liberation Army as Type 90 and Type 92. Roughly 600 WZ551s are in service with the PLA, where they are used by light mechanized infantry units...

APC (10) ZFB-05 Xinxing APC (10) Panhard M3

Panhard M3

The Panhard M3 VTT , armoured personnel carrier was designed as a private venture with the first prototype completed in 1969. The prototype had a single door in each side of the hull and twin doors in the hull rear...

APC (15) Land-Rover 4x4 (24) Ford M-151A-1 4x4 with M-40A-1 106mm RCL (30) Toyota 4x4 (60 with 14.5mm HMGs) (400) Mercedes-Benz Unimog(228) Mercedes-Benz L-2426 Recovery Truck (12) Mercedes-Benz AFV Transporter (43) Sovamag ACMAT VLAR 2.5ton

ACMAT

ACMAT , is a French producer of cross-country and tactical military vehicles since 1958...

trucks M-35A-1 trucks

Artillery

BM-21

The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...

- 4

Kingdom of Bulgaria 2S21 122mm SPH (10) M-46

130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)

The 130 mm towed field gun M-46 M1954 is a manually loaded, towed 130 mm artillery piece, manufactured in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. It was first observed by the west in 1954...

howitzer -( 6), from Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

105 mm M101 howitzer

M101 howitzer

The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...

-(10)D-30(ZA-18)122mm Towed-Howitzer-(22) Brandt

Edgar Brandt

Edgar William Brandt was a French ironworker, prolific weapons designer and head of a company that designed 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars that were very widely copied throughout and subsequent to World War II...

AM-50 120mm Heavy-Mortar (10)

Air defence

ZPU-4

The ZPU-4 is a towed, quadruple-barreled anti-aircraft gun based on the Soviet KPV 14.5 mm machine gun. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1949 and is used by over 50 countries worldwide...

1\2\4 14.5mmZSU-23-4

ZSU-23-4

The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". The "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters. The "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It...

4x23mm GunDish\Shilka SP-AAG (4) Panhard AML-20

Panhard AML

2x20mm SP-AAG (6) ZU-23x2 2x23mm Towed AAG (16) 30mm Towed AAG 20mm Towed AAGSA-6 Gainful\9K-12 SP-SAM Launcher(captured from Libya) (12)SA-13 Gopher\9K-35 Strela-10 SP-SAM Launchrer(captured from Libya) (4) FIM-92 Stinger

FIM-92 Stinger

The FIM-92 Stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile , which can be adapted to fire from ground vehicles and helicopters , developed in the United States and entered into service in 1981. Used by the militaries of the U.S...

(30) FIM-43B

FIM-43 Redeye

The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye was a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It used infrared homing to track its target. Production was terminated in September 1969 after about 85,000 rounds had been built - in anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stinger...

Redeye MANPAD (130) SA-7B Grail\9K-32 Strela-2

Antitank Weapons

Germany MBDA MILAN

MILAN

MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...

ATGM Launcher (50 launchers\400 missiles) BGM-71C TOW

BGM-71 TOW

The BGM-71 TOW is an anti-tank missile. "BGM" is a weapon classification that stands for "Multiple Environment , Surface-Attack , Missile ". "TOW" is an acronym that stands for "Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire command data link, guided missile"...

ATGM Launcher (5 launchers\50 missiles) ERYX

ERYX

ERYX is a short-range portable SACLOS-based wire-guided anti-tank missile produced by European company MBDA. It is used by several countries, including the Canadian Army, French, and Norwegian armies. The weapon can also be used against bunkers and pillboxes. It also has some capability in the...

ATGM Launcher B-11

B-11 recoilless rifle

The B-11 recoilless rifle is a Soviet 107 mm smoothbore recoilless rifle. It entered service in 1954, and was typically towed by a 6x6 ZIL-157 truck or a UAZ 4x4 truck.Designed by KBM, Kolomna....

107mm RCL M-40A1

M40 recoilless rifle

The M40 recoilless rifle was a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States...

-C-1 106mm RCL

History

Spending

Small arms

Vehicles

Artillery

Air defence

Antitank Weapons

See also