The Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea (; ; ) consists of approximately 2,500 service members. The army has almost 1,400 soldiers, the navy 200 service members, and the air force about 120 members. There is also a gendarmerie, but the number of members is unknown. The Gendarmerie is a new branch of the service in which training and education is being supported by the French Military Cooperation in Equatorial Guinea. Military appointments are all reviewed by President Teodoro Obiang, and few of the native militiamen come from outside of Obiang's Mongomo-based Esangui clan. Obiang was a general when he overthrew his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema.

History

The Armed Forces were reorganized in 1979. In 1988, the United States donated a 68-foot patrol boat to the Equatoguinean navy to patrol its exclusive economic zone. The U.S. patrol boat Isla de Bioko is no longer operational.U.S. Department of State, Equatorial Guinea Background Note 01/02 U.S. military-to-military engagement has been dormant since 1997 (the year of the last Joint Combined Exchange Training exercise). Between 1984 and 1992, service members went regularly to the United States on the International Military Education Training program, after which funding for this program for Equatorial Guinea ceased. The government spent 6.5% of its annual budget on defense in 2000 and 4.5% of its budget on defense in 2001. It recently acquired some Chinese artillery pieces, some Ukrainian patrol boats, and some Ukrainian helicopter gunships. Cooper and Weinert 2010 says that all aircraft are based on the military side of Malabo International Airport.Cooper and Weinert 2010, p142

In 2002, an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report said:

Equipment Armour

NameOriginTypeIn serviceNotes Armored fighting vehicle T-55 Soviet Union Main battle tank 3 BRDM-2 Soviet Union Armored scout car 6 BMP-1 Soviet Union IFV 20 Acquired from the Czech Republic in 2007. BTR-152 Soviet Union Armoured personnel carrier 10 Reva South Africa Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected 25 WZ-551 China IFV Unknown number, IFV, recovery and fire-support variants seen. Pantsir-S1 Russia Anti-aircraft artillery 2Equatorial Guinea buys Pantsir S1 Air Defense SystemArmy-2017: Equatorial Guinea purchases two KBP's Pantsir-S1 air defense systems 2508172

Small arms

NameOriginTypeNotesAKMSoviet UnionAssault rifleFN FALBelgiumBattle rifleRPDSoviet UnionLight machine gunRPG-7Soviet UnionRocket-propelled grenadeType 56ChinaAssault rifleSKS/Type 56 CarbineSoviet Union/ChinaSemi-automatic carbine

Aircraft The Equatorial Guinea Air Corps was founded in 1979 with mainly French and Spanish air frames. In 2005, 4 Su 25s including 2 Su-25UB combat trainers were delivered to the Equatorial Guinea Air Corps. The current status of the aircraft is unknown."Equatorial Guinea National Guard". Scramble.nl. Retrieved: 3 January 2009. In 2015 two CASA C-295 (one transport and one surveillance) aircraft were ordered for delivery from September 2016.

Current inventory AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotesCombat aircraftSukhoi Su-25Russiaattack2TransportIlyushin Il-76Soviet Unionheavy transport 1Antonov AN-12Soviet Unionheavy transport1Antonov An-72Soviet UniontransportAn-72P2 Let L-410 TurboletCzech Republictransport 2Antonov An-32Soviet UniontransportAn-32B1 Dassault Falcon 900FranceVIP transport1 HelicoptersMil Mi-24Soviet UnionattackMi-24P/V7Kamov Ka-27RussiautilityKa-291Mil Mi-26Russiautility / transport1Mil Mi-17Soviet Unionutility1Harbin Z-9 ChinautilityZ-9WE2Las Fuerzas Armadas de Guinea Ecuatorial se dotan con dos helicópteros chinos Harbin Z-9Bell 206United Statesutility1Enstrom 480United Statesutility1Trainer aircraftAero L-39Czech Republicjet trainer2Sukhoi Su-25Soviet UnionJet trainer2

Navy

The Equatorial Guinean main task is to counter piracy and robbery at sea. In July 2010, after the visit of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, an order for a Barroso-class corvette was announced. However, no further news has been announced. On 3 June 2014, the frigate Wele Nzas was commissioned and became the navy's flagship.

VesselOriginTypeIn serviceNotes Wele Nzas (F073) Bulgaria Frigate1 Ukrainian designed - modified locally Bata Bulgaria Corvette1Ukrainian design PV-50 Ukraine Patrol vessel2 Isla de Corisco Israel Patrol boat1 Isla de Annobon Israel Patrol boat1Shaldag class Sa'ar 4 class Israel Patrol boat2 Osa China Landing ship1 Salamandra class Daphne Denmark Patrol boat1

Higher education and training On 6 November 2016, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces deployed a training contingent to the Equatorial Guinea to train the country's military officers on operational and logistic matters following an urgent request by the West African country. The security personnel contingent is composed of members of the Zimbabwe National Army and Air Force of Zimbabwe. In 2018, 28 graduates from the military received diplomas from the Nakhimov Naval Academy in Sevastopol.

Notes

References

Further reading Cooper, Tom & Weinert, Peter (2010). African MiGs: Volume I: Angola to Ivory Coast. Harpia Publishing LLC. . Jeremy Binnie, 'Boom Time – Equatorial Guinea,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 30 May 2012. Рост военно-морской мощи Экваториальной Гвинеи и украинские корни этого роста (The growth of Equatorial Guinea's naval power and the Ukrainian roots of this growth)