Factbox: Military Capabilities Of Azerbaijan And Armenia

FACTBOX-MILITARY CAPABILITIES OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Reuters
Sept 11 2012
UK

(Reuters) – Here is a look at the military capabilities of Azerbaijan
and Armenia. The “frozen conflict” between the two has been punctuated
by heated rhetoric and skirmishes across their common border and a
line of contact around the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

AZERBAIJAN’S ARMED FORCES:

TOTAL: Active – 66,940; Reserve – 300,000

ARMY: 56,840

Main Battle Tanks – 339 including 95 T-55 and 244 T-72

Armoured Infantry Fighting vehicles – 111

Armoured personnel carriers – 347

Artillery pieces – 458

NAVY: 2,220

Patrol and coastal vessels – 8

Coastal Mine Hunter – Mine warfare/inshore – 4

Amphibious – 6

AIR FORCE: 7,990

Combat capable aircraft – 44

14 Fighters – MiG-29 Fulcrum

11 Fighter ground attack aircraft – including 4 MiG-21 Fishbed,
4 Su-17 Fitter, 1 Su-17U Fitter, Su-24 Fencert

19 Attack aircraft – 16 Su-25 Frogfoot, 3 Su-25UB Frogfoot B

Transport aircraft – 4

Helicopters – 26 Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters, 40 transport

OTHER FORCES: 15,000 paramilitaries including border guards and
militia.

DEFENCE BUDGET: 2010 $1.59 billion (992.5 million pounds), 2011
$1.68 billion

Azerbaijan’s armed forces have yet to make a successful transition from
Soviet-era times despite the growth of the defence budget from rising
oil revenue. Armed forces still rely on conscription and the standard
of available equipment remains uncertain. Azerbaijan has contributed
a small contingent to the International Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan (ISAF).

ARMENIA’S ARMED FORCES:

TOTAL: 48,834 – active, reserves some mobilisation, possibly around
210,000

ARMY: 45,846 including 25,880 conscripts

Main Battle Tanks – 110 including 3 T-54, 5 T-55, 102 T-72

Armoured Infantry Fighting vehicles – 104

Armoured personnel carriers – 136

Artillery pieces – 239

AIR FORCE AND AIR DEFENCE: 1,061

Combat capable aircraft 16

1 fighter MiG-25 Foxbat

15 Fighter ground attack aircraft Su-25 Frogfoot

Transport aircraft – 2

Helicopters – 8 Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters, 10 multi-role, 9
light transport

OTHER FORCES: There is a paramilitary force of 6,694 consisting of
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Border troops.

DEFENCE BUDGET: 2010 $436 million, 2011 $395 million

Armenia’s army is primarily focused on territorial defence given
the tensions with Azerbaijan and is still strongly based on Russian
military thinking. However Armenia contributes to ISAF in Afghanistan,
enabling its troops to benefit from their NATO counterparts. The
IISS says in its latest Military Balance that Armenia’s air force
“reportedly struggles with serviceability and maintenance while
Russia’s air force provides national air defence from a leased base”.