Congolese People's Army

From Roach Busters

Current revision as of 07:34, 21 August 2008

The 25,000-member Congolese People's Army (French: Armée Populaire Congolais) is the branch of the Congolese armed forces tasked with the land defense of the nation. The army comprises the majority of the military's personnel and also receives the highest budget and the best standard of training. While the army is relatively well-equipped and trained, its combat effectiveness remains the subject of speculation. Some Western analysts report that a system of patronage ensures that advancement is based on loyalty rather than merit, that much of the army's equipment is inoperable, and that some units periodically experience shortages of fuel, spare parts, and munitions. Tribalism is also believed to be rampant within the army.

The army's military capability is uneven, with some units more capable than others. For the most part, however, the army is not a combat-effective organization. The problems are manifold: ineffective leadership detracts from tactical and technical proficiency as well as morale; poor maintenance results in insufficient resources for mission accomplishment; and lack of funds limits the army's ability to purchase sufficient amounts of equipment or to pay soldiers a living wage. These conditions have long existed in almost all regular units and combine to keep capability at minimum levels.

A considerable portion of military equipment is not operational, primarily as a result of shortages of spare parts, poor maintenance, and theft. Several factors complicate maintenance in army units. Maintenance personnel often lack the training necessary to maintain modern military equipment. Moreover, the wide variety of military equipment and the staggering array of spare parts necessary to maintain it not only clog the logistic network but also are expensive.

The army, like the other components of the armed forces, is modelled largely on Soviet lines, and the vast majority of its equipment originates from the Eastern bloc.

[edit] Units

[edit] Divisions

• 1 motor rifle division
• 1 presidential guard division

[edit] Brigades

• 2 motor rifle brigades
• 1 tank brigade
• 1 airborne brigade
• 1 special forces brigade

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Small arms

• Makarov PM 9mm pistol
• AK-47 7.62mm assault rifle
• AK-74 5.45mm assault rifle
• AKS-74U 5.45mm carbine
• PP-19 Bizon 9mm submachine gun
• RPK 7.62mm light machine gun
• PK 7.62mm general purpose machine gun
• DShK 12.7mm heavy machine gun
• Dragunov 7.62mm sniper rifle
• AGS-17 30mm automatic grenade launcher
• RPG-7 40mm rocket launcher

[edit] Main battle tanks

• T-55 x40
• T-62 x20
• T-72 x10

[edit] Light tanks

• PT-76 x13

[edit] Armored reconnaissance vehicles

• BRDM-2 x60
• BRDM-1 x28

[edit] Armored personnel carriers

• BMD-1 x12
• BTR-40 x60
• BTR-60 x24
• BTR-70 x15
• BTR-152 x250
• BMP-2 (unknown quantity)
• MT-LB x12

[edit] Towed artillery

• S-23 (180mm) x8
• 2A36 (152mm) x30
• 152M1955 (152mm) x15
• 2A18 (122mm) x20
• D-44 (85mm) x20

[edit] Multiple rocket launchers

• BM-27 (220mm) x10
• BM-21 (122mm) x20

[edit] Mortars

• M1938 mortar (120mm) x50
• 2B9 Vasilek (82mm) (unknown quantity)
• 2B14-1 (82mm) (unknown quantity)

[edit] Recoilless launchers

• B-11 (107mm) (unknown quantity)
• B-10 (82mm) (unknown quantity)
• SPG-9 (73mm) (unknown quantity)

[edit] Antiaircraft guns

• KS-30 (130mm) (unknown quantity)
• AZP S-60 (57mm) (unknown quantity)
• ZU-23-2 (23mm) x40
• ZPU-4 (14.5mm) (unknown quantity)

[edit] Surface-to-air missiles

• SA-8 Gecko (9K33 Osa)

[edit] Surface-to-surface missiles

• AT-11 Sniper (9M119 Svir)
• AT-12 Swinger (9K118 Sheksna)