Congolese People's Army

From Roach Busters

The 50,000-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 the senior leadership is heavily biased in favor of the President's family and tribe, and that a system of patronage ensures that advancement is based on loyalty rather than merit, but scant evidence exists to support or refute these claims. 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.

Contents 1 Units 1.1 Divisions 1.2 Brigades 2 Equipment 2.1 Small arms 2.2 Main battle tanks 2.3 Light tanks 2.4 Armored reconnaissance vehicles 2.5 Armored personnel carriers 2.6 Towed artillery 2.7 Multiple rocket launchers 2.8 Mortars 2.9 Recoilless launchers 2.10 Antiaircraft guns 2.11 Surface-to-air missiles 2.12 Surface-to-surface missiles

Units

Divisions

• 3 motor rifle divisions
• 1 presidential guard division

Brigades

• 4 motor rifle brigades
• 2 tank brigades
• 2 airborne brigades
• 2 special forces brigades

Equipment

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

Main battle tanks

• T-55 x80
• T-62 x40
• T-72 x20

Light tanks

• PT-76 x26

Armored reconnaissance vehicles

• BRDM-2 x120
• BRDM-1 x60

Armored personnel carriers

• BMD-1 x24
• BTR-40 x120
• BTR-60 x48
• BTR-70 x30
• BTR-152 x500
• BMP-2 (unknown quantity)
• MT-LB x24

Towed artillery

• S-23 (180mm) x16
• 2A36 (152mm) x60
• 152M1955 (152mm) x30
• 2A18 (122mm) x40
• D-44 (85mm) x40

Multiple rocket launchers

• BM-27 (220mm) x20
• BM-21 (122mm) x40

Mortars

• M1938 mortar (120mm) x100
• 2B9 Vasilek (82mm) (unknown quantity)
• 2B14-1 (82mm) (unknown quantity)

Recoilless launchers

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

Antiaircraft guns

• KS-30 (130mm) (unknown quantity)
• AZP S-60 (57mm) (unknown quantity)
• ZU-23-2 (23mm) x80
• ZPU-4 (14.5mm) (unknown quantity)

Surface-to-air missiles

• SA-8 Gecko (9K33 Osa)

Surface-to-surface missiles

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