Military of Peru

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Military of Peru Fuerzas Armadas del Perú
T-55 tanks at a parade in Lima, Peru.
Branches of service
Peruvian Army Peruvian Navy Peruvian Air Force
Leadership
Headquarters:	The Little Pentagon
Commander-in-Chief:	Alan Garcia Perez
Minister of Defense:	Allan Wagner Tizón
Chief of staff:	Jorge Montoya Manrique
Personnel
Active personnel:	120,658 (2001)^[1]
Military age:	17-45 years old^[2]
Conscript service:	Two years
Industry
Annual spending:	$775 million (2003 est.)^[3]
Percent of GDP spent on military:	1.3% (2003 est.)^[4]
History
Founded:	1821
Ranks and insignia

The Peruvian Armed Forces are composed of an Army, a Navy and an Air Force. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any threat. As a secondary mission they participate in economic and social development as well as in civil defense tasks.^[5]

1 Personnel
2 Army
3 Navy
4 Air Force
5 Notes
6 External links
7 See also

[edit] Personnel

Personnel (as of 2001)^[6]
Commissioned Officers	10,337
Non-commissioned officers	38,008
Cadets	2,108
NCO in training	2,549
Enlisted	67,356
Civilians	26,570
Total	120,658 (excl. civilians)

[edit] Army

Main article: Peruvian Army

Headquartered in Lima, it has a strength of 75 thousand troops divided in four military regions with headquarters in Piura, Lima, Arequipa and Iquitos. Every military region assigned several brigades of which there are different types, including infantry, cavalry and armored. There are also several groups and battalions which operate independently.

The equipment of the Peruvian Army includes several types of tanks (T-55 and AMX-13), armoured personnel carriers (M-113, UR-416), artillery (D30, M101, M109 and M114 howitzers), antiaircraft systems (ZSU-23-4 Shilka) and helicopters (Mil Mi-2, Mil Mi-17).

[edit] Navy

Main article: Peruvian Navy

De Ruyter class cruiser Almirante Grau (CLM 81) firing its Bofors 152/53 mm guns.

Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Perú) is organized in five naval zones headquartered in Piura, Lima, Arequipa, Iquitos and Pucallpa. It has a strength of around 25 thousand troops divided between the Pacific Operations and the Amazon Operations General Commands and the Coast Guard.

The Pacific fleet flagship is the cruiser BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81), named for the XIX-century Peruvian Admiral which fought in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). The fleet also includes 8 Lupo class frigates (two of which were built in Peru during the 80's), 1 Daring class destroyer, 6 PR-72 class corvettes, 4 Terrebonne Parish class landing ships, 6 Type 209/1200 class German-built diesel submarines (the biggest submarine force in South America), as well as patrol vessels, tankers and cargo ships.

Peruvian Navy has also a naval aviation force, several naval infantry battalions and special forces units.

[edit] Air Force

Main article: Peruvian Air Force

Peruvian Bell 212 armed with rocket pods.

On May 20, 1929, the aviation divisions of the Peruvian army and navy were merged into the Peruvian Aviation Corps (CAP, Cuerpo de Aviación del Peru). In 1950, the corps was reorganized again and became the Peruvian Air Force (FAP, Fuerza Aérea del Perú).

The Peruvian Air Force is divided into 6 wing areas, headquartered in Piura, Chiclayo, Lima, Arequipa, Rioja and Iquitos. With a strength of 35 thousand troops, the FAP counts in its arsenal with MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Mirage 5 and SU-22 supersonic aircraft.

It also counts with Su-25 close-support aircraft, as well as Mi-25 antitank helicopters, Mi-8, Mi-17 transport helicopters, and Aermacchi MB-339, Cessna A-37B and Embraer EMB-312 Tucano subsonic aircraft.

In 1995, the FAP took part in the Cenepa War against Ecuador covering operations by the army and navy. After the war, the FAP began acquiring new material, especially MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack fighters which are, along with the Mirage 2000 fighters, the main combat elements of the FAP.

[edit] Notes

^ http://www.resdal.org/art-rial.htm, based on Supreme Decree DS No. 69 DE/SG of 2001.
^ Ley Nº 27178 Ley del Servicio Militar, http://www.ejercito.mil.pe/transpar/dispos_legales/ley27178.doc
^ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Ministerio de Defensa, http://first.sipri.org/non_first/milex.php.
^ Ministerio de Defensa, Libro Blanco de la Defensa Nacional. Ministerio de Defensa, 2005, 90.