Belarus is a small Eastern European nation with a large and well-equipped military and defense capability. The Armed Forces of Belarus consists of approximately 60,000 personnel and is responsible for protecting the country’s territorial waters and airspace. The Armed Forces is equipped with modern military hardware including tanks, aircraft, and warships. Belarus also maintains close ties with its neighbors through bilateral agreements such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In addition to this, the country has actively participated in regional security initiatives such as Exercise Zapad which is held annually between Russia and Belarus. Belarus is also a member of several international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe (COE). See naturegnosis to learn more about the country of Belarus.
Defense
The defense is based on general military duty with an initial service of 9-12 months and (2007) after extensive reductions to 73,000 men. The army, about 30,000 men, is reorganized into a brigade structure with three mechanized brigades and has a considerably large firepower in the form of tanks (1,500 units) and artillery (rocket) units (1,500 units). The Air Force consists of 18,000 men with 175 fighter aircraft (40 MiG 29) and 75 attack helicopters. The reserves amount to 110,000 men, of which border guard troops 12,000 men. The material is semi-modern and of Soviet origin. To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that BEL stands for Belarus.
| Land area | 207,600 km² |
| Total population | 9,477,918 |
| Residents per km² | 45.7 |
| Capital | Minsk |
| Official language | Belarusian, Russian |
| Income per capita | $ 18,900 |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble |
| ISO 3166 code | BY |
| Internet TLD | .by |
| License plate | BY |
| Telephone code | +375 |
| Time zone UTC | +3 |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 O |
The Russian-controlled strategic robot forces have been discontinued, and all nuclear warheads have been brought to the Russian Federation. All Russian combat forces except four robot air defense units (SA 10) have left Belarus. Defense costs in 1996–2006 fell from 4.2% to 0.8% of GDP.
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Belarus defense overview
It is public duty for men from the age of 18; the initial service is from 12 to 18 months. In 1995, Belarus joined the NATO Partnership for Peace program. The total force figures for Belarus armed forces are 45,350 active personnel, with a common reserve of 289,500 personnel (2018, IISS). In addition there are 110,000 semi-military, including 12,000 border guards and a militia of 87,000.
Army
The army’s strength is 10 700 active personnel. Materials include 542 tanks of a T-72, 932 armored vehicles, 58 armored personnel carriers, 160 armored fighters and 333 self-propelled artillery. In addition, the army has heavy artillery, short range air defense missiles and light air defense artillery.
Air Force
The Air Force has a workforce of 11,750 active personnel. Material comprising 34 fighters of a MiG-29, 22 attack aircraft of the type Su-25, eight transport aircraft, eight trainers, and 38 helicopters (including 12 combat helicopters of the type Mi-24). In addition, the Air Force has long range air defense missiles.
International operations
Belarus participated in five UN personnel in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 2018.