Rapid Deployment Force (Argentina)

Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic
Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina
Coat of arms of Argentina
Current form	9 September 1948
Service branches	Army Navy Air Force National Gendarmerie Naval Prefecture
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Mauricio Macri
Minister of Defense	Julio César Martinez
Chief of the EMC	Lieutenant general VGMBari del Valle Sosa
Manpower
Military age	18 years old
Active personnel	83.514 (2018)
Expenditures
Percent of GDP	0.8%
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Argentine defense industry
Foreign suppliers	United States  France  Germany  Spain  Israel  Brazil  Austria  Russia  China  Italy  Belgium  India
Related articles
History	Military history of Argentina
Ranks	Military ranks of Argentina

The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are two security forces, controlled by the Ministry of Security, which can be mobilized in occasion of an armed conflict: the National Gendarmerie, a gendarmerie used to guard borders and places of strategic importance; and the Naval Prefecture, a coast guard used to protect internal major rivers and maritime territory.

Traditionally, Argentina maintains close defense cooperation and military-supply relationships with the United States and to a lesser extent, with Israel, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Belarus, Italy, and Russia.

The Argentine military, as has been the tendency in other Latin American countries, were considerably more influential in former times. Starting in 1930 and throughout the 20th century, democratic governments were more often than not interrupted by military coups (see History of Argentina). The terrible consequences of the last dictatorship destroyed the military image as the moral reserve of the nation and opened the way to transform them into today's armed forces.

After the Revolución Libertadora coup that deposed president Juan Domingo Perón in 1955, the armed forces split into opposing sectors named Azules y colorados ("Blues and Reds"). The fight would end in 1963 with military clashes and the defeat of the reds who were opposed to Perón.