Tunisian Armed Forces | |
---|---|
القوات المسلحة التونسية | |
Founded | 24 June 1956 |
Service branches |
Army Air Force Navy |
Headquarters | Tunis |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief | President Béji Caïd Essebsi |
Minister of National Defense | Farhat Horchani |
Chief of Staff | Brigadier General Ismail Fathalli |
Manpower | |
Active personnel | 45,000 - 60,000 |
Deployed personnel | Unknown number in UN Missions |
Expenditures | |
Percent of GDP | 1.6% |
Industry | |
Foreign suppliers |
United States France Brazil Italy Austria Turkey South Korea Germany Sweden Spain Australia Belgium |
Related articles | |
History |
Bizerte Crisis |
Bizerte Crisis
Yom Kippur War
UNAMIR
Battle of Wazzin
ISIL insurgency in Tunisia
The Tunisian Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة التونسية) consist of the Tunisian Army, Air Force and Navy.
As of 2012, Tunisia had an army of 40,500 personnel equipped with 84 main battle tanks and 48 light tanks. The Air Force had 4,000 personnel, 27 combat aircraft and 43 helicopters. The navy numbered 4,800 operating 25 patrol boats and 6 other craft. Paramilitary forces consisted of a 12,000-member national guard. Tunisia participates in United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the DROC (MONUSCO) and Côte d'Ivoire. Previous United Nations peacekeeping deployments for the Tunisian armed forces have included Cambodia (UNTAC), Namibia (UNTAG), Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia/Eritrea (UNMEE), and the 1960s mission in the Congo, ONUC.
The former minister of defence was .
The modern Tunisian army was formed in 1831 by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud. During the period of the French Protectorate (1881–1956) Tunisians were recruited in significant numbers into the French Army, serving as tirailleurs (infantry) and spahis (cavalry). These units saw active service in Europe during both World Wars, as well as in Indo-China prior to 1954. The only exclusively Tunisian military force permitted under French rule was the Beylical Guard.