Azerbaijani Armed Forces
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92, Azerbaijan's armed forces were reformed based on Soviet bases and equipment left on Azerbaijani soil.
| Azerbaijani Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri | |
Coat of arms of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces | |
| Current form | 9 October 1991 |
| Service branches | Azerbaijani Land Forces Azerbaijani Navy Azerbaijani Air Force |
| Headquarters | Baku |
| Website | mod |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Ilham Aliyev |
| Defence Minister | Colonel General Zakir Hasanov |
| Chief of General Staff | Colonel General Karim Valiyev |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years |
| Conscription | 12–18 months for ground forces |
| Available for military service | 3,000,000, age 18–49 |
| Active personnel | 126,400 |
| Reserve personnel | 300,000 |
| Deployed personnel | 122 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $2.097 billion (2023) |
| Percent of GDP | 5.26% |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | List
Azerbaijan Defense Industry State Border Service Naval Shipyard |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Armenian–Azerbaijani War (1918–1920) Battle of Baku (1918) Azerbaijan during World War II First Nagorno-Karabakh War 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (Operation Iron Fist) |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Azerbaijan |
The armed forces have three branches: the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force, and the Azerbaijani Navy. Associated forces include the Azerbaijani National Guard, the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, and the State Border Service, which can be involved in state defense under certain circumstances.
According to the Azerbaijani media sources, the military expenditures of Azerbaijan for 2009 were set at US$2.46 billion, however according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, only $1.473 billion was spent that year. IISS also suggests that the defence budget in 2009 was $1.5 billion. The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan supervises the design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of military equipment. In the future, Azerbaijan hopes to start building tanks, armored vehicles, military planes and military helicopters.