Albanian Land Force

Albanian Land Force
Forca Tokësore
Active 2000–present
Country  Albania
Allegiance Republic of Albania
Type Army
Role National Defense
Size 8,500 (2015)[1]
Motto(s) Fatherland, Honour, And Duty
Commanders
President of Albania Ilir Meta
Minister of Defense Olta Xhaçka
Chief of the Albanian General Staff Maj. Gen.
Bardhyl Kollçaku
Commander of the Land Forces Brig. Gen.
Nazmi Cahani
Insignia
Identification symbol

The Albanian Land Force (Albanian: Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is a branch of the Albanian Armed Forces.

Mission

The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Albania, participation in humanitarian, combat, non-combat and peace support operations.[2]

History

A British Royal Marine posing with an Albanian Commando (right), both showing their shoulder patches.

Land Force is a priority unit in the structure of the Armed Forces. Land Force was established on August 29, 2000, and included military units with traditions and rich multi-year activity, spread across the territory of the Republic of Albania. In 2000 the Land Force included five infantry divisions with 55 brigades and 300 battalions deployed in 167 different regions of the country. During its continuous reform, the Land Force underwent new changes. In 2006 it was dissolved and the Joint Force Command was established. In the context of the ongoing transformation of the Armed Forces, based on the concept of an army small in number, operational and professional, on 9 December 2009 the Land Force was re-established on the basis of Rapid Reaction Brigade and Commando Regiment.

Based on the constitutional mission, the Land Force was involved in a process of profound transformation according to Western military concepts, and with the transition of the entire force from a conscript military service into a professional army, its operational level has increased. The structures of Land Force have been engaged in Peace Support Operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Chad and currently in Herat and Kandahar, Afghanistan. Land Force has the major share in peacekeeping operations in the framework of NATO, UN and EU. The Land Force is managed by young qualified leaders educated in military schools of NATO countries, as in the United States, Italy, Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, etc., based on cooperation projects with these countries.

Land Force is engaged in civil emergency operations to help the community in cases of natural disasters, such as floods and blocked roads, and aid in distribution in cases of heavy snowfalls, fire suppression operations, etc.

Since its establishment the Land Force has been led by experienced commanders. From 2000-06 it was headed by Maj. Gen. Kostaq Karoli; from 2006-08 it was led by Brig. Gen. Shpëtim Spahiu; from 2008-August 2012 by Brig. Gen. Viktor Berdo. From August 2012 to November 2013 it has been commanded by Maj. Gen. Zyber Dushku. Since 11 November 2013, Maj. Gen. Jeronim Bazo has been Chief of Staff.

Structure

Organizational divisions of the land force include:

  • Command and Staff
  • Staff Support Company
  • Training Centre
  • “Zall-Herr” Garrison
  • 1st Infantry Battalion
  • 2nd Infantry Battalion
  • 3rd Infantry Battalion
  • Commando Battalion
  • Combat Support Battalion.[2]

Specific tasks

  • Maintaining and developing capacities to provide a high level of readiness.
  • Continuous and sufficient training to deal with the tasks that might be assigned to it.
  • Assisting the community in cases of humanitarian emergencies; supporting Search and Rescue Operations(SAR).
  • Cooperating with other national institutions in preventing illegal trafficking, smuggling of people and conventional weapons in Albania.
  • Training and participating with troops in peace support missions in the framework of NATO, EU and UN.

Equipment

Firearms

Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Carbines

In 2014, Minister of Defense Kodheli announced that Albania would transition from the Kalashnikov family of rifles to the M4 family, in part because of the association of the Kalashnikov with terrorism.[3]

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
M4 carbine5.56×45mm United StatesThe Colt M4, alongside the Beretta AR70/90, will be the standard weapon of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania replacing the different models of AK[4]
AKM7.62×39mm AlbaniaPhased out in favor of the M4 and the Beretta AR70/90.[4]
ASH-78 Tip-17.62×39mm AlbaniaPhased out in favor of the M4 and the Beretta AR70/90.[4]
Beretta AR70/905.56×45mm ItalyUsed by Albanian special forces (BFS), RENEA and Military Police. To become standard issue with 5.000 units delivered in 2017.[5]

Pistol and Submachine guns

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
Beretta Px4 Storm9×19mm ItalyStandard issue[6]
P8 Pistol9×19mm GermanyLimited use in the B.O.S.[7]
P12 Pistol.45 ACP GermanyLimited use in the B.O.S.[7]
Beretta 929×19mm ItalyIn use with the B.O.S.[8]
HK MP59×19mm GermanyStandard SMG in the B.O.S[9]
HK MP7HK 4.6×30mm GermanyLimited use in the B.O.S. Mostly used by the RENEA, the Albanian police[7][9]
HK UMP.45 ACP GermanyLimited use in the B.O.S.[9]

Sniper Rifles

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
Sako TRG.308 Winchester FinlandUsed by the Army, RENEA and B.O.S[10]
Barrett M99.50 BMG United StatesUsed by B.O.S and RENEA[11]

Machine Guns

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
Heckler & Koch MG45.56×45 NATO GermanyThe Commando Battalion was the first unit seen to use it in an exercise hel in late December 2015.It was also seen used by 2nd Infantry Battalion during exercises it participated in Poland. It will be used as a squad machinegun of the army[12]
DSHKM12.7×108mm Albania/ ChinaDSHKM is used as Close AA gun also on APCs, MBTs, transport vehicles and some times on patrol boats.[13]
RPD machine gun Albania/ Soviet UnionPhased out in favor of the H&K MG4/MG5

Anti Tank weapons and MANPADS

ImageCaliberOriginNote
Soviet RPG-7 and Chinese Type 6940 mm Soviet Union/ ChinaSoviet and Chinese version is still used in the army[13]
Strela-272 mm China/ Soviet Union
HJ-8 120 mm China Last seen in 2007 parade[14]

Mortar

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
82mm82mm Albania259
M-120120mm Israel550
M-43160mm Russia100

Armoured Vehicles

[15]

ModelImageCaliberOriginNote
Land Rover Defender Armoured Vehicle United Kingdom127
Iveco VM 90Armoured vehicle Italy250
Iveco LMVArmoured Vehicle Italy23 (+2 to be delivered by the end of 2017 alongside 5000 AR70/90 rifles from Italy. Also, Albania has shown interest in acquiring a further 120 vehicles of this type by the end of 2019 and 40 8x8 vehicles from Italy.)[16][17]
MRAPArmoured Vehicle United States50 (further to arrive after missions in Afghanistan are completed)
Nexter TitusArmoured Vehicle FranceNumber unknown yet but Albania has shown need for roughly 60 such vehicles by 2020. The vehicle was successfully trialed in 2016.
Nexter AravisArmoured Vehicle France5 (more on order as it is the likely replacement of many old Albanian armored fighting vehicles)[18]
M113Armoured Vehicle United States130[19]
YW-531Armoured Vehicle China103[20]

Tanks

ModelImageTypeOriginNotes
Type-59 Main Battle Tank China721+ delivered by China and used by Albanian government. Today most of them are retired and some are kept in storage.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mesi, Herion. "Sulmet nga terrorizmi, Shqipëria do të blejë raketa në një rreze 70 km - Gazeta SHQIP Online". www.gazeta-shqip.com.
  2. 1 2 "Land Force". Albanian Armed Forces. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Speech of Minister Kodheli held in the Parliament session of September 25, 2014". Albanian Ministry of Defence. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Forcat e Armatosura shqiptare 6 vjet në NATO" (in Albanian). Albanian Armed Forces. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Albanian Armed Forces newspaper". AAF Newspaper.
  6. ↑ "Trajnohen nga specialistët amerikanë, instruktorët e parë të pushkës M-4 dhe pistoletës Beretta PX Storm në FT" (in Albanian). Albanian Armed Forces. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "hk in albania". Youtube.com. 2007-12-26. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  8. ↑ Janq Designs. "Special Operations.Com". Special Operations.Com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  9. 1 2 3 "Small Arms List (Current and Former Types)".
  10. ↑ Eric R. Poole (April 2010). "Sako TRG-42 The quest for cold-bore accuracy stops here". Gunsandammo.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  11. ↑ User, Super. "Forcat e Armatosura shqiptare 6 vjet në NATO". aaf.mil.al.
  12. ↑ . Lajmi.net http://lajmi.net/ushtria-shqiptare-zbarkon-ne-mes-te-tiranes-foto/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. 1 2 3 Jones, Richard D.; Ness, Leland S., eds. (January 27, 2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 (35th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  14. ↑ "NORINCO HJ-8 (Hongjian-8) (Red Arrow-8) Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) (1985)". 15 June 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "SHBA "armatos" Shqipërinë, 250 blinda dhuratë për ushtrinë".
  16. ↑ "Albanian military buys new equipment for air and land forces".
  17. ↑ "Italy to gift rifles to Albania - Jane's 360". www.janes.com.
  18. ↑ "Albanian army was trained during two weeks with the armoured vehicle Nexer Aravis". 29 November 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  19. ↑ July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02). "M113 APC (1961)". Tanks-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  20. ↑ "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org.
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