Cuban Revolutionary Army

Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario)
Founded February 24, 1895 (1959 in current form)
Country Cuba
Type Army
Role Defence
Garrison/HQ Havana
Commanders
Commander in Chief Miguel Díaz-Canel
Minister of the FAR General Leopoldo Cintra Frías

The Cuban Revolutionary Army (Spanish: Ejército Revolucionario) is the ground warfare service branch of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

History

In 1984, according to Jane's Intelligence Review, there were three major geographical commands, Western, Central, and Eastern. There were a reported 130,000 all ranks, and each command was garrisoned by an army comprising a single armoured division, a mechanised division, and a corps of three infantry divisions, though the Eastern Command had two corps totalling six divisions. There was also an independent military region, with a single infantry division, which garrisoned the Isle of Youth.

A SU-100 in the Museum of the Revolution

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment in the first half of 1998 said that the army's armor and artillery units were at low readiness levels due to 'severely reduced' training, generally incapable of mounting effective operations above the battalion level, and that equipment was mostly in storage and unavailable at short notice. The same report said that Cuban special operations forces continue to train but on a smaller scale than beforehand, and that while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel were increasingly affecting operational capabilities, Cuba remained able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power.

2002 organization

In 1999 the Revolutionary Army (Ejercito Revolucionario) represented approximately 70 percent of Cuba's regular military manpower. According to the IISS, the army's estimated 45,000 troops including 6,000 active and 39,000 members of the Ready Reserves who were completing the forty-five days of annual active-duty service necessary for maintaining their status, as well as conscripts who were fulfilling their military service requirement.

The IISS reported in 1999 that the army's troop formations consisted of four to five armored brigades; nine mechanized infantry brigades; an airborne brigade; fourteen reserve brigades; and the Border Brigade. In addition, there is an air defense artillery regiment and a surface-to-air missile brigade. Each of the three territorial armies is believed to be assigned at least one armored brigade-usually attached to the army's headquarters-as well as a mechanized infantry brigade. As well, it is known that the Border Brigade in Guantanamo and at least one ground artillery regiment (attached to a mechanized infantry brigade), based in Las Tunas, are under the Eastern Army's command.

1996 organization

In 1996, according to Jane's Information Group, the army was organized into three Territorial Military Commands with three Armies, one army for each command. At the time, there were an estimated 38,000 army personnel.

Revolutionary Army Command:

  • Airborne brigade consisting of 2 battalions (at Havana and its immediate environs)
  • Artillery division (at Havana and its immediate environs)
  • SAM Brigade
  • An anti-aircraft artillery regiment

Western Army (deployed in the capital and the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Río)

  • 1st Armored Training Division
  • 70th Mechanised Division
  • 78th Armored Division "Sanguily Rescue"

2nd (Pinar del Río) Army Corps:

  • 24th Infantry Division
  • 27th Infantry Division
  • 28th Infantry Division

Central Army (Provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus)

  • 81st Infantry Division
  • 84th Infantry Division
  • 86th Infantry Division
  • 89th Infantry Division
  • 12th Armored Regiment/1st Armored Division
  • 242nd Infantry Regiment/24th Infantry Division

4th (Las Villas) Army Corps:

  • 41st Infantry Division
  • 43rd Infantry Division
  • 48th Infantry Division

Eastern Army (Provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Granma, Holguín,

Las Tunas, Camagüey and Ciego de Avila)

  • 3rd Armored Division
  • 6th Armored Division
  • 9th Armored Division
  • 31st Infantry Division
  • 32nd Infantry Division
  • 38th Infantry Division
  • 84th Infantry Division
  • 90th Infantry Division
  • 95th Infantry Division
  • 97th Infantry Division
  • Guantanamo Frontier Brigade
  • 123rd Infantry Division/former 12th Infantry Division
  • 281st Infantry Regiment/28th Infantry Division

6th (Holguín) Army Corps:

  • 50th Mechanised Division
  • 52nd Infantry Division
  • 54th Infantry Division
  • 56th Infantry Division
  • 58th Infantry Division

6th (Camagüey) Army Corps:

  • 60th Mechanised Division
  • 63rd Infantry Division
  • 65th Infantry Division
  • 69th Infantry Division

Equipment

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Name Country of origin Type Notes
PM  Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistol
APS Machine pistol
APS underwater rifle Underwater Assault Rifle Used by special forces.
SKS Semi-automatic carbine Mostly limited to use as a ceremonial weapon.
AKM Assault Rifle
RPK Light machine gun
SG-43 Medium machine gun
KPV Heavy machine gun
PKM General-purpose machine gun
PM-63 RAK  Poland Sub-machine gun used by some MTT units.
SVD  Soviet Union Semi-automatic sniper rifle
Alejandro Sniper Rifle  Cuba Bolt-action sniper rifle
Mambi AMR Anti-material rifle
RPG-7  Soviet Union Rocket-propelled grenade
SPG-9 Recoilless gun
AGS-17 Automatic grenade launcher
LPO-50 Flamethrower
RGD-5 Hand grenade
F1

Light and medium tanks

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
PT-76  Soviet Union 50 [1]

Main battle tanks

A Cuban T-54
Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
T-54/55  Soviet Union 800 T-55Ms active[2]
T-62 380 T-62Ms active[2]

Reconnaissance armoured vehicles

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
BRDM-2  Soviet Union 100

Infantry fighting vehicles

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
BMP-1  Soviet Union 50[3]
BMD-1  Soviet Union

Armoured personnel carriers

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
BTR-40  Soviet Union 100
BTR-50 200
BTR-60 Various versions of this vehicle. Including one with a 100 mm gun and a modified T-55 turret.
BTR-70 6
BTR-152 150

Towed artillery

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
A-19  Soviet Union
D-20
D-30 Mostly used as guns for Self-Propelled Artillery together with modernized A-19 122 mm.
M-30 Used as saluting guns firing 21-gun salutes.
M-46 This 130 mm long range gun is used also as a Self-Propelled Artillery Piece in 6x6 truck called Jupiter-V and there is also a version mounted on a T-34 chassis.

Self-propelled artillery

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
2S1 Gvozdika  Soviet Union 60
2S3 Akatsiya 40

Army Air wing

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
Mil Mi-8  Soviet Union 1 Belongs to the air force

Multi rocket launchers

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
BM-21  Soviet Union
P-15 Termit

Mortars

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
M-38/43  Soviet Union
M-41/43

Anti-tank weapons

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
AT-3 Sagger  Soviet Union Mounted on the BTR-60
AT-4 Spigot
T-12

Anti-aircraft guns

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
ZPU-4  Soviet Union 200
ZU-23-2 400
ZSU-23-4 36
ZSU-57-2 25
KS-19
M-1939 300
S-60 200

SAM's

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
SA-6 Gainful  Soviet Union 12
SA-7 Grail
SA-8 Gecko 16
SA-9 Gaskin 60
SA-13 Gopher 42
SA-14 Gremlin
SA-16 Gimlet
S-75 Dvina 144
S-125 Neva/Pechora 60

Self-propelled SAMs

Name Country of origin Quantity Notes
S-75 Dvina  Soviet Union 25 On T-55 chassis.
S-125 Neva/Pechora On T-55 chassis. This missile was seen in the Cuban Military Parade of 2006.

References

  1. ↑ "Cuban Tanks". Cuban Aviation • Rubén Urribarres. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Cuban Tanks". Cuban Aviation • Rubén Urribarres. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Military Balance 2017. IISS. 2017. p. 449. ISBN 978-1857439007.
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