Military of Mauritius

Mauritius does not have a military. All military, police, and security functions are carried out by 10,000 active-duty personnel under the command of the Commissioner of Police of the Mauritius Police Force. The 8,000-member National Police Force is responsible for domestic law enforcement. The 1,500-member Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 500-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services.[2][3][4]

Military of Mauritius
Service branchesSpecial Mobile Force
National Coast Guard
Expenditures
Budget$9.1 million (FY01)
Percent of GDP0.19%[1] (2012 est.)

Organisation and training

The SMF is organized as a ground infantry unit, with six rifle companies, two mobilisable paramilitary companies, and one engineer company, according to the IISS Military Balance 2007. It engages extensively in civic works projects. The Coast Guard has four patrol craft for search-and-rescue missions and surveillance of territorial waters. A 100-member police helicopter squadron assists in search-and-rescue operations. There also is a special supporting unit of 270 members trained in riot control.

Military advisers from India and United Kingdom work with the SMF, the Coast Guard, and the Police Helicopter Unit, and Mauritian police officers are trained in India, United Kingdom and France. India and the United States provide training to Mauritian Coast Guard officers in such fields as seamanship and maritime law enforcement.

Equipment

Small arms
An MP5-1 submachine gun
Name Origin Type Variant Notes
Walther PP[5] Germany Semi-automatic pistol
FN P90[6] Belgium Personal defense weapon
M16 Rifle[7] United States Assault rifle M16A2
SIG SG 540[8] Switzerland Assault rifle
Heckler & Koch G36[8] Germany Assault rifle
Heckler & Koch MP5[8] Germany Submachine gun
FN FAL[9][10] Belgium Battle rifle
FN MAG[8] Belgium Machine gun
FN SCAR[11] Belgium Assault rifle SCAR-L

Aircraft

In March 1990 one radar equipped HAL Do 228 was ordered from India to form a maritime surveillance element by July 1991. This aircraft
was reinforced in 1992 by a single twin turbo prop BN-2T Maritime Defender for coastal patrol work. A second HAL Do 228 was added to the fleet in 2004 and a third in 2016.[2][3][4]

A Mauritius Alouette III landing aboard USS Arleigh Burke
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Maritime Patrol
Dornier Do 228 Germany maritime patrol 3[12]
BN-2T Defender United Kingdom maritime patrol 1[13]
Helicopter
Alouette III France SAR / utility SA316B 2[13]
AS355 France utility AS355 SN 1[13]
HAL Dhruv India utility 1[14]

Vessels

Ship inventory
MCGS Valiant arriving in Port Louis
Ship Origin Type In service Class Notes
CGS Barracuda India Patrol boat 1 Kora-class corvette
CGS Valiant India Patrol boat 1 Sarojini Naidu-class patrol vessel
CGS Victory India Patrol boat 1 Sarojini Naidu-class patrol vessel
CGS Guardian India Patrol boat 1 Seaward-class patrol vessel
CGS Vigilant Chile Patrol boat STXM PV75 Offshore Patrol Vessel[15] Decommissioned c. 2010[16]
CGS Amar India Seaward-class patrol vessel Decommissioned 1998[17]
CGS Rescuer USSR Zhuk-class patrol boat Decommissioned 2019[18]
CGS Retriever USSR Zhuk-class patrol boat Decommissioned 2019[18]
CGS Observer India 1 AMPL (P-2000)-class interceptor boat

References
  1. "The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  2. IISS Military Balance 2007
  3. IISS Military Balance 2010
  4. World Aircraft Information Files; Brightstar Publishing; File 331, Sheet 4
  5. Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  6. Soobye, Ali (March 12, 2006). "Mauritius police forces parade". AFP / Getty Images. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  7. "Sauvetage au combat de niveau 1 [SC1] à l'île Maurice" (in French). Forces Armées de la Zone Sud de l'Océan Indien. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  8. Gander, Terry J.; Hogg, Ian V. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 21 edition (May 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-1241-0.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Patrick Laverdant. "mauritian_bw198.jpg - Patrick Laverdant". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  11. "Sainte-Croix : un membre des forces spéciales présent pour assurer la sécurité du pape François | Defimedia". Defimedia.info. 2019-09-13. Archived from the original on 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  12. "Maritime Air Squadron of the NCG celebrates 28th anniversary" (PDF). Government of Mauritius (Press release). July 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  13. "World Air Forces 2004" pg. 74" (PDF). Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  14. "Supply of 'DHRUV' Advanced Light Helicopter". indiahighcom. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  15. "Offshore Patrol Vessels". STX Canada Marine. 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011.
  16. Badri-Maharaj, Sanjay (April–June 2016). "The Mauritius-India Naval Relationship: Naval Diplomacy 2.0". Africa Trends. Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Retrieved 9 March 2020.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  17. "40 Years of the Maritime Wing of the Mauritius Police Force (1974-2014)". Mauritian Philatelic Blog. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  18. "The NCG to acquire high-speed crafts from foreign countries". Government of Mauritius (Press release). 12 December 2019.

See also

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2003 edition".


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