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Under Castro, Cuba became a highly militarized society. From 1966 until the late 1980s, massive Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities and project power abroad. The Soviet Union gave both military and financial aid to the Cubans. Some speculate that more than 20 billion dollars a day was sent out of the Union and into Cuba to help support their military and infrastructure. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 missile crisis. In 1990, Cuba's air force, with about 150 Soviet-supplied fighters, including advanced MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums, was probably the best equipped in Latin America. In all, the modern Cuban Air Force imported approximately 230 fixed wing aircraft. Although there is no exact figure available, Western analysts estimate that at least 130 of the these planes are still in service spread out among the thirteen military airbases on the Island. In 1994, Cuba's armed forces were estimated to have 235,000 active duty personnel. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger). ... The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is a Russian fighter aircraft used in the air superiority role. ...

Almost all of the ships of the Navy have been decommissioned. Cuba has constructed rolling platforms with Russian SS-N-2 Styx missile batteries taken from its warships and placed them near beaches where hostile amphibious assaults may occur. Most patrol boats are non-operational due to lack of fuel and spares. P-15 missiles on parade. ...

Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number about 60,000 regular troops. The country's two paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops and the Youth Labor Army, have a reduced training capability. Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities.

In 1989, the government instituted a purge of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting Army Major General and Hero of The Republic of Cuba Arnaldo Ochoa, Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Patricio de la Guardia on charges of corruption and drug trafficking. This judgment is known in Cuba as "Causa 1" (Cause 1). Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed. Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized and the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General Raúl Castro (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior. Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez (1930 – July 12, 1989) was a prominent Cuban general who was executed after being found guilty of treason by a Cuban Court. ... Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (born June 3, 1931) is the First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State and currently, Acting President of Cuba. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ...

The government has, however, maintained a large state security apparatus, under the Ministry of Interior, for the stated purpose of suppressing subversive activities within Cuba.

Military branches

• Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces
• Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, or MGR)
• Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR)
• Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT)
• General Intelligence Directorate
• The Border Guard (TGF) (controlled by the Interior Ministry)

The Cuban General Intelligence Directorate (Dirección General de Inteligencia), or DGI, is the main state intelligence agency of the Cuban government. ...

Equipment

• Army
• AK-47
• T-54/55 tank
• T-34 tank
• T-62 tank
• PT-76 amphibious tank
• ZSU-23-4 anti-aircraft gun
• Air Force
• MiG-21
• MiG-23
• MiG-29
• Mil Mi-8
• Mil Mi-24

Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ... The T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks were the Soviet Unions replacements for the World War II era T-34 tank. ... The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank first produced in 1940. ... The T-62 Soviet main battle tank is a further development of the T-54/55 series. ... The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious tank which was introduced in early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armies. ... The word amphibious or amphibian, when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. ... The ZSU-23-4 Shilka is a lightly armoured, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system (SPAAG). ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger). ... The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is a Russian fighter aircraft used in the air superiority role. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ...

See also

• Cuban military ranks

This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Cuban Armed Forces. ...

External links

• Foro Militar General (Cuban military forum)
• (Spanish)Secretos de Generales on Granma site