Austrian Federal Army Österreichisches Bundesheer
Leopard 2A4 of the Bundesheer
Branches of service
Land Forces Air Forces
Leadership
Headquarters:	Vienna
Commander-in-Chief:	President Heinz Fischer
Minister of Defense:	Norbert Darabos
Chief of staff:	General Roland Ertl
Personnel
Active personnel:	31,000 [1]
Reserve personnel:	24,000 [2]
Military age population:	1,914,800 males 1,870,134 females
Total fit for service:	1,550,441 males 1,515,365 females
Reaching military age annually:	48,967 males 46,633 females
Military age:	18 years (16 for volunteers)
Service law:	universal compulsory
Conscript service:	6 months
Industry
Percent of GDP spent on military:	0.9% (2004)
Major domestic suppliers:	Steyr Mannlicher Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge (General Dynamics)
Major international suppliers:	France  Germany  Italy  United States
History
Military history of Austria
Ranks and insignia
Austrian Armed Forces rank insignia

The name of the Military of Austria is Bundesheer ("Federal Army"). Between 1918 and 1921, the Austrian semi-regular army was called Volkswehr ("People's Defence"), and fought against Yugoslavian army units occupying parts of Carinthia. It has been known as "Bundesheer" since then, except when Austria was a part of Nazi Germany (1938-1945; see Anschluss). The Austrian Army did develop a defence plan in 1938 against Germany, but politics meant it was never implemented. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2602x1735, 504 KB) Main battle tank Leopard 2A4 of the Austrian Bundesheer Photographed by myself File links The following pages link to this file: Leopard 2 Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank built by the German company Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, developed in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979, replacing the earlier Leopard 1 as the foremost MBT in the Bundeswehr. ... // Symbol of the Austrian Air Force The Austrian Air Force (de: Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) was formed in May 1955 by the victorious Allied powers, it was formed as part of the now fully independent Austrian armed forces. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... Heinz Fischer (born 9 October 1938) is the federal president of Austria. ... The Austrian firm Steyr-Mannlicher is a firearms manufacturer based in the city of Steyr. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... From 1804 until 1867 - Austrias ground forces and navy were those of the Austrian Empire. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Motto: One nation, one king, one country Anthem: Medley of Bože pravde, Lijepa naÅ¡a domovino, and Naprej zastava slave Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croato-Slovenian (see: Serbo-Croat and Slovenian) [1] Government Value specified for government_type does not comply King  - 1918-1921 Peter I  - 1921-1934 Alexander... Carinthia (German: Kärnten, Slovenian: KoroÅ¡ka) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land; it is chiefly famous for its mountains and lakes. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1955, Austria declared its Everlasting Neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. The Austrian Military's main purpose since then has been the protection of Austria's neutrality. The main branches since the last structural reform are Land Forces (Kommando Landstreitkräfte; KdoLaSK), Air Forces (Kommando Luftstreitkräfte; KdoLuSK), Mission Support (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU), International Missions (Kommando Internationale Einsätze; KdoIE), Command Support (Kommando Führungsunterstützung; KdoFüU) and Special Forces (Kommando Spezialeinsatzkräfte; KdoSEK). Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Neutrality: Neutrality in international law is the status of a nation that refrains from participation in a war between other states and maintains an impartial attitude toward the belligerents. ...

With the end of the Cold War, the Austrian military have increasingly assisted the border police in controlling the influx of illegal immigrants through Austrian borders. The war in the neighbouring Balkans resulted in the lifting of the restrictions on the range of weaponry of the Austrian military that had been imposed by a 1955 international treaty. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ...

Recently, Austria has spent considerable amounts of money modernizing its military arsenal. Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Ulan and Pandur infantry fighting vehicles, C-130 Hercules transport planes, S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters, and Eurofighter Typhoon multi-purpose combat aircraft have been purchased. The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank built by the German company Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, developed in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979, replacing the earlier Leopard 1 as the foremost MBT in the Bundeswehr. ... The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) AFV family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (in 1998 the production of heavy armed vehicles was sold out under the name Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, which is now the producer) and Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas. ... The Pandur 8 X 8 is a development of the Pandur 6X6 APC and incorporates many features of the current model, as well as new ones. ... An M2 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicle. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. ... The Sikorsky H-60/S-70 Black Hawk is a medium-lift military helicopter family used by a multitude of countries and corpoations in a multitude of variants. ... This article is about a fighter aircraft. ...

Main Tasks

Structure of the Austrian Army

The main constitutional tasks of today's Austrian military are listed below: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 497 pixel Image in higher resolution (1871 × 1162 pixel, file size: 136 KB, MIME type: image/png) The structure of the Austrian Army; made by myself noclador File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 497 pixel Image in higher resolution (1871 × 1162 pixel, file size: 136 KB, MIME type: image/png) The structure of the Austrian Army; made by myself noclador File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old...

• to protect the constitutionally established institutions and the population's democratic freedoms.
• to maintain order and security inside the country.
• to render assistance in the case of natural catastrophes and disasters of exceptional magnitude.

Equipment

The Austrian military has a wide variety of equipment. After the 1999 Galtür Avalanche, it was evident that the Austrian helicopters were too few in numbers and limited in design, therefore the Austrian military purchased new helicopters along with other equipment. Below is a list of Austria's current equipment. On February 23, 1999 the worst Alpine avalanche in 30 years killed 31 people in the small Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. ...

• 114 Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
• 253 Steyr SK-105 Kurassier Light Tanks.
• 465 Saurer APC Armoured personnel Carriers
• 189 M109 howitzer.
• 70 Bergepanzer Armoured repair and recovery vehicles.
• 18 A1 Armoured engineer vehicles.
• 86 Jaguar 1 Tank destroyers.
• 112 Ulan infantry fighting vehicles (end of 2005).
• 71 Pandur APCs.
• 35 Dingo 2 Protected vehicles.
• 268 Mercedes-Benz Unimog Trucks.
• 307 MAN 12.240 Trucks.
• 27 Observation tanks.
• 3 C-130 Hercules transport planes.
• 9 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters (purchased in 2001).
• 16 Pilatus PC-7 Traning aircraft.
• 13 Pilatus PC-6 Transport aircraft.
• 2 Short Skyvan Transport aircraft.
• 23 Alouette Recovery helicopters.
• 23 Agusta Bell 212 utility helicopters.
• 12 OH-58 Kiowa Scout helicopter
• 11 Bell 206 JetRanger Training helicopters.
• 28 Saab 105 aircraft.
• 12 F-5 Tiger fighter aircraft (on loan from the Swiss Air Force).
• 15 Eurofighter Typhoon (will be delivered from mid 2007)

The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank built by the German company Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, developed in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979, replacing the earlier Leopard 1 as the foremost MBT in the Bundeswehr. ... The SK-105 Kurassier is an Austrian light tank or tank destroyer armed with a rifled 105mm gun in an oscillating turret. ... The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. ... The Raketenjagdpanzer (RakJPz) Jaguar 1 is a German tank destroyer equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. ... The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) AFV family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (in 1998 the production of heavy armed vehicles was sold out under the name Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, which is now the producer) and Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pandur 8 X 8 is a development of the Pandur 6X6 APC and incorporates many features of the current model, as well as new ones. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Unimog (from the German UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät, meaning universal motor device) designates a range of multi purpose four wheel drive medium trucks produced by Mercedes-Benz (a division of DaimlerChrysler AG). ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. ... The Sikorsky H-60/S-70 Black Hawk is a medium-lift military helicopter family used by a multitude of countries and corpoations in a multitude of variants. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a civilian utility aircraft built by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... The Short Skyvan is a 19 seater twin turboprop aircraft usage: short haul freight and parachute dropping See also:List of civil aircraft Related Content Comparable Aircraft Antonov An-28 - Farchild Dornier 228 - DHC-6 Twin Otter - IAI Arava- GAF Nomad - Harbin Y-12 External link Pink Aviation Services, Austria... The Alouette II is a light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale of France. ... The Bell 212 Twin Huey (also known as the Twin Two-Twelve) is a medium civilian helicopter that first flew in 1968. ... The OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, observation and light attack helicopters manufactured by Bell Helicopter Textron and originally based on the companys Bell 206A JetRanger helicopter. ... The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. ... The Saab 105 is an aircraft developed by Saab for the Swedish Air Force in the early sixties. ... The F-5 Freedom Fighter (or TigerII) is a fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, beginning in 1962. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about a fighter aircraft. ...

Infantry Weapons

Below is a list of some of Austria's current infantry weapons.

• Steyr AUG (service rifle)
• Glock 17 (main Sidearm)
• MG 74 multi purpose machine gun
• Steyr SSG 69 (standard sniper rifle)
• PAL 2000 (Bofors Bill) anti-tank
• PAR 66 (Bofors Carl-Gustaf) anti-tank

The Steyr AUG is an Austrian 5. ... The Glock 17 was the first pistol designed and manufactured by the Austrian company Glock. ... The SSG 69 is a bolt-action sniper rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher and serves as the standard sniper rifle for the Austrian Army. ...

Traditions

The Austrian "Erbsentarnmuster", produced between 1957 to 1978

Some of the traditions of the old Austro-Hungarian Army continue to be carried on in Bundesheer. For example, the most famous regiment in the Bundesheer is the "Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment", now known as Jägerregiment Wien based in "Maria Theresien Kaserne", named after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Also nearly every other regiment of the Bundesheer carries on traditions of the famous Austro-Hungarian regiments like "Kaiserjäger", "Rainer", etc. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 357 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (787 × 1319 pixels, file size: 588 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 357 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (787 × 1319 pixels, file size: 588 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Not to be confused with Maria Theresa of Austria (1816-1867). ...

Austrian commando frogmen

Austria's combat frogmen are part of the commando group of the Austrian federal army. The commando group is available for special operations in multinational operations, and for operational clearing-up in remote reconnaissance employments and in military protection of individuals abroad. For the Wizard of Oz series character, see Frogman (Oz character). ... For other uses, see Commando (disambiguation). ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ...

They use the Dräger LAR-V oxygen rebreather, which weighs 11 Kg and has a 1.5 liter oxygen cylinder and allows a dive 3 hours long: info, images. The Drägerwerk AG is a German company based in Lübeck with a focus on breathing and protection equipment as well as gas detection and analysis systems. ... This article is about the breathing apparatus. ... 12 litre and 3 litre steel diving cylinders A diving cylinder, scuba tank or diving tank is used to store and transport high pressure breathing gas as a component of an Aqua-Lung. ...

Beyond that they have special tasks within the range of combat frogmen, the paratroops, and personal guards. For the Wizard of Oz series character, see Frogman (Oz character). ... An American Paratrooper using a T-10C series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and formed into an airborne force. ...

In British English, abseiling (from the German abseilen, to rope down) is the process of descending on a fixed rope. ...

External links

• (German) http://tauchen.nullzeit.at/Content.Node/wissenswertes/kampfschwimmer_bundesheer.php
• (German) http://www.doppeladler.com/oebh/jakdo.htm
• (German) http://www.doppeladler.com/oebh/jakdo.htm?jakdo_02.htm

References

• CIA World Factbook, 2005

World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ...

See also

• The term Austrian Army may also refer to the army of the Austrian Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Army.
• Military History of Austria
• Steyr Automobile

Anthem Volkshymne (Peoples Anthem) The Austrian Empire Capital Vienna Language(s) German Hungarian Romanian Czech Slovakian Slovenian Croatian Serbian Italian Polish Ruthenian Religion Roman Catholic Government Monarchy History  - Established 1804  - Ausgleich 1867 The Crown of the Austrian Emperor The Austrian Empire (German: ) was a modern era successor empire founded... The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ... From 1804 until 1867 - Austrias ground forces and navy were those of the Austrian Empire. ... Steyr-Daimler-Puch was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria. ...

External links

• Ministry of Defence (BMLV)
• Overview over the Austrian Armed Forces (dates & pics)
• BHI.AT - Austrians greatest Army Webmagazine
• Austrian Army reforms spawn hybrid recce and artillery units
• Austrian Air Force - Osterreichische Luftstreitkrafte