Since its inception, the Georgian armed forces have had to go through a very difficult path. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its constituent republics received the right to become absolutely independent from the central government. Instead of one large and well-coordinated state mechanism operating in one direction, a somewhat smaller one was formed, the landmarks of which differed significantly. To successfully defend their beliefs, every country needs a strong army. It is for this reason that the young states were seriously concerned about their own combat capability. Georgia was no exception, whose army, as it turned out, was in a deplorable state. This shortcoming should have been corrected, which is what the Georgians did in subsequent years. You will learn about the history of the formation, structure, military equipment and strength of the Georgian Armed Forces in this article.
Introduction
The Georgian Armed Forces is a state military organization established in April 1991. At the end of this month,first call. It was assumed that the size of the Georgian army at first would not exceed 900 soldiers. However, during the first call-up, almost 8,000 expressed a desire to serve. The task of the army is to provide political solutions in the defense field, identify a threat, maintain military formations in a high degree of combat readiness, and carry out tasks taking into account Georgia's international obligations. The army, due to the lack of sufficient money in the country's budget, was initially in a very poor condition. Soon, in order to strengthen the Armed Forces, the government increased the defense budget, which made it possible to carry out a number of large-scale reforms, purchase weapons, uniforms, etc.
1992
A year after the formation of the armed forces, the situation in the Georgian army has improved so much that as a result of another intensified political confrontation between the government of Georgia and the Abkhazian Supreme Council, the authorities decided to send their troops to Abkhazia. The fighting had mixed success and lasted a little over a year. Violations of human rights (primarily civil) have become widespread. In 1993, the UN Mission made public the facts for which both warring parties are responsible. In September 1993, the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict was over. In 1994, both sides in Moscow signed a ceasefire agreement. The conflict left vast areas devastated and hundreds of thousands of civilians fled their homes.
2008
By this time military constructioncarried out with increased intensity. In order to increase the combat capability of the state, the military-political leadership paid much attention to financing the defense industry. Compared to 2005, the defense budget was increased 30 times. From the level of GDP, it amounted to almost 10%. According to experts, this country received a lot of funds from Western creditors. The United States and Turkey have become a place for professional training of officers and enlisted personnel. Many instructors arrived in Georgia itself for this purpose. They bought arms and military equipment from the USA, Turkey and Ukraine. Georgia has increased the number of personnel from 32 to 37 thousand people. It was planned that 90% of them would soon serve on a contract basis. The form of the army of Georgia - NATO sample.
Result
At that time, many military experts estimated the Georgian army as one of the most combat-ready in the post-Soviet space. Structurally, the Armed Forces were equipped with ground forces, air force and naval forces. The armament included 200 T-55 and T-72 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles of the first and second models (78 units), combat reconnaissance vehicles (11 units) and armored personnel carriers (91 units). In addition, the army owned various-caliber cannon artillery (200 guns) and 180 mortars. Georgia also possessed forty multiple launch rocket systems. Three Mi-24 attack helicopters were ready to destroy the target from the air, as well as Su-25 KM attack aircraft (10 units) modernized by the Israeli company Elbit Sydtem. Georgia also had 6 transport helicoptersBell-212 and 6 American UH-1H.
Five Day War
In July 2008, the conflict between Georgia and the self-proclaimed republics reached its climax. In an effort to establish control over the entire territory, the authorities resorted to the use of force. Supported by the United States, as well as its allies, the Georgian Armed Forces would certainly have achieved what they wanted. Only Russia could protect the republics from the invasion of the Georgian army. Given the fact that the army of South Ossetia was less equipped with both personnel (3 thousand people and 15 thousand in reserve) and weapons, Georgia's victory was guaranteed. As Russian experts predicted, if the Georgian troops manage to implement the first stage, the hostilities will later spread to Abkhazia.
On August 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "peace enforcement operation." Of course, it was possible to restore order in the region through a full-scale Russian invasion. However, such a method would entail a serious aggravation in the foreign policy arena. The President of the Russian Federation considered that it would be more expedient to provide indirect military assistance to the republics. Therefore, additional peacekeeping forces and volunteer formations arrived in the conflict zone. The armies of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the fight against the armed forces of Georgia would have had a hard time without help from the Russians. During five days of fierce fighting, the Georgian army lost about 3 thousand people. The war ended on August 12, but had economic and geopolitical consequences for Georgia. Namely: Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, andGeorgia's accession to NATO has been postponed indefinitely.
Our days
Today, 37,000 people serve in the Georgian Armed Forces. Their number is determined by the National Security Council. The armed forces are subordinate to the General Staff, which, in turn, is under the Minister of Defense. The General Staff is headed by Vladimir Chachibay as a Brigadier General. The defense department is headed by Levan Izoria. Mostly the army consists of contract soldiers. Conscripts are engaged in logistics and protection of strategically important facilities. Compulsory service is one year, after which young people can continue to serve for another four years, but on a contract basis. According to experts, the Georgian Armed Forces are distinguished by a diverse and complex structure, which is represented by the Eastern and Western Commands of the Ground Forces, the MTR, the National Guard and Aviation. Since 1994, the state has been moving towards NATO. Since that time, the country's military construction has been carried out in accordance with NATO standards. Despite the tragic events of 2008, the North Atlantic Alliance has repeatedly expressed its approval of the decisions of the military command and leadership of Georgia, which still hope that sooner or later they will be accepted.
About the ground forces
SV or ground forces in the armed forces of Georgia are the only kind. Soldiers of the Army operate independently. If necessary, they can coordinate their actions with the special operations forces (SOF). The main tactical unit of thisbranch of the armed forces of Georgia is a brigade.
There are 10 of them in total: infantry (5 brigades), artillery (2) and one each for aviation, engineering and air defense. Also, the combat strength of the SV is represented by five separate battalions: two light infantry, a signals battalion, an electronic warfare and a medical one.
The total number of the army is 37 thousand troops. Military service in the Georgian army was reduced from 15 months to one year.
About NE aviation
Is a military branch of the armed forces of Georgia as part of the ground forces. Aviation is represented by a separate aviation brigade and a separate helicopter base. According to military experts, technically Georgian aviation works like army aviation and the air force, which was abolished after the tragic events of 2008. The task of this kind is to carry out reconnaissance and provide air support to ground units.
MTR
Reconnaissance is being carried out in Georgia through the special operations forces, counter-terrorism operations are being carried out. Structurally, the SSO is a brigade formation and consists of a group of fighters who are directly subordinate to the head of the joint headquarters of the Georgian army.
About the National Guard
The National Guard (NG) is the basis of the Georgian Armed Forces reserve. Through this military branch, important strategic objects are protected, mass riots are suppressed, and the consequences of emergency situations are eliminated.
About weapons
According to experts, American M4A1 and M4A3 riflesare used as the main small arms in the Georgian army (photo below in the article). In addition, AK assault rifles (74th model and its modernization), Heckler & Koch, UMP 45, As Val, TAR-21 and Micro Galil are used. Armored vehicles are represented by Oplot, T-55 and T-72 tanks. The Georgian military has BMP-1, BMP-2, armored personnel carriers (70th and 80th models), Nurol Ejder and Otocar Cobra. Georgian military personnel also use American armored personnel carriers Cougar and Hamvee. The state military scientific and technical center "Delta" is engaged in the design of armored vehicles "Didgori". Since at the moment they are only being tested, their deliveries to the country's army have not yet been established. Artillery weapons are represented by several types of gun mounts: multiple launch rocket systems (RM-70, IMI Grand-LAR, M63 Plamen, DRS-122, IMI Lynx, M-87 Orkan, BM-21 and BM-30 Smerch), self-propelled artillery and towed artillery mounts. According to military experts, the Georgian army has a small military aviation fleet. At the moment, Soviet aircraft and helicopters are mainly used in Georgia. There are also Aerostat, Elbit Skylark and Hermes drones. Since 2010, the country has launched the production of unmanned aerial vehicles. Air defense is carried out by Soviet and Ukrainian Buk-M1, S-125 Tor missle system, Strela-10 9K35, Osa-AKM and Israeli Spyder-SR / MR installations. Since 2016, the country's army has been intensively reformed.
Decided sooncompletely abandon Soviet and Russian-made small arms. The same fate, as stated by the Ministry of Defense L. Izoria, awaits combat aircraft. The attention of the Georgian military is focused primarily on drones. The goal pursued by the military command is to start meeting NATO standards as soon as possible.
Worthy Partner 2018
After the Ukrainian-American naval exercises "Sea Breeze 2018", in the Black Sea, NATO launched new maneuvers in Georgia. The United States, Great Britain, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, France, Norway, Poland, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Armenia took part, the Defense Department said. The total number of military personnel amounted to over three thousand. According to the security forces, the purpose of the Worthy Partner 2018 exercises is to improve defense skills, increase combat readiness and the compatibility of the Georgian armed forces with NATO, the United States and their allies. Experts say that the primary task of the Americans and NATO is to gain control in the south of the Caucasus. In the future, when they have to build new political relations with Eurasia, dominance in this most important nodal region will make it possible to control Iran and the Russian North Caucasus.
