| Cameroon Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forces armées camerounaises (FAC) | |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Service branches |
|
| Headquarters | Yaoundé |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Paul Biya |
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief | Joseph Ngute |
| Minister of Defense | Joseph Beti Assomo |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | René Claude Meka |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel | 40000[1][failed verification] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | US$347 million[2] |
| Percent of GDP | 1.6[2] |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |  Brazil[citation needed] China France India Indonesia Israel Russia Singapore South Africa Vietnam |
| Related articles | |
| History | Bamileke War Bakassi conflict CAR Civil War Boko Haram insurgency Anglophone Crisis |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Cameroon |
The Cameroon Armed Forces (French: Forces armées camerounaises (FAC)) are the military of the Republic of Cameroon. The armed forces number 40,000[3] personnel in ground, air, and naval forces. There are approximately 40,000 troops in the army across three military regions. Approximately 1,300 troops are part of the Cameroonian Navy, which is headquartered at Douala. Under 600 troops are part of the Air Force. There is an additional 12,500 paramilitary troops that serve as a gendarmerie (policing force) or reconnaissance role.[1]
The Cameroonian armed forces have bases spread all over Cameroon, including in Ngaoundéré. Air Force bases are located in Garoua, Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda.
It has generally remained loyal to the government and acted to ensure the stability of the regime, and not acted as an independent political force.[4][5] Traditional dependence on the French defense capability, although reduced, continues to be the case as French military advisers remain closely involved in preparing the Cameroonian forces for deployment to the contested Bakassi Peninsula.
- ^ a b International Institute for Strategic Studies. (2014). Chapter Ten: Country comparisons - commitments, force levels and economics. The Military Balance, 114(1), 471–492. doi:10.1080/04597222.2014.871887
- ^ a b defenceWeb (14 February 2013). "Cameroon". Defence Web. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- ^ "2024 Cameroon Military Strength". www.globalfirepower.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ "Emerging military-society interaction and political change in Cameroon". ACCORD. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ Harkness, Kristen A. (2020-12-17). "Cameroon: The Military and Autocratic Stability". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1800. ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7. Retrieved 2022-04-19.