Defence Forces of Georgia

For military forces serving the U.S. State of Georgia, see Georgia National Guard and Georgia State Defense Force.
Defence Forces of Georgia
საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები
Flag of the Georgian Defence Forces
Coat of arms of the Georgian Defence Forces
Founded30 April 1991
Current formDecember 2018
Service branches Land Forces
Air Force
National Guard
HeadquartersTbilisi, Georgia
Websitemod.gov.ge
Leadership
Commander-in-chief President Salome Zurabishvili
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze
Minister of Defence Irakli Chikovani
Chief of Defence ForcesMaj. Gen. Giorgi Matiashvili[1]
Personnel
Military age18–65 years old
Conscription18 years of age, 12 months
Available for
military service		2,156,000, age 18–65 (2019 est.)
Fit for
military service		1,023,400 male, age 18–65 (2019 est.)
Reaching military
age annually		49,751 (2019 est.)
Active personnel37,000[2]
Reserve personnel27,000 (Active as of 2023)
23,000 (Specialist as of 2023)
155,500 (territorial reserve as of 2024)
Deployed personnelCurrently nowhere
Expenditure
Budget1.3 Billion GEL (2024)[3] 480,000,000 USD (2024)
Percent of GDP1.41% (2024)
Industry
Domestic suppliersTbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing
TAM Management
Scientific Technical Center Delta
Tbilisi Tank Factory
Delta CAA Tactical
Delta WB
Foreign suppliers Austria
 Bulgaria
 Czech Republic
 France
 Germany
 Israel
 Italy
 Japan
 Poland
 Portugal
 Romania
 Slovakia
 Spain
 Sweden
 Switzerland
 Turkey
 United States
Former:
 Russia
 Belarus
 Ukraine
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Georgia
List of wars involving Georgia
RanksGeorgian military ranks
Defence Forces
of Georgia
Flag of Georgia
Flag of Georgia

Emblem of Defence Forces
Executive
Staff
Military service commands
Functional combatant commands
  • Training and Military Education Command
  • Military Intelligence Department of Defence Forces of Georgia
  • Military Police Department
MoD departments and organizations
List

The Defence Forces of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, romanized: sakartvelos tavdatsvis dzalebi), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia, tasked with the defence of the nation's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. They consist of the Land Force, Air Force, National Guard, and Special Operations Forces. The Defence Forces are under overall leadership of the Minister of Defence of Georgia and directly headed by the Chief of Defence Forces.

The first regular military was established in the first Georgian Republic in 1918 and was in existence until after the republic's overthrow by the invading Soviet Russian forces in 1921. The modern Georgian military were founded in accordance with the government decree of 24 April 1991. 30 April, the day when the first conscripts were called up for military service in 1991, has been celebrated as the day of the Georgian military forces.[4]

The Georgian military have fought in the civil war and separatist conflicts in the 1990s and the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 as well as major international military missions such as in Iraq and Afghanistan. Georgia was one of the first former Soviet republics to join the NATO Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) in 2004 and has sought to bring its military in line with the NATO standards.

  1. ^ "Giorgi Matiashvili - MOD.GOV.GE".
  2. ^ "DEFENSE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE APPROVING NUMBER OF DEFENSE FORCES TO PLENARY SESSION". parliament.ge. 31 Oct 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  3. ^ "THE PARLIAMENT DISCUSSING THE DRAFT STATE BUDGET 2023". parliament.ge. 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Georgia marks Armed Forces Day". Agenda.ge. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.