Royal Lao Armed Forces | |
---|---|
Forces Armées du Royaume ກອງທັບຣາຊອານາຈັກລາວ | |
Founded | 1949 |
Disbanded | 1975 |
Service branches | Royal Lao Army Royal Lao Air Force Royal Lao Navy |
Headquarters | Phone Kheng (Vientiane) |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief | Soulivong Savang |
Commander | Phasouk Somly Rasaphak |
Personnel | |
Active personnel | 100,000 men (at height) |
Reserve personnel | 96,000 men |
Industry | |
Foreign suppliers | France Australia Indonesia Thailand Japan Burma South Korea South Vietnam Taiwan Philippines Singapore Malaysia United Kingdom United States |
Related articles | |
History | Military history of Laos |
Ranks | Military ranks of the Royal Lao Armed Forces |
The Royal Lao Armed Forces (Lao: ກອງທັບຣາຊອານາຈັກລາວ; French: Forces Armées du Royaume), best known by its French acronym FAR, were the official armed defense forces of the Kingdom of Laos, a state that existed from 1949 to 1975 in what is now the Lao People's Democratic Republic. First created under the French protectorate of Laos on July 1, 1949, the FAR was responsible for the defense of the Kingdom since its independence in October 1953 from France, until its dissolution on December 2, 1975. It operated notably during the North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and the Laotian Civil War from 1960 to 1975.