Editing Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces

{{Short description|Military forces of Cuba}}
{{Infobox national military
| name = Revolutionary Armed Forces
| native_name = {{nativename|es|Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias}}
| image = [[File:FAR emblem.svg|200px]]
| alt = 
| caption = Emblem of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces
| image2 = Logo Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Cuba).png
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = Logo of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces
| motto = 
| founded = {{start date and age|df=yes|1868}}
| current_form = {{start date and age|df=yes|1960}}
| disbanded = 
| branches = {{bulletedlist|[[Cuban Revolutionary Army|Revolutionary Army]]|[[Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force|Revolutionary Air and Air Defence Force]]|[[Cuban Revolutionary Navy|Revolutionary Navy]]|[[Territorial Troops Militia]]|Youth Labor Army|Defence and Production Brigades}}
| headquarters = [[Havana]], Cuba
| flying_hours = 
| website = <!--{{URL|example.mil}}-->
<!-- Leadership -->| commander-in-chief = [[Miguel Díaz-Canel]]
| commander-in-chief_title = [[First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba|First Secretary]]
| chief minister = [[File:Flag of the President of Cuba.svg|border|23px]] [[President of Cuba|President]] [[Miguel Díaz-Canel]]
| chief minister_title = [[Commander-in-chief]]
| minister = [[File:FAR emblem.svg|25px]] Corps Gen. [[Álvaro López Miera]]<ref name=newminister2021>{{Cite web|url=https://www.14ymedio.com/cuba/ministro_de_las_Fuerzas_Armadas_0_3076492329.html|title = Álvaro López Miera sustituye a Leopoldo Cintra Frías en el Ministerio de las FAR cubanas| date=15 April 2021 }}</ref>
| minister_title = [[Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Cuba)|Minister of the FAR]]
| commander = [[File:FAR emblem.svg|25px]] Corps Gen. Álvaro López Miera
| commander_title = Chief of the General Staff
<!-- Manpower -->| age = 17-28 years of age for compulsory military service
| conscription = [[Conscription in Cuba|2-year service obligation for both genders]]
| manpower_data = 
| manpower_age = 
| available = 3,134,622
| available_f = 3,022,063
| fit = 1,929,370
| fit_f = 1,888,498
| reaching = 
| reaching_f = 
| active = 50,000 (2022 est.)<ref name="IISS2015">[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]]: The Military Balance 2015, p. 392</ref>
| ranked = 
| reserve = 40,000
| deployed = <!-- Financial -->
| amount = 
| percent_GDP = 4.2% (2020 est.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/#military-and-security|title = Cuba - the World Factbook|date = 30 March 2022}}</ref>  
<!-- Industrial -->| domestic_suppliers = [[Union de Industrias Militares]]
| foreign_suppliers = {{BLR}}<br />{{CHN}}<br />{{IRN}}<br />{{KAZ}}<br />{{NCA}}<br />{{RUS}}<br />{{SRB}}<br />{{SYR}}<br />{{VEN}}<br />{{VIE}}
| imports = 
| exports = <!-- Related aricles -->
| history = [[Escambray rebellion]]<br />[[Bay of Pigs Invasion]]<br />[[Sand War]]<br />[[Guinea-Bissau War of Independence]]<br />[[War of Attrition]]<br />[[Yemenite War of 1972]]<br />[[Yom Kippur War]]<br />[[Angolan Civil War]]<br />[[Ogaden War]]<br />[[United States invasion of Grenada]]
| ranks = [[Ranks of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces|Military ranks of Cuba]]
}}
{{Cuban military}}

The '''Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces''' ({{langx|es|Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias}}; '''FAR''') are the [[military forces]] of [[Cuba]]. They include [[Cuban Revolutionary Army|Revolutionary Army]], [[Cuban Revolutionary Navy|Revolutionary Navy]], [[Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force|Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force]], and other [[paramilitary]] bodies including the [[Territorial Troops Militia]] ({{lang|es|Milicias de Tropas Territoriales}} – MTT), Youth Labor Army ({{lang|es|Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo}} – EJT), and the Defense and Production Brigades ({{lang|es|Brigadas de Producción y Defensa}} – BPD), plus the Civil Defense Organization ({{lang|es|Defensa Civil de Cuba}} – DCC) and the National Reserves Institution ({{lang|es|Instituto Nacional de las Reservas Estatales}} – INRE). All these groups are subordinated to the [[Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Cuba)|Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces]] ({{lang|es|Ministro de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias}} – MINFAR).

The armed forces have long been the most powerful institution in [[Cuba]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/Research_Studies/BLatell.pdf|title=The Cuban military and transition dynamics|access-date=2009-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326012540/http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/Research_Studies/BLatell.pdf|archive-date=2009-03-26}}</ref> The military manages many enterprises in key economic sectors representing about 4% of the Cuban economy.<ref name="leogrande">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/does-the-cuban-military-really-control-sixty-percent_us_59530b0ee4b0f078efd985d8|title=Does the Cuban Military Really Control Sixty Percent of the Economy?|work=Huffington Post|date=2017-06-28}}</ref><ref name="suchlicki">{{cite web|url=http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/website_documents/Challenges.pdf|title=Challenges to a Post-Castro Cuba|work=Harvard International Review|access-date=2009-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610184852/http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/website_documents/Challenges.pdf|archive-date=2010-06-10}}</ref><ref name="cancubachange"/> The military has also served as former [[Communist Party of Cuba|Cuban Communist Party]] [[First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba|First Secretary]], as well as former [[List of heads of state of Cuba|President of Cuba]], [[Raúl Castro]]'s base.<ref name="cancubachange">{{cite journal|url=http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/gratis/Gutierrez.pdf|title=Can Cuba Change?|author=Carl Gershman and Orlando Gutierrez|journal=Journal of Democracy|date=January 2009|volume=20|issue=1}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In numerous speeches, Raúl Castro emphasized the military's role as a "people's partner".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icdcprague.org/download/speeches/Maria_Werlau_ENG.pdf|title=The Outlook for Cuba and What International Actors Should Avoid|author=Claudia Zilla|access-date=2009-08-27|archive-date=2009-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606023327/http://icdcprague.org/download/speeches/Maria_Werlau_ENG.pdf}}</ref>

==History==
{{main|Cuban National Army}}
[[File:Soldati cubani.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the FAR]]
The [[Cuban National Army|Cuban Army]] in its original form was first established in 1868 by Cuban revolutionaries during the [[Ten Years' War]]. It joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies in the World War I]] in April 1917 and supplied sugar to several countries, mainly the United States of America. Was involved in the [[Battle of the Caribbean]] during [[World War II]] when it was part of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] supported by the [[United States]]. After the [[Cuban Revolution]] had overthrown [[Fulgencio Batista]]'s [[Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)|government]], the [[26th of July Movement|Cuban Rebel Army]] under [[Fidel Castro]]'s leadership was reorganized into the current armed forces of Cuba.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union granted both military and financial aid to Cuba. From 1966 until the late 1980s, [[Soviet Government]] military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities to number one in Latin America and project power abroad.  The first Cuban military mission in Africa was established in Ghana in 1961. Cuba's military forces appeared in Algeria, in 1963, when a military medical brigade came to support the government.<ref>John Williams, [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1988/08/cuba-havana-apos-s-military-machine/5932/ "Cuba: Havana's Military Machine"], ''The Atlantic Monthly'', August 1988</ref> In 1966 and 1967 little forces of Cuba landed in Venezuelan coast to support leftist guerilla of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation (Venezuela)|FALN]]. Since the 1960s, Cuba sent military forces to African and Arab countries – Syria in 1973, [[Ogaden War|Ethiopia in 1978]], [[Cuban intervention in Angola|Angola from 1975 to 1989]], and [[Nicaragua]], [[El Salvador]] and reportedly [[Afghanistan]] during the 1980s. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]. According to an [[Afghan Army]] defector and the [[Mujahideen]], Cuban forces were present in 1981 during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] and were described as "big and black and shout very loudly when they fight. Unlike the [[Russians]], they were not afraid to attack us in the open."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan: a country study {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/13328715 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghanistan: a country study, by Donald M. Seekins et al. {{!}} The Online Books Page |url=https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=ha001292656 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu}}</ref>

In 1989, the government instituted a clean-up of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting army Major General and [[Hero of the Republic of Cuba]] [[Arnaldo Ochoa]], Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General [[Patricio de la Guardia]] on charges of [[Political corruption|corruption]] and [[drug trafficking]]. This judgment is known in Cuba as "[[Causa 1]]" (Cause 1). Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed.  Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized, the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General [[Raúl Castro]] (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior.

The U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] reported in 1998 that the country's paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops, the Youth Labor Army, and the Naval Militia had suffered considerable morale and training degradation over the previous seven years but still retained the potential to "make an enemy invasion costly."<ref name="Bender"/> Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities.<ref>[http://www.armyrecognition.com/september_2012_new_army_military_defence_industry/china_and_cuba_agreed_to_further_deepen_military_cooperation_1609122.html "Cuba and China strengthen military cooperation"]. Armyrecognition.com, September 16, 2012</ref>

Cuban military power was sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies following the end of the Cold War, and today the Revolutionary Armed Forces number 39,000 regular troops.<ref name="IISS2015" />

In April 2021, longtime Chief of Staff Álvaro López Miera took over as the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.<ref>[https://wtop.com/news/2021/04/designan-al-general-alvaro-lopez-miera-como-nuevo-ministro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas-de-cuba/ ''"Designan al general Álvaro López Miera como nuevo Ministro de las fuerzas armadas de Cuba"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829144858/https://wtop.com/news/2021/04/designan-al-general-alvaro-lopez-miera-como-nuevo-ministro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas-de-cuba/ |date=2023-08-29 }}, WTOP, 2021.</ref>

===Leadership===
{{see also|Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Cuba)#Ministers}}
;First Deputy Minister, Chief of General Staff
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2| {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan=2| Portrait
! rowspan=2| Name<br />{{small|(birth–death)}}
! colspan=3| Term of office
! rowspan=2| {{Abbr|Ref.|Refences}}
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
| 
| 
| Major general<br />'''[[Senén Casas Regueiro]]'''<br />{{small|(1934–1996)}}
| 19 April 1972
| April 1982
| {{age in years and months|1972|04|19|1982|04|1}}
| <ref>{{cite book |title=Directory of Personalities of the Cuban Government, Official Organizations, and Mass Organizations |date=1974 |publisher=U.S. Central Intelligence Agency |page=117 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qq0uAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 October 2021}}</ref>
|-
| 
| [[File:UlisesRosalesdelToro.jpg|80px]]
| Major general<br />'''[[Ulises Rosales del Toro]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1942)}}
| April 1982
| 11 October 1997
| {{age in years and months|1982|04|1|1997|10|1}}
| <ref>{{cite book |title=Directory of officials of the Republic of Cuba |date=May 1983 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Intelligence |location=Washington, D.C. |page=113 |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00076614/00006 |access-date=11 October 2021}}</ref>
|-
| 
| [[File:Cuban defence minister in Moscow 04 (cropped).jpg|80px]]
| Corps general<br />'''[[Álvaro López Miera]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1943)}}
| 11 October 1997
| 15 April 2021
| {{age in years and months|1997|10|1|2021|04|15}}
| <ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-09-25|title=Partido Comunista de Cuba|url=http://www.pcc.cu/estructura_organizacion/buro_politico/alvarol.php|access-date=2021-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925002926/http://www.pcc.cu/estructura_organizacion/buro_politico/alvarol.php|archive-date=2010-09-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Designan al general Álvaro López Miera como nuevo ministro de las Fuerzas Armadas de Cuba|url=https://www.weny.com/story/43681178/designan-al-general-lvaro-lpez-miera-como-nuevo-ministro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas-de-cuba|access-date=2021-04-22|website=www.weny.com|language=en|archive-date=2021-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422013155/https://www.weny.com/story/43681178/designan-al-general-lvaro-lpez-miera-como-nuevo-ministro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas-de-cuba}}</ref>
|- 
| style="background:#e6e6aa;"| –
| rowspan=2| [[File:no image.png|80px]]
| rowspan=2| Major general<br />'''[[Roberto Legrá Sotolongo]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1955)}}
| style="background:#e6e6aa;"| 15 April 2021
| style="background:#e6e6aa;"| 19 April 2021
| style="background:#e6e6aa;"| {{ayd|2021|04|15|2021|04|19}}
| style="background:#e6e6aa;"| 
|-
| 
| 19 April 2021
| ''Incumbent''
| {{ayd|2021|04|19}}
| <ref>{{cite web |last1=de Granma |first1=Tomado |title=Nuevo Buró Político, Secretariado y miembros del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba |url=https://www.cmhw.cu/nacionales/32997-nuevo-buro-politico-secretariado-y-miembros-del-comite-central-del-partido-comunista-de-cuba |website=cmhw.cu |access-date=11 October 2021 |language=es |date=19 April 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011113018/https://www.cmhw.cu/nacionales/32997-nuevo-buro-politico-secretariado-y-miembros-del-comite-central-del-partido-comunista-de-cuba }}</ref>
|}

==Revolutionary Army==
[[File:Santiago de Cuba - Garde au Mausolée José Marti.JPG|thumb|Guards at the Mausoleum of [[José Martí]], [[Santiago de Cuba]]]]
[[File:Cuban Soldiers of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias on a motorbike]]
The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] wrote in May 1979 that when "the economy took a downturn in 1970, the Castro regime, partly at Soviet urging, reduced its forces by some 60 per cent, eventually freeing more than 150,000 people for full-time civilian employment. All branches of the armed services except the Air Force were affected noticeably. The Air Defence Force shrank from six brigades and 24 occupied SA-2 [[surface-to-air missile]] sites to three brigades and 18 sites, leaving eastern Cuba unprotected by surface-to-air missiles. The Navy lost a number of radar surveillance posts, again to the detriment of eastern Cuba. The Army was more than halved in size and reorganised."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80t00942a000900040001-1|title=THE CUBAN MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT (Sanitized) &#124; CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)|website=www.cia.gov}}</ref> (PA79-10173D)

In 1984, according to ''Jane's Military Review'', there were three major geographical commands, Western, Central, and Eastern.<ref>English, Adrian J., "The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces," in Ian V. Hogg (Ed.), ''Jane's Military Review''. Jane's Publishing Company, 1985.</ref>  There were a reported 130,000 all ranks, and each command was garrisoned by an army comprising a single armored division, a mechanized division, and a corps of three infantry divisions, though the Eastern Command had two corps totaling six divisions. There was also an independent military region, with a single infantry division, which garrisoned the [[Isle of Youth]].

A U.S. [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] assessment in the first half of 1998 said that the army's armor and artillery units were at low readiness levels due to 'severely reduced' training, generally incapable of mounting effective operations above the battalion level, and that equipment was mostly in storage and unavailable at short notice.<ref name="Bender">Bryan Bender, "DIA expresses concern over Cuban intelligence activity", [[Jane's Defence Weekly]], 13 May 1998, p. 7</ref> The same report said that Cuban special operations forces continue to train but on a smaller scale than beforehand, and that while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel were increasingly affecting operational capabilities, Cuba remained able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power.<ref name="CIA - The World Factbook - Cuba">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/|title=Cuba |work=The World Factbook |publisher=CIA |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref>

==Revolutionary Air and Air Defence Force==
{{main|Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force}}
[[File:4034204611 0c8ff691df o Cuban MIG over Florida.jpg|right|thumb|Cuban MiG-21MF from the 1970s]]
The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defence Force (DAAFAR) was used in the 1980s with the help of the Soviet Union to be able to project power abroad, especially in Africa. During that time Cuba sent jet fighters and transports for deployment in conflict zones such as Angola and Ethiopia.

In 1990, Cuba's Air Force was the best equipped in Latin America. In all, the modern Cuban Air Force had approximately 230 fixed-wing aircraft. Although there is no exact figure available, Western analysts estimate that at least 130 (with only 25 operational<ref name="cafr_airforce">{{cite web |url=http://www.cubapolidata.com/cafr/cafr_airforce.html |title=Cuban Armed Forces Review: Air Force |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210074214/http://www.cubapolidata.com/cafr/cafr_airforce.html |archive-date=2009-02-10 |first1=Armando F. III |last1=Mastrapa  |website=Cubapolidata  }}</ref>) of these planes are still in service spread out among the thirteen military airbases on the island.

In 1996, fighters from the DAAFAR [[1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraft|shot down two Cessna aircraft]] based in Florida which were incorrectly suspected of dropping leaflets into Cuban airspace. The air force was criticised for not giving the pilots of the aircraft options other than being shot down. One aircraft escaped.<ref>Sections 3.18, 3.19 and 3.20 of the Resolution on the Cuban Government's Shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue Adopted by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at the Twentieth Meeting of its 148th Session on 27 June 1996 [http://www.icao.int/icao/en/nr/1996/pio199606_c.pdf]</ref>

In 1998, according to the same DIA report mentioned above, the air force had "fewer than 24 operational [[Mikoyan-Gurevich]] (MiG) fighters; pilot training barely adequate to maintain proficiency; a declining number of fighter sorties, surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns to respond to attacking air forces."<ref>''[[Jane's Defence Weekly]]'', 13 May 1998</ref>

By 2007 the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] assessed the force as 8,000 strong with 41 combat capable aircraft and a further 188 stored. DAAFAR is known now to have acquired another MiG-29 and a few MiG-23s, giving it 58 combat aircraft in active service. These are listed as 6 [[MiG-29]]s, 40 [[MiG-23]]s, and 12 [[MiG-21]]s. IISS also estimated DAAFAR had 12 operational transport aircraft, plus trainers which include 8 L-39C, and helicopters, mainly Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-17, and Mil Mi-24 Hind. Raúl Castro ordered in 2010 that all MiG-29 pilots had to have full training, they now have from 200–250 hours of flight annually together with real dogfight training and exercises.  Up to 20 MiG-23 units also have this kind of training but the other 16 MiG-23 units spend more time in simulators than real flight.  MiG-21 units have limited time in these training exercises and spend more time in simulators and maintain their skills flying with [[Aerogaviota]], the commercial brand of the air force.

==Revolutionary Navy==
[[File:Rio Damuji n° 390.jpg|thumb|The helicopter carrier patrol vessel ''Rio Damuji n° 390'' in Havana (July 2011)]]
In 1988, the Cuban Navy boasted 12,000 men, three [[submarine]]s, two modern [[guided-missile frigate]]s, one [[Spy ship|intelligence vessel]], and a large number of [[patrol craft]] and [[minesweeper]]s.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1988/08/cuba-havanas-military-machine/305932/ | title=Cuba: Havana's Military Machine| website=[[The Atlantic]]| date=August 1988}}</ref> However, most of the Soviet-made vessels have been [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] or sunk to make [[Artificial reef|reefs]]. By 2007, the Cuban Navy was assessed as being 3,000 strong (including up to 550+ [[Marine (military)|Navy Infantry]]) by the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies|IISS]] with six [[Osa-class missile boat|Osa-II]] missile boats and one {{sclass2|Pauk|corvette|1}}. The Cuban Navy also includes a small [[marine (military)|marine]] battalion called the ''Desembarco de Granma''. It once numbered 550 men, though its present size is not known.

After the old Soviet submarines were put out of service, Cuba searched for help from North Korea's experience in [[midget submarine]]s. [[North Korean defectors]] claimed to have seen Cubans in mid to late 1990s in a secret submarine base. Years later, a single picture became public of a small black native submarine in Havana harbor. It is rumored to be called 'Delfin' and is to be armed with two [[torpedo]]es. Only a single boat is in service and the design appears original, even if influenced both by North Korea and Soviet designs.<ref name="Delfin">{{Cite web|url = http://www.hisutton.com/Delfin.html|title = Delfin|date =10 October 2016 |access-date =4 January 2018 |website =hisutton.com }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/03/01/new-photo-reveals-cuban-navys-secret-submarine/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301144206/https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/03/01/new-photo-reveals-cuban-navys-secret-submarine/|archive-date=March 1, 2020|title=New Photo Reveals Cuban Navy's Secret Submarine|last=Sutton|first=H. I.|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-03-02}}</ref>

The Cuban Navy rebuilt one, large ex-Spanish ''Rio Damuji'' fishing boat. ''BP-390'' is now armed with two C-201W missiles, one twin 57&nbsp;mm gun mount, two twin 25&nbsp;mm gun mounts and on 14.5&nbsp;mm machine gun. This vessel is larger than the {{sclass2|Koni|frigate|4}}, and it is used as a [[helicopter carrier]] patrol vessel. A second unit (''BP-391'') was converted and entered service in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2017-08-28/un-baluarte-sobre-el-mar-28-08-2017-22-08-47?page=2 |title= Un baluarte sobre el mar|date =28 August 2017 |access-date =4 January 2018 |newspaper=Granma}}</ref>

The Cuban Navy today operates its own missile systems, the made-in-Cuba Bandera (a copy of the dated Styx Soviet missiles) and Remulgadas anti-ship missile systems, as well as the nationally produced Frontera self-propelled coastal defence multiple rocket launcher. The navy's principal threats are drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The country's geographical position and limited naval presence has enabled traffickers to utilise Cuban territorial waters and airspace.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/navy.htm|title = Global Security on Cuban Navy}}</ref>

The Cuban Navy's air wing is an [[Anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] helicopter operator only and is equipped with 2 [[Mil Mi-14|Mi-14 Haze]] helicopters.<ref name="cafr_airforce"/>

==Air and Naval air bases==
[[File:Combat radii of cuban Mig-29.jpg|thumbnail|right|CIA map showing the estimated range of Cuban MiG-29 Fulcrum jets.]]

=== Active bases ===
:
* [[Cabañas, Cuba|Cabañas]] (HQ Western Command) – [[San Julián Air Base]] (MUSJ)
** 23rd Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23]]ML)
** Primary Training ([[Antonov An-2]])
** 1650 Combat Training ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]UM)
** Combat Training Squadron ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]PFMA and [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]MF)
** Rwy 01/19 2041&nbsp;m (6695&nbsp;ft)
** Rwy 08/26 2584&nbsp;m (8479&nbsp;ft)
** Naval Base?
*Alameda del Siboney
** 23° 5'25"N, 82°28'45"W and 22°58'45"N, 82°59'15"W
* [[Holguín]] (HQ Eastern Command) – [[Frank País Airport]] (MUHG)
** 1724 Interceptor Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23]]BN bomber)
** 3710 Interceptor Squadron and Training
** 34th Tactical Regiment
** Naval Base?
* [[Havana]] – [[Playa Baracoa Airport]] (MUPB)
** 3405th Executive Squadron
** 3404 Transport Squadron
** 3688 Transport Regiment
* Havana – [[José Martí Airport]] (MUHA)
** 25th Transport Regiment ([[Ilyushin Il-76]] and [[Antonov An-32]])
** Rwy 06/24, Size: 4001&nbsp;m (13,125&nbsp;ft)
* [[La Coloma Airport]] (MULM)
** 1660 Training Squadron ([[Aero L-39 Albatros]]C)
* [[Casablanca, Havana]] naval base
** homeport for the navy's two frigates
* there are naval facilities in Cienfuegos (patrol vessels docked near Museo Historico Naval Nacional in Cayo Loco area), Mariel (near shipyard/container port), Nicaro and Punta Movida.

=== Inactive bases ===
* [[Mariel, Cuba|Mariel]] – [[Mariel Airfield]] (MUML) – now container terminal
** former anti-submarine helicopter squadron ([[Ka-32]] and [[Mil Mi-14]]PL)
* [[Ciudad Libertad Airport|Campo de Columbia]] – renamed [[Ciudad Libertad Airport|Campo Libertad]] in 1961 (MULB)
** 26th Transport Regiment ([[Mil Mi-2]] and [[Mil Mi-8]])
** Training Squadron ([[Aero L-39 Albatros]]C and [[Zlín Z 26|Z-326T]])
** 2065&nbsp;m (6775&nbsp;ft runway)
* [[Campo Teniente Brihuega]]
* [[Playa Baracoa]] – [[Playa Baracoa Airfield]] (MUPB)
** 22nd Regiment
* [[Nicaro Airport]] (MUNC)
** abandoned airfield 1315&nbsp;m (single 4314&nbsp;ft runway)
* [[Punta Movida]]
** Soviet built base
* [[Cienfuegos Airport]] (Jaime González Air Station) (MUCF)
** single 2/20 runway 1510&nbsp;m (4954&nbsp;ft)
** 15th Transport Regiment ([[Antonov An-2]] and [[Antonov An-26]])
** 16th Helicopter Regiment ([[Mil Mi-8]], [[Mil Mi-14]], [[Mil Mi-17]])
* [[Güines]]
** 24 Tactical Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23]]BN)
* [[Santiago de Cuba]] – [[Antonio Maceo Airport]] (MUCU)
** 35th Transport Regiment ([[Antonov An-2]] and [[Antonov An-26]])
** 36 Helicopter Regiment ([[Mil Mi-8]] and [[Mil Mi-24]])
** Rwy 09/27 4000&nbsp;m (13123&nbsp;ft)
** Rwy 18/36 1296&nbsp;m (4252&nbsp;ft)
* [[San Antonio de los Baños Airport]] (MUSA)
** 21st Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]B)
** 1724 Regiment
** 3 Runways
*** Rwy 01/19 2400&nbsp;m (7873&nbsp;ft)
*** Rwy 05/23 3596&nbsp;m (11,799&nbsp;ft)
*** Rwy 12/30 2482&nbsp;m (8144&nbsp;ft)
* [[Santa Clara, Cuba|Santa Clara]] – [[Abel Santa María Airport]] (MUSC)
** 14th Tactical Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23]]BN) bomber
** Rwy 08/26 3017&nbsp;m (9898&nbsp;ft)
* [[Santa Cruz, Cuba|Santa Cruz]]
** 11 Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]B)
* [[Sancti Spíritus]] – [[Sancti Spiritus Airport]] (MUSS)
** 12th Regiment ([[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]MF)
** Rwy 03/21 1801&nbsp;m (5908&nbsp;ft)
* [[Camagüey]] – [[Ignacio Agramonte Airport]] (MUCM)
** 31st Regiment – [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]]MF fighters
** Rwy 07/25 3000&nbsp;m (9842&nbsp;ft)

== Special Forces ==
{{main|Black Wasp (special forces)}}
The '''{{lang|es|Avispas Negras}}''' ({{langx|en|Black Wasps}}), also known formally as the '''Mobile Brigade of Special Troops (BMTE)''' is a [[special forces]] unit in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. It is often identified as '''Military Unit 4895'''
Desembarco de Granma is a small marine battalion with [[Marines]] like role.

== Paramilitary forces ==

=== [[Territorial Troops Militia]] ===
The Territorial Troops Militia is composed exclusively of civilian volunteers, under the command of MINFAR. It reinforced the notion of the popular will to defend the Revolution.<ref name="loc.gov">{{cite web|title=About this Collection - Country Studies - Digital Collections - Library of Congress|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Cuba.pdf|access-date=6 November 2018|website=Lcweb2.loc.gov}}</ref> In general, the militia is a part-time force with only light arms that are issued only on occasion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pike|first=John|title=Territorial Militia Troops|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/militia.htm|access-date=6 November 2018|website=Globalsecurity.org}}</ref>

=== Youth Labor Army ===
The Youth Labor Army ({{lang|es|Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo}} – EJT) is, by law, a paramilitary organization under the direct control of MINFAR. It was formally established on 3 August 1973 by combining the Centennial Youth Column (CJC) and the Permanent Infantry Divisions (DIP). Cuba's compulsory service laws require all male citizens to serve for three years in the EJT. The formation of the EJT allowed the army to devote itself full time to military matters. The EJT served as a reserve force in its first 20 years. In 1993, it was assigned the responsibility of managing the state farms.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Youth Labor Army [Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo]|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/ejt.htm|access-date=2021-03-14|website=www.globalsecurity.org}}</ref>

=== Border Troops ===
The Border Troops of the Republic of Cuba ({{Langx|es|Tropas Guardafronteras, TGF}}) is a branch that ensures the protection of the state borders and territorial waters.  They are subordinate to the Interior Ministry (MININT). The official date of the establishment of this service was on September 23, 1970.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2016-02-11/guardianes-de-nuestras-costas|title=Guardianes de nuestras costas}}</ref> In the second half of the 1970s, several agreements were signed, according to which some changes were made to border protection, including a 1976 agreement was signed between Cuba and Mexico on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone in the sector of the Cuban-Mexican maritime border and a 1977 agreement was signed on the maritime border between Cuba and Haiti. The Border Troops are de facto both a [[border guard]] and a [[coast guard]] force, and all new officers are commissioned from the Granma Naval Academy.

== Military schools ==

*[[Máximo Gómez Command Academy]] – succeeded the [[El Morro Academy]], current command college of the CRAF
*[[National Defense College of Cuba]]
*[[Camilo Cienfuegos Military Schools System]] – founded 1962, with 20 campuses in many cities, official military high school
*[[Jose Maceo Military College]] – officer cadet school of the Ground Force
*[[Antonio Maceo Military College]]
*[[Granma Naval Academy]]
*[[ITM Jose Marti|Jose Marti Military Technical Institute]] – current officer cadet school of the technical services and the Air Force
*[[Military Medical University of Cuba]]
*[[Arides Sánchez Military Justice School]]

== Equipment ==
{{main|List of equipment of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces}}

== See also ==
*[[Cuban military ranks]]
*[[List of wars involving Cuba]]
*[[Military interventions of Cuba]]
*[[National Revolutionary Police Force]]

== References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Jane's Intelligence Review, June 1993
* [[Piero Gleijeses]]: ''Kuba in Afrika 1975–1991''. In: Bernd Greiner /Christian Th. Müller / Dierk Walter (Hrsg.): ''Heiße Kriege im Kalten Krieg''. Hamburg, 2006, {{ISBN|3-936096-61-9}}, S. 469–510. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20071015155258/http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/rezensionen/2006-3-024 Review by H. Hoff], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130426095031/http://www.akweb.de/ak_s/ak521/03.htm Review by I. Küpeli])
* Defense Intelligence Agency, [https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=446478 HAndbook on the Cuban Armed Forces, DDB-2680-62-79, April 1979]

== External links==
{{Commons category|Military of Cuba|Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces}}
* {{in lang|es}} [http://www.cubadefensa.cu/ Official site of the Revolutionary Armed Forces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205030040/http://cubadefensa.cu/ |date=2021-02-05 }}
* [http://www.militar.org.ua/foro/ Foro Militar General (Cuban military forum)]
* {{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20071109125450/http://urrib2000.narod.ru/ Cuban Air Force]
* {{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070515182708/http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/generales/ ''Secretos de Generales''] on Granma site
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070609182120/http://www.cubapolidata.com/cafr/cafr.html Cuban Armed Forces Review]
* [https://fas.org/asmp/campaigns/smallarms/lainven.html Latin American Light Weapons National Inventories] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022110744/http://www.fas.org/asmp/campaigns/smallarms/lainven.html |date=2012-10-22 }}
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/af-base.htm Map showing AFBs in Cuba]

{{Cuba topics|GSE}}
{{Cuban security forces}}
{{Cuban conflicts}}
{{Military of the Americas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Military of Cuba]]
[[Category:Military history of Cuba]]
[[Category:Military wings of communist parties]]