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Lao People's Armed Forces

The Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF; Lao: ກອງທັບປະຊາຊົນລາວ) or the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the armed forces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the institution of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, who are charged with protecting the country.

Lao People's Armed Forces
Emblem of Lao People's Armed Forces
Founded20 January 1949; 75 years ago (1949-01-20)
Service branchesLao People's Army
Lao People's Navy
Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force[1]
HeadquartersVientiane
Leadership
Governing bodyDefence and Public Security Commission
DPSC Chairman, President and General SecretaryThongloun Sisoulith
Minister of DefenceGeneral Chansamone Chanyalath
Chief of the General StaffLieutenant General Khamlieng Outhakaysone
Personnel
Military age18- 45 years of age for compulsory military service
Conscriptionminimum 18 months
Available for
military service		1,500,625 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.),
1,521,116 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for
military service		954,816 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.),
1,006,082 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military
age annually		(2005 est.)
Active personnel100,000
Reserve personnel30,000
Expenditure
Budget$18.5 million (2019)
Percent of GDP0.5% (2006)
Industry
Foreign suppliers China
 France
 Thailand
 United States
 Vietnam
Historical:
Related articles
HistoryFirst Indochinese War
Vietnam War

Communist insurgency in Thailand
Third Indochina War

RanksMilitary ranks of Laos

Active forces

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The army of 29,100 is equipped with 30 main battle tanks. The army marine section, equipped with 16 patrol craft, has 600 personnel. The air force, with 3,500 personnel, is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and 24 combat aircraft (no longer in service).

Militia self-defence forces number approximately 100,000 organised for local defence. The small arms utilised mostly by the Laotian Army are the Soviet AKM assault rifle, PKM machine gun, Makarov PM pistol, and the RPD light machine gun.

Organization

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The LPAF is divided into four military regions, with its headquarters in Vientiane

The LPRP statute states that its political leadership over the military emanates from the LPRP Central Committee's Defence and Public Security Commission (DPSC) and is the highest decision-making institution regarding military and security affairs.[2]

History

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Main article: Military history of Laos

Until 1975, the Royal Lao Armed Forces were the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos.

Serving one of the world's least developed countries, the Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced. Its mission focus is border and internal security, primarily in internal suppression of Laotian dissident and opposition groups.[1]

This includes the suppression of the 1999 Lao Students Movement of Democracy demonstrations in Vientiane, and in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent groups and other groups of Laotian and Hmong people opposing the one-party Marxist-Leninist LPRP government and the support it receives from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.[1]

Together with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state machinery, and as such is expected to suppress political and civil unrest and similar national emergencies faced by the government in Vientiane. The LPA also has reportedly upgraded skills to respond to avian influenza outbreaks. At present, there is no major perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains very strong ties with the neighbouring Vietnamese military (2008).[1]

According to some journalists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), humanitarian and human rights organisations, the Lao People's Army has repeatedly engaged in egregious human rights violations and the practice of corruption in Laos.[3][4] The LPAF and its military intelligence play a major role in the arrest, imprisonment and torture of foreign prisoners in Vientiane's notorious Phonthong Prison and the communist Lao gulag system where Australians Kerry and Kay Danes were imprisoned and where civic activist Sombath Somphone may be imprisoned following his arrest in December 2012.[5]

In 2013, attacks by the Lao People's Army against the Hmong people intensified, with soldiers killing four unarmed Hmong school teachers in addition to engaging in other human rights abuses according to the Lao Human Rights Council, the Centre for Public Policy Analysis and others.[6]

Equipment

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Tanks, armored vehicles and trucks

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Photo Model Type Origin Quantity Notes
Tanks
  T-72B1MS Main battle tank   Russia ~50[7]
  T-55 Main battle tank   Soviet Union
  Hungarian People's Republic 		85[8]
  PT-76 Light tank   Soviet Union 25[9] 30 were in service in 1996.[10] Currently 25 are in service.
APC/IFV
  BTR-60PB Armored personnel carrier   Soviet Union 70[11] Currently 70 are in service. BTR-60s have been seen in service as recently as January 2019
  BTR-152 Armored personnel carrier   Soviet Union Unknown [12]
  BTR-40 Armored personnel carrier   Soviet Union 10[13]
  BRDM-2M Armoured car   Soviet Union   Russia 20[14] Upgraded BRDM-2M supplied by Russia in late 2018. At least 10 in service.
Light armoured vehicle/Light assault vehicle
Dima DMT5070XFB Armored personnel carrier   China Unknown
Chinese Tiger 4x4 Infantry mobility vehicle   China Unknown
CS/VN3 4x4 Infantry mobility vehicle   China Unknown
Truck/Utility
  KrAZ-6322 Truck   Ukraine Unknown
  Ural-4320 Medium truck   Soviet Union Unknown
  GAZ-3308 Medium truck   Russia Unknown
FAW Jiefang 141 Medium truck   China Unknown
  Ural-43206 Light truck   Soviet Union Unknown
  GAZ-66 Platform truck   Soviet Union Unknown
BAIC 4x4 vehicles Military light utility vehicle   China Unknown
  UAZ-469 Military light utility vehicle   Soviet Union Unknown
  BJ2022JC Military light utility vehicle   China Unknown
  PTS Tracked amphibious transport   Soviet Union Unknown
Shaanxi SX2190 Launched bridge   China Unknown
Shaanxi SX2190 Floating bridge   China Unknown
Engineering and support vehicles
XCMG backhoe loader Engineering vehicle   China Unknown
XCMG excavator Engineering vehicle Unknown
XCMG wheel loader Engineering vehicle Unknown
XCMG XJY240WQ Engineering vehicle Unknown
XCMG XJY240Z Engineering vehicle Unknown

Artillery

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Photo Model Type Origin Quantity Notes
Dongfeng CS/SS4 Self propelled mortar system   China 14[citation needed]
SR-5 Multiple rocket launcher   China 12
  BM-21 Grad 122mm multiple rocket launcher   Soviet Union 32
  BM-14 Multiple rocket launcher 20
  2S3 Akatsiya 152mm self-propelled howitzer Unknown
122-HL-70 122mm self-propelled howitzer   Laos 18
  PCL-09 122mm self-propelled howitzer   China 12
  M-30 122 mm howitzer Towed howitzers and guns   Soviet Union 15[15]
  122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)[citation needed] 20[15]
  130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)[15]
  M114 155 mm howitzer[15]   United States 12[15]
  M101 howitzer 105mm (towed): M-101[15] 20[15]
  M116 howitzer[15] 75mm (towed): M-116 pack 10

[16][17]

Air defense

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Photo Model Type Origin Quantity Notes
  S-125 Neva/Pechora Short-range SAM system   Soviet Union Unknown
  9K35 Strela-10 Vehicle-mounted SAM system   Soviet Union Unknown
Yitian anti air system Surface-to-air missile   China Unknown
  ZSU-23-4 Shilka Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun   Soviet Union Unknown
  Strela-2 Surface-to-air missile   Soviet Union Unknown Received 100 launchers from Soviet Union in the 80s[18]
  37 mm automatic air defence gun M1939 (61-K) Air defence gun Unknown
  57 mm AZP S-60 Automatic anti-aircraft gun Unknown
  ZPU Auto anti-aircraft gun Unknown
  ZU-23-2 Anti-aircraft gun Unknown

[15]

Weapons

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Photo Model Type Caliber Origin Notes
  TT-33 Semi-automatic pistol 7.62×25mm Tokarev   Soviet Union Standard service pistols for Laotian Armed Forces.
  PM[19] Semi-automatic pistol 9×18mm Makarov   Soviet Union
  G2 Semi-automatic pistol 9x19mm Parabellum   Indonesia [20]
  JS 9 mm Bullpup Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum   China [21]
  Winchester Model 1200 Pump shotgun 12-gauge   United States
  Simonov SKS Semi-automatic rifle 7.62×39mm M43   Soviet Union Limited use, used for ceremonial purpose only.
  Mosin-Nagant Bolt-action rifle 7.62×54mmR   Soviet Union Limited use, in storage.
  9A-91 Assault rifle, Carbine 9x39mm   Russia Used by Laotian special forces.
  

AKM AKMS

Assault rifle 7.62×39mm   Soviet Union Standard service rifles for Laotian Armed Forces, including police officer and Lao People's army.[19]
QBZ-95 Bullpup Assault rifle 5.8×42mm DBP87
5.56×45mm NATO 		  China Standard issue for Laotian Special Forces and Special Police Forces.
  Type 56 Assault rifle 7.62×39mm   China
  Type 81 Assault rifle 7.62×39mm   China
  AMD-65 Assault rifle 7.62×39mm   Hungarian People's Republic
  Pindad SS1 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO   Indonesia In 2014, Laos imported 35 SS1 V2s and SS1 V4s.[22]
  Pindad SS2 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO   Indonesia
  M16A2 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO   United States
 
 
STV-380, an assault rifle made from Vietnam based to Israeli's assault rifle.
 IWI ACE Assault rifle 7.62×39 mm   Israel
  Vietnam 		Laos received Vietnamese-made Galil ACEs in January 2019.
  RPD Light machine gun 7.62×39mm   Soviet Union [19]
  PK machine gun General-purpose machine gun 7.62×54mmR   Soviet Union [19]
M60 machine gun General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO   United States
  KPV heavy machine gun Heavy machine gun 14.5×114mm   Soviet Union
  DShK Heavy machine gun 12.7×108mm   Soviet Union
  Dragunov SVD Designated marksman rifle, Sniper rifle 7.62×54mmR   Soviet Union [21]
  RPG-7 Rocket-propelled grenade 40mm   Soviet Union
  RPG-2 Rocket-propelled grenade 40mm   Soviet Union

[16][17][23]

Mortars

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Accidents

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On 17 May 2014, Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Douangchay Phichit was killed in a plane crash, along with other top ranking officials.[25] The officials were to participate in a ceremony to mark the liberation of the Plain of Jars from the former Royal Lao government forces.[26] Their Russian-built Antonov AN 74-300 with 20 people on board crashed in Xiangkhouang Province.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. November 2021.
  2. ^ "Laos Lao People's Army - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System". photius.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  3. ^ Amnesty International, (23 March 2007), "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle – Hmong under threat" "Lao People's Democratic Republic: Hiding in the jungle - Hmong under threat | Amnesty International". Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. ^ The Centre for Public Policy Analysis, CPPA, Washington, D.C. (1 August 2013), http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
  5. ^ Scoop Independent News, Auckland, New Zealand, (19 March 2013) "Laos Officials Criticized for Obstructing Investigation" http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1303/S00169/laos-officials-criticized-for-obstructing-investigation.htm (Archive)
  6. ^ Businesswire, businesswire.com (4 March 2013) "Laos: Attacks Intensify Against Lao, Hmong People" http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130304006755/en/Laos-Attacks-Intensify-Lao-Hmong-People (Archive)
  7. ^ "Russia receives 30 vintage tank from Laos". 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Trade Registers".
  9. ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
  10. ^ Administrator. "PT-76". Pancerni 2. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014. [verification needed]
  11. ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
  12. ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
  13. ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2000). Jane's tank & combat vehicle recognition guide. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780004724522.
  14. ^ Gibson, Neil; Fediushko, Dmitry (22 January 2019). "Laotian military parades Russian- and Chinese-made equipment". Jane's 360. London, Moscow. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Laos Army Equipment". Global Security. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  16. ^ a b John Pike. "World Military Guide". Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Laos". Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Trade Registers".
  19. ^ a b c d e Cove, The (25 February 2022). "Know Your Region (KYR): Laos - Military". cove.army.gov.au. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Laos Borong Senjata Buatan Pindad" (in Indonesian). 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Cặp đôi súng Trung Quốc trong biên chế đặc công Lào mạnh cỡ nào?". 15 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023.
  22. ^ Administrator, ANTARA (24 September 2017). "Laos Expresses Interest To Make Another Purchase of Pindad Weapon". Tempo.co. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  23. ^ Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  24. ^ a b c d "Library of Congress / Federal Research Division / Country Studies / Area Handbooks / Laos / Tables". Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  25. ^ "Laos Deputy PM Douangchay Phichit dies in plane crash". BBC News. 17 May 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  26. ^ Williams, Martin (17 May 2014). "Laos plane crash kills defence minister and senior officials". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  27. ^ "Lao Defense Chief Among Plane Crash Victims". Laos News.Net. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
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