Cuban army. Cuban "Black Wasps"

Includes

Revolutionary Army of Cuba [d]
Revolutionary Air Forces and Air Defense Forces of Cuba
Revolutionary Navy Navy Cuba [d]
Territorial militia units [d]
Army of working youth [d]
Production and defense brigades [d]

Revolutionary Armed Forces(Spanish) Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cuba ) - the armed forces of Cuba, providing its national defense since January 1959.

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The Cuban armed forces were first created at the beginning of the 20th century from rebel units - " mamby"who took part in the War of Independence.

As of 1914, the armed forces of Cuba totaled 5,000 people. consisted of one infantry brigade consisting of two three-battalion regiments; two batteries of light artillery and 4 batteries of mountain artillery; machine gun detachment of 4 companies and a coastal artillery detachment

In March 1915, an aviation unit was created as part of the Cuban army.

On December 8, 1941, following the United States, Cuba declared war on Japan, and on December 11, 1941, it declared war on Germany and Italy. The Cuban armed forces did not directly participate in World War II, but participated in the supply of military-strategic raw materials to the United States and provided naval and air force bases at the disposal of American troops.

During the Second World War, from October 28, 1941 to September 1945, the Cuban armed forces were strengthened by supplies of weapons and military equipment from the United States under the Lend-Lease program (initially, supplies were planned in the amount of $3.7 million, but in fact The Lend-Lease program transferred military property worth a total of $6.2 million), the cost of which was to be repaid by 1947 with supplies of goods and raw materials.

In 1942, a law on conscription was adopted, in accordance with which a mixed principle of recruiting the armed forces was established (on a voluntary basis and by conscription). In addition, a civil defense service was created and two training camps were built to train soldiers (for 4 thousand military personnel each)

In 1947, the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in Rio de Janeiro, to which Cuba joined.

As of 1952, the number of Cuban armed forces was 45 thousand people, the Air Force was armed with more than 100 obsolete American-made aircraft, the naval forces consisted of 37 ships (including 3 frigates, 2 gunboats, 2 submarines, as well as smaller ships and boats).

In March 1952, a “mutual security treaty” was signed between the United States and Cuba ( Mutual Defense Assistance Act), according to which an American military mission arrived on the island. Subsequently, in accordance with the agreement, the government army of F. Batista received military uniforms, small arms, ammunition, heavy weapons and armored vehicles from the United States.

In April 1957, the first helicopters were purchased from the UK for the Air Force - two Westland Whirlwinds.

On March 14, 1958, the United States announced the introduction of an arms embargo on Cuba, but in practice this ban was not observed: some weapons came from the United States through third countries and from the Guantanamo Bay military base, and in November-December 1958, weapons were supplied directly from the United States to planes of the Cuban Air Force (an employee of the Cuban military attaché in the United States, Sergeant Angel Saavedra, managed to photograph the loading process and transmit photographs and documents about the supply of weapons to the rebel leadership, their publication caused a public outcry in the United States).

In addition to American military assistance, in the 1950s large shipments of weapons for the Cuban army were received from Great Britain (in November 1958 - 17 Sea Fury fighters and 15 A-34 Comet tanks), Denmark (ammunition), Italy ( December 20, 1958 - 5 thousand M1 Garand rifles and ammunition), Dominican Republic (small arms and ammunition) and Nicaragua (in 1956 - 40 T-17E1 armored cars). A number of FN FAL automatic rifles were purchased from Belgium.

The armed forces of F. Batista's government included three branches of the military (army, air force and navy). Between 1952 and 1958, their total number increased by 112%, to 70 thousand people. At the beginning of 1958, to address issues of strategic planning, increase efficiency and coordinate the actions of various branches of the military, a high military command body, the Joint General Staff, was created, headed by General Francisco Tabernilla Dols.

As of October 1958, the Cuban army had the following military equipment:

aircraft: 8 T-33 jet trainers; 15 B-26 bombers; 15 F-47D Thunderbolt fighters; two De Havilland L-20 Beaver aircraft; 8 pcs. T-6 Texan; 8 AT-6C “Harvard” aircraft; 10 C-47 transport aircraft; one Douglas C-53; 5 pcs. light Piper PA-18; 5 pcs. Piper PA-20 "Pacer"; 4 pcs. Piper PA-22 "Tri-Pacer" and one Piper PA-23 "Apache".
helicopters: six helicopters of various types;
tanks: 7 M4A1 Sherman medium tanks (received in February 1957 from the USA); 18 M3A1 Stuart light tanks and 5 A-34 Comet tanks.
armored vehicles: 10 M6 Staghound armored vehicles; 20 M-8 armored vehicles; 24 M3 White armored vehicles; 20 GM T-17 light armored vehicles.
special vehicles and engineering equipment: 15 tractors and tractors; 1 crane; 1 fire truck and 18 ambulances.
cars: 245 trucks; 26 buses; 413 cars and jeeps, 157 motorcycles.

At the end of 1958, F. Batista purchased from an American company “ Interarmco» 100 pcs. AR-10 assault rifles, they were delivered to the port of Havana, but were no longer at the disposal of the Cuban army, as they were captured by the rebels.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (since 1959)

The creation of the revolutionary Rebel Army began in December 1956, when a group of Cubans led by F. Castro landed from the Granma yacht in the province of Oriente and began an armed struggle against the Batista government. In 1959, the creation of milicianos units began. In September 1960, committees for the defense of the revolution were created.

However, in Italy they managed to purchase six 120-mm howitzers and a batch of shells for them.

In addition, during this period, the Cuban government forces received a certain amount of captured weapons supplied from abroad to militants of counter-revolutionary groups.

The supply of military products and the provision of technical assistance from the USSR began in 1960 and continued until 1990.

In 1962, a Soviet training center was opened in Cuba, where the training of Cuban military personnel began. In 1962, the “Combat Manual of the Infantry” was introduced, and in February 1963 - the “Combat Manual”, developed under the leadership of Soviet military specialists, taking into account the experience of training the armed forces of the USSR and socialist states. The publication of periodicals for military personnel began: "El oficial", "Verde olivo" and "Trabajo politico"

On March 23, 1963, in the port of Matantas, Cuban troops destroyed a group of saboteurs (55 people) who attempted to land in the port.

On September 23, 1970, the Border Guard Troops (TGF, Tropas Guardafronteras) .

In October 1972, another group of Cuban emigrants, the “gusanos,” tried to land on the coast of Cuba in the Baracoa region, but its participants were disarmed and captured by soldiers of the Cuban army.

By the mid-1970s, Cuba's armed forces had become the most combat-ready in Latin America.

In 1980, Cuba concluded a bilateral treaty of friendship, cooperation and military assistance with the GDR, and in 1982 a bilateral treaty of friendship, cooperation and military assistance with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

On March 20, 1981, military training schools were established in the provinces of Cuba ( Escuelas Provinciales de Preparación para la Defensa, EPPD) .

In addition, in the 1980s, Cuba received a large shipment of Kalashnikov assault rifles from the DPRK.

In the early 1990s. the number of armed forces was reduced, a significant part of the equipment was mothballed. The country's economic problems forced the army to look for new ways to finance itself. In a short time, a significant number of military farms were created on the island to produce food for the troops. In addition, military personnel were involved in other forms of economic activity (repair and construction, reforestation, etc. work).

In the period after December 1998, Cuban-Venezuelan cooperation began to develop more intensively, including military [ ] . A Cuban military mission has arrived in Venezuela and is located in Fort Tiuna (near Caracas).

In 2000, Cuba signed an agreement to expand military cooperation with China.

In 2001-2002 The Union de la Industria Militar weapons company developed the 7.62 mm Alejandro sniper repeating rifle for the Cuban army.

In 1998, Cuba began a program to modernize armored vehicles, during which by 2006 a number of independent projects to modernize tanks, armored personnel carriers, air defense systems and other Soviet-made equipment were completed. The modernization of equipment is carried out at Cuban enterprises and is combined with major overhauls, which makes it possible to extend the service life of tanks and armored personnel carriers by 10-15 years. In 2000-2014, the troops received:

300-350 modernized tanks (T-55 and T-62 delivered in Soviet times, modernized to the level of T-55M and T-62M) [ ]
mobile launchers for S-75 and S-125 anti-aircraft missile systems on the T-55 tank chassis [ ]
self-propelled guns T-34-122 (122 mm D-30 howitzer on the T-34 tank chassis) and T-34-130 (130 mm M-46 gun on the T-34 tank chassis) [ ]
artillery barrel systems of 122 and 130 mm caliber on the KrAZ-255B truck chassis [ ]
modernized BTR-60 armored personnel carriers equipped with anti-aircraft rapid-fire installations or tank guns in armored turrets
self-propelled mortars BRDM-2-120 (BRDM-2 combat reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a 120-mm regimental mortar of the 1955 model) [ ]
BTR-60 armored personnel carriers, on which a turret from the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle is installed [ ] .

As of early 2005, Cuba had one of the most effective civil defense systems in Latin America.

In early August 2006, the Cuban government began a campaign to strengthen the country's defense capabilities, modernize the army and weapons.

In 2007, the Cubans developed the VLMA laser target designator for the AKM assault rifle.

In August 2008, after the visit to Cuba of the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation N.P. Patrushev, a decision was made to restore Russian-Cuban ties. In September 2009, Cuban-Russian agreements were signed, according to which the training of Cuban military personnel in Russian military educational institutions began.

In September 2012, the Cuban Minister of Defense announced that an agreement had been reached on the development of Cuban-Chinese military cooperation.

Organizational structure

As of 2011, the total population of Cuba is 11.204 million people, the mobilization resource is 6.1 million people. (including 3.8 million fit for military service). The total number of armed forces is 49 thousand people, the reserve is 39 thousand, another 39 thousand serve in other paramilitary forces and 50 thousand in the civil defense forces

Professional holidays

"Day Milisianos" (introduced in April 1961);
April 17 - Cuban Air Force and Air Defense Day (introduced in 1961);
April 18 - Tankman's Day (introduced in 1961);
April 19 - Victory Day in the Battle of Playa Giron (since 1961);
December 2 is the Day of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.

Additional information

Notes

Military Encyclopedia / ed. regiment. V. F. Novitsky and others, vol. 14 - St. Petersburg: Type. T-va I. D. Sytin, 1914
Vladimir Ilyin. Cuban Air Force // Aviation and Cosmonautics magazine, No. 2, February 2015. pp. 30-39
The First World War, 1914-1918 // Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. A. M. Prokhorova. 3rd ed. T.19. M., “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1975. p.340-352
Cuba // Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. A. M. Prokhorova. 3rd ed. T.13. M., “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1973. p.531-532
I. I. Yanchuk. US Policy in Latin America, 1939-1945. M., “Science”, 1975. p.135-136
E. A. Grinevich. Pages of Cuban history, 1939-1952. M., “International Relations”, 1964. p.167
M. B. Baryatinsky. Tanks of World War II. Part II. Allies. M., Collection, Yauza, EKSMO. 2000
M. B. Baryatinsky. Light tanks of the Second World War. M., “Collection” - “Yauza”, 2007. p.98
World History. / ed., rep. ed. V.V. Kurasov. volume X. M., “Thought”, 1965. p.580
Cuba // Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. coll., ch. ed. B. A. Vvedensky. 2nd ed. T.23. M., State scientific publishing house "Big Soviet Encyclopedia", 1953. p.578-585
V. V. Listov, V. G. Zhukov. Secret war against revolutionary Cuba. M., Politizdat, 1966. pp. 34-35,38
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., “Progress”, 1987. p.115
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., “Progress”, 1987. p.234
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., “Progress”, 1987. pp.67-68
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., “Progress”, 1987. p.271-272
Major Sam Pikula. The ArmaLite AR-10. Regnum Fund Press, 1998. pp. 72-73
"K-22" - Battle cruiser / [under general. ed. N.V.Ogarkova]. - M.: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1979. - P. 499-501. - (Soviet military encyclopedia: [in 8 volumes]; 1976-1980, vol. 4).
S. A. Gonionsky. Essays on the modern history of Latin American countries. M., “Enlightenment”, 1964. p.232
History of diplomacy (in 5 vols.). / ed. A. A. Gromyko and others. 2nd ed. volume V. book 1. M., Politizdat, 1974. p.608

Russia and Cuba signed a program of technological cooperation in the field of defense until 2020. The document was signed on December 9 by the co-chairs of the Russian-Cuban intergovernmental commission Dmitry Rogozin And Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz.

The signing of the document took place following the plenary meeting of the intergovernmental commission in Havana. Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia and Cuba agreed on the practical implementation of the idea of creating a committee on new technologies.

A package of six documents was also approved, which includes a protocol of intent between the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Institute of Civil Aviation of Cuba, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Scientific Center for Expertise of Medical Products of the Russian Ministry of Health and the Cuban Center for State Control of Medicines, Medical Equipment and devices", a roadmap for the development of a contract for the performance of work and the supply of construction, track equipment, equipment and materials, as well as a memorandum of understanding between Inter RAO Export LLC and Union Electrica for the reconstruction, modernization and construction of generating capacities, the main topic which is the restoration of power plant power units built with the help of Soviet specialists.

According to Rogozin, within the framework of this program, Moscow will provide Havana with methodological assistance in establishing the process of modernization of the armed forces. As the Deputy Prime Minister put it, a precedent has thus been created:

“For the first time, at the request of the Cuban side, we took part in the development of a long-term program for the modernization, modernization and restoration of equipment that was previously supplied to Cuba, and this is all recorded in the action plan, which was also signed today,” he said.

The Deputy Head of Government noted that Russia has long switched to a program-target method in matters of defense and security; it has methods and specialists who can provide assistance in the field of planning. He recalled that the Cuban armed forces use equipment that was supplied from the Soviet Union.

“Now we are creating the necessary repair bases, providing service for this equipment, new supplies in order to ensure the complete security of Cuba in order to respond to modern risks,” Rogozin noted, noting that on a number of issues the help of Cuban colleagues will also be useful to Russia.

Let us recall that in mid-November KamAZ entered into a contract for the supply of about 2.4 thousand units of automotive equipment, spare parts and service equipment to Cuba. At the beginning of December, information about cooperation between Russia and Cuba in the aviation industry was published on the website of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation:

“In total, 14 aircraft were delivered to the Republic of Cuba from 2006 to 2016, including in 2006-2013. — 3 IL-96 aircraft, 2 TU-204 passenger aircraft, 2 TU-204 cargo aircraft and 3 AN-158 aircraft; in 2014-2016 — 3 AN-158 aircraft (under contracts concluded in 2013) and one IL-96-300 aircraft,” the report noted.

In addition, as part of cooperation in the field of supply of helicopter equipment in 2016, two Mi-17−1 V helicopters were delivered to Cuba, and a number of commercial proposals were submitted regarding the servicing of the supplied helicopters and the supply of repair and design documentation for their overhaul. It can be assumed that the modernization program for the Cuban Armed Forces announced by Rogozin includes provisions previously noted by the Accounts Chamber as unfulfilled.

This is the creation of an aviation training center in Havana, maintaining the airworthiness of aircraft delivered to Cuba, reducing the time required for the manufacture of components and the delivery of units and spare parts, notes Andrei Frolov, a researcher at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, editor-in-chief of the Arms Export magazine.

— And where there is civil aviation, there is also military aviation. It is clear that no one will create duplicate service centers. That is, they will most likely be dual-use. Plus, there was recently information that helicopter repairs would be carried out at one of the island’s factories. In all other respects, there are still no mega-breakthrough contracts in sight.

Due to limited financial resources, at best, the Cubans will repair with our help any range of weapons and military equipment. For example, several MiG-29, MiG-23 aircraft. As part of their ground-based air defense, the Cubans formally have divisions of very outdated S-75 and S-125 air defense systems (at least 60 standard launchers, another 36 on the T-55 chassis). Of course, we can offer their modernization, but based on the experience of modernizing the Egyptian S-125 Pechora air defense systems to the Pechora-2M level, we can say that the cost of such work is by no means “three kopecks.” But the Cubans are unlikely to support a program worth more than several tens of millions of dollars.

“SP”: — Is it possible to transfer military equipment free of charge?

- Yes, from the availability of our Armed Forces. It is clear that these may be expensive S-300s, but we can transfer armored vehicles in small quantities. One way or another, we will still have to dispose of some BTR-70s. Moreover, we are transferring the BTR-70M to the armies of Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. Cubans will only need to pay for pre-sale preparation.

Research fellow at the Russian State University for the Humanities, specialist in Latin America Mikhail Belyat says that, despite the crisis in the Cuban economy, cooperation between Russia and Cuba has been developing recently, and not only in the military sphere.

— It is no secret that the military cooperation of the Soviet Union with Cuba was extremely broad. And not only the USSR, but the entire socialist camp. A huge role in the formation and development of the Cuban armed forces was played by the East Germans and Vietnamese, who trained Cuban special forces. At one time, the Cuban army was the best in Latin America in terms of composition and combat training, with the exception of the US Army.

When, in connection with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp, Cuba began to have serious economic problems, from which it is still recovering, then, of course, this inevitably led to a decrease in spending on the Revolutionary Armed Forces. And after that there were no serious purchases of new weapons and military equipment. The old T-55, T-62 tanks, Luna missile systems, etc. are still in service. Obviously, the issue of weapons modernization for Cuba is quite acute and relevant. That is why Rogozin’s visit took place and the announced agreements were reached. A holy place is never empty, and if Russia does not now occupy a niche in terms of repair and modernization of the Cuban armed forces, and in the future - some supplies, then in the future someone else will definitely occupy it.

As for Cuba’s ability to pay for the work, based on an assessment of economic opportunities and the extremely outdated state of the local armed forces, the authorities will most likely find the means to pay. For example, although the amount of the contract for the supply of KamAZ vehicles is not disclosed, it is clear that the company will not operate at a loss.

“SP”: — Some experts note that due to the change of generations, the Cuban political elite is gradually beginning to drift towards the United States. What are the real political ties between Cuba and the Russian Federation?

— Currently, relations between Russia and Cuba are being restored. I would even say, the restoration of those levels of trust in relations that Cuba previously had with the USSR. When we left there and slammed the door because we left the island abruptly, cutting off all contracts and threads of cooperation, leaving it alone with its own misfortune, the country found itself in an economic catastrophe, from which, as I already said, it has not yet emerged por. But it was precisely this, the economic catastrophe, that served as the impetus for the adoption of market reforms. As a result, Cuba mobilized all its forces and resources in order to still preserve the economy and begin to develop it.

Now, by the way, it has turned out to be a plus. But, of course, all this seriously undermined Cuba's trust in Russia as the heir to the Soviet Union. And now we are forced to restore relations: as you know, the head of the Foreign Ministry visited the island several times Sergey Lavrov, the president also went there Vladimir Putin.

In my opinion, these efforts were aimed precisely at restoring relations, which is gradually happening. We see this not only in the field of military cooperation, but also in the economic sphere. Russia, however, is in 9th-12th place in terms of the level of such cooperation with Cuba, because the first places are already occupied by European countries, Canada and, above all, China. Nevertheless, we maintain our position in the top ten. I think that this process will develop and the trends in improving relations between Cuba and the United States will in no way interfere with this. We have many political partners who have excellent relations with the United States, which does not prevent us from fully cooperating with them.

It is still surprising that the Republic of Cuba exists in close proximity to the United States, which took the path of building socialism back in the 50s of the last century.

Cuba is very interesting. And it has been going on since 1492, when the famous European Columbus set foot on the island. Since then, the indigenous inhabitants - the Taino Indians - had to fight for their independence against the colonialists: first with the European ones, and then the United States declared their right to the territory of the island.

From 1952 to 1959, Cuba was under the brutal dictatorship of Batista. Cuban revolutionaries repeatedly tried to destroy the dictatorship that had already become obsolete. Both left and right forces, rich and poor, are fed up with the Batista regime. The desire to get rid of the dictatorial regime was strengthened by the open connection between the Cuban government and the American mafia. The difficult economic and social situation in the country, the lack of democracy and the opportunity to take into account the interests of the dissatisfied led to an explosion. Revolution in Cuba became inevitable. General indignation led to the success of the revolution led by F. Castro.

We can confidently say that the revolution in Cuba was carried out not so much by a handful of revolutionaries, but with the help of the people and those who were in power (except Batista himself, of course). The United States tried to maintain its influence on the island. The so-called “Bay of Pigs Operation” is known as the crushing defeat of US mercenaries inflicted by Cuban rebel forces more than half a century ago in the Bay of Cochins. The battle lasted only 72 hours. The Cubans completely defeated the so-called “Brigade 2506,” which consisted of Cuban emigrants trained by US intelligence agencies. “Brigade 2506” included 4 infantry battalions, a tank unit, airborne troops, a heavy artillery division and special forces - a total of 1,500 people. As a result of the battle, almost all of the interventionists were captured or destroyed.

Cubans defended their right to live the way they want. But they had to constantly be ready to defend their independence. All this time, the Cubans live in constant readiness to repel a military invasion of the “rebellious” island by the United States.

Today, after a fairly long period of time, we can note the country’s achievements after a radical regime change. Cubans are believed to have the longest life expectancy of any country in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba has high-quality free healthcare and advanced education. If Cuba used to be a supplier of sugar, now it exports brains: for example, Cuban doctors provide highly qualified care on different continents of the world. It is difficult to say whether state regulation of the economy can be considered an asset of the Cuban regime, but transformations are currently underway in this industry: small private enterprises are allowed in Cuba - hairdressing salons, workshops and production cooperatives. Now Cubans receive international passports without any problems: many leave the country, but there are also those who return to the sunny island. Despite great changes and strengthening contacts with the outside world, the Cuban regime not only survived, but also strengthened.

A fairly reasonable question arises: why has the United States of America, which dictates its will to many countries of the world and easily carries out military intervention in the affairs of sovereign states, still not subjugated Cuba? The answer lies on the surface - the Americans are well aware of how much this will cost them. All these years, the Cuban armed forces, which grew out of the rebel groups of the Cuban revolution, are the most trained and well-armed army in the world. And although it is inferior in numbers to many armed forces of other countries, the morale of the military personnel and the excellent training of the officers makes the Cuban army the most combat-ready.

The Cuban armed forces are recruited on the basis of conscription, the service period is 1 year. Both men and women serve in the army: there are even tank companies and helicopter regiments in which only women serve.

Liberty Island has long been turned into an impregnable citadel. Many vacationers on the wonderful sandy beaches do not even realize that just a few meters from their sun loungers there are well-camouflaged pillboxes and military installations. And in the karst caves, which the Cubans are so proud of, there are storage bases for military equipment and prepared firing points. The Cuban military has implemented an effective method of preserving military equipment. 70% of the available weapons are located at storage bases and are ready for immediate use, along with related equipment and supplies. For example, tanks, self-propelled guns, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns and infantry fighting vehicles are stored in packs, along with the necessary supply of batteries and ammunition. The necessary climatic conditions are created for the stored equipment - optimal humidity and temperature. For this purpose, modern, expensive equipment was purchased.

Back in the 80s of the last century, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro officially voiced the Cuban military doctrine with the significant name “War of the People.” The implementation of the doctrine led to the fact that Cuba turned into a powerful fortified area and base capable of ensuring a general guerrilla war in the event of an external attack. Not only the country’s armed forces, but also civilians, who are united in territorial units of the people’s militia, are involved in carrying out the assigned tasks for the defense of the island. The harmony of the people's forces and the regular army is so great that together they will be able to effectively resist any aggressor. The Cubans claim that every citizen of the country, whether military or civilian, knows where and at what time he must arrive in the event of hostilities or the threat of attack. About 1.4 thousand defense zones and borders have been formed in Cuba. The aggressor is unlikely to be able to cope with such an organized confrontation.

To maintain a high level of readiness to repel any attack, once every few years Cuba conducts the combined arms exercise Bastion, in which military personnel and civilians participate. The number of civilians participating in the exercise significantly exceeds the number of the Cuban army. Russia (and not only Russia) should envy such organization and the level of patriotism of every Cuban citizen.

Almost every Russian knows about the Alpha and Vympel special forces, but Cuba also has highly professional military units, although little is known about them. We are talking about Cuban special forces - Tropas Especiales "Avispas Negras". This unit is also called the “Black Wasps”. It was formed to ensure the security of the country's top leadership. Initially, it included experienced fighters who served in Latin American countries and had experience in guerrilla and insurgent warfare during the period of the destruction of the Batista dictatorship. With the permission of Fidel Castro, the Black Wasps special forces took part in supporting revolutionary movements abroad.

So, in 1975, Cuban special forces were deployed to Angola to help the People's Liberation Movement for the liberation of Angola. This African state was a very tasty morsel for the United States and South Africa - the country had rich mineral resources: diamonds, oil, phosphates, gold, iron ore, bauxite and uranium, so they made every effort to prevent the leaders of the pro-Marxist movement from coming to power. Today we can say with confidence that the mission of Cuban military specialists contributed to Angola’s choice of the socialist path of development.

In addition, Cuban special forces fought in Ethiopia and Mozambique, in Central American countries. One of the Cuban officers who fought in Ethiopia said that “Russian advisers for the Ethiopians are like Martians. Firstly, they are “faranji” (white), and secondly, they live almost under communism. Another thing is us Cubans: among us there are many mulattoes, there are blacks. Besides, not long ago we lived in the same filth and hopelessness, just like the Ethiopians. Therefore, we easily understand each other.” And today, Cuban military advisers are fighting in many countries around the world.

The Cuban special forces "Black Wasps" specialize in combat operations in the jungle. Experts admit that today the Black Wasps are the best special forces that can operate effectively in tropical conditions, and the level of training of each fighter has no analogues in the world in terms of complexity.

To train special forces of this level, a well-equipped training center is required. And such a Center was opened in 1980 in the city of Los Palacios. The Cubans gave it the name "School" - Escuela Nacional de Tropas Especiales Baragua. On the territory of the Center, which occupies a huge territory, artificial reservoirs, swamps, a model of the city, a network of underground communications and much more were built. At the same time, about 2.5 thousand cadets can undergo retraining at this Center. And not only the Black Wasps, but also parachute troops, marines, and military personnel from other countries. The teachers are not only Cubans: for example, Chinese army officers teach as instructors at this Center.

The main disciplines at the Center are tactics of warfare in the jungle, training in methods of survival in difficult conditions and covert penetration into enemy territory, methods of sabotage, mastering martial arts, sniper art, diving and parachute training, as well as mastering the skills of conducting information and psychological warfare . By the way, it was the Cuban officer Raul Riso who developed a special style of martial arts based on “karate-operetiva”, which was used in the training of specialists from the KGB of the USSR and the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Ministry of Defense, and special forces soldiers “Vympel” and “Alpha”.

The tactics of the “Black Wasps” are based on the action of individuals or small groups of reconnaissance saboteurs who are able to remain autonomous for a long time when operating on enemy territory. The fighters of the “Black Wasps” are masters of all types from many countries of the world: be it AKMS, AKMSN, Vintorez, RPG-7V, SVD, AS “Val” or the Hungarian ADM-65 or the Czech CZ 75, or Cuban-made weapons. Cuba can rightfully be proud of its special forces.

This is how the soldiers of the Soviet Alpha unit, who were trained at the Cuban military training center, described the training of the Cuban special forces “Black Wasps”. The camp was located in a picturesque lowland, surrounded by forested hills. The teaching was conducted by experts in their field. The Alpha team especially remembered training on the so-called “Che Guevara trail.” The trail is a route passing through seven hills, the length of the trail is about 8 km. The trail is equipped with training booby traps, obstacles of varying difficulty, trip wires and other unexpected surprises for the special forces. Dress code: shorts and no shoes. To increase the load, each fighter carries with him a blank weighing about 8 kg, simulating a Kalashnikov assault rifle, and a pouch with training mines was also attached to his belt. The Alpha members remember well that they returned “dead” from the first training session. Subsequently, the center’s teachers taught the cadets to navigate minefields, and it was necessary to clear all types of mines “blindly” and by hand, quickly overcome barbed wire barriers, remove sentries and penetrate airfields, warehouses, fuel terminals, etc.

Walking the “Che Guevara trail” every day, practicing various modes of movement, and intense physical training are standard training for a Cuban special forces soldier. Moving in a bent position causes pain in all muscles after just 15 minutes, and cadets are required to walk like this for hours. In addition, this walking was practiced as part of a group: the person walking in front felt the ground in front of him with his feet to detect tripwires and mines. The group follows closely behind. Since the human eye reacts to rapid movement, the group moves slowly and smoothly for greater stealth, so as to be able to immediately freeze if a flare takes off. Special forces soldiers are taught to completely merge with their environment.

To master all the disciplines in the training center of the Cuban special forces, it takes enormous will and, of course, time.

Just look at the night crawling for 12 hours straight. The task of the group in this case is to unnoticed penetration into a protected facility. The fighters move slowly, overcoming obstacles of various levels, including noise mats made of reeds, dry leaves, fragments of slate, barbed wire fences (the wire is first bitten, broken by hand - in this case it does not make a sound, then spread with special hooks in different directions and provide a passage for exit). In complete darkness, the leader of the group, when finding mines, checks them for removability, neutralizes traps, removes trip wires or marks their locations. At this time, the group lies motionless and waits for his command. The fighters are smeared with mud or a masking composition made from herbs, and the weapons are also treated so that glare is not visible.

During the training process, Cuban special forces soldiers, in addition to group operations, participate in comprehensive training at various facilities. For example, they learn to place a magnetic mine on a tank that turns out to be empty - after all, when you bring a magnet to it, a sound comparable to a small explosion is heard, and as a result the task will be considered failed.

During a training mission to destroy a battalion located in a barracks, seven Cuban special forces soldiers quietly approach the object and throw bombs, previously brought in waist bags (bolso), into the windows of the barracks. At the same time, the towers with sentries are destroyed. Those few enemy fighters who survived the first strike by special forces, as a rule, can no longer provide worthy resistance.

Fuel terminals, airplanes at airfields, and ammunition depots are exploding, and a special forces group has already left the site, camouflaging their trips. Such training builds power and energy in every fighter.

All existing types of weapons are mastered at the training center. Cuban instructors teach you how to shoot for real: day, night, on the move, by sound, at a moving target, from the hip, by flash and much more. The soldiers mastered the unique skill of shooting from a mortar without a base plate (from the moment of the first launch to the first explosion, the cadets managed to fire up to 12 shots) - the fire strike was deafening, and the crew left the firing point in a timely manner.

The fighters also undergo training in combat operations in urban environments - they master hiding operations, methods and locations, methods of movement around the city, detection and evasion of surveillance.

It is believed that Cuban special forces are one of the best at organizing ambushes and kidnappings.

The Cubans, teaching the tactics of the operation in the most detailed way, make all participants, without exception, think. They believe that a commander or fighter will be able to make the only correct decision only if he knows many similar decisions, and for this, training is based on working out any surprises. Inputs for assignments can be the most incredible. The main goal of the training is that there should be no unexpected questions or situations during special operations. All possible situations are thought through as much as possible - only then is any operation “doomed” to success.

The Cuban army is in constant combat readiness. Meanwhile, the country lives, works, rejoices, raises children - its future. An economic crisis is raging around the world, and Cuba is implementing social programs, strengthening its healthcare and education systems. The Cuban government is investing in “human capital,” which means the country has a future.

Materials used:
http://forts.io.ua/s423545/#axzz2jmLMcTIQ
http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2011/8/2011_8_4.php
http://www.redstar.ru/index.php/news-menu/vesti/iz-moskvy/item/9914-pod-zharkim-nebom-afriki

(1961)
Ethiopian Civil War/Ogaden War (1977-1978)
Angolan Civil War (1975-1992)

Commanders Notable commanders

Revolutionary Armed Forces(Spanish) Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cuba ) - the armed forces of Cuba, providing its national defense.

Story

The Cuban armed forces were first created at the beginning of the 20th century from rebel units - " mamby"who participated in the Revolutionary War.

In April 1917, following the United States, Cuba declared war on Germany (however, the Cuban armed forces did not take direct part in the First World War).

In December 1941, following the United States, Cuba declared war on Germany and Japan. The Cuban armed forces did not directly participate in World War II, but participated in the supply of military-strategic raw materials to the United States and provided naval and air force bases at the disposal of American troops.

During the Second World War, from October 28, 1941 to September 1945, the Cuban armed forces were strengthened by supplies of weapons and military equipment from the United States under the Lend-Lease program (initially, supplies were planned in the amount of $3.7 million, but in fact The Lend-Lease program transferred military property with a total value of 6.2 million dollars), the cost of which was to be repaid by 1947 with supplies of goods and raw materials.

In 1942, a law on conscription was adopted, in accordance with which a mixed principle of recruiting the armed forces was established (on a voluntary basis and by conscription).

In 1947, the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in Rio de Janeiro, to which Cuba acceded.

In addition to American military assistance, in the 1950s large quantities of weapons for the Cuban army were received from Great Britain (in November 1958 - 17 Sea Fury fighters and 15 A-34 Comet tanks), Denmark (ammunition), Italy (December 20 1958 - 5 thousand rifles and ammunition), the Dominican Republic (small arms and ammunition) and Nicaragua (in 1956 - 40 T-17E1 armored cars).

As of October 1958, the Cuban army had the following military equipment:

aircraft: 8 T-33 jet trainers; 15 B-26 bombers; 15 F-47D Thunderbolt fighters; two Beaver aircraft; 8 pcs. T-6 "Texan"; 8 AT-6C "Harvard" aircraft; 10 C-47 transport aircraft; one Douglas C-53; 5 pcs. light Piper PA-18; 5 pcs. Piper PA-20 "Pacer"; 4 pcs. Piper PA-22 "Tri-Pacer" and one Piper PA-23 "Apache".
helicopters: six helicopters of various types;
tanks: 7 M4A1 Sherman medium tanks (received in February 1957 from the USA); 18 M3A1 "Stuart" light tanks and 5 A-34 "Comet" tanks.
armored vehicles: 10 M6 Staghound armored vehicles; 20 M-8 armored vehicles; 24 M3 "White" armored vehicles; 20 GM T-17 light armored vehicles.
special vehicles and engineering equipment: 15 tractors and tractors; 1 crane; 1 fire truck and 18 ambulances.
cars: 245 trucks; 26 buses; 413 cars and jeeps, 157 motorcycles.

At the end of 1958, F. Batista purchased from an American company " Interarmco"100 AR-10 assault rifles, they were delivered to the port of Havana, but were no longer at the disposal of the Cuban army, as they were captured by the rebels.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (since 1959)

However, in Italy they managed to purchase six 120-mm howitzers and a batch of shells for them.

In addition, during this period, the Cuban government forces received a certain amount of captured weapons supplied from abroad to militants of counter-revolutionary groups.

By the mid-1970s, Cuba's armed forces had become the most combat-ready in Latin America.

Organizational structure

According to the country's constitution, the president is the supreme commander in chief and determines the structure of the armed forces. The Cuban Army is under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and Defense Minister General Raúl Castro.

The Cuban Army includes the following types of armed forces:

Ground forces:

Revolutionary Military Fleet (MGR, Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria):

Revolutionary Air and Anti-Air Force (DAAFAR, Defensa Anti-Aérea Y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria):

Territorial police units (MTT, Milicias de Tropas Territoriales);
Working Youth Army (EJT, Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo);
Border Guard (TGF) (subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior).

The army is recruited on the basis of the law on universal conscription (introduced in 1963), the conscription age is 17 years, the period of active military service is 3 years. Women who have special training can do military service in the armed forces on a voluntary basis in peacetime (and can be mobilized in wartime). Command personnel are trained at military schools, the Military Technical Institute and the Naval Academy.

Current state

Total number of human military resources (persons): men from 15 to 49 years old - 3,090,633; women from 15 to 49 years old - 3,029,274 (2001 est.). Fit for military service: men from 15 to 49 years old - 1,911,160; women from 15 to 49 years old - 1,867,958 (2001 est.). The number of persons reaching military age annually: men - 79,562; women - 85,650 (2001 est.).

Professional holidays

"Day Milisianos" (introduced in April 1961);
April 17 - Cuban Air Force and Air Defense Day (introduced in 1961);
April 18 - Tankman's Day (introduced in 1961);
April 19 - Victory Day in the Battle of Playa Giron;
December 2 - Day of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba;

Notes

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. A.M. Prokhorova. 3rd ed. T.13. M., "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1973. p.531-532
I.I. Yanchuk. US Policy in Latin America, 1939-1945. M., "Science", 1975. p.135-136
E.A. Grinevich. Pages of Cuban history, 1939-1952. M., "International Relations", 1964. p.167
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. / ed. coll., ch. ed. B.A. Vvedensky. 2nd ed. T.23. M., State scientific publishing house "Big Soviet Encyclopedia", 1953. p.578-585
V.V. Listov, V.G. Zhukov. Secret war against revolutionary Cuba. M., Politizdat, 1966. pp. 34-35,38
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., "Progress", 1987. p.115
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., "Progress", 1987. p.234
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., "Progress", 1987. pp.67-68
Ramiro J. Abreu. Cuba: the eve of revolution. M., "Progress", 1987. p.271-272
Major Sam Pikula. The ArmaLite AR-10. Regnum Fund Press, 1998. pp. 72-73
Soviet military encyclopedia. - T. 4. - P. 499-501.
S.A. Gonionsky. Essays on the modern history of Latin American countries. M., "Enlightenment", 1964. p.232
V.V. Listov, V.G. Zhukov. Secret war against revolutionary Cuba. M., Politizdat, 1966. pp. 181-183
E.A. Grinevich, B.I. Gvozdarev. Washington vs. Havana: The Cuban Revolution and US Imperialism. M., "International Relations", 1982 p.46
Fidel Castro Rus. The strength of revolution is unity. // Marxist-Leninists of Latin America in the struggle for peace and progress. / Sat., comp. HE. Papkov, N.T. Poyarkova. M., "Progress", 1980. p.136
V.V. Listov, V.G. Zhukov. Secret war against revolutionary Cuba. M., Politizdat, 1966. pp.141-145
V.V. Listov, V.G. Zhukov. Secret war against revolutionary Cuba. M., Politizdat, 1966. p.159
Andrey Bortsov. Socialism without labels: Cuba // "Russian Special Forces", No. 5 (152), May 2009
Latin America. Encyclopedic reference book (in 2 vols.) / editor's note, chief editor. V.V. Volsky. Volume II. M., "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1982. p.85

Literature

Cuba // Soviet military encyclopedia / ed. N.V. Ogarkova. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1979. - T. 4. - 654 p. - (in 8 t). - 105,000 copies.
E. Guevara. Episodes of the revolutionary war. M., 1973.
E. A. Larin. Rebel Army in the Cuban Revolution (December 1956 - January 1959). M., 1977.

Links

Since the 60s of the twentieth century, Freedom Island has been one of the most important geopolitical allies of the USSR, receiving a significant amount of modern military equipment. As a result, the Cuban army became the strongest in Latin America both in the quantity and quality of weapons and in the level of combat training, which was demonstrated in the wars in Ethiopia and Angola. The most important achievement of the Cuban Armed Forces was their victory in Angola over the formally African, but actually Anglo-Saxon army of South Africa in the late 80s.

The collapse of the USSR was a disaster for Cuba. Since that time, the country's armed forces have not received any new military equipment, which is why they have become very degraded. To correct the situation in Cuba, the production of “hybrids” was established. For example, self-propelled guns, air defense missile launchers and coastal anti-ship missiles on the T-55 chassis. In turn, the T-55 turrets are installed on the BTR-60P, resulting in a BMTV. Similar combinations are made with the BMP-1. The apotheosis of such hybridization was frigates from fishing trawlers. Such a “rearrangement of terms” does not provide a real increase in the combat power of the Armed Forces, since the sum remains the same. There is no real renewal of weapons, which is leading the Cuban army to complete degradation in the foreseeable future.

Ground forces are divided into three armies - Western, Central, Eastern. The Western includes the 2nd AK (headquarters in Pinar del Rio, the AK includes the 24th, 27th, 28th infantry divisions), the 70th mechanized, the 1st training and 78th armored divisions, the 72nd and 79th yu reserve infantry divisions.

Central Army: 4th AK (Las Villas, 41, 43, 48 Infantry), 81, 84, 86, 89th Infantry, 242nd Infantry Regiment 24th Infantry, 12th Armored Regiment 1st Training armored division. Eastern Army: 5th AK (Holguin, 50th Mechanized, 52, 54, 56, 58th Infantry), 6th AK (Camagüey, 60th Mechanized, 63, 65, 69th Infantry), 3 , 6, 9th Armored, 31, 32, 38, 90, 95, 97, 123rd Infantry Divisions, Guantanamo Bay Border Brigade, 281st Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. Most divisions are brigades in peacetime and are intended to be deployed only in wartime.

65 launchers of the extremely outdated Luna TR remain in service. The tank fleet consists of approximately 800 T-55s (up to 450 more in storage), 400 T-62s, 60 light PT-76s and possibly 51 T-72s. There are at least 100 BRM (up to 50 BRDM-1, 50–100 BRDM-2), 16 BTR-100 BMTV (BTR-60 with T-55 turret), 16 BTR-73 BMTV (BTR-60 with BMP-1 turret ), from 50 to 60 BMP-1, up to 100 BTR-60P, up to 100 BTR-40, up to 150 BTR-152.

Artillery includes from 20 to 40 self-propelled guns 2S1 (122 mm), up to 40 self-propelled guns 2S3 (152 mm), at least 8 self-propelled guns BMP-122 (D-30 howitzer on the BMP-1 chassis), at least 8 wheeled self-propelled guns with M guns -46, A-19 and D-20 in the back of trucks. The number of towed guns is approximately 500 - up to 140 D-30, up to 100 M-30, up to 90 A-19, up to 190 M-46, up to 100 ML-20, up to 90 D-20, up to 50 D-1. As stated above, some of these guns turned into self-propelled guns, thus ceasing to be towed. There are up to 2 thousand mortars (82 and 120 mm), 178 BM-21 MLRS and, possibly, a number of obsolete MLRS (BM-14-16, BM-24, M-51). In service are several hundred anti-tank systems "Malyutka", "Fagot" and up to 700 anti-tank missiles - about 600 ZIS-2 and 100 self-propelled SU-100.

Military air defense includes three divisions of the Kvadrat air defense system (12 launchers), about 120 short-range air defense systems (60 Strela-1, 16 Osa, 42 Strela-10), more than 200 MANPADS (60 Strela-2, 50 Strela-3", 120 "Igla-1"), up to 120 ZSU (up to 23 ZSU-57-2, from 36 to 50 ZSU-23-4, at least 32 ZSU on the BTR-60 chassis, incl. 16 with ZU-23-2 and 16 with 61-K gun), up to 900 anti-aircraft guns (approximately 380 ZU-23, 280 61-K, 200 S-60).

Due to the antiquity of the technology and the aforementioned “hybridization,” it is extremely difficult to establish the exact number of combat-ready samples of each type.

Air Force affected by the obsolescence of weapons and military equipment much more than the ground forces, therefore they are very close to complete retirement. In organizational terms, they are divided into three air zones, each of which includes one air brigade: “West” (2nd brigade), “Center” (1st), “East” (3rd).

Currently, no more than 40 fighters remain operational: 2–4 MiG-29 (another 6–10 in storage), up to 24 MiG-23, 6–14 MiG-21. Transport aviation has been completely curtailed. 1 Yak-40, up to 10 An-2, up to 18 An-26 are in storage. The Air Force retains Czechoslovak-made training aircraft - up to 8 Z-142, up to 27 L-39С.

There are four Mi-35 combat helicopters in service (another 8 and up to 11 Mi-25 in storage). Multi-purpose and transport helicopters - up to 30 Mi-17 (about 12 more in storage), up to 14 Mi-8, 5 Mi-14 are in storage.

The ground-based air defense system includes up to 42 divisions of the S-75 air defense system (at least 144 standard launchers, another 24 launchers on the T-55 chassis), up to 28 divisions of the S-125M air defense system (at least 60 standard launchers, another 36 on the T-55 chassis ).

In the coming years, only Mi-17 helicopters will remain combat-ready in the Cuban Air Force; all other equipment will be decommissioned.

Navy were unable to maintain most of the Soviet-built ships and boats. The submarine fleet currently consists of four Dolphin-class SMPLs (a variant of the North Korean Yugo-class SMPLs). The largest surface ships are two Rio Damuji-class frigates. They are former Spanish fishing trawlers, on which P-15U anti-ship missiles from decommissioned missile boats and a ZSU-57-2 land turret were installed. The largest “normal” warship is the Project 1241P corvette.

6 missile pr. 205U and patrol boats remain in service: 2-3 pr. 205P and 18-30 pr. 1400, 5-8 minesweepers (2-3 pr. 1265, 3-5 pr. 1258).

In storage, there may be up to 3 submarines of Project 641, 1 frigate of Project 1159, about 12 missile boats and up to 9 torpedo boats, 1–2 minesweepers of Project 1265 and up to 7 Project 1258, 1–2 TDK of Project 771, however, in reality, it is unlikely that at least one of those listed is able to return to duty.

The Cuban Navy has two marine battalions. Coastal defense has significant potential. It includes the P-15 anti-ship missile system (including the launchers of these anti-ship missiles, removed from missile boats and installed on the T-55 chassis), as well as A-19, M-46, ML-20 guns (from among those indicated higher).

The only potential enemy of Cuba is the United States; Latin American countries have neither the ability nor the desire for a military invasion of the island. Of course, the potentials of the US and Cuban armed forces are currently completely incomparable. However, the island position and the continued high level of combat and moral-psychological training of personnel make the invasion of Cuba a rather difficult operation even for the American Armed Forces.

Washington will intervene only in the event of serious internal destabilization on the island. Therefore, the current degradation of the Cuban Armed Forces has not yet led to catastrophic consequences for the country. Restoring their potential is unlikely. Russia, of course, could supply Cuba with modern equipment, but in the current situation it is not ready to do this for free, and Havana does not and will not have the money. Moreover, a certain, albeit rather limited, rapprochement between Cuba and the United States has begun. This only makes Havana less willing to spend the missing money on rearmament.

/Alexander Khramchikhin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, vpk-news.ru/