Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Latvian Land Forces

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Country
  
Latvia

Founded
  
1919

Role
  
Land force

Latvian Land Forces httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Active
  
1918 - 19401991 - present

Size
  
~5,000 professionals, 8,000 National Guard and 11,000 reserve personnel [Military of LVA]

Anniversaries
  
April 30, Land Forces DayMay 4, Independence Restoration and Armed Forces Day

Commander
  
Colonel Ilmārs Atis Lejiņš

Motto
  
Vienotībā spēks (Power in unity)

Part of
  
Latvian National Armed Forces

Engagements
  
War in Afghanistan, Latvian War of Independence, Attack on Bari Alai, Multi-National Force – Iraq

Similar
  
Latvian National Armed Fo, Latvian Naval Forces, Latvian Air Force, Lithuanian Land Force, Estonian Land Forces

The Latvian Land Forces (Latvian: Sauszemes Spēki, SzS) together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the National Armed Forces. Since 2007, land forces are organized as a fully professional standing army.

Contents

Mission

The main missions of the national Land Forces are to:

  • Provide for the defense of all national territories;
  • Ensure combat readiness and the mobilization of units;
  • Exterminate explosives;
  • Provide public assistance.

    • Structure

    Land Forces Infantry Brigade

  • Headquarters
  • HQ and Signal Company
  • 1st Infantry Battalion
  • 2nd Infantry Battalion
  • Combat Support Battalion (mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, engineers)

    • Cooperation

    Since 1996 till today the National Armed Forces' soldiers have been deployed on nine international peace-keeping missions in Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia, Central African Republic, Georgia, Iraq, Kosovo, Macedonia and Somalia.

    Starting from January 1, 2015 Latvian Armed Forces are taking part in EU's Nordic Battle Group.

    On March 29, 2004, Latvia became a fully fledged member of the NATO.

    Artillery

  • 100 mm Škoda vz53 field gun.
  • 120-PM-43 mortar.
  • 2b11 Sani mortar
  • M/41D 120mm mortar.
  • Pvpj 1110 field gun (100 units, some on motorized platforms).

    • Air defence

  • RBS 70 short-range man-portable air-defence system (MANPAD) used in combination with GIRAFFE Radar
  • Bofors 40 mm gun
  • AN/MPQ-64_Sentinel
  • AN/FPS-117

    • Anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers

  • SPIKE fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile.
  • AT4 single-shot anti-tank weapon.
  • Carl Gustav recoilless rifle 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle anti-tank weapon.
  • Heckler & Koch GMG automatic grenade launcher.

    • Assault rifles and machine guns

  • Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle (fitted with a AG36 single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher) standard weapon in land forces.
  • M16 rifle (M16A1 variant) used only as ceremonial weapon.
  • Heckler & Koch MP5 (MP5KA1, MP5A3, MP5SD3 variants) submachine gun.
  • Heckler & Koch MP7 (MP7A1 variant) submachine gun.
  • Heckler & Koch UMP (UMP9 variant) submachine gun.
  • Uzi (Mini-Uzi, Uzi-SMG variants) submachine gun.
  • FN Minimi light machine gun.
  • M2 Browning machine gun (M2HB-QCB variant).
  • Rheinmetall MG 3 general purpose machine gun.
  • Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifle (in storage)

    • Pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles

  • Glock pistol (Glock 17, 19, 21 variants) semi-automatic pistol.
  • Heckler & Koch USP semi-automatic pistol.
  • M1911 pistol (M1911A1 variant) semi-automatic pistol.
  • SIG P210 semi-automatic pistol.
  • SIG Sauer P232 semi-automatic pistol.
  • SIG Sauer P239 semi-automatic pistol.
  • Heckler & Koch P2A1 single-shot, break action flare pistol.
  • FR F2 sniper rifle.
  • Dragunov sniper rifle
  • Makarov PMM
  • Heckler & Koch HK417 'Sniper' Model - 20" accurized barrel.
  • PGM Hecate II heavy sniper rifle.
  • AMP Technical Services DSR-1 specialized sniper rifle.
  • Remington 870 shotgun.

    • Rank structure

    The rank structure of the Latvian army is adjusted to the rank structure of the NATO countries in Europe. Rank insignia are worn historically on the collars and today also on shoulder marks. Starting 2016, only the Staff Battalion wears the collar insignia.

    References

    Latvian Land Forces Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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