Azerbaijani Armed Forces
| Azerbaijani Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri | |
Coat of arms of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces | |
| Founded | 26 June 1918 |
| Current form | 9 October 1991 |
| Service branches | Azerbaijani Land Forces Azerbaijani Navy Azerbaijani Air Force |
| Headquarters | Baku |
| Website | mod.gov.az |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | President Ilham Aliyev |
| Defence Minister | Colonel General Zakir Hasanov |
| Chief of General Staff | Colonel General Karim Valiyev |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years |
| Conscription | 12–18 months for ground forces |
| Active personnel | 128,000 |
| Reserve personnel | 306,000 |
| Deployed personnel | 122 |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $5.0 billion (2025) |
| Percent of GDP | 5.26% |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | Azerbaijan
* Azerbaijan Defense Industry * State Border Service Naval Shipyard * Azersilah * RPE Iglim * Radiogurashdirma * RPE Neftgazavtomat * RPE Automatic Lines * Avia-Agregat * Azad Systems |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Armenian–Azerbaijani War (1918–1920) Battle of Baku (1918) Azerbaijan during World War II Nagorno-Karabakh conflict First Nagorno-Karabakh War 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (Operation Iron Fist) |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Azerbaijan |
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92, Azerbaijan's armed forces were reformed based on the Soviet bases and equipment left on Azerbaijani soil.
The armed forces have three main branches: the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air Forces and the Azerbaijani Navy. Associated forces include the Azerbaijani National Guard, the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, and the State Border Service, which can be involved in state defense under certain circumstances.
In Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding region, the Azerbaijani armed forces are repeatedly involved in fighting, especially with neighboring Armenia (e.g., the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020 and the blockade of the Republic of Artsakh in 2022-23).
According to the Azerbaijani media sources, the military expenditure of Azerbaijan for 2009 was set at US$2.46 billion. However, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, only $1.473 billion was spent that year. IISS also suggests that the defence budget in 2009 was $1.5 billion. The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan supervises the design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of military equipment. In the future, Azerbaijan hopes to start building tanks, armored vehicles, military planes and military helicopters.