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Military of Austria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Austrian Federal Army Österreichisches Bundesheer |
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|---|---|
 Leopard 2A4 of the Bundesheer |
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| Branches of service | |
| Land Forces Air Forces |
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| Leadership | |
| Headquarters: | Vienna |
| Commander-in-Chief: | President Heinz Fischer |
| Minister of Defense: | Norbert Darabos |
| Chief of staff: | General Roland Ertl |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel: | 31,000 [1] |
| Reserve personnel: | 24,000 [2] |
| Military age population: | 1,914,800 males 1,870,134 females |
| Total fit for service: | 1,550,441 males 1,515,365 females |
| Reaching military age annually: | 48,967 males 46,633 females |
| Military age: | 18 years (16 for volunteers) |
| Service law: | universal compulsory |
| Conscript service: | 6 months |
| Industry | |
| Percent of GDP spent on military: | 0.9% (2004) |
| Major domestic suppliers: | Steyr Mannlicher Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge (General Dynamics) |
| Major international suppliers: |  France Germany Italy United States |
| History | |
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Military history of Austria |
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| Ranks and insignia | |
| Austrian Armed Forces rank insignia
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The name of the Military of Austria is Bundesheer ("Federal Army"). Between 1918 and 1921, the Austrian semi-regular army was called Volkswehr ("People's Defence"), and fought against Yugoslavian army units occupying parts of Carinthia. It has been known as "Bundesheer" since then, except when Austria was a part of Nazi Germany (1938-1945; see Anschluss). The Austrian Army did develop a defence plan in 1938 against Germany, but politics meant it was never implemented.
In 1955, Austria declared its Everlasting Neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. The Austrian Military's main purpose since then has been the protection of Austria's neutrality. The main branches since the last structural reform are Land Forces (Kommando Landstreitkräfte; KdoLaSK), Air Forces (Kommando Luftstreitkräfte; KdoLuSK), Mission Support (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU), International Missions (Kommando Internationale Einsätze; KdoIE), Command Support (Kommando Führungsunterstützung; KdoFüU) and Special Forces (Kommando Spezialeinsatzkräfte; KdoSEK).
With the end of the Cold War, the Austrian military have increasingly assisted the border police in controlling the influx of illegal immigrants through Austrian borders. The war in the neighbouring Balkans resulted in the lifting of the restrictions on the range of weaponry of the Austrian military that had been imposed by a 1955 international treaty.
Recently, Austria has spent considerable amounts of money modernizing its military arsenal. Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Ulan and Pandur infantry fighting vehicles, C-130 Hercules transport planes, S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters, and Eurofighter Typhoon multi-purpose combat aircraft have been purchased.
Contents |
The main constitutional tasks of today's Austrian military are listed below:
- to protect the constitutionally established institutions and the population's democratic freedoms.
- to maintain order and security inside the country.
- to render assistance in the case of natural catastrophes and disasters of exceptional magnitude.
The Austrian military has a wide variety of equipment. After the 1999 Galtür Avalanche, it was evident that the Austrian helicopters were too few in numbers and limited in design, therefore the Austrian military purchased new helicopters along with other equipment. Below is a list of Austria's current equipment.
- 114 Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
- 253 Steyr SK-105 Kurassier Light Tanks.
- 465 Saurer APC Armoured personnel Carriers
- 189 M109 howitzer.
- 70 Bergepanzer Armoured repair and recovery vehicles.
- 18 A1 Armoured engineer vehicles.
- 86 Jaguar 1 Tank destroyers.
- 112 Ulan infantry fighting vehicles (end of 2005).
- 71 Pandur APCs.
- 35 Dingo 2 Protected vehicles.
- 268 Mercedes-Benz Unimog Trucks.
- 307 MAN 12.240 Trucks.
- 27 Observation tanks.
- 3 C-130 Hercules transport planes.
- 9 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters (purchased in 2001).
- 16 Pilatus PC-7 Traning aircraft.
- 13 Pilatus PC-6 Transport aircraft.
- 2 Short Skyvan Transport aircraft.
- 23 Alouette Recovery helicopters.
- 23 Agusta Bell 212 utility helicopters.
- 12 OH-58 Kiowa Scout helicopter
- 11 Bell 206 JetRanger Training helicopters.
- 28 Saab 105 aircraft.
- 12 F-5 Tiger fighter aircraft (on loan from the Swiss Air Force).
- 15 Eurofighter Typhoon (will be delivered from mid 2007)
Below is a list of some of Austria's current infantry weapons.
- Steyr AUG (service rifle)
- Glock 17 (main Sidearm)
- MG 74 multi purpose machine gun
- Steyr SSG 69 (standard sniper rifle)
- PAL 2000 (Bofors Bill) anti-tank
- PAR 66 (Bofors Carl-Gustaf) anti-tank
Some of the traditions of the old Austro-Hungarian Army continue to be carried on in Bundesheer. For example, the most famous regiment in the Bundesheer is the "Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment", now known as Jägerregiment Wien based in "Maria Theresien Kaserne", named after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Also nearly every other regiment of the Bundesheer carries on traditions of the famous Austro-Hungarian regiments like "Kaiserjäger", "Rainer", etc.
Austria's combat frogmen are part of the commando group of the Austrian federal army. The commando group is available for special operations in multinational operations, and for operational clearing-up in remote reconnaissance employments and in military protection of individuals abroad.
They use the Dräger LAR-V oxygen rebreather, which weighs 11 Kg and has a 1.5 liter oxygen cylinder and allows a dive 3 hours long: info, images.
Beyond that they have special tasks within the range of combat frogmen, the paratroops, and personal guards.
| Conditions for training as a frogman | Courses covered by frogman training | Further courses |
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- (German) http://tauchen.nullzeit.at/Content.Node/wissenswertes/kampfschwimmer_bundesheer.php
- (German) http://www.doppeladler.com/oebh/jakdo.htm
- (German) http://www.doppeladler.com/oebh/jakdo.htm?jakdo_02.htm
- CIA World Factbook, 2005
- The term Austrian Army may also refer to the army of the Austrian Empire or the Austro-Hungarian Army.
- Military History of Austria
- Steyr Automobile