Revolutionary Army
Ejército Revolucionario
Founded1868 (1868)
1960 (1960) (current form)
Country Cuba
RoleLand warfare
Size39,000 Active Soldiers
Part ofRevolutionary Armed Forces
Garrison/HQHavana, Cuba
EngagementsEscambray rebellion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Sand War
Guinea-Bissau War of Independence
War of Attrition
Yemenite War of 1972
Yom Kippur War
Angolan Civil War
Ogaden War
United States invasion of Grenada

The Cuban Revolutionary Army (Spanish: Ejército Revolucionario) serve as the ground forces of Cuba. Formed in 1868 during the Ten Years' War, it was originally known as the Cuban Constitutional Army. Following the Cuban Revolution, the revolutionary military forces was reconstituted as the national army of Cuba by Fidel Castro in 1960. The army is a part of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces which was founded around that time.

History

Guards at the Mausoleum of José Marti, Santiago de Cuba
Vladimir Putin inspecting the Army Guard of Honour at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana in 2014.
Soldiers of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias on a motorbike

The Cuban Constitutional Army in its original form was first established in 1868 by Cuban revolutionaries during the Ten Years' War and later re-established during the Cuban War of Independence in 1898. The Cuban Constitutional Navy was involved in the Battle of the Caribbean during World War II supported by the United States.[1] After the Cuban Revolution had overthrown Fulgencio Batista's government, the Cuban Rebel Army under Fidel Castro's leadership was reorganized into the current armed forces of Cuba.

As of July 1981, the army comprised 200,000 personnel, inc 60,000 reservists; there were an estimated three armoured brigades; 15 infantry divisions (brigades), some mechanised; and some independent battalions. The IISS estimated that it had 200 T-54/55 and 50 T-60 tanks, plus 400 T-34s, and IS-2 heavy tanks,and a variety of other Soviet equipment, including BRDM-1; 400 BTR-40/60; artillery up to 152mm; and 50 FROG-4 (2K6 Luna?) surface to surface missiles.[2]

In 1984, according to Adrian English, there were three major geographical commands, Western, Central, and Eastern.[3] There were a reported 130,000 all ranks, and each command was garrisoned by an army comprising a single armoured division, a mechanised division, and a corps of three infantry divisions, though the Eastern Command had two corps totalling six divisions. There was also an independent military region, with a single infantry division, which garrisoned the Isle of Youth.

An idea of this structure can be seen from a Jane's depiction (in error) dated 1996:[4]

Units included:

  • Airborne brigade consisting of 2 battalions (at Havana and its immediate environs)
  • Artillery division (at Havana and its immediate environs)
  • SAM Brigade[5]
  • An anti-aircraft artillery regiment[5]

Western Army

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the Western Army was deployed in the capital and the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Río:

  • 1st Armored Training Division
  • 70th Mechanised Division
  • 78th Armored Division "Sanguily Rescue"
  • 2nd (Pinar del Río) Army Corps:
    • 24th Infantry Division
    • 27th Infantry Division
    • 28th Infantry Division

Central Army

In the 1980s–1990s the Central Army was deployed in the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus:

  • 81st Infantry Division
  • 84th Infantry Division
  • 86th Infantry Division
  • 89th Infantry Division
  • 12th Armored Regiment/1st Armored Division
  • 242nd Infantry Regiment/24th Infantry Division
  • 4th (Las Villas) Army Corps:
    • 41st Infantry Division
    • 43rd Infantry Division
    • 48th Infantry Division

Eastern Army

In the 1980s–1990s the Eastern Army was deployed in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Ciego de Avila:

  • 3rd Armored Division
  • 6th Armored Division
  • 9th Armored Division
  • 31st Infantry Division
  • 32nd Infantry Division
  • 38th Infantry Division
  • 84th Infantry Division
  • 90th Infantry Division
  • 95th Infantry Division
  • 97th Infantry Division
  • Guantanamo Frontier Brigade (founded in 1961)[6]
  • 123rd Infantry Division/former 12th Infantry Division
  • 281st Infantry Regiment/28th Infantry Division
  • 5th (Holguín) Army Corps:
    • 50th Mechanised Division
    • 52nd Infantry Division
    • 54th Infantry Division
    • 56th Infantry Division
    • 58th Infantry Division
  • 6th (Camagüey) Army Corps:
    • 60th Mechanised Division
    • 63rd Infantry Division
    • 65th Infantry Division
    • 69th Infantry Division

The International Institute for Strategic Studies wrote in The Military Balance 1994–95 that "the Cuban Army is undergoing major reorganisation; ..strength has been reduced by 60,000 to some 85,000 and is now structured on a brigade as opposed to a divisional basis." (p.194).

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment in the first half of 1998 said that the army's armour and artillery units were at low readiness levels due to 'severely reduced' training, generally incapable of mounting effective operations above the battalion level, and that equipment was mostly in storage and unavailable at short notice.[7] The same report said that Cuban special operations forces continue to train but on a smaller scale than beforehand, and that while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel were increasingly affecting operational capabilities, Cuba remained able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power.[8]

Structure in 1999

In 1999 the Revolutionary Army represented approximately 70 percent of Cuba's regular military manpower. According to the IISS, the army's estimated 45,000 troops including 6,000 active and 39,000 members of the Ready Reserves who were completing the forty-five days of annual active-duty service necessary for maintaining their status, as well as conscripts who were fulfilling their military service requirement.[9]

The IISS reported in 1999 that the army's troop formations consisted of four to five armored brigades; nine mechanized infantry brigades; an airborne brigade; fourteen reserve brigades; and the Border Brigade. In addition, there is an air defense artillery regiment and a surface-to-air missile brigade. Each of the three territorial armies is believed to be assigned at least one armored brigade-usually attached to the army's headquarters-as well as a mechanized infantry brigade. It is known that the Border Brigade in Guantanamo and at least one ground artillery regiment (attached to a mechanized infantry brigade), based in Las Tunas, are under the Eastern Army's command.[9]

Circa 2007, there were an estimated 38,000 army personnel.[10]

Equipment

Cuban Fighting Vehicles

Military equipment of the Cuban Revolutionary Army
Name Country of origin Quantity Variant Notes
Tanks
T-55  Soviet Union ~800[11] T-55

T-55A T-55AM

 [12]
T-62 ~380[11] T-62 Obr. 1967

T-62 Obr. 1972 T-62M

 [12]
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
BRDM-2  Soviet Union ~100[11] CBE-14.5

CBE-14.5M

 (Cuban upgraded examples known as CBE-14.5M).[12]
BTR-100  Cuba unknown CBAF-100 [12]
BTR-115 CBAF-115 [12]
Infantry Fighting Vehicles
BMP-1  Soviet Union ~120[13] BMP-1

BMP-1P

 (Some used as unarmed driver training 'tanks').[12]
BMD-1 unknown BMD-1 [12]
BTR-60-73M  Cuba CBI-73M [12]
Armoured Personnel Carriers
BTR-152  Soviet Union ~150[11] BTR-152 [12]
BTR-50 ~200[11] BTR-50 [12]
BTR-60 ~800[11] BTR-60PB [12]
BTR-70  Russia unknown BTR-70M [12]
Infantry Mobility Vehicles
Dongfeng EQ2050  China unknown EQ2050 [12]
David  Cuba Iguana (Several exported to Angola).[12]
Fast Attack Vehicles And Gun Trucks
UAZ-469 FAV  Cuba unknown
Fiero Two configurations[11]
Paquito Three configurations[11]
Command Vehicles
R-145 ''BTR-R-145''  Soviet Union unknown
BTR-60PU-12 (Not yet seen).[14]
Military Engineering Vehicles
BTS-4  Soviet Union unknown
PTS-M
T-62 Obr. 1967 CEV  Cuba
IMR  Soviet Union (Not yet seen in original configuration. Several converted to a yet unknown role).[15]
PT-76B Transporter-Loader  Cuba (For the S-125 SAM).[14]
Tank Destroyers
9M14 Malyutka  Soviet Union unknown
100mm C-AP-AT-BMP-100  Cuba
Towed Artillery
57mm ZiS-2 Anti-tank Gun  Soviet Union unknown
76mm ZiS-3 Anti-Tank Gun (Not yet seen).[15]
85mm D-44 Anti-tank Gun
100mm MT-12 Anti-Tank Gun
122mm M-30 Howitzer Used as saluting guns firing 21-gun salutes. [14]
122mm D-30 Howitzer Mostly used as guns for self-propelled artillery together with modernized A-19 122mm.[11]
130mm M-46 Field-Gun
152mm ML-20 Howitzer (Not yet seen in original configuration).[11]
Self-Propelled Artillery
100mm C-AP-BTR-100  Cuba unknown
100mm C-AP-MP-T-100
120mm M-AP-BRDM-120 ''M-AP-CBE-120'' Two configurations[11]
122mm 2S1 Gvozdika  Soviet Union
122mm C-AP-T-122  Cuba Two configurations[11]
122mm C-AP-BMP-122'
122mm OBÚS-AP Jupiter-(?)
122mm C-AP Jupiter III
130mm C-AP-T-130
130mm Jupiter I Prototype[11] (Design exported to Vietnam).[14]
152mm 2S3 Akatsiya  Soviet Union
152mm C-AP-T-152  Cuba
Multiple Rocket Launchers
55mm MRG-1  Soviet Union unknown
57mm Canimar-57  Cuba
122mm BM-21 Grad
122mm BM-21M
213mm RBU-6000 'Frontera'
240mm BM-24  Soviet Union
Unknown MRL  Cuba Three configurations[11]
Towed Anti-Aircraft Guns
12.7mm DShK  Soviet Union unknown
12.7mm M-53  Czech Republic
14.5mm ZPU-1  Soviet Union
14.5mm ZPU-2 (Not yet seen).[11]
14.5mm ZPU-4
23mm ZU-23
30mm Vz.53/59  Czech Republic
37mm M-1939 (61-K)  Soviet Union
57mm AZP S-60
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns
23mm ZSU-23-4  Soviet Union 400[11] (Some armed with MANPADS).[14]
57mm ZSU-57-2 25[11]
23mm BTR-152-23-2 ''BTR-152-ZU-23 or Yatare-23''  Cuba unknown
23mm BTR-60-23-2 ''BTR-60-ZU-23 or BTR-23''
30mm BTR-60-30-2 (Likely to have been decommissioned).[14]
37mm BTR-60-37-2 ''Duplex-BTR-37'' Two configurations[11]
57mm T-54-57-2 ''Duplex-T-57''
Self-Propelled SAM Systems
2K12 Kub  Soviet Union unknown
9K33 Osa (Some equipped with 4K33 Osa-M missiles).[11]
9K31 Strela-1 (Not yet seen in original configuration) Some equipped with R-13M AAMs).[15]
9K35 Strela-10 (Some equipped with 9M31s, MANPADS R-13M and R-60MK AAMs).[15]
Mobile S-75 on a T-55(A)  Cuba 25[11] On T-55 chassis.[14]
Mobile S-125 on a T-55A unknown On T-55 chassis. This missile was seen in the Cuban Military Parade of 2006.[15]
Static SAM Systems
S-75  Soviet Union unknown
S-125
Coastal Defence Systems
4K51 Rubezh  Soviet Union unknown
Bandera VI-M 'Remulgadas  Cuba Two configurations[11]
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
Unknown UAV unknown unknown
Radars
P-10 ''Knife Rest B''  Soviet Union unknown (Documented by a few sources, not yet seen).[15]
P-12 ''Spoon Rest A'' (For the S-75).[14]
P-14 ''Tall King'' (Satellite imagery available).[16]
P-18 ''Spoon Rest D''
P-19 "Flat Face B"
Phased Array Antenna For P-19 ''Flat Face B''  Cuba (For the S-125).[11]
P-35/37 ''Bar Lock''  Soviet Union
SNR-75 ''Fan Song'' (For the S-75) Two configurations: (2) (Most mounted on tanks or trailers).[15]
SNR-125 ''Low Blow'' (For the S-125) Two configurations: (2) (Most mounted on tanks).[15]
RSP-7
SURN 1S91 (For the 2K12 Kub).[15]
PRV-9 ''Thin Skin'' (Documented by a few sources, not yet seen).[14]
PRV-11 ''Side Net''
PRV-13 ''Odd Pair'' (Documented by a few sources, not yet seen)[14]
SON-9A "Fire Can" (Not yet seen).[15]
SON-50 ''RPK-1'' "Flap Wheel"
58N7 "Back Trap" (Documented by a few sources, not yet seen)[14]
R-410M ''Twin Plate'' Troposcatter
Mys and Furuno Coastal Radar  Cuba
RPK-2 "Tobol" (For SPAAGs and 57mm AZP S-60).[15]

Small arms

Name Country of origin Type Notes
PM Soviet UnionSemi-automatic pistolStandard issue pistol.
APSMachine pistolUsed by Special Forces
APS underwater rifleUnderwater assault rifleIn use with Special Forces.
SKSSemi-automatic carbineMostly limited to use as a ceremonial weapon.
AKMAssault rifle Standard issue assault rifle.
RPKLight machine gun
SG-43Medium machine gun
KPVHeavy machine gun
PKMGeneral-purpose machine gun
PM-63 RAK PolandSubmachine gunUsed by some MTT units.
M16A1 United StatesAssault rifle Possibly captured sometime during the Cold War.
SVD Soviet UnionSemi-automatic sniper rifle
Alejandro Sniper Rifle CubaBolt-action sniper rifle
Mambi AMRAnti-material rifle
RPG-7 Soviet UnionRocket-propelled grenade
SPG-9Recoilless gun
AGS-17Automatic grenade launcher
LPO-50Flamethrower
RGD-5Hand grenade
F1

Uniforms

The most common uniform worn by Cuban soldiers appear to be solid color olive green utility uniforms. The utility uniform is worn with shined black combat boots, and the most common hats that are worn with this uniform are stiffened patrol caps that were made famous outside of Cuba by being worn by Fidel Castro.

Soldiers in tank, military police, and special forces units are also allowed to wear berets with this uniform. The Cuban utility uniform greatly resembles the OG-107 uniform that was standard issue in the United States Armed Forces during the Cold War.

References

  1. ↑ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1954). The Atlantic Battle Won: May 1943 – May 1945. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-252-07061-7.
  2. ↑ IISS Military Balance 1981-82, p.96.
  3. ↑ English, Adrian J., "The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces," in Ian V. Hogg (Ed.), Jane's Military Review, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985.
  4. ↑ "Cuban Armed Forces Review: Territorial Military Commands". Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Armies of the world Arsenal". Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Infodefensa.com (2016-11-12). "Cuba celebra el 55 aniversario de su Brigada de la Frontera – Noticias Infodefensa América". Infodefensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  7. ↑ Bryan Bender, 'DIA expresses concern over Cuban intelligence activity', Jane's Defence Weekly, 13 May 1998, p. 7
  8. ↑ "The World Factbook". Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 "About this Collection" (PDF). The Library of Congress. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  10. ↑ IISS Military Balance 2007, p. 70
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "Cuba Cuban army armed land ground forces military equipment armoured armored vehicle intelligence UK | Cuba Cuban army armed land ground forces UK | Central America army land forces UK". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Oryx. "The Oryx Handbook Of Cuban Fighting Vehicles". Oryx. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  13. ↑ International Institute for Strategic Studies: The Military Balance 2015, p. 393
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Cuba Army Equipment". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Oryx. "The Oryx Handbook Of Cuban Fighting Vehicles". Oryx. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  16. ↑ "cu — Postimages". postimg.cc. Retrieved 2022-10-01.


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