View source for Eritrean Army

{{short description|Ground military force of Eritrea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Eritrean Army
| start_date                    = 1991
| country                       = {{flag|Eritrea}}
| type                          = [[Army]]
| role                          = [[Land warfare]]
| size                          = 250,000 <small>(including conscripts and militia)</small><ref name="gs">[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/eritrea/army.htm Eritrean Army]. Global Security. Accessed 26 February 2018.</ref>
----
'''Military age:''' 18 {{hidden begin|title=Conscription}}
Both men and women 18 years of age are required to perform national service. Conscription was made open ended in 1998 with no set term and many served for more than a decade, but in 2014 the government set 18 months as the limit for national service.<ref name="gs" /><ref name="adwar" /> {{hidden end}}
----
'''Budget:'''<br />$290 million (2006)<ref name="dw">[http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30387:eritrea&catid=119:african-militaries&Itemid=255 Eritrea]. Defenceweb.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.</ref><br />
'''Percent of GDP:'''<br />6.3% (2006)<ref name="dw" />
| patron                        = 
| motto                         = 
| equipment                     = 
| equipment_label               = 
| battles                       = [[Eritrean War of Independence]]<br>[[Hanish Islands conflict]]<br>[[Second Sudanese Civil War]]<br/>[[First Congo War]]<br>[[Eritrean–Ethiopian War]]<br>[[Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict]]<br>[[Tigray War]]
| commander1_label              = Minister of Defense
| commander1                    = [[General]] [[Sebhat Ephrem]]
| commander2_label              = Army Chief of Staff
| commander2                    = [[General]] Philipos Woldeyohannes<ref name="awate" /><ref>[http://www.madote.com/2014/03/eritrea-appoints-new-chief-of-staff-and.html Eritrea Appoints New Chief of Staff and Minister]. Madote.com. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.tesfanews.net/eritrea-appoints-new-chief-of-staff/ Eritrea Appoints New Chief of Staff]. TesfaNews. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref>
}}
	
The '''Eritrean Army''' is the main branch of the [[Eritrean Defence Forces]] and is one of the largest armies in [[Africa]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1328443/largest-armies-in-africa-by-active-military-personnel/ | title=Africa: Largest armies 2023 }}</ref> The main role of the army in [[Eritrea]] is defense from external aggressors, border security, and developing national cohesion. Historically, the predecessor of the Eritrean Army, the [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] (EPLF), played a major role in establishing and defending the country's independence from [[Ethiopia]] in 1991 during the [[Eritrean War of Independence]]. Since then, the army has continued to be involved in low-level border conflicts with Ethiopia and several other neighbors, including [[Djibouti]] and [[Yemen]], with the most notable one being the [[Ethiopian-Eritrean War]] from 1998 until 2000, which ended in a partial Ethiopian military victory and Eritrean boundary line victory. It is widely regarded as one of the largest armies in Africa, despite the country having a smaller population than most of its neighbors<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1328443/largest-armies-in-africa-by-active-military-personnel/ | title=Africa: Largest armies 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-07-18 |title=In Eritrea, youth say frustrated by long service |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eritrea-military-idUSL1412475520080718 |access-date=2023-08-15}}</ref> with around 250,000 to 300,000 personnel due to mandatory national service. Conscription became open ended since the war with Ethiopia and no demobilization has taken place.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 20, 2019 |title=Issue 23: Open-Ended Conscription in Eritrea's National Military Service: Here is How to Improve the Policy |url=https://horninstitute.org/issue-23-open-ended-conscription-in-eritreas-national-military-service-here-is-how-to-improve-the-policy/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=horninstitute.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-25 |title=Open-ended Conscription in Eritrea's National Military Service: Here is How to Improve the Policy |url=https://www.africaportal.org/publications/open-ended-conscription-eritreas-national-military-service-here-how-improve-policy/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=Africa Portal}}</ref>
== History ==
The current Eritrean army is an outgrowth of the revolutionary [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] (EPLF). The trial by fire experienced by the EPLF during the [[Eritrean War of Independence]] created a force that was able to contend with the largest armed force on the African continent. When Eritrea gained independence, the country's military was admired as one of the most effective fighting forces not only in Africa but the world.{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=41–43}}{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} During the Eritrean struggle for independence the EPLF fought several large scale battles towards the end of the war. The most decisive were the [[Battle of Afabet]] in 1988 and the [[Battle of Massawa (1990)|Battle of Massawa]] in 1990. These battles saw the collision of major units of the EPLF versus a conventional armed force.

Since its independence in 1992, Eritrea has taken part in multiple wars and clashes with its neighbors. Most notably the [[Ethiopia-Eritrea War|war with Ethiopia]] and [[Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict|border conflict with Djibouti]]. Especially with Djibouti Eritrea have had several wars and clashes within the last two decades. Most recently in 2008 relations between Eritrea and Djibouti were driven to a point where war was imminent, but avoided without full-scale war.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7385690.stm | work=BBC News | title=Eritrea army 'entered Djibouti' | date=6 May 2008}}</ref> The Eritrean Army was also involved in the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] during which the Eritrean government supported and organized various anti-Sudanese rebel groups.{{sfnp|Plaut|2016|p=77}}{{sfnp|Connell|1998|p=2}} Most notably, the Eritrean military provided the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army|SPLA]] rebels with weaponry, training, and intelligence.{{sfnp|Connell|1998|pp=4–5, 21, 59, 60–61}} In some cases, the Eritreans even sent covert expeditionary forces into Sudan to directly fight alongside the insurgents against the [[Sudanese Armed Forces]], for example in [[Operation Thunderbolt (1997)]].{{sfnp|Connell|1998|pp=5, 59, 60–61}} Furthermore, the Eritrean Army sent one of its battalions to fight in the [[First Congo War]] due to Eritrea's alliance with [[Rwanda]] at the time. The Eritreans took part in the entire campaign, fighting with the pro-[[Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo|AFDL]] alliance and covering over 1,500&nbsp;km. According to the [[Horn of Africa]] journalist [[Martin Plaut]], this was "an extraordinary feat, especially for soldiers who walked the entire distance in [[Wellington boot|gumboots]], with little or no logistical support". By the end of the war, the Eritrean contingent was starving, exhausted, and ill; it had suffered numerous casualties due to the adverse conditions of the country.{{sfnp|Plaut|2016|pp=54–55}}{{Citations broken|section|date=November 2021}}

==Organization==
Information on the structure and formations of the Eritrean Army is hard to obtain as units are frequently shifted around and reorganized to prevent them from forming loyalties to commanders. In 1992, the President formed a working group of former officers of the [[Ethiopian Armed Forces]] to suggest the structure of the new Eritrean military. They recommended that the Army should be based on divisions, each headed by a colonel, with the chief of staff being a major general, and a civilian minister of defense. The working group recommended that the military be professionalized and institutionalized, maintaining small numbers due to Eritrea's limited resources and small size. President [[Isaias Afwerki]] ignored most of their advice, however, and promoted 37 former combatants of the war for independence to the [[general officer]] ranks. This hampered the development of the military as an institution and was done so that he could play them off against each other and maintain the army's loyalty to him personally. Due to the president frequently shifting the organization and assignments of senior commanders and chiefs of staff, as well as the lack of official documents recording them, putting together a complete picture of the structure of the Eritrean Army is difficult and largely relies on reports from former senior military officers.<ref name="gs" />{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=37–40}}

In February 1991 the divisions of the EPLA were subordinated to four corps, the 161st, 271st, 381st, and 491st.{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=37–40}} During the 1990s there were a total of 24 divisions.<ref name="gs" />

Since 2001 the army has undergone extensive reforms and resulted in the establishment of regional military command zones, which themselves are frequently changed. Currently, as of the late 2000s, the Eritrean ground forces are organized into four corps consisting of twenty infantry brigades, one mechanized brigade, and one commando division (the latter two had been created in 1991). The sources are unclear on whether the four corps still exist or not.<ref name="gs" />{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=37–40}} There is also a Presidential Guard which includes three units of about 2,000 men. These serve as the president's personal security and are given better pay and equipment, also being used to guard political prisoners.<ref name="gs" />{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=41–43}} In total these forces are estimated to number between 250,000 and 300,000 men, including large numbers of conscripts between the ages of eighteen and fifty. These forces are divided among five [[military district|command zones]], as defined in 1965 by the supreme council of the [[Eritrean Liberation Front]]. Each zone is headed by a general, who reportedly have gained considerable political power at the expense of the local civil administrations since the war with Ethiopia. Deputy commanders of zones are selected for their loyalty to President Isaias Afwerki, who uses them to maintain control. The zones include the following: Gasha-Barka (Zone 1), West (Zone 2), South (Zone 3), East (Zone 4), Center (Zone 5). Asmara, the capital, is included in the latter zone.<ref name="gs" />{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=37–40}} Later on these zones were reformed into three new ones, the Central, Eastern, and Western fronts.{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=41–43}} A military training camp is located near [[Assab]]. Large forces are still kept near the disputed Ethiopian border.<ref name="canada">[http://www.refworld.org/docid/47d6544c23.html Eritrea: The Eritrean Army structure, including its units, ranks, functions; whether all divisions of the army are involved in military operations; military activity in Asab, Gash and Tsorona] [[Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada]]. Published 5 February 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref>

In 2012 the government has taken an extra measure of establishing a "people's militia" for the older segment of the population, men aged sixty and women aged seventy, and under.{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=41–43}}

Since the military region commanders report directly to the President the office of Defense Minister is largely ceremonial.<ref name="dw" />

===National service===
Given the frequent border conflicts between Eritrea and its neighbors, the army's numbers have always been maintained through conscription with the proclamation on the Eritrean National Service, for both men and women between the ages of 18 and 40, a policy officially introduced by President Afwerki in 1995. Thus Eritrea has remained in a state of mobilization since the wars with Ethiopia. According to a [[Department of State|US State Department]] information sheet from October 2007 Eritrean national service consists of "approximately six months of military training, followed by a number of years in military or other government service."<ref name="canada" /> Besides national defense conscripts also spend peacetime working on public construction projects. They get paid no more than $30 a month. There is no term limit for national service, having been made open-ended in 1998. Although the average term lasts about six years there are individual cases of soldiers who reported being forced to serve for more than a decade. The large number of troops has also had some effect on the Eritrean [[Economy of Eritrea|economy]]. Reportedly, many conscripts live in terrible conditions and are essentially used for slave labor, subjected to severe physical punishments for trying to escape, and are at the mercy of their commanders. There were many cases of female conscripts being sexually abused. Requests to leave are met with arrests, detainment, and even torture. As a result, they suffer from morale problems and some Eritreans even leave the country to dodge the draft. By 2017 the numbers of Eritreans fleeing the draft to other countries has reached the thousands.<ref name="gs" /><ref name="adwar">Adwar, Corey (30 June 2015). [https://taskandpurpose.com/eritrea-is-the-last-place-in-the-world-you-would-want-to-serve-in-the-military/ Eritrea Is The Worst Place In The World To Serve In The Military] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616204433/https://taskandpurpose.com/eritrea-is-the-last-place-in-the-world-you-would-want-to-serve-in-the-military/ |date=16 June 2018 }}. Taskandpurpose.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref>{{sfb|Kibreab|2017|pp=41–43}}<ref>[https://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/03/national-service-eritrea Miserable and useless]. ''[[The Economist]]''. Published 10 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref>

Desertion has become such a serious problem that entire companies have been "hollowed out" and reduced to the size of platoons as large numbers of soldiers and junior officers have fled, often to either neighboring [[Sudan]] or to a lesser extent, Ethiopia. Many reservists have refused to attend regular military drills. To address this, in 2014 the Eritrean government of President Afwerki has pledged to enforce an eighteen-month limit for national service, though there is skepticism on whether or not the promise will actually be implemented.<ref name="adwar" /><ref name="awate">[http://awate.com/crisis-in-the-eritrean-army/ Crisis In The Eritrean Army]. Awate.com. Published 3 April 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2018.</ref> The government has stated that the duration of national service is necessary due to the continued hostilities and illegal occupation of Eritrean territory by Ethiopia.<ref>Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban (8 February 2018). [http://www.africanews.com/2018/02/08/eritrea-s-prolonged-national-service-a-defense-measure-against-ethiopia// Eritrea's prolonged national service a defense measure against Ethiopia]. Africa News. Retrieved 27 February 2018.</ref>

In 2015, a [[United Nations|UN]] report documented extensive human rights abuses within the Eritrean army and stated:

<blockquote>Indeed, the indefinite duration of national service, its terrible conditions — including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual torture, forced labour, absence of leave and the ludicrous pay — and the implications it has for the possibility of any individual to found a family, conduct a family life and have favourable conditions of work make national service an institution where slavery-like practices are routine.<ref name="adwar" /></blockquote>

Many Eritrean draft dodgers fled to [[Europe]] and [[Israel]] since the beginning of the [[European migrant crisis]].<ref name="adwar" /><ref>Lior, Ilan (27 February 2017). [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-to-appeal-ruling-protecting-eritrean-army-deserters-1.5850399 Israeli Government to Appeal Ruling Giving Eritrean Army Deserters Refugee Status]. ''[[Haaretz]]''. Retrieved 27 February 2018.</ref> Since 2002, Eritrean youths are forced to do unlimited military service which includes [[forced labor]].<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/04/16/service-life/state-repression-and-indefinite-conscription-eritrea State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea]</ref> In September the same year, Eritrean government arrested leading [[journalists]] and leaving only the pro government media to work.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/19/eritrea-forgotten-journalists-jailed-pen-international-press-freedom 'If we don’t give them a voice, no one will': Eritrea's forgotten journalists, still jailed after 14 years]</ref>

== Ranks and insignia ==
{{main|Military ranks of Eritrea}}
;Commissioned Officers
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/Blank}}
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OF/Eritrea}}
|}

;Enlisted
{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Blank}}
{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OR/Eritrea}}
|}

== Modern ground forces equipment ==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

=== Infantry weapons ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
|-
! style="width:30%;"| Name 
! style="width:20%;"| Type 
! style="width:18%;"| Origins
! Notes
|-
| [[AKM]] || rowspan="5" | [[Assault rifle]] || rowspan="2" | {{USSR}} || <ref name="jones2009">Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (27 January 2009). {{ISBN|978-0-7106-2869-5}}.</ref>
|-
| [[AK-47]] || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[vz. 58]] || {{CSK}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[M16 rifles]] || {{USA}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[IMI Galil]] || {{ISR}} ||
|-
| [[Beretta BM59]] || [[Battle rifle]] || {{ITA}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[Makarov pistol]] || [[Semi-automatic pistol]] || {{USSR}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[Uzi]] || rowspan="2" | [[Submachine gun]] || {{ISR}} || <ref>{{cite book |title=The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns |last= Miller |first= David |year= 2001 |publisher=Salamander Books |location=London |isbn= 1-84065-245-4 |oclc=59522369}}</ref>
|-
| [[FN P90]] || {{BEL}} || 
|-
| [[PK machine gun]] || [[General-purpose machine gun]] || rowspan="3" | {{USSR}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[RPD machine gun]] || [[Light machine gun]] ||<ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[DShK]] || [[Heavy machine gun]] ||<ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[RPG-7]] || [[Rocket propelled grenade]] || {{USSR}} || <ref name="jones2009" />
|-
| [[9M14 Malyutka]] || rowspan="4" | [[Anti-tank guided missile]] || rowspan="2" | {{USSR}} || <ref name=IISS>{{cite book |publisher=[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]]|date=2021|title=The Military Balance|page=464|isbn=9781032012278}}</ref>
|-
| [[9M113 Konkurs]] || <ref name=IISS/>
|-
| [[Kornet|Kornet-E]] || {{RUS}} || Russian KBP contracted to deliver 80 Kornet-E launchers.<ref name="Deagel">[http://www.deagel.com/Anti-Armor-Weapons-and-Missiles/Kornet_a001010001.aspx Deagel article on 9M133 Kornet]</ref>
|-
| [[BGM-71]]-C Improved [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW]] || {{USA}} ||
|}

=== Armored fighting vehicles ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Name 
! style="width:20%;"| Type 
! style="width:12%;"| Quantity
! style="width:18%;"| Origins
! Notes
|-
| [[T-54/55]] || rowspan="2" |[[Main battle tank]] || 270<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The Military Balance 2024 |collaboration=The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) |date=2024 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781032780047 |edition=1st |pages=490}}</ref>|| rowspan="8" |{{USSR}} || 120 T-55As were ordered in 2004 from Bulgaria and delivered in 2005 (the vehicles were previously in Bulgarian service). 270 T-55As are in service.<ref name="SIPRI">{{cite web |title=SIPRI Arms Transfers Database |url=https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/TransferData/ |access-date=27 October 2014 |publisher=}}</ref><ref name="Deagel-1">[http://www.deagel.com/Main-Battle-Tanks/T-55_a000747001.aspx Deagel article on T-54/55]</ref>
|-
| [[T-62]] {{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}|| Unknown|| Received a number from Ethiopia.
|-
| [[BRDM-1]] || rowspan="2" |[[Scout car]] || rowspan="2" |40<ref name=":0" />||
|-
| [[BRDM-2]] ||
|-
| [[BMP-1]] || [[Infantry fighting vehicle]] || 15<ref name=":0" />|| Eritrea is believed to have received some from Ethiopia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Russian BMP-1 IFV Family of vehicles |url=http://tanknutdave.com/the-russian-bmp-1-ifv-family-of-vehicles/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421082308/http://tanknutdave.com/the-russian-bmp-1-ifv-family-of-vehicles/ |archive-date=21 April 2024 |access-date=1 December 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[MT-LB]] || rowspan="3" |[[Armoured personnel carrier]] || 10<ref name=":0" />|| Acquired from Bulgaria in 2005.<ref name="SIPRI"/>
|-
| [[BTR-60|BTR-60PB]] || rowspan="2" |25<ref name=":0" />||
|-
| [[BTR-152]] ||
|}

=== Artillery ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Name 
! style="width:20%;"| Type 
! style="width:12%;"| Quantity
! style="width:18%;"| Origins
! Notes
|-
| [[2S1 Gvozdika]] || [[Self-propelled artillery|Self-propelled howitzer]] || 32<ref name=":0" />|| rowspan="6" | {{USSR}} || Acquired from Bulgaria.<ref name="SIPRI"/>
|-
| [[2S5 Giatsint-S]] || [[Self-propelled artillery|Self-propelled gun]] || 13<ref name=":0" />||
|-
| [[122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)|D-30]]|| [[Howitzer|Towed howitzer]]||Unknown<ref name=":0" />
|
|-
| [[130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)|M-46]]|| [[Field gun|Towed field gun]]||39<ref name=":0" />
| Acquired from Bulgaria in 1999 and 2004.<ref name="SIPRI" />
|-
| [[BM-21 Grad]]|| rowspan="2" | [[Multiple rocket launcher]]|| 35<ref name=":0" />||
|-
| [[BM-27 Uragan]]|| 9<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Deagel-4">[http://www.deagel.com/Multiple-Launch-Rocket-Systems/Uragan_a000694001.aspx Deagel article on BM-27]</ref>|| Transferred from Belarus to Eritrea in 2007.<ref name="SIPRI" />
|}

=== Air defense ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Name 
! style="width:20%;"| Type 
! style="width:12%;"| Quantity
! style="width:18%;"| Origins
! Notes
|-
| [[9K32 Strela-2]] || rowspan="2" | [[Man-portable air-defense system]] || Unknown<ref name=":0" />|| {{USSR}} || <ref name=IISS/>
|-
| [[9K38 Igla]] || Unknown<ref name="FAS">{{cite web |date=22 February 2010 |title=Fas.org missile watch document |url=https://fas.org/publication/missile-watch-february-2010/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415053826/https://fas.org/web/20240415053826/https://fas.org/publication/missile-watch-february-2010/ |archive-date=15 April 2024 |access-date=1 December 2024 |work=Federation Of American Scientists}}</ref>|| {{RUS}} || Iglas smuggled to Somalia were identified as originating from an arms shipment of 50 9K38 made to Eritrea in 1995.<ref name="SIPRI" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2010/03/10/eritrea-and-the-manpads/ |title=ERITREA AND THE MANPADS &#124; Ottawa Citizen |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425062705/http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2010/03/10/eritrea-and-the-manpads/ |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A further 200 were ordered in 1999.<ref name="SIPRI" />
|-
| [[ZSU-23-4|ZSU-23-4 Shilka]] || [[Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon|Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun]] || 3<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Eritrea-1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Eritrea/eritrea1.html |title=Eritrea Fact files |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402022550/http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Eritrea/eritrea1.html |archive-date=2 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> || rowspan="3" | {{USSR}} || 
|-
| [[ZU-23-2]] || rowspan="2" | [[Anti-aircraft warfare|Towed anti-aircraft gun]] || 6<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Eritrea-1" /> ||
|-
| [[57 mm AZP S-60|S-60]] || 12<ref name="Eritrea-1" /> || 
|-
|[[S-125 Neva/Pechora|S-125 Pechora]]
|[[Short range air defense|Short Range Air Defense System]]
|2<ref name="SIPRI" />
|{{USSR}}
|Two air defense systems and 70 V-601 missiles purchased from Belarus in 2005.
|}

== Sources ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Books ===
*{{Cite journal 
|title = Sudan: Global Trade, Local Impact. Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan 
|url= https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/sudan0898%20Report.pdf
|last= Connell
|first= Dan 
|date = August 1998
|journal = Human Rights Watch
|doi = 
|pmid = 
|issue = 4 (A)
|volume = 10
|pages = 
|jstor = 
}}
* {{cite book
 |last1 = Kibreab
 |first1 = Gaim
 |title = The Eritrean National Service: Servitude for 'the Common Good' and the Youth Exodus
 |publisher = Boydell & Brewer
 |location = 
 |year = 2017
 |isbn = 9781847011602
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6bM4DwAAQBAJ&q=Sebhat+Ephrem&pg=PA49
 }}
*{{cite book
|last = Plaut
|first = Martin
|title= Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa's Most Repressive State
|language= en
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vk8jDgAAQBAJ
|date= 2016
|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]
|location= Oxford
|isbn= 9780190669591
}}

[[Category:Military of Eritrea]]
[[Category:Army units and formations]]