The sovereignty, independence and integrity of any country is ensured by the army and depends directly on the defense capability of the state. The situation is the same in the republics of the post-Soviet space, including in Uzbekistan. The army of this state is considered one of the largest in Central Asia. Today, special attention is paid to this, as in the nineties, after the collapse of the USSR. Let's look at the defense of this country in more detail, the size, features of the service and problems.
Army of Uzbekistan
The USSR left each republic, in the past consisting of it, a great military potential and many different equipment, military bases and other auxiliary elements. Most countries took advantage of this and began to develop their defense capabilities. Therefore, the army of Uzbekistan at the world level did not become small, but constantly increased its strength and today it is one of the largest on the Asian continent.
But this is not surprising, the government of this country spends 1.5 billion US dollars annually. These funds go to the development of their weapons and increase in numbers. The army of Uzbekistan, the strength of which is shown in the table below, has enormous potential.
Today, there are many means of comparing the armed forces of different countries. Let's look at the data of the world ranking, which will help to understand which army is in Uzbekistan.
| Type of military weapons | Number according to publicly available data |
| Citizens fit for military service in the army of Uzbekistan | 13 311 936 people |
| Annual call | About 600,000 people |
| The main number of troops | 60,000 people |
| Tanks | 420 pcs |
| Aircraft | 164 pcs. |
| Helicopters | 65 pcs. |
| BMP | 715 pcs. |
As you can see, the armed forces of Uzbekistan are quite promising, and have large numbers and excellent weapons. In the world rating of the armed forces this state has 48 positions, among the CIS countries it takes 3rd place. But the army of Uzbekistan has a certain list of problems. Let's look at them.
Corruption in the army of Uzbekistan and other problems
Service in the armed forces of the state has always been considered very prestigious. A special dream for young guys is the passage of military service in elite types of troops. But, according to surveys, getting into a certain type of troops in Uzbekistan is very difficult, and usually only possible after giving a bribe. In contrast to the Russian Federation, where they often pay to "dismiss" from service, rather than to join the army. This is due to the fact that it is almost impossible for an ordinary citizen to get into the main group of forces, because its number is only 60 thousand people per 30 million of the country's population.
Corruption usually occurs at the household level, in the military registration and enlistment office, in order to receive one or another category, you need to give a bribe of about $ 300.
Ground equipment of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan
In the army of this Asian state, various equipment is listed. According to publicly available sources, tanks, aircraft and infantry fighting vehicles of this country are in excellent condition. To understand which army is in Uzbekistan and the defense capabilities of a given country, we offer this table for review.
| Type of equipment | Name and quantity (in pieces) |
| Tanks | T-72 (100), T-64 (170), T-62 (340) |
| BMP and armored personnel carrier | BMD-1 (120), BRDM-2 (13), BMD-2 (9), BPM-2 (270), BTR-D (50), BTR-60 (24), BTR-70 (25), BTR -80 (210), BRM (6) |
| Self-propelled guns | Nona-S (54), Carnation (18), Acacia (17), Peony (48) |
| Howitzers | D-30 (60), Hyacinth-B (140) |
| Multiple launch rocket systems | City (60), Hurricane (48) |
| Operational-tactical missile systems | PTRC Point (5) |
As you can see, the amount of equipment is very large and is able to restrain any aggressive actions, including from terrorist and extremist groups.
Air force
It is necessary to protect the state not only on earth, but also in the sky. For this, the army of Uzbekistan contains helicopters, fighters, bombers, attack aircraft. The country's arsenal is a large air force. The list of equipment is given in the table below.
| Type of aircraft | Name and quantity (pcs) |
| Unmanned aerial vehicles | Pterodactyl - it is not known how many units |
| Fighters | Multipurpose fighters SU-27 (25), multipurpose fighters MIG-29 (30), fighter-bomber SU-17 (26) |
| Bombers and attack aircraft | Front-line bombers SU-24 (34), attack aircraft SU-25 (20) |
| Combat helicopters | Multipurpose helicopters MI-8 (52), transport combat helicopters MI-24 (29) |
In addition, the army of Uzbekistan includes elements of air defense: S-75, S-125, S-200.
Combat experience
Fortunately, Uzbekistan did not enter into any armed conflicts with other states. The only combat experience of this country is military clashes with terrorist and extremist groups. But the army of Uzbekistan is constantly training. The Ministry of Defense of this state conducts military exercises of various kinds.
General conclusions about the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan
To date, the army of this state is still considered one of the strongest in the CIS. In terms of quality and quantity, only an armed group of the Russian Federation and Ukraine overtakes it. But gradually the army of Kazakhstan is catching up, because there is a more active updating of the technical potential of the country.
It is bad that the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan does not purchase new, but uses old equipment. The armed forces, of course, are modernizing it, but this negatively affects the growth of potential.
Since the country does not have combat experience, the exact number of working tanks, planes, infantry fighting vehicles is unknown, therefore, it is impossible to judge the total capacity of the army of Uzbekistan, only according to publicly available data, which are based on documentation provided to the media by the government. This is a drawback, but citizens are confident in their safety - which is the main thing.