Military of Afghanistan

The military of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان پوځ ; Persian: ارتش افغانستان) is composed of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Air Force. Being a landlocked country, Afghanistan has no navy. The President of Afghanistan is the Commander-in-Chief of the military, acting through the Ministry of Defense that is headed by General Abdul Rahim Wardak. The National Military Command Center in Kabul serves as the headquarters of the Afghan armed forces. The military of Afghanistan currently has around 200,000 active soldiers, which are expected to reach 260,000 by 2015.

The current Afghan military originates in 1709 when the Hotaki dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by the Durrani Empire. The Afghan armed forces fought many wars with Persia and India from the 18th to the 19th century. It was re-organized by the British in 1880, when the country was ruled by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. It was modernized during King Amanullah Khan's rule in the early 20th century, and upgraded during King Zahir Shah's forty year rule. From 1978 to 1992, the Soviet-backed Afghan army fought with multi-national mujahideen groups who were being funded by the United States and Saudi Arabia while trained by the Pakistani Armed Forces. After President Najibullah's resignation in 1992 and the end of Soviet support, the military dissolved into portions controlled by different warlord factions and the mujahideen took control over the government. This era was followed by the rise of the Pakistan-backed Taliban regime, who established a military force on the basis of Islamic sharia law.

Following the US-led invasion and the removal of the Taliban in late 2001, the military of Afghanistan is being rebuilt and reformed by NATO military alliance, mainly by the United States Armed Forces. Despite early problems with recruitment and training, it is becoming effective in fighting against the Taliban insurgency. As of 2011, it is slowly becoming able to operate independently from US-led NATO forces. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama announced in 2009 that it would increase the number of Afghan troops and police to 400,000 active units. It also announced plans to spend $1.3 billion on building several military bases for the Afghan army. This includes an upgrade of more than $100 million to Bagram Air Base, the largest military base in the country, as well as a new $70 million base in Farah near the border with Iran. In the meantime, the Afghan military began seeking latest fighter aircraft and other advanced weapons."