| Bangladesh Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| বাংলাদেশ সশস্ত্র বাহিনী | |
 Crest of Bangladesh Armed Forces | |
 Flag of Bangladesh Armed Forces | |
| Motto | চির উন্নত মম শির(de facto) ("Ever High is My Head") |
| Founded | 21 November 1971; 54 years ago (1971-11-21) |
| Current form | 12 January 1972; 53 years ago (1972-01-12) |
| Service branches |  Bangladesh Army Bangladesh Navy Bangladesh Air Force |
| Headquarters | Armed Forces Division Headquarters,Dhaka Cantonment |
| Website | afd |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief |  PresidentMohammed Shahabuddin |
| Minister of Defence |  Chief AdviserMuhammad Yunus |
| Principal Staff Officer |  Lieutenant GeneralS. M. Kamrul Hassan |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years |
| Conscription | No[1] |
| Active personnel | 204,000 (2025)[2] |
| Deployed personnel | 3,000 forUnited Nations peacekeeping |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | ৳ 408.51 billion ($3.34 billion) (2025)[3] |
| Percent of GDP | 0.71% |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | |
| Annual imports | US$18 million (2025) |
| Related articles | |
| History | |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Bangladesh |
TheBangladesh Armed Forces[a] is the military force of Bangladesh. It consists of three uniformed organizations, they are theBangladesh Army, theBangladesh Navy, and theBangladesh Air Force. The Armed Forces is under the jurisdiction of theMinistry of Defence of theGovernment of Bangladesh, and is directly administered by theArmed Forces Division of thePrime Minister's Office.[4] ThePresident of Bangladesh serves as theCommander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh has the third-largest defence budget in South Asia. The Bangladeshi military is also the 35th strongest in the world and the third most powerful military force in South Asia.[5]Border Guard Bangladesh andBangladesh Coast Guard is under the jurisdiction of theMinistry of Home Affairs[6] during peacetime, but during wartime, they fall under the command of the Bangladesh Army and the Bangladesh Navy, respectively.
Military policy is formulated and executed by theArmed Forces Division (AFD), whereas theMinistry of Defence (MoD) does not exercise any operational or policy authority over the Armed Forces. Since independence, the AFD and MoD have been led by thePrime Minister. To coordinate military policy with foreign and intelligence policy, both the President and the Prime Minister are advised by a six-member advisory board, which consists of the three military servicesChiefs of Staff,Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, and Military secretaries to the President and the Prime Minister. The directors-general of theNSI, theDGFI, and theBGB also serve in an advisory capacity when invited.[7][8]
Armed Forces Day is observed on 21 November and commemorates the founding of the three services of the Armed Forces, who subsequently initiated a jointmilitary operation against the occupyingPakistani Armed Forces during theBangladesh Liberation War.[9][10]Official functions are held across the country, including atBangabhaban, the Armed Forces Division Headquarters atDhaka Cantonment, all military cantonments, and at every military installation throughout Bangladesh.[11]
With thepartitioning of India on 15 August 1947, the territory constituting modern Bangladesh waspartitioned from the province ofBengal asEast Bengal which joinedPakistan. Ethnic and sectional discrimination prevailed in various sectors of the state. Like other government sectors, Bengalis were under-represented in the Pakistani military too. Officers of Bengali origin in different wings of the armed forces made up just 5% of the entire military by 1965.[12] West Pakistanis believed that Bengalis were not "martially inclined" unlikePashtuns andPunjabis; the "Martial Races" notion was dismissed as ridiculous and humiliating by Bengalis.[12] Moreover, despite huge defence spending,East Pakistan received none of the benefits, such as contracts, purchasing and military support jobs. TheIndo-Pakistani War of 1965 overKashmir also highlighted the sense of military insecurity among Bengalis as only an under-strengthinfantry division and 15combat aircraft withouttank support were in East Pakistan to repel any Indian attack during the conflict.[13][14]
TheEast Bengal Regiment was formed on 15 February 1948 following Pakistan's independence and transition from post British rule, composed exclusively of men from the western part of the country. The first East Bengal Regiment was composed of Bengali members of theBritish Indian Army Pioneer Corps andBihar Regiment of the abolishedBritish-Indian army. Between 1948 and 1965, a total of eight battalions of EBR were raised.[15][16]
Following the victory of theAwami League in the 1970 elections, then-president GeneralYahya Khan refused to appoint its leaderSheikh Mujibur Rahman as theprime minister and launched a brutal attack namedOperation Searchlight on the Bengali nationalists of the then East Pakistan, using thePakistan Army to repress political movements.[17] The number of people killed by Pakistani forces vary from a minimum of around 300,000 to a maximum of around 3 million.[18][19] Responding to Mujib's call for rebellion, many students, workers and other civilians mutinied against Pakistan and raised theMukti Bahini, aguerrilla force. Later on, many Bengali officers and units from the Pakistan Army andEast Pakistan Rifles mutinied against their West Pakistani counterparts and joined the Mukti Bahini.[20][21][22] On 17 April 1971,M. A. G Osmani took oath as the commander-in-chief of Mukti Bahini. While the war raged on, the necessity of a well-trained armed force was always felt. During the first Bangladesh Sector Commanders Conference, held from 11 to 17 July 1971, theBangladesh Forces started its journey composed of the revolting Bengali members of the Pakistan Army andEPR.[23] In this historic conference the field command structure, sector reorganization, reinforcement, appointment of field commanders and tactics of warfare were decided upon and carried out. On 21 November 1971, the Bangladesh Forces was divided into three separate services asBangladesh Army,Bangladesh Navy andBangladesh Air Force.
The Bangladesh Forces received modest assistance from the Indian Government soon after the start of the war, On 3 December 1971, theIndia-Pakistan war broke out and Indian troops entered Bangladesh allied with the Bangladesh Armed Forces.[24] On 16 December 1971, thePakistani military surrendered to the joint Indian and Bangladesh forces.[25]
The newly formed Bangladeshi armed forces incorporated some of the units and guerrillas of the Mukti Bahini.[26] Gen. Osmani, who had led the Mukti Bahini was appointed theGeneral of the Bangladesh armed forces.[27] For many years, there was active discrimination in favour of the inductees from the Mukti Bahini against those Bengali officers who had continued service in the Pakistani armed forces or had been detained inWest Pakistan.[26][28] A group of angered officersassassinated the president Sheikh Mujib on 15 August 1975 and established a regime with politicianKhondaker Mostaq Ahmed asPresident of Bangladesh and newarmy chief Maj. Gen.Ziaur Rahman.[28] The military itself was subject of divisions as Mujib's assassins were overthrown by the pro-Mujib Brig. Gen.Khaled Mosharraf on 3 November, who himself was soon overthrown by a socialist group of officers under Col.Abu Taher on 7 November who returned Ziaur Rahman to power—an event now called theSipoy-Janata Biplob (Soldiers and People's Coup).[29] Under the presidency of Ziaur Rahman, the military was reorganised to remove conflicts between rival factions and discontented cadre.[30] However, Ziaur Rahman was himself overthrown in a1981 coup attempt,[31] and a year later, Lt. Gen.Hossain Mohammad Ershad took power from the elected government of presidentAbdus Sattar. The military remained the most important force in national politics under the regimes of Ziaur Rahman and later Hossain Mohammad Ershad until democracy was restored in 1991.[30]
Having relied primarily onIndia and theSoviet Union for military aid, Bangladesh has also developed military ties with thePeople's Republic of China and theUnited States. The Bangladesh Army has been actively involved in United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO). During the firstGulf War in 1991, the Bangladesh Army sent a 2,193 member team to monitor peace inSaudi Arabia andKuwait. The Bangladesh Army also participated in peace keeping activities inNamibia,Cambodia,Somalia,Uganda,Rwanda,Mozambique, formerYugoslavia,Liberia,Haiti,Tajikistan,Western Sahara,Sierra Leone,Kosovo, Georgia,East Timor,Congo,Côte d'Ivoire andEthiopia. As of October 2008, Bangladesh remained the second largest contributor with 9,800 troops in the UN Peacekeeping forces.
Until a peace accord was signed in 1997, the Bangladeshi military engaged incounterinsurgency operations in theChittagong Hill Tracts fighting theShanti Bahini separatist group. In 2001, Bangladeshi military unitsengaged in clashes with the IndianBorder Security Force (BSF) along the northern border.[32]
Several projects and schemes aiming to expand and modernize the Bangladeshi armed forces were launched by the government of former Prime MinisterBegum Khaleda Zia.
Forces Goal 2030 was launched by the government of Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina to secure new equipment for the Bangladeshi military.
Standoffs have occasionally occurred at theBangladesh-Myanmar border, including in 1991 and 2008. Most of the standoffs took place, when Myanmar attempted to forceRohingyas into Bangladesh. In 2008, the two countries deployed warships after Myanmar attempted to explore a disputed Bay of Bengal seabed for oil and gas. The dispute was resolved at an international tribunal in 2012. Bangladesh and Myanmar have also conductedcounter-insurgency operations on the border.
The following are the various gallantry, service and war medals of the Bangladesh Armed Forces.[33][self-published source?][34][self-published source?][35][self-published source?][36][37][self-published source?]
Bir Sreshtho-(Bengali:বীরশ্রেষ্ঠ; literally, "The Most Valiant Hero"), the highest gallantry award
Bir Uttom- (Bengali:বীর উত্তম; literally, "Better among Braves"), the second highest gallantry award
Bir Bikrom- (Bengali:বীর বিক্রম; literally, "Valiant hero"), the third highest gallantry award
Bir Protik- (Bengali:বীর প্রতীক; literally, "Symbol of Bravery or Idol of Courage"), the fourth highest gallantry award
Order of Military Merit
Jestha Padak I (10 years service)
Jestha Padak II (20 years service)
Jestha Padak III (30 years service)
Bangladesh has consistently made large contributions to United Nationspeacekeeping operations. As of May 2007, Bangladesh had major deployments inDemocratic Republic of Congo,Liberia,Lebanon,Sudan,Timor-Leste andCôte d'Ivoire.[38] With 10,736 troops deployed, it ranks first in personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping.[39] The government declined to participate inIraq on a request from theUnited States. The deployment to Liberia began in October 2003 and has remained at a level of about 3,200 who are participating in peacekeeping, charitable activities and infrastructure development.
Officers are trained and educated for three years at theBangladesh Military Academy, Bhatiary,Bangladesh Naval Academy at Patenga, both located inChittagong andBangladesh Air Force Academy located inJessore. For advance training during their career, officers are sent toBangladesh Defence Services Command and Staff College at Mirpur, while senior officers attend theNational Defense University forArmed Forces War Course. Many attend theMilitary Institute of Science and Technology while serving. Officers of the Army Medical Corps are recruited after graduation from both military or civil medical colleges. They undergo basic military training at Bangladesh Military Academy followed by professional training in medical corps centre and Armed Forces Medical Institute. Recently cadets ofArmed Forces Medical College also started joining the services directly.[40]
Bangladeshi military ranks, essentially corresponds to those used by the armed forces of the commonwealth nations.
The rank insignia for commissioned officers for the Armed forces respectively.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh Army[41] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| জেনারেল General | লেফটেন্যান্ট জেনারেল Lieutenant general | মেজর জেনারেল Major general | ব্রিগেডিয়ার জেনারেল Brigadier general | কর্নেল Colonel | লেফটেন্যান্ট কর্নেল Lieutenant colonel | মেজর Major | ক্যাপ্টেন Captain | লেফটেন্যান্ট Lieutenant | সেকেন্ড লেফটেন্যান্ট Second lieutenant | |||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh Navy[42] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||
| এ্যাডমিরাল Aeḍmirāl | ভাইস এ্যাডমিরাল Bhā'is aeḍamirāl | রিয়ার এ্যাডমিরাল Riẏār aeḍamirāl | কমোডোর Kômōḍōr | ক্যাপ্টেন Kaepṭēn | কমান্ডার Kômānḍār | লেফটেন্যান্ট কমান্ডার Lēphṭēnānṭ kômānḍār | লেফটেন্যান্ট Lēphṭēnānṭ | সাব-লেফটেন্যান্ট Sāb-lēphṭēnānṭ | এ্যাক্টিং সাব-লেফটেন্যান্ট Ēyākṭiṁ sāb-lēphṭēn'yānṭ | মিডশিপম্যান Miḍśipmaen | ||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh Air Force[43] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| এয়ার চিফ মার্শাল Ēẏār chiph mārśāl | এয়ার মার্শাল Ēẏār mārśāl | এয়ার ভাইস মার্শাল Ēẏār bhā'is mārśāl | এয়ার কমোডোর Ēẏār kômōḍōr | গ্রুপ ক্যাপ্টেন Grup kaepṭēn | উইং কমান্ডার U'iṁ kômānḍār | স্কোয়াড্রন লীডার Skōẏāḍran līḍār | ফ্লাইট লেফটেন্যান্ট Phlā'iṭ lēphṭēnānṭ | ফ্লাইং অফিসার Phlā'iṁ ôphisār | পাইলট অফিসার Pā'ilôṭ Ôphisār | |||||||||||||||
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cantonments are where Bangladesh Army personnel work, train, and live.[47]
Bangladesh has made a long term modernisation plan for its Armed Forces namedForces Goal 2030.[49] The plan includes the modernization and expansion of all equipment and infrastructures and providing enhanced training.[49]
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