Congolese T-64BV1 MBTs remain to be delivered


Attempting to list the equipment available to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo [FARDC]) is difficult; most figures are unreliable estimates based on known items delivered in the past. The figures below are from the IISS Military Balance 2014. Much of the Army's equipment is non-operational due to insufficient maintenance—in 2002 only 20 percent of the Army's armored vehicles were estimated as being serviceable.
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T-64BV1 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Picture source : Twitter account of TheDeadDistrict)


Main Battle Tanks: 12–17 Chinese-made Type 59s (dropped from 30 listed in 2007), 32 Russian-made T-55s, 100 Russian-made T- 72s. 30 T-55s and 100 T-72s were listed in 2007, thus little new information has reached the IISS in the intervening seven years.
Light tanks: 10 amphibious PT-76s; 30 T-62s (serviceability in doubt). "40+" T-62s were listed by the Military Balance in 2007.
Reconnaissance vehicles: up to 17 French-made Panhard AML-60 and 14 AML-90 armored cars, 19 Brazilian-made EE-9 Cascavel armored cars; 2 South-African-made RAM-V-2 armored cars.
Infantry Fighting Vehicles: 20 BMP-s1 (number reported unchanged since 2007).
Armoured Personnel Carriers: IISS reports tracked vehicles include 3 BTR-50s, 6 MT-LBs, wheeled vehicles including 30-70 BTR-60s; 58 Panhard M3s (serviceability in doubt), 7 TH 390 Fahd.
Artillery: 16 2S1 and 2S3 self-propelled; 119 towed field guns, including 77 122 mm howitzer 2A18 130 mm D-30/M-1938/Type-60; 57 MRL, including 24 Type 81; 528+ mortars, 81 mm, 82 mm, 107 mm, 120 mm.

Agreement was signed for 50T-62BV1 tanks in 2013, but after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the first 10 tanks were sent to the Azov regiment. 25 tanks were delivered to the Congo, and 15 more are reported to still be in the tank factory.

In addition to these 2014 figures, in March 2010, it was reported that the DRC's land forces had ordered US$80 million worth of military equipment from Ukraine which included 20 T-72 main battle tanks, 100 trucks and various small arms. Tanks have been used in the Kivus in the 2005–09 period.

In February 2014, Ukraine revealed that it had achieved the first export order for the T-64 tank to the DRC Land Forces for 50 T-64BV-1s.

In June 2015 it was reported that Georgia had sold 12 of its Didgori-2 to the DRC for $4 million. The vehicles were specifically designed for reconnaissance and special operations. Two of the vehicles are a recently developed conversion to serve for medical field evacuation.

The United Nations confirmed in 2011, both from sources in the Congolese military and from officials of the Commission nationale de contrôle des armes légères et de petit calibre et de réduction de la violence armée (the National Commission for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Reduction of Armed Violence), that the ammunition plant called Afridex in Likasi, Katanga Province, manufactures ammunition for small arms and light weapons.