When the army and navy were formed, the uniforms adopted by each service reflected British military and naval tradition. Modifications have occurred over the intervening years, however, and in early 1987 Libyan uniforms were similar to those worn by military personnel of a number of Middle Eastern Arab countries.     The standard field uniform for Libyan paratroopers (Army commandos) is a two-piece camouflage uniform made of water repellent cotton. The shirt is similar in design to the United States Army fatigue shirt. The shirt and trousers are camouflaged in blue-green, light green, and dark brown. The standard headgear for paratroopers is a sky-blue beret. The uniforms of the air force, however, continued to resemble in both style and colour the uniforms of the United States Air Force, which served as a model when the Libyan air arm was established.     Originally the rank structure of all three services was similar to that of the British armed forces, but some modifications were introduced in light of the small size of the Libyan military establishment. In early 1979, the system prescribed by law still included nine officer grades and five enlisted ranks; there were no warrant officer equivalents Although three general officer grades continued to be authorized, they have not been used since the 1969 coup. Promoted to the grade of colonel (aqid) after assuming power, Qadhafi has maintained a ceiling on the grade level of his officers corps in keeping with his desire to avoid the ostentatious public image the generals of the monarchy had conveyed. In January 1976, the Arab Socialist Union's National Congress attempted to promote Qadhafi to major general. The Libyan leader stated that he would accept the honour as an expression of gratitude from his compatriots but would retain the title of colonel because it had become an accepted and traditional part of his name.
Libyan C-130 can carry 60 Paratroopers.	Libyan Candid Heavy lift aircraft. Each IL-76MD
Libyan Candid Heavy lift aircraft. Each IL-76MD could carry 190 troops, or three armoured vehicles, over a distance of 6,100km, and drop them directly to enemy zone. The aircraft’s airdrop and cargo handing equipment allows it to load, unload and air drop paratroopers, materiel and cargo quickly.
AN2 Carries between 10 and 12 Paratroopers.Used for training.	AN 26 Has a Paratroop delivery capability.
The current strength of the Libyan Ground Forces is 50,000 with an additional 43,000 troops as part of the Libyan Peoples Militia Paramilitary Group. The Libyan Army is organized into 10 Tank Battalions, 10 Mechanized Infantry Battalions, 18 Infantry Battalions, 6 Commando Battalions, 22 Artillery Battalions, 4 SSM Brigade and 7 Air Defense Artillery Battalions. [1]     Though the Libyan army has a large amount of fighting equipment at its disposal, the vast majority was bought from the Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s and is largely obsolete. A high percentage remains in storage and a large amount of equipment has also been sold to various African countries. No major purchases of equipment have been made in recent years largely due to the decline of the economy and military sanctions experienced throughout the nineties. This and various other internal factors has seriously decayed the strength of the whole of the Libyan Military over the years and it has lagged behind its major neighbors in terms of its military capabilities and real war fighting capability. It is expected however, with the resurgence of the Libyan Economy and the recent lifting of sanctions that Libya will seek to rectify this and start to replace its ageing equipment and gain some ground it has lost over the years. From the late seventies to the mid to late eighties the army was involved in 4 major incursions into Chadian Territory. The Libyan Army suffered great losses in these conflicts especially that of the Toyota War of 1987 largely due to poor tactics and western aid to Chad. All of these incursions were eventually repulsed and Libya no longer occupies Chad. This conflict was known as the Chadian-Libyan conflict.
Military of Libya Founded 1951 Service branches People's Militia Libyan Navy Libyan Air Force Libyan Army Headquarters Tripoli Leadership Chief of staff Colonel Abu-Bakr Yunis Jaber Manpower Conscription 18 months Active personnel 119,000 (Ranked 53) Reserve personnel 45,000 Deployed personnel 200 Central African Republic Industry Foreign suppliers Russia China Brazil	Libyan Army Active Country Libya Branch Army Size 50,000 regular soldiers, 43,000 militia ?? T-90
200 T-72 (115 in store),	100 T-62 (70 in store),
500 T-55 (1000+ in store),
Tracked Vehicles
200 BTR-50	30 M-113
Wheeled Vehicles
70 EE-9 Cascavel	100 EE-11
50 BRDM-2	500 BTR-60
/ 67 OT-64
SP Artillery
80 DANA	210 (160 in service) Palmaria
130 2S1	60 2S3 Akatsiya
Multiple Rocket Launchers
400 BM-21	200 RM-70
300 Type-63
Towed Artillery
330 M-46	190 D-30
60 D-74
Surface to Surface Missiles
45 FROG-7	80 SCUD-B , ( 416 missiles)
Anti Tank
/ 400 MILAN	620+ AT-3, AT-4, AT-5
Air Defence
48 SA-5 Gammon, Launchers	400 SA-7 Grail
20 SA-8b Gecko           24 Crotale	55 SA-9 , SA-13
4 S-300PMU-2 on order
Anti Aircraft Artillery
90 57 mm S-60	250 23 mm ZSU-23-4
100 23 mm ZU-23-2          Bofors 40mm gun	? 30 mm M53/59 Praga
Small arms
AK-47	RPG-7