Up to now, there are a total of five socialist countries in the world, namely: China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba. Of these, only Cuba is far away in the Americas and belongs to the Caribbean region. In a meeting between the mainland and Cuba, he offered to support the building of the Cuban army. A problem arises, at present, the armament of the Cuban army, which is already lagging very behind. China and Cuba are very far apart, so what kind of help and support can we have? Today, we will talk about this issue.
First, let's talk about the importance of Cuba. Cuba is one of the five socialist countries in the world and an island nation with a population of more than 11 million people. The closest distance between Cuba and the United States in a straight line is only 144 kilometers, which is almost the width of the Taiwan Strait. At present, the total strength of the Cuban army is more than 50,000 people. Note that the situation in Cuba is different from that of North Korea. There are more than 26 million people in the country, and the total number of troops is more than 1.2 million. In proportion, the total strength of the Cuban armed forces is not very large.
Cuba's geographical location is very good, therefore, during the Cold War, Cuba was an important ally of the Soviet Union, and it was also a country of large-scale assistance from the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 began with the Soviet Union's deployment of intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. The United States and the Soviet Union were tense, and both sides had no bottom in their hearts. In the seventies and eighties, with the help of the Soviet Union, Cuban troops went to fight in Africa. The Cuban army was basically all Soviet-style weapons, however, the performance was already very lagging behind.
If we look at the various aspects of the Cuban army, the Cuban army has a total of more than 40,000 people, and has five armored brigades, nine mechanized infantry brigades, and one air defense brigade. In terms of accounts, the Cuban Army has more than 1,200 tanks, including 50 PT-76 tanks, more than 800 T-54/55 tanks and more than 300 T-62 main battle tanks. However, the above-mentioned tanks were all aided during the Soviet era, and their performance is very old. Coupled with the lack of various parts, it is difficult to say what percentage can really be used.
The Cuban Air Force has only more than 8,000 personnel, and its fighters are mainly Soviet-style fighters, which were also aided during the Soviet period. Specifically, it includes 5 MiG-29A/UB fighters, 28 MiG-23ML/U/UB fighters, and 13 MiG-21ML/U fighters. Similar to the situation in the army, due to the lack of various components, it is difficult to say the proportion of fighters of the various models mentioned above that can really fly. For example, in 2013, the North Korean cargo ship Cheongcheongang was seized by Panama.
On board the freighter, two MiG-21 fighters and other spare parts were found, and the two MiG-21F-13 fighters that Cuba had transported to the DPRK for maintenance had been recovered. It can be seen that the Cuban Air Force is very short of fighter parts. The help of other fraternal countries is needed, however, the situation in the DPRK is not rich either. For the MiG-23, MiG-29 and other fighters of the Cuban Air Force, stronger countries are needed to upgrade and improve them.
In terms of naval construction, it is even more obvious. The Cuban Navy has just over 3,000 men and no large-tonnage capital ships. The Cuban Navy is dominated by a variety of speedboats, and in addition, it has two patrol ships converted from fishing boats, which is a big gap from standard naval vessels. Of all the branches of the Cuban armed forces, the navy is the weakest. Note that Cuba is an island nation and, on the contrary, lacks naval vessels, and this problem is very obvious.
Cuba's military-industrial production system is not perfect, and it is not possible to produce all kinds of heavy equipment on its own. For a long time, it mainly imported parts from Russia or Eastern European countries. At the moment, Russia is preoccupied with itself and does not have the spare productive forces to help Cuba.
On 15 April, the top level of the mainland military and the top level of the Cuban military had a direct exchange. The statement said that China will, as always, support Cuba in defending its sovereignty, independence and national dignity, oppose interference by external forces in Cuba, provide assistance to Cuba within its capacity, and support the building and development of the Cuban armed forces. Note in particular, the last sentence "support the development of the Cuban army". In other words, it is possible for the mainland to support the modernization of the Cuban armed forces in all quarters.
The author believes that the mainland can help Cuba in the construction of the navy and air force. In terms of the Air Force, the early batch of mainland J-10A fighters has been in service for nearly 20 years. According to foreign media reports, a total of more than 300 J-10A series fighters have been produced. If 24 J-10A fighters can be extracted and exported to Cuba at an appropriately low price, or in the mode of bartering, 24 J-10A fighters will be enough to replace the old MiG-29 and MiG-23 fighters.
As an active fighter model of the PLA troops, there is definitely no need to worry about the various parts and logistics maintenance of the fighter. Many people may think of the Thunder fighter, but in fact, it is more difficult to export the Thunder fighter to Cuba. At present, the mainland has handed over the production line of the Thunder fighter to Pakistan. Relations between Pakistan and Cuba are not so close. Coupled with the influence and pressure of the United States, it is more difficult to export the Thunder fighter to Cuba than the second-hand J-10A.
PLA Air Force J-10A fighter
In terms of naval construction, it is more obvious that there are 8 Type 053H3 frigates in the mainland Navy, and about 50 Type 056 corvettes are in service. It would also be very suitable to export 2 to 4 ships to Cuba at a relatively favorable price. For example, the main ships of the Bangladesh Navy are the second-hand Type 053H2G frigates from the mainland and the C13B frigates imported from the mainland.
PLA Navy Type 053H3 frigate
As far as the modernization of the Cuban army is concerned, the author believes that the above-mentioned equipment is already an absolute second-line equipment for the mainland, and has been in service for more than 10 years. After the mid-term upgrade, it is very suitable for the Cuban Navy and Air Force. Of course, if the Cuban army were to be fully modernized, the cost would be very high. From the current situation, I am afraid it will be more difficult.
PLA Navy 056 series corvettes
There are a series of stories about the building of the Cuban armed forces, and many more. The author will talk to you slowly in future articles.