Jabarkan Army dari Forcas Defensa Timor Lorosa'e dalam bahasa tetun

The land force of the F-FDTL consists of two light infantry battalions, each with an authorised strength of 600 personnel. The force was predominantly trained by the Australian and Portuguese militaries. Each battalion has three rifle companies, a support company and a headquarters company. Although the army is small, the guerrilla tactics employed by FALINTIL before the departure in 1999 of the Indonesian military were effective against overwhelming numbers and it has the potential to form a credible deterrent against invasion.

The US Embassy in Dili states that in 2009 the F-FDTL comprised 719 qualified soldiers and a further 579 in training. Of the 579 recruits under training it is planned that 150 will be allocated to the Naval Component.

The army's two battalions are located in separate bases. The 1st Battalion is based at Baucau, with a contingent in the seaside coastline village of Laga. The 2nd Battalion is stationed at the Nicolau Lobato Training Centre near Metinaro. Almost all of the 2nd Battalion's soldiers were dismissed during the 2006 crisis.

Logistics and service support is provided through Headquarters F-FDTL in Dili. There is also a military police unit that polices the F-FDTL and in addition performs traditional policing tasks, resulting in conflicting roles with the PNTL. The military police have also been responsible for presidential security since February 2007. The F-FDTL is planning to raise two engineer squadrons with a total of 125 personnel during 2010.

The F-FDTL is armed only with small arms and does not have any crew-served weapons. The 2007 edition of Jane's Sentinel states that the F-FDTL has the following equipment in service: 1,560 M16 rifles and 75 M203 grenade launchers, 75 FN Minimi squad automatic weapons, 8 sniper rifles and 50 .45 M1911A1 pistols. A further 75 Minimis are to be ordered. The majority of the F-FDTL's weapons were donated by other countries.