Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force ( ENDF ) is the military of Ethiopia . Civil direction of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense , which oversees the ground forces , air force , as well as the Defense Industry Sector . The current defense minister is Siraj Fergessa . The size of the ENDF has fluctuated significantly since the end of the Ethiopia - Eritrea war in 2000 . In 2002 the Ethiopian Defense Forces had a strength of approximately 400 , 000 troops . This was roughly the same number maintained during the Derg regime that fell to the rebel forces in 1991 . However , that number was later reduced , and in January 2007 , during the War in Somalia , Ethiopian forces were said to comprise about 300 , 000 troops . In 2012 the IISS estimated that the ground forces had 135 , 000 personnel and the air force 3 , 000 . As of 2012 , the ENDF consists of two separate branches : the Ground Forces and the Ethiopian Air Force . Ethiopia has several defence industrial organisations that produce and overhaul different weapons systems . Most of these were built under the Derg regime which planned a large military industrial complex . The ENDF relies on voluntary military service of people above 18 years of age . Although there is no compulsory military service , armed forces may conduct call - ups when necessary and compliance is compulsory . Being a landlocked country , Ethiopia today has no navy . Ethiopia acquired a coastline on the Red Sea in 1950 and created the Ethiopian Navy in 1955 . Eritrea ' s independence in 1991 left Ethiopia landlocked again , but the Ethiopian Navy continued to operate from foreign ports until it finally was disbanded in 1996 . History of the Army . The Ethiopian army ' s origins and military traditions date back to the earliest history of Ethiopia . Due to Ethiopia ' s location between the Middle East and Africa , it has long been in the middle of Eastern and Western politics , and has been subject to foreign invasion and aggression . In 1579 , the Ottoman Empire ' s attempt to expand from a coastal base at Massawa was defeated . The Army of the Ethiopian Empire was also able to defeat the Egyptians in 1868 at Gura , led by Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV . Clapham wrote in the 1980s that the " Abyssinians [ had suffered ] from a ' superiority complex ' which may be traced to Gundet , Gura and Adwa " . In accordance with the order of the emperor of Ethiopia , Directly Nikolay Leontiev organized the first battalion of the regular Ethiopian army in February 1899 . Leontiev formed the first regular battalion , the kernel of which became the company of volunteers from the former Senegal shooters , which he chose and invited from Western Africa , with training of the Russian and French officers . The first Ethiopian military orchestra was organized at the same time . Battle of Adwa . The Battle of Adowa is the best known victory of Ethiopian forces over invaders . It maintained Ethiopia ' s existence as an independent state . Fought on 1 March 1896 against the Kingdom of Italy near the town of Adwa , it was the decisive battle of the First Italo – Ethiopian War . Assisted by all of the major nobles of Ethiopia including , Negus , Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam , Ras Makonnen , Ras Mengesha Yohannes , and Ras Mikael of Wollo , Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia struck a powerful blow against the Italians . The Ethiopian army had been able to execute the strategic plan of Menelik ' s headquarters , despite a feudal system of organization and adverse circumstances . A special role was played by the Russian military advisers and the volunteers of Leontiev ' s mission . The first problem was the quality of its arms , as the Italian and British colonial authorities were able to sabotage the transportation of 60 , 000 to 100 , 000 modern Berdan rifles from Russia into landlocked Ethiopia . Secondly , the Ethiopian army was based on a feudal system of organization , and as a result , nearly the entire army was a peasant militia . Russian military experts advising Menelik II suggested trying to achieve full battle collision with Italians , to neutralize the superior firepower of their opponent and potentially nullify their problems with arms , training , and organization , rather than engaging in a campaign of harassment . In the battle that ensued wave upon wave of Menelik ' s warriors successfully attacked the Italians . Boundary confrontation against the British colonialists 1896 – 1899 . After the successful colonial capture of the Sudan , Kenya and Uganda , the British expansion against Ethiopia became a real danger , which diminished only after the start of the Second Boer War in 1899 . The Ethiopian army became more effective against British colonial forces . The numerous expeditions of Ethiopian forces stopped colonial expansion . As the Russian Alexander Bulatovich , one of the Russian military advisers and a participant in the expedition of the legendary army of Ras Wolde Giyorgis , wrote : " Many consider the Abyssinian army to be undisciplined . They think that it is not in any condition to withstand a serious fight with a well - organized European army , claiming that the recent war with Italy doesn ' t prove anything . I will not begin to guess the future , and will say only this . Over the course of four months , I watched this army closely . It is unique in the world . And I can bear witness to the fact that it is not quite so chaotic as it seems at first glance , and that on the contrary , it is profoundly disciplined , though in its own unique way . For every Abyssinian , war is normal business , and military skills and rules of army life in the field enter in the flesh and blood of each of them , just as do the main principles of tactics . On the march , each soldier knows how to arrange necessary comforts for himself and to conserve his strength ; but on the other hand , when necessary , he shows such endurance and is capable of action in conditions which are difficult even to imagine . You see remarkable expediency in all the actions and skills of this army ; and each soldier has an amazingly intelligent attitude toward managing the mission of the battle . Despite such qualities , because of its impetuousness , it is much more difficult to control this army than a well - drilled European army , and I can only marvel at and admire the skill of its leaders and chiefs , of which there is no shortage . " In obedience to the agreement with Russia and the order of Menelik II , First Ethiopian officers began to be trained at the First Russian cadet school in 1901 . 30 to 40 Ethiopian officers were trained in Russia from 1901 until 1913 . Under Haile Selassie I . Modernization of the army took place under the regency of Tafari Mekonnen , who later reigned as Emperor Haile Selassie I . He created an Imperial Bodyguard , the " Kebur Zabagna " , in 1917 from the earlier " Mahal Safari " who had traditionally attended the Ethiopian Emperor . Its elite were trained at the French military academy at Saint - Cyr or by Belgian military advisers . He also created his own military school at Holeta in January 1935 . Ethiopian military aviation efforts were initiated in 1929 , when Tafari Mekonnen hired two French pilots and purchased four French biplanes . By the time of the Italian invasion of 1935 , the air force had four pilots and thirteen aircraft . However , these efforts were not sufficient nor instituted in enough time to stop the rising tide of Italian fascism . Ethiopia lost its independence in the Italian invasion of Ethiopia of 1935 - 36 . The country regained its independence after the 1941 East African Campaign of World War II with the intervention of forces from the British Commonwealth of Nations . Ethiopia bought twenty AH - IV tankettes from Sweden in the late 1940s . They arrived in Djibouti on 9 May 1950 after which they were carried by rail to Addis Ababa . They were used until the 1980s when they participated in the fighting against Somalia . Korean War . In keeping with the principle of collective security , for which Haile Selassie was an outspoken proponent , Ethiopia sent a contingent under General Mulugeta Buli , known as the Kagnew Battalion , to take part in the Korean War . It was attached to the American 7th Infantry Division , and fought in a number of engagements including the Battle of Pork Chop Hill . 3 , 518 Ethiopian troops served in the war , where 121 were killed and 536 wounded during the Korean War . On 25 September 1953 , Selassie created the Imperial Ministry of National Defence that unified the Army , Air Force , and Navy . In May 1959 , he established the Imperial Territorial Army as a reserve force that provided military training to civil servants In 1960 the U . S . Army Area Handbook for Ethiopia described the very personalised command arrangements then used by the Emperor : The Emperor is by constitutional provision Commander - in - Chief , and to him are reserved all rights respecting the size of the forces and their organisation and command , together with the power to appoint , promote , transfer and dismiss military officers . He seeks the advice and consent of Parliament in declaring war . Traditionally , he assumes personal command of the forces in time of war . ' The Office of the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Ethiopian Armed Forces directed the Commanders of the Army , Air Force , and Navy , and the three army divisions were directly responsible to the Commander of the Army . The three divisions seemingly included the Third Division in the Ogaden , seen as a hardship post . While technically the Imperial Bodyguard ( Kebur Zabagna ) was responsible to the Army Commander , in reality its commander received his orders directly from the Emperor . " Balambaras " Abebe Aregai was one of the noted patriotic resistance leaders of Shoa ( central Ethiopia ) that rose to preeminence in the post - liberation period . He became " Ras , " a general and minister of defence of the Imperial Ethiopian Armed Forces until his death in the 1960 Ethiopian coup attempt . Aman Mikael Andom commanded the Third Division during the Ogaden War of 1964 . He later became chief of staff of the Armed Forces in July 1974 , and then Minister of Defence . He then became chairman of the Derg from September to December 1974 . Emperor Haile Selassie divided the Ethiopian military into separate commands . The US Army Handbook for Ethiopia notes that each service was provided with training and equipped from different foreign countries " to assure reliability and retention of power . " The military consisted of the following : Imperial Bodyguard ( also known as the " First Division " , 8 , 000 men ) ; three army divisions ; services which included the Airborne , Engineers , and Signal Corps ; the Territorial Army ( 5 , 000 men ) ; and the police ( 28 , 000 men ) . Among reported U . S . equipment deliveries to Ethiopia were 120 M59 and 39 M75 armoured personnel carriers . Seizure of power by the Derg 1974 and aftermath . The Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces , Police , and Territorial Army , or the Derg ( Ge ' ez " Committee " ) , was officially announced 28 June 1974 by a group of military officers to maintain law and order due to the powerlessness of the civilian government following widespread mutiny in the armed forces of Ethiopia earlier that year . Its members were not directly involved in those mutinies , nor was this the first military committee organized to support the administration of Prime Minister Endelkachew Makonnen : Alem Zewde Tessema had established the Armed Forces Coordinated Committee 23 March . However , over the following months radicals in the Ethiopian military came to believe he was acting on behalf of the hated aristocracy , and when a group of notables petitioned for the release of a number of government ministers and officials who were under arrest for corruption and other crimes , three days later the Derg was announced . The Derg , which originally consisted of soldiers at the capital , broadened its membership by including representatives from the 40 units of the Ethiopian Army , Air Force , Navy , Kebur Zabagna ( Imperial Guard ) , Territorial Army and Police : each unit was expected to send three representatives , who were supposed to be privates , NCOs and junior officers up to the rank of major . According to Bahru Zewde , " senior officers were deemed too compromised by close association to the regime . " The committee elected Major Mengistu Haile Mariam as its chairman and Major Atnafu Abate as its vice - chairman . The Derg was initially supposed to study the grievances of various military units , and investigate abuses by senior officers and staff , and to root out corruption in the military . In the months following its founding , the power of the Derg steadily increased . In July 1974 the Derg obtained key concessions from the Emperor , Haile Selassie , which included the power to arrest not only military officers , but government officials at every level . Soon both former Prime Ministers Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habte - Wold , and Endelkachew Makonnen , along with most of their cabinets , most regional governors , many senior military officers and officials of the Imperial court found themselves imprisoned . When the Derg gained control of Ethiopia , they lessened their reliance on the West . Instead they began to draw their equipment and their sources for organisational and training methods from the Soviet Union and other Comecon countries , especially Cuba . During this period , Ethiopian forces were often locked in counter - insurgency campaigns against various guerrilla groups . They honed both conventional and guerrilla tactics during campaigns in Eritrea , and the Ethiopian Civil War that toppled Ethiopian former military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 and also by repelling an invasion launched by Somalia in the 1977 – 1978 Ogaden War . The Ethiopian army grew considerably under the Derg ( 1974 – 1987 ) , and the People ' s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under Mengistu ( 1987 – 1991 ) , especially during the latter regime . Gebru Tareke describes the organization of the Ethiopian military in early 1990 , a year before Mengistu fled the country : Estimated forces under arms increased dramatically : Cuba provided a significant influx of military advisors and troops over this period , with the largest escalation during the Ogaden War with Somalia , supported by a Soviet airlift : 1991 Order of Battle . By 1991 , the Ethiopian army under the Mengistu government had grown in size , but the regime was overcome by the People ' s Front for Democracy and Justice ( PFDJ , former EPLF ) , Ethiopian People ' s Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF ) , Oromo Liberation Front ( OLF ) and other opposition factions during a decades long civil war . Mengistu ' s People ' s Militia had also grown to about 200 , 000 members . The mechanized forces of the army comprised 1 , 200 T - 54 / 55 , 100 T - 62 tanks , and 1 , 100 armored personnel carrier s ( APCs ) , but readiness was estimated to be only about 30 percent operational , because of the withdrawal of financial support , lack of maintenance expertise and parts from the Soviet Union , Cuba and other nations . The army commands consisted of the following : To these armies were assigned the operational forces of the army , comprising : From 1991 . After the defeat of the military government in 1991 , the provisional government disbanded the former national army and relied on its own guerrilla fighters for national security . In 1993 , however , the Tigrayan - led government announced plans to create a multi - ethnic defence force . This process entailed the creation of a new professional army and officer class and the demobilization of many of the irregulars who had fought against the military government . With the collapse of the Soviet Union Ethiopia again turned to the Western powers for alliance and assistance . However , many Tigrayan officers remained in command positions . This transformation was still underway when war with Eritrea broke out in 1998 , a development that saw the ranks of the armed forces swell along with defense expenditures . Although the armed forces have significant battlefield experience , their militia orientation has complicated the transition to a structured , integrated military . Ranks and conventional units were only adopted in 1996 . A United States - assisted effort to restructure the armed forces was interrupted by mobilisation for the war with Eritrea . The Ethiopia - Eritrea war . The former allies EPRDF and PFDJ ( former EPLF ) led their countries Ethiopia and Eritrea , respectively , into the Eritrean - Ethiopian War of 1998 . The war was fought over the disputed region of Badme . During the course of the war , some commanders and pilots from the former army and air force were recalled to duty . These officers helped turn the tide decisively against Eritrea in 2000 . Following the war ' s end , the Eritrea - Ethiopia Boundary Commission , a body founded by the UN , established that the Badme region had in fact belonged to Eritrea . Although the two countries are now at peace , Ethiopia rejected the results of the international court ' s decision , and continued to occupy Badme . Most observers agree that Ethiopia ' s rejection of international law , coupled with the high numbers of soldiers maintained on the border by each side – a debilitatingly high number , particularly for the Eritrean side – means that the two countries are effectively still in conflict . After the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 , the Ethiopian army began to train with the U . S . Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa ( CJTF - HOA ) established in Djibouti . Ethiopia allowed the US to station military advisors at Camp Hurso . Part of the training at Camp Hurso has included U . S . Army elements , including 4th Battalion , 31st Infantry , training the 12th , 13th and 14th Division Reconnaissance Companies , which from July 2003 were being formed into a new Ethiopian anti - terrorism battalion . Somalia . Ethiopian troops helped drive the Islamic Courts Union out of Mogadishu in Somalia . Ethiopia sent troops to southern Somalia to help the UN backed weak transitional government . The TFG , Ethiopia and Puntland fought together against al Shabab and other radical Islamists to take over the capital Mogadishu . After the Islamists split into two groups , moderate Islamists led by Sheikh Ahmed signed a UN backed peace deal with the TFG and established a larger government in Mogadishu . Ethiopian troops withdrew as part of the terms of the peace deal . Government forces have been engaged in battle against Ogaden insurgents led by the Ogaden National Liberation Front . Gabre Heard commanded the forces in Somalia . Ground Forces . The modern ENDF has a wide mix of equipment . Many of its major weapons systems stem from the Communist era and are of Soviet and Eastern bloc design . The United States was Ethiopia ' s major arms supplier from the end of World War II until 1977 , when Ethiopia began receiving massive arms shipments from the Soviet Union . These shipments , including armored patrol boats , transport and jet fighter aircraft , helicopters , tanks , trucks , missiles , artillery , and small arms have incurred an unserviced Ethiopian debt to the former Soviet Union estimated at more than $ 3 . 5 billion . Ethiopia made significant purchases of arms from Russia in late 1999 and early 2000 before the May 2000 United Nations arms embargo went into effect . It is likely that much of that equipment suffered battle damage in the war with Eritrea , suggesting that raw numbers alone may overstate the capacity of the defense forces . The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated in the Military Balance 2009 that the army comprised 4 Military Regional Commands ; ( Northern ( HQ Mekele . ) , Western , Central , and Eastern ) each acting as corps HQ . There was also a Support Command and a strategic reserve of 4 divisions and 6 specialist brigades centred on Addis Ababa . Each of the four corps comprised a headquarters and an estimated one mechanised division and between 4 - 6 infantry divisions . Peacekeeping . Ethiopia has served in various United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions . These have included Côte d ' Ivoire , on the Burundi border , and in Rwanda . Two major Ethiopian missions are in Liberia and Darfur . The United Nations Mission in Liberia ( UNMIL ) was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509 , of 19 September 2003 , to support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the peace process , protect United Nations staff , facilities and civilians , support humanitarian and human rights activities ; as well as assist in national security reform , including national police training and formation of a new , restructured military . In November 2007 , nearly 1 , 800 Ethiopian troops serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia ( UNMIL ) were presented with UN Peacekeeping medals for their " invaluable contribution to the peace process . " Up to three Ethiopian battalions used to constitute Sector 4 of the UN Mission , covering the southern part of the country . Many thousands of Ethiopian peacekeepers are involved in the joint African Union / United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur , western Sudan . The Security Council authorized a UNAMID force of about 26 , 000 uniformed personnel .