Azerbaijani Land Forces The Azerbaijani Land Forces ( ) are the land force component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces . Since the fall of the Soviet Union , Azerbaijan has been trying to further develop its armed forces into a professional , well trained , and mobile military . Based on 2007 statistics the country has about 56 , 840 ground force troops , with additional paramilitary forces of 15 , 000 . In addition , there are 300 , 000 former service personnel who have had military service in the last fifteen years . Reportedly , in wartime , the Army proper could call upon the support of the National Guard , the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan , and the State Border Service . The exact wartime command structure remains unclear . History . During the Soviet period , Azerbaijan was part of the Transcaucasus Military District , whose forces in the republic were commanded by the 4th Army . The 4th Army consisted of three motor rifle divisions ( the 23rd Motor Rifle Division ( MRD ) at Ganja , the 60th Motor Rifle Division at Lankaran , and the 295th Motor Rifle Division in Baku ) and army troops that included missile and air defense brigades and artillery and rocket regiments . Azerbaijan also hosted the 49th Arsenal of the Main Agency of Missiles and Artillery of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation , which contained over 7 , 000 train - car loads of ammunition to the excess of one billion units . In addition , the 75th Motor Rifle Division , part of the 7th Guards Army , was in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic . In summer 1992 , the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan , following a resolution by the Azerbaijani president on the privatization of units and formations in Azerbaijani territory , forwarded an ultimatum demanding control over vehicles and armaments of the 135th and 139th motorized rifle regiments of the 295th Motor Rifle Division . The transfer of the property of the 4th Army ( except for over half the equipment of the 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 23rd Division captured by Armenian armed formations in 1992 during the regiment ' s withdrawal from Stepanakert ) and the 49th Arsenal was completed in 1992 . Thus , by the end of 1992 , the Azerbaijani Government received arms and military hardware sufficient for approximately three motorized rifle divisions with prescribed army units . The stores and equipment of the 75th Division were handed over to the Nakhichevan government . The former Division HQs may have contributed to the formation of corps headquarters . Azerbaijan has also implemented a new organizational style in order to modernize its army . Over the last 15 years , Azerbaijan has been preparing its military for possible action against Armenian forces in Nagorno - Karabakh . However Azerbaijan has continually stated that it is interested in a diplomatic and peaceful solution . Azerbaijan has contracted with Turkey for troop training to strengthen its armed forces . This is necessary in view of deficiencies that Jane ' s World Armies said in 2004 included huge problems in training , equipping and motivating its soldiers ; corruption in its ranks ; and a highly politicised officer corps . The Soviet Army tradition of dedovshchina , institutionalised hazing , appears to be continuing in the armed forces as of 2008 . The quality and readiness of much of the army ' s equipment , Jane ' s said , is also a problem , as a decade of poor maintenance and chronic shortages of spare parts means that many systems are not operational , or cannibalised for parts . Azerbaijan has the second highest military expenditure in CIS . Azerbaijan ' s defense spending is second only to Russia ' s within the Commonwealth of Independent States . Structure . Faced by Armenian forces apparently with some Russian support , the Azeri military was forced back out of Nagorno - Karabakh , and was significantly reorganised in the mid - 1990s predominantly around brigades , though at least one division was reported as late as 2000 . Manoeuvre formations have consistently stayed at a strength of around twenty brigades and regiments since 1995 , though that has slowly risen recently . During the 1990s , these brigades may have included the 701st Motor Rifle Brigade ( мсбр ) ( 1st Army Corps ) , the 708th Motor Rifle Brigade ( 1st Army Corps ) , 130th Motor Rifle Brigade ( 1st Army Corps ) , 161 мсбр ( 2 АК ) , 709 мсбр Быв . 23 мсд , and the 112th Motor Rifle Brigade . In 2002 - 4 the IISS Military Balance reported personnel strength falling while total manoeuvre formations increased by one . The Military Balance 2003 - 4 reported an army strength of 56 , 000 , with four corps headquarters and twenty - three motor rifle brigades , compared to the previous year ’ s edition showing 62 , 000 personnel and twenty - two brigades . Artillery and anti - tank units include two brigades and a regiment . 1st Army Corps is headquartered at Yevlakh ( Евлах ) reportedly with six brigades in 1999 . ( Brinkster . net gave the corps 1 , 3 , 9 , 10 , 15 , 17th Motor Rifle Brigades in 1999 . The 2nd Army Corps at Pirəkəşkül had seven brigades attached in 1999 ( Brinkster . net naming these brigades as the 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 , 13 , 14 , and 18th Motor Rifle Brigades ) , while 3rd Army Corps , also with six brigades attached , was headquartered at Shamkir / Shamkira ( Шамкира ) . Brinkster . net named these formations as the 7 , 11 , 12 , 16 , 19 , 20 Motor Rifle Brigades ( 1999 ) . 4th Army Corps was in the isolated Nakhichevan enclave . It is a former motor rifle division with three motor rifle regiments ( 1999 ) . The IISS estimated in 2007 that the Azeri regular army was 56 , 840 strong , probably basing this figure on Conventional Forces in Europe treaty data . It attributes to the army five corps headquarters , 23 motor rifle brigades , one artillery brigade , one multiple rocket launcher brigade , and one anti - tank regiment . Of the five army corps , the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Army Corps are concentrated against NK ; part of 2nd Army Corps is deployed on the Azerbaijan - Iranian border ; the 4th ( Bakinskiy ) Army Corps covers the capital and the coast and the 5th Army Corps is deployed in Nakhichevan . Azerbaijani formations reportedly include motor rifle brigade at Гянджа / Gyandzha , motor rifle brigade at Hacı Zeynalabdin , мсбр Кусары / Kusar , мсбр Nakhichivan , мсбр Казах / Kazakh , мсбр Товуз / Tovuz , мсбр Бейлаган / Beilagan , мсбр Göytəpə , Jalilabad ( Гейтепе ) , мсбр Джульфа / Dzhulfa , мсбр Кедабек / Kedabek , tank brigade Gyuzdek / Гюздек .