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Libya
FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE
Because of a relatively low level of technical and industrial
development--apart from the petroleum sector--since independence
Libya has been forced to rely on foreign sources of assistance
in its efforts to establish a credible military posture. During
the eighteen years of the monarchy, the Idris government turned
to the West for help in forging a national military system. In
the process, the government entered into a number of treaties
and other agreements of a military nature, particularly with Britain
and the United States. One of the most important of these agreements
was the Treaty of Friendship concluded in 1953 by Britain and
Libya that included reciprocal pledges of assistance in case of
an armed conflict. The treaty, which was to have remained in force
for twenty years, granted the British continued rights to the
use of military bases along the Mediterranean coast in exchange
for extensive military supplies and training assistance.
Similar arrangements concluded with the United States a year
later granted the use of Wheelus Air Base in exchange for military
assistance grants and the purchase of excess stocks of American
weapons. United States military aid was devoted mainly to the
organization and development of the Libyan air force. Many of
the personnel recruited to that new branch received American training,
and most of the aircraft acquired during its early years were
provided by the United States.
Since the mid-1970s, arms deliveries to Libya have originated
predominantly in the Soviet Union and other communist countries.
According to ACDA, these sources accounted for 60 percent of total
military imports between 1981 and 1985. Such sources included
the Soviet Union (US$4.6 billion), Czechoslovakia (US$875 million),
People's Republic of China (US$320 million), and Poland (US$300
million). Major western sources were France (mostly naval craft
previously ordered) at US$725 million and Italy, which provided
transfers amounting to US$850 million. The Federal Republic of
Germany (West Germany) was the only other significant West European
source, furnishing US$180 million worth of equipment. Such other
suppliers as Brazil and Yugoslavia accounted for a further US$2.6
billion.
Data as of 1987
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