Military profile
Antigua and Barbuda Military Strength
Antigua and Barbuda is not covered by the Global Firepower ranking.
Armed forces of Antigua and Barbuda
Branches and forces
Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (ABDF): Antigua and Barbuda Regiment, Air Wing, Coast Guard Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda (RPFAB) (2025)
Personnel
approximately 300 active Defense Force personnel (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-23 years of age for voluntary military service for both men and women; no conscription (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the ABDF's equipment inventory is limited to small arms, light weapons, and soft-skin vehicles; the Coast Guard maintains ex-US patrol vessels and some smaller boats (2025)
Good to know
the ABDF’s responsibilities include providing for internal security and support to the police in maintaining law and order, interdicting narcotics smuggling, responding to natural disasters, and monitoring the country’s territorial waters and maritime resources; established in 1981 from colonial forces originally created in 1897, it is one of the world’s smallest militaries the country has been a member of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) since its creation in 1982; RSS signatories (Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters, and threats to national security (2025)
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).