Ground Forces Dudayev spent the years from 1991 to 1994 preparing for war, mobilizing men aged 15–55 and seizing Russian weapons depots. This was seen as a bid to prop up Chechnya's independence and sovereignty. Major weapons systems were seized from the Russian military in 1992, and on the eve of the First Chechen War they included 23 air defense guns, 108 APCs and tanks, 24 artillery pieces, 5
MiG-17/
15, 2
Mi-8 helicopters, 24 multiple rocket launchers, 17 surface to air missile launchers. The ground forces counted 10,000 troops in December 1994, rising to 40,000 soldiers by early 1996. Structure: • General Staff • Special Purpose Regiment • Tank Regiment • Separate Aviation Detachment • Military college • Civil defense units
Air Force As a result of the withdrawal from the Chechen Republic in 1992, the Russian army left almost all weapons behind, including aircraft and air defense systems. At the Kalinovskaya Airbase, the Armavir Aviation School left 39 combat training aircraft L-39 Albatross, 80 L-29 Dolphin, 3 MiG-17 fighters, 2 MiG-15UTI training aircraft, 6 An-2 aircraft and 2 Mi-8T helicopters (tail numbers "23 Yellow" and "39 Yellow"). The military also had 94
L-29 trainer aircraft, 52
L-39 trainer aircraft, 6
An-2 transport aircraft, and 5
Tupolev Tu-134 transport aircraft. Most of the Chechen aviation equipment was destroyed at airfields in the very first days of the Chechen campaign. The air defense of the air bases consisted of 10 Strela-10 air defense systems, 23 anti-aircraft artillery installations of various types and 7 Igla MANPADS. In addition, according to some media reports, the units of the
Mujahideen who fought in Chechnya had a certain number of American-made Stinger
MANPADS. File:Military aircraft insignia of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.svg|
Roundel of the Chechen Air Force File:Ichkeria Roundel.svg|Roundel of the Chechen Air Force (alternative variant) File:Coat of arms of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.svg|Coat of Arms of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (on Mi-8T helicopters painted with simplified wolf and yellow stars, without black background)
Bases Three air bases were used to base the Chechen aviation forces: • Airbase "Grozny - Severny" • Airbase "Kalinovskaya" • Khankala airbase It was also reported about the ongoing work on the adaptation of several sections of highways for the basing of aircraft. == National Guard ==