CFE Vehicles and Aircraft Introduction

Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)

Conventional armaments and equipment limited by the Treaty are battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters subject to the numerical limitations set forth in Articles IV, V, and VI.

Conventional armaments and equipment subject to the Treaty means battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft, primary trainer aircraft, unarmed trainer aircraft, combat helicopters, unarmed transport helicopters, armoured vehicle launched bridges, armoured personnel carrier look-alikes and armoured infantry fighting vehicle look-alikes subject to information exchange in accordance with the Protocol on Information Exchange.

The following criteria are adumbrated from Article III of the CFE Treaty.

All battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters, as defined in Article II, within the area of application shall be subject to the numerical limitations and other provisions set forth in Articles IV, V, and VI with the exception of those which in a manner consistent with a State Party's normal practices:

(A)   Are in the process of manufacture, including manufacturing-related testing;

(B)   Are used exclusively for the purposes of research and development;

(C)   Belong to historical collections;

(D)   Are awaiting disposal, having been decommissioned from service in accordance with Article IX;

(E)   Are awaiting, or being refurbished for, export or re-export and are temporarily retained within the area of application. Such battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters shall be located elsewhere than at sites declared under the terms of Section V of the Protocol on Information Exchange or at no more than 10 such declared sites which shall have been notified in the previous year's annual information exchange. In the latter case, they shall be separately distinguishable from conventional armaments and equipment limited by the Treaty;

(F)   Are, in the case of armoured personnel carriers, armoured infantry fighting vehicles (AIFVs), heavy armament combat vehicles (HACVs) or multi-purpose attack helicopters, held by organisations designed and structured to perform in peacetime internal security functions; or

(G)   Are in transit through the area of application between an origin and final destination both outside the area of application, and are in the area of application for no longer than a total of seven days.

The term "area of application" means the entire land territory of the States Parties in Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains, which includes all the European island territories of the States Parties, including the Faroe Islands of the Kingdom of Denmark, Svalbard including Bear Island of the Kingdom of Norway, the islands of Azores and Madeira of the Portuguese Republic, the Canary Islands of the Kingdom of Spain and Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya of the USSR .

In the case of the USSR , the area of application includes all territory lying west of the Ural River and the Caspian Sea.

In the case of the Republic of Turkey, the area of application includes the territory of the Republic of Turkey north and west of a line extending from the point of intersection of the Turkish border with the 39th parallel to Muradiye, Patnos, Karayazi, Tekman, Kemaliye, Feke, Ceyhan, Dogankent, Gözne and thence to the sea.

Descriptions of equipments

The following descriptions are adumbrated from Article II of the CFE Treaty.

"Battle tank": a self-propelled armoured fighting vehicle, capable of heavy firepower, primarily of a high muzzle velocity direct fire main gun necessary to engage armoured and other targets, with high cross-country mobility and a high level of self-protection, not designed and equipped primarily to transport combat troops. Such vehicles serve as the principal weapon system of ground-force tank and other armoured formations.

Battle tanks are tracked armoured fighting vehicles which weigh at least 16.5 metric tons unladen weight and which are armed with a 360-degree traverse gun of at least 75 millimetres calibre. Also, any wheeled armoured fighting vehicles entering into service which meet all the other criteria stated above shall also be deemed battle tanks.

"Artillery": large calibre systems capable of engaging ground targets by delivering primarily indirect fire. Such artillery systems provide the essential indirect fire support to combined arms formations. Large calibre artillery systems are guns, howitzers and artillery pieces combining their characteristics; mortars and multiple launch rocket systems with a calibre of 100 millimetres and above. In addition, any future large calibre direct fire system with a secondary effective indirect fire capability shall be counted against the artillery ceilings.

"Armoured combat vehicle": a self-propelled vehicle with armoured protection and cross-country capability. These include armoured personnel carriers, armoured infantry fighting vehicles and heavy armament combat vehicles.

"Armoured personnel carrier": an armoured combat vehicle designed and equipped to transport a combat infantry squad and, as a rule, armed with an integral or organic weapon of less than 20 millimetres calibre.

"Armoured infantry fighting vehicle": an armoured combat vehicle designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad, normally providing the capability for the troops to deliver fire from inside the vehicle under armoured protection, and armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimetres calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher. These vehicles serve as the principal weapon system of armoured infantry or mechanised infantry or motorised infantry formations and units of ground forces.

"Heavy armament combat vehicle": an armoured combat vehicle with an integral or organic direct fire gun of at least 75 millimetres calibre, weighing at least 6.0 metric tonnes unladen weight, that does not fall within the definitions of an armoured personnel carrier, or an armoured infantry fighting vehicle or a battle tank.

"Armoured personnel carrier look-alike" and "armoured infantry fighting vehicle look-alike": an armoured vehicle based on the same chassis as, and externally similar to, an armoured personnel carrier or armoured infantry fighting vehicle, respectively, which does not have a cannon or gun of 20 millimetres calibre or greater and has been constructed or modified in such a way as not to permit the transportation of a combat infantry squad. Taking into account the provisions of the Geneva Convention "For the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field" of 12 August 1949 that confer a special status on ambulances, armoured personnel carrier ambulances shall not be deemed armoured combat vehicles or armoured personnel carrier look-alikes.

"Armoured vehicle launched bridge": a self-propelled armoured transporter-launcher vehicle capable of carrying and, through built-in mechanisms, of emplacing and retrieving a bridge structure. Such a vehicle with a bridge structure operates as an integrated system.

"Combat helicopter": a rotary wing aircraft armed and equipped to engage targets or equipped to perform other military functions.

"Attack helicopter": a combat helicopter equipped to employ anti-armour, air-to-ground, or air-to-air guided weapons and equipped with an integrated fire control and aiming system for these weapons. The term "attack helicopter" comprises specialised attack helicopters and multi-purpose attack helicopters.

"Specialised attack helicopter": an attack helicopter designed primarily to employ guided weapons.

"Multi-purpose attack helicopter": means an attack helicopter designed to perform multiple military functions and equipped to employ guided weapons.

"Combat aircraft": means a fixed-wing or variable-geometry wing aircraft armed and equipped to engage targets by employing guided missiles, unguided rockets, bombs, guns, cannons, or other weapons of destruction, as well as any model or version of such an aircraft which performs other military functions such as reconnaissance or electronic warfare. The term "combat aircraft" does not include primary trainer aircraft.

"Primary trainer aircraft": are designed and constructed for primary flying training and means aircraft which may possess only limited armament capability necessary for basic training in weapon delivery techniques.

"Combat support helicopters": means a combat helicopter which does not fulfil the requirements to qualify as an attack helicopter and which may be equipped with a variety of self-defence and area suppression weapons, such as guns, cannons and unguided rockets, bombs or cluster bombs, or which may be equipped to perform other military functions.

"Unarmed transport helicopters": are not equipped for the employment of weapons.