In modern international peacekeeping operations, PMCs (private military companies) are an equal legal entity along with the branches and branches of the armed forces. According to the conclusions of American experts and, apparently, the financial interests of some transnational companies, corporations of this type will over time acquire an increasing role in wars and armed conflicts. Their existence and influence on the course of hostilities is already obvious from the experience of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where these companies are taking on more and more functions of the army and police.
By and large, they are private only relatively, because they work practically in the interests of the state and they pursue the same goals and follow the same plans as regular armies, although they are given freedom to choose the means to achieve this goal.
Let's find out more about their activities...
A similar model was used for centuries in the world, and ultimately, the conquest of America by the conquistadors was initially a private enterprise of the conquistadors, since the conquistadors received from the Spanish kings the right to receive a ransom on the lands they conquered, as well as the right to receive land there. The same private enterprise was the seizure of colonies in India and Southeast Asia by the British East India Company, as well as the French and Dutch East India Companies. It would be illogical to say that the conquest of America for Spain or India for Great Britain did not bring great national benefit. However, the conquest of Siberia was completely , the then “private military company” - Ermak’s squad, and on the order of the same “private company” of the Stroganovs.
Many medieval wars were also private enterprises, and had much more in common with modern guerrilla warfare than with the First or Second World Wars. The spirit of profit is present in all spheres of society, and not just in private companies, because the spirit is shaped by ideology and religion and not by one or another form of military organization. It is not the form that is important, but the content, and as Alexander the Great said to his soldiers during his campaign in India: “A worthy occupation is already a goal.” Simply put, the path itself is more important than the goal, because a worthy path will lead to a worthy goal if you naturally behave with dignity on it.
Privatization of war
Officially, the modern history of PMCs is attributed to the early 60s. XX century. In 1967, WatchGuard International was created from veterans of the British armed forces' special forces SAS (SpecialAirService). This company came to light during the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Muammar Gaddafi in 1971.
However, many PMCs were founded earlier, on the basis of other companies that were initially not related to the war.
Today there is no exact information on the size of the market for private military services; it is only estimated approximately. According to an official report to the lower house of the French Parliament in February 2012, which was subsequently also heard at the UN, the volume of the global market for PMC services was estimated at “$100–200 billion.” Many corporations and individuals prefer, for obvious reasons, not to advertise their decisions to hire PMCs.
The activities of PMCs attracted attention during the US war in Iraq (2003 – 2011). The scandalous antics and operations of PMCs, whose services were actively used by large corporations, as well as the US authorities, once again confirmed the dubious glory and reputation that has always haunted mercenary units. The PMC Blackwater “distinguished itself” the most.
The company was founded in 1997. Until 2009, it was known as Blackwater, then as Xe Services until 2010. Today, the American Academi is one of the largest and perhaps the most notorious private military companies in the world. Killings of civilians, shooting of demonstrations, arms smuggling - a trail of accusations and notoriety forced the company to change its name several times. The company has many divisions. The services of one of them – Greystone Limited – have presumably already been used in Ukraine.
The largest private military company in the world, both in terms of profits and number of personnel. Founded in 2004. According to some estimates, the total number of British G4S employees is more than 600 thousand people in 125 countries. In 2012, UK authorities accused the company of violating a contract to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games. Regular army soldiers had to be brought in to ensure security. At the beginning of March 2014, it became known that the company was caught in fraud with electronic bracelets for criminals. Because of the scandal, the head of the company resigned. G4S agreed to return 109 million pounds sterling ($180 million) to the British authorities. Currently, the company has announced a large-scale restructuring and cost cutting. Revenue: £7.4 billion (2013).
In 1946, a small airline, California Eastern Aviation, was created. After the merger with Land-Air Inc. Dynalectron was created on the basis of the merged company in 1962. In 1987 it was renamed DynCorp. Provides air support services, training for police personnel and special services. Seen in the fight against rebels in Colombia and drug cartels in Peru. Revenue: $3 billion (2010).
Aegis Defense Services
The British company, founded in 2002, participated in operations in 40 countries, worked under contract with 20 governments and the UN. In addition to direct participation in military operations, it also provides support and security services in developing countries. In 2011, she received a contract for the protection of the US Embassy in Kabul in the amount of $497 million from the US State Department.
Unity Resources Group
Australian PMC, founded in 2000. The number of personnel is more than 1,200 people. Seen in operations in Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain. It has divisions in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. In Iraq, company employees were involved in the shooting of a 72-year-old Australian (2006), as well as Iraqi civilians (2007).
The history of such companies is as old as the world, because if the state is not able to respond to all the changes in the world, then it often resolves the problems that arise through private initiative in the military sphere. The modern use of private military companies in the world was facilitated by the collapse of the bipolar world and the reduction of military spending. As a result, some regions, especially in “Black” Africa, found themselves outside the field of view of the only world power, the “USA”, due to the latter’s involvement in armed conflicts in the Middle East. East and Balkans.
For the first time, the American government resorted to the help of private military companies to train the troops of its allies in 1974, when the American company Vinnell Corp. owned by the military-industrial concern Northrop Grumman received a contract to train the National Guard of Saudi Arabia, which primarily provided for the protection of oil developments in Saudi Arabia itself. According to The Center for Public Integrity of the American organization The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists the cost of only those contracts of which this organization was able to obtain copies reached a total amount of half a billion dollars.
PMCs in Afghanistan.Photo by A. Sukholessky
It should be borne in mind that the Anglo-Saxon model of the US Army is deeply different from the model of the army adopted in Europe, and the American army is essentially a large corporation that traditionally uses in its interests, as, relatively speaking, contractors, other corporations, both private and public .
Because of this, those areas of activity of the armed forces that in Europe were traditionally under the jurisdiction of various military departments, and even branches of the military, are now transferred to the jurisdiction of private companies in the US Army.
For example, logistics support for the American army in some regions of the world has been carried out privately since 1992 through a tender issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
As for the main activities of PMCs in conducting security activities, two essentially different areas of activity should be distinguished: the first, which consists mainly of working in the interests of private companies or government agencies to escort convoys and escort “clients”, the latter is called “ Personal Security Detail" (although in the US Army this activity is called Protective Services Detail); and the second, called “Static guard,” which consists of protecting objects in the interests of the American army.
Group commander of the British security company Erinis in Iraq in the summer of 2004. PhotoTony Tydings
The US Army has transferred some of the tasks of protecting its own military bases to private companies and, accordingly, in the case of protecting clients and escorting convoys, PMC employees are part of the commercial sector, and in the case of guarding US Army bases, PMC employees are part of the US Army with corresponding rights and responsibilities .
As for the commercial sector, in this case PMCs that protect objects work under contracts with commercial structures or with the US Army, primarily with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), or receiving contracts from UN agencies or other international organizations as part of the Afghan reconstruction program.
Training of the Kurdish guards of the Erinis PMC in the camp in Iraq in 2004 in the camp of the Flor-contractor company “United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)”.
In this case, it should be remembered that the very type of activity of these PMCs is divided into several areas, quite far from each other, and therefore companies specializing in one of them differ quite deeply from companies specializing in another area, which again does not deny the possibility the fact that one company can work in several such areas.
Thus, the EOD Technology company, having begun work on mine clearance projects in Africa, then took up the protection of convoys and clients in Iraq, and since 2006, together with the companies Triple Canopy, SOC-SMG and Saber, carried out until the withdrawal of the US Army from Iraq in December 2011, guarding almost all American military bases in Iraq and a significant number of the same bases in Afghanistan.
Security of PMC "EOD Technology" at the American military base Shield in Baghdad
Shooting training for the security of PMC "EOD Technology" at the American military base Mahmudiya
The companies G4S, Armor Group and Global Strategies Group also play an important role in the protection of infrastructure and diplomatic missions, which thereby to some extent also act in the interests of the US Army.
In the last few years, a new type of PMC activity has emerged - the fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs or in American terminology - IED (Improvised Explosive Device)). The very emergence of the market for combating IEDs or Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) is due to the growing scope of the use of these IEDs in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, although after the Ottawa Conventions anti-personnel mines were removed from service and the training of specialists in them was stopped.
"Shahid" with a prepared explosive device
With the outbreak of the Iraq War, an organization was created in the US Army at Fort Irwin responsible for programs for the development of means to combat IEDs and IEDs, which is called the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), headed by General Montgomery Migs.
As part of this program, a market for services for PMCs appeared, and A-T Solutions, Raytheon, MPRI, Ronco began their activities in this area.
The issue of training the armed forces of foreign states is very special. In the field of PMC activity, it is a rare type of activity, and accordingly, there are more than a limited number of experienced specialists in this field, and the number of companies is small. As one of the first of this kind, we can mention the American company Vinnell Corp., owned by the military-industrial concern Northrop Grumman, which in 1974 received a contract to train the Saudi Arabian National Guard, which was responsible for protecting oil developments in Saudi Arabia .
More indicative is the experience of the South African company Executive Outcomes, which received a contract worth $30 million in Angola in 1993, financed by the oil company Ranger Oil, which was interested in restoring oil production in oil fields in the Soyo region of Angola, suspended due to the offensive of UNITA forces. at the position of the Angolan army.
In Angola, after reaching a ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of Cuban troops from the country, a UN mission (UNAVEM, United Nations Angola Verification Mission) was created, and in May 1991 the mission was transformed into UNAVEM-2. Under her control, elections were held in September 1992, the results of which were recognized by the UN, but not recognized by the opposition UNITA. In October 1992, fighting resumed, and UNITA forces almost took Luanda.
As a result of the combat operation developed and carried out by Executive Outcomes and its subordinate Angolan army forces from November 1994 to January 1996, UNITA forces were seriously defeated, and the UNITA leadership agreed to negotiate.
Then in January 1995, Executive Outcomes received a contract from the Government of Sierra Leone to train the Sierra Leone Army and conduct combat operations against the Revolutionary United Front rebels who had by then entered the capital of Sierra Leone. Freetown and seized control of the Sierra Rutile titanium oxide and Sierramoco bauxite mines.
Executive Outcomes in Sierra Leone
In April-May 1995, Freetown was cleared of rebels, and in August of the same year, the diamond-bearing Koibu region was also cleared of rebels by the company's forces, after which the company organized a helicopter landing on the headquarters of the United Revolutionary Front, as a result of which the headquarters was destroyed. And as a result, in November 1996, a peace agreement was signed in Sierra Leone.
Mi-8 helicopters from Executive Outcomes in Sierra Leone
After the cessation of the activities of the Executive Outcomes company, the British Tim Spicer, using the base it had developed and creating the company Sandline International, began to carry out a new task, already on the island of Bougainville in the Pacific Ocean. There, after the end of the UN mandate and with the annexation of Papua New Guinea in the 70s, political representatives of the local population demanded independence, which was due in no small part to the presence of gold and copper mines on the island, owned by the Bougainville Copper Limited company, which was part of concern "Rio Tinto".
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Julius Chan, turned to Spicer for help, and he gathered staff from the company "Executive Outcomes" and selected 44 employees who arrived in Port Moresby in February as instructors for the Papua New Guinea Army. However, the Australian government, threatening sanctions, demanded that the Papua New Guinea government terminate the agreement, and as a result, all Sandline International employees were arrested and then deported from the country.
More successful in this regard was the activity of the American company Military Professional Resources Inc., created in 1987 in the USA. In fact, this company was private only conditionally, because it acted as a separate department of the US Army, differing from the rest of the army only in that its employees were in the reserve or retired.
On September 29, 1994, US Secretary of Defense William Perry and Croatian Defense Minister Gojko Šušak signed a military cooperation agreement at the Pentagon. As part of this agreement, the participation of MPRI in the training of the Croatian armed forces and the participation of its specialists in planning the operations of the Croatian army were stipulated. At the same time, a similar contract was signed with the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All this played a significant role in uniting the efforts of the previously warring armed forces of Croatia and the forces of the Croats of Herzeg-Bosnia, on the one hand, and the forces of the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other, which played an important role in the defeat of the Serbian troops in Western Slavonia (1-2 May 1995), in the Knin Krajina (4-8 August 1995) and in the Bosnian Krajina (July-October 1995).
Surrender of the 21st Army Corps of the Serbian Krajina.Photo from the site "MilitaryPhotos« www. militaryphotos. net
The territory of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, which was under the protection of UN peacekeeping troops
The contract itself between the Croatian government and the MPRI company subsequently served as the basis in 2011 for two law offices in the United States, led by American Serbs, under the power of attorney of a number of Serbs from the former Republic of Serbian Krajina, to file a lawsuit against the company in federal court in Chicago, demanding financial compensation for losses. in the amount of 10 billion dollars.
Columns of Serbian refugees from the Republic of Serbian Krajina in August 1995. Photo from the site "MilitaryPhotos« www. militaryphotos. net
In 1998, the same company received a contract from the Pentagon to train the armed forces of Equatorial Guinea, and in 2000, MPRI received a contract to reform the Nigerian army.
After the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, MPRI received contracts to create new armies in Afghanistan and Iraq, and subsequently MPRI received a number of similar contracts, including training Georgian troops for participation in operations in Iraq and in Afghanistan, as well as in training the armed forces of South Korea, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Macedonia and Colombia.
Afghan Army in 2012
In Colombia, in addition to MPRI, the training of Colombian security forces was also carried out by a number of PMCs from the UK, in particular the company DSL (Defense Systems Limited), which later became part of the Armor Group company, which received a contract from the oil company to protect the oil fields and pipelines of the Colombian company Ocensa, whose main shareholder was the British oil company British Petroleum. Due to the Colombian specifics, the DSL company actually controlled the actions of a number of units of the Colombian army, which received tasks to protect the objects and infrastructure of the Ocensa company, and the Silver Shadow company from Israel participated in the implementation of these tasks together with DSL. Another company from Israel, Hod Hehanitin (Spearhead Ltd.), participated in the training of the Colombian armed forces to fight against guerrillas.
Colombian Armed Forces. Photo from the site "MilitaryPhotos« www. militaryphotos. net
Private military companies also took an active part in the work of international police missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (IPTF-International Task Force in 1996-2004) and in Kosovo and Metohija (UNMIK in 1999-2005). The American company DynCorp, Inc. played a major role in these regions, recruiting personnel for the American contingent of international police missions, and also participating in the inspection of the work of the personnel of these missions and in the training of local internal affairs agencies. The same company subsequently received contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan to train police in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instructors from the American private military company DynCorp with the Afghan police. Photo from the sitehttp://www.policemission.com
The British company TASK International opened its own office in Florida and entered into contracts with US government agencies to train the Jamaican and Malaysian police, the Nigerian Presidential Guard and the UAE special forces.
Finally, the operation of the Georgian army in 2008 in South Ossetia was prepared by the Israeli PMC “Defensive Shield”, which had a contract for training the Georgian armed forces.
In 2011, the American company Reflex Responses received a $529 million contract from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to create and train a battalion to conduct security and counter-terrorism activities. The British company Ferocitas Global was awarded a contract to train Kuwaiti security forces also in 2011.
Nowadays, the situation in the PMC market is changing, and Africa, after Iraq, has become a new place for efforts (and investments) on the part of the United States after the administration of the new US President Barack Obama came to power.
The American army, through the African Military Command (AFRICOM) created by it in 2008, has launched its activities in many African states, such as Ethiopia, Sudan (in Darfur), Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, the Seychelles, Mali, Niger, Senegal , Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania.
The AFRICAP (Africa Peacekeeping) program was launched, which provided logistics support, military education and training, construction, maritime security, equipment provision, operational command and air surveillance with priority areas: the South Sudanese armed forces, African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia, the armed forces of the Somali government itself, the armed forces of Congo (Zaire), Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as the peacekeeping forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On September 11, 2009, the US State Department announced that during a tender held within the framework of the AFRICAP (Africa Peacekeeping) program, for which $1.5 billion was allocated, contracts divided into equal parts of $375 million each were awarded to four companies - PSI (Protection Strategies Inc), DynCorp International, AECOM and PAE (Pacific Architects and Engineers).
PAE instructors in Somalia
By and large, the main goal was to counter the threat to American interests from both the forces of radical Islam associated with Al-Qaeda and from Chinese expansion in Africa. For this purpose, another program, ACOTA (Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance), was carried out under the control of the Pentagon. According to it, by the end of 2010, the command forces (about 3,500 instructors) should train 75,000 military personnel of African armies.
Ugandan army checkpoint in Somalia
It is in this area that private military companies received contracts. For example, with the start of operations of the African Union forces in Somalia, private military companies MPRI and PAE received contracts to train military contingents from Uganda and Burundi, which formed the basis of the peacekeeping forces of the African Union - AMISOM.
2010 Mogadishu attack
In Africa itself, due to the instability of the situation, the activities of PMCs are quite important for ensuring the activities of various public and private Western corporations. Including the protection of areas where specialists from these companies live. For example, in Kenya, the G4S company is widely represented in this area, and in Uganda, the Saracen company, which employs local personnel and contracts local security companies, are quite active.
In Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta, there is a noticeable increase in the influence of those groups of Islamic fundamentalists (the most influential organizations of them: Boko Haram, Hizbah, Al-Sunna Wal Jamma, Muhammad Yusuf Movement) who advocate armed struggle against the “Christian” south and Western oil companies. Security activities there are carried out by such PMCs as Control Risk, Erinys International, ArmorGroup, Triple Canopy.
The ever-increasing efficiency in the actions of PMCs, which in Africa began to penetrate into places of armed conflicts even before the appearance of the American army there, suggests that they are becoming an independent factor in American politics.
In this case, the American army rather follows the developing political situation and, with the growing threats, increases funding for training programs for the armies of African states. Without going into questions of how much the policy of the modern international community contributes to the pacification of Africa, which is, in fact, more than obvious from the example of Libya, it should be noted that for the PMCs themselves in the context of ongoing wars, the main condition for the successful activities of PMCs is missing - the presence of military units of NATO armies or their number extremely limited.
Thus, the situation in some way got out of control. Modern media exaggerate the degree of influence of American politics and the PMCs carrying out this influence on certain parties participating in wars.
Thus, in Libya in 2011, reports that appeared from time to time about certain types of activities of PMCs speak only of examples of rather limited tasks, because, as a rule, these companies are involved only in the recruitment of personnel for the protection of Western diplomatic missions, in particular the US Embassy in Tripoli, or various UN departments, especially UNDP, UNICEF or IOM in Libya, as well as in advisory services in the field of mine action.
The fact that the direct activities of PMCs in Libya is a dangerous occupation was confirmed back in May 2011, when Pierre Marziali, a resident of the French private military company Secopex, was killed in Benghazi.
Thus, although the forces of the Libyan PNS won the civil war thanks to the support of NATO, at the same time they are outside the control of this very NATO, because the model adopted in Iraq and Afghanistan for creating new armed forces by Western armies and PMCs is absent in Libya.
A security guard for the Russian company RSB Group on a ship in the Indian Ocean. Photo from the RSB group websitehttp:// www. rsb- group. ru
The wars in Somalia, Sudan and Libya have raised new questions for modern private military companies, because in this case the situation is completely different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where these companies occupied such an important place. In this case, a significantly higher level of training of employees and organization of the activities of PMCs is required than was the case in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the operational management of these PMCs could, with one call to the headquarters of a neighboring American unit, solve all problems both in relations with the command of the local armed forces, and when attacked by enemy forces. In Africa, such a challenge is much more than problematic, and therefore companies such as MPRI and PAE, whose management and employees have many years of experience in military service and participation not only in programs, are allowed to tender for contracts in accordance with the rules of the ACOTA Contract Procedure Guide training, but also in conducting special operations.
As for maritime piracy, it is a derivative of the war in Somalia, and ship hijackings are carried out both by militants of the Organization of Islamic Courts and its essentially key organization - the Al-Shabaab movement, and by detachments of local field commanders who are only formally subordinate to the Transitional Government .
It is obvious that the Transitional Government of Somalia is not able to put an end to piracy, and it is also obvious that the peacekeeping troops of the African Union will not solve this problem either.
According to the Maritime Bulletin of the Sovfracht company, up to 250 civilian ships pass through the Strait of Aden per day, and it is impossible to protect every ship. In addition, it is obvious that the pirates have a wide network of informants in the Persian Gulf countries, without which they would hardly be able to operate so successfully.
With the expansion of the war in the Horn of Africa, this shipping area will be under a much greater threat, because the Al-Shabaab movement is unlikely to give up hijacking ships, especially if it manages to spread its influence into Puntland and Somaliland, reaching the shores of the Gulf of Aden. Therefore, the problem can be solved either by the armed forces of some “civilized” state (as Canada offered the services of its navy), or by some private military company that will be paid for this.
That is why private military companies appeared on this market, naturally American and British, such as Blackwater (Xe company) and Aegis, already known from Iraq and Afghanistan, and companies traditionally specializing in the field of maritime security, such as Drum Cussac, Trojan Securities International , Securewest International and Blue Mountain, as well as newly formed SeaMarshall, Naval Guards Ltd, Solace Global Maritime, Nautilus International, Aspida Maritime Security, Shield Risk Consulting, Trident Group, Halliday Finc.
As a rule, the payment here varied up to $500-700 for one specialist for one day on board and two to three times less when in port.
Later, a number of contracts were awarded to companies from the former USSR, in particular the Russian Moran Group and RSB Group.
In the modern world, governments are increasingly resorting to the services of private military companies (PMCs). Mercenaries are used where, for one reason or another, the use of regular armed forces is undesirable. Experts predict that in the future “private traders” will play an increasingly important role in wars and other conflicts. Which PMCs are the largest and most powerful today?
Academy
Academi (formerly Blackwater) is perhaps the most famous and largest PMC in the world. The company was founded in 1997 by Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince and shooting coach Al Clark. The PMC receives its main profit - more than 90% - from government orders: performing combat missions, escorting high-ranking officials, etc.
The number of Academi employees exceeds 20 thousand people. Of these, about 2.3 thousand are professional mercenaries in active service, and the rest are reservists.
We can say that Academi is a full-fledged army, because in addition to ground units, the private military company has its own aviation (helicopters, transport aircraft) and even its own military-industrial complex (production of armored cars).
The PMC has gained fame as a participant in all conflicts in which the United States has been involved since the late 1990s. Thus, after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, Academi began training army and law enforcement units.
The PMC has stained itself with war crimes. Thus, in September 2007, its employees shot 17 Iraqi civilians. It seemed to the mercenaries that they were deliberately interfering with the movement of the American diplomatic motorcade. During the investigation, it turned out that members of the organization had participated in more than 200 shootouts since 2005, often opening fire to kill without good reason.
Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI)
Most of today's major private military companies originate from the United States. In addition to Academi, another important American PMC is MPRI, headquartered in Virginia. The organization was founded in 1987. The composition of the company is extremely solid: among others, it includes more than 300 former generals of the United States Army.
In addition to the American government, MPRI does not hesitate to accept orders from other countries. The company's net profit is estimated at $150 billion. Experts attribute the increase in the organization's income to military contacts related to military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. In them, PMCs, which have at least three thousand fighters under arms, take direct part.
In addition, according to former French Army Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Bariot, MPRI received orders from the Pentagon to train the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, a radical Albanian organization whose members have been repeatedly accused of trafficking in human organs. PMC employees also trained the Georgian armed forces according to NATO standards.
DynCorp
This is one of the oldest private military companies, which traces its history back to 1946. The PMC became successful even when Academi and other modern leaders of “military consulting” were not even in the plans. By the mid-1970s, DynCorp had absorbed 19 companies, its revenue was $300 million, and in 1994 it exceeded $2.4 billion. At the same time, the number of employees increased to 24 thousand people.
Today, the company's annual revenue has exceeded three billion dollars. The PMC operates in the field of air operations (cover and reconnaissance), and also conducts training for law enforcement agencies and provides security services.
DynCorp's activities were not without scandals. In the late 90s and early 2000s, its employees were accused of pedophilia and trafficking of young girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Those involved in the crimes were fired from the PMC, but none of them were ever held criminally liable.
Aegis Defense Services
The British PMC provides services mainly for the American government and the United Nations (UN). The theater of action is still the same: the Middle East (combat operations, as well as exploration and protection of oil and gas fields), Afghanistan, as well as some African countries. Aegis has five thousand people.
In 2005, a major scandal broke out around PMCs. The British television channel Channel 4 showed a video of PMC employees shooting at the cars of Iraqi civilians who were going to overtake an Aegis convoy. The company did not admit its guilt.
Among other things, the PMC provided security in Iraqi cities. And in 2011, she received a contract for $497 million from the US government. The task is to protect members of the American government during their visit to Afghanistan.
FDG Corp.
Founded in 1996 by American Marine Andre Rodriguez. Mainly participated in combat operations against pirates in Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, as well as in the Gaza Strip and Afghanistan. PMC employees fought on the side of the Somali government, provided assistance in clearing shells and disposing of military waste. The pride of the organization is the elite unit of combat swimmers.
A private military company (PMC) is a commercial organization that provides specific services related to participation in hostilities, providing security services for special facilities, collecting information for intelligence, training soldiers, and others.
We have previously reviewed the best anti-terrorism groups, but today we want to present a list of the ten most famous military campaigns in the world. So.
Sandline International is a British private military company founded by former SAS officers Tim Spicer and Simon Mann. Employees of this company took part in military operations in Papua New Guinea in 1997, in Sierra Leone in 1998, in Liberia in 2003. The organization ceased to exist on April 16, 2004.
Anti-Terror - Orel is a private military organization that engages in sapper work, protects facilities and trains military personnel. For example, in 2009 in Serbia, out of 20 sappers who were there, 8 people represented this organization. Antiterror-Eagle employees participated in operations in Sierra Leone, Angola, India and Nigeria.
KBR
KBR is a private United States military organization that conducts civil engineering developments. The largest supplier to the US Army and Department of Defense. KBR is mainly engaged in the construction of oil and gas processing plants, water supply systems, and also develops projects for defense facilities.
Sharp End International
Sharp End International is an Australian private organization. Its employees are engaged in the protection of special facilities, as well as military training, often for Australia and New Zealand. Trained the Iraqi army and police.
Raytheon is a United States private military company that develops primarily defense technologies. It was founded in 1992. Currently the company employs 73 thousand people. This organization is known for the development of the famous Patriot air defense system. It also produces missiles and radars for the US Department of Defense.
Northrop Grumman is an American military-industrial company founded back in 1922. It is involved in aircraft and shipbuilding, as well as in developments in the field of electronics and IT. It built a large number of military aircraft and ships operated by the United States Navy, and also created the Northrop A-17 and B-2 Spirit aircraft carriers.
MPRI
MPRI is a private United States military company founded in 1987 by eight former military officers. This company conducted military operations in many countries of the world. Its employees participated in the special operation “Storm”, which led to the collapse of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and the Republic of Western Bosnia. And in July 2008, MPRI employees trained the Georgian army before the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict.
This organization was founded in the United States in 1996. Now it is one of the largest companies engaged in the field of high-tech engineering development, as well as in the production and implementation of defense technologies.
Kroll Security International is a private military organization of the United States, which was founded in 1974. At first, the company provided private investigation services, and thirty years later it began to engage in other tasks, the range of which expanded significantly; Now it guards facilities, trains military personnel and escorts UN cargo. In 2004 it had 3,200 employees. It was she who was entrusted by the Russian government to search for “party money” in 1992.
Academi (Xe Services LLC, Blackwater)
Academi is a private military organization founded in 1997 in the United States by Navy SEAL Eric Perins and shooting trainer Al Clark. At the moment it is the largest military company in the world.
Foreign PMCs (Private military companies)
Mercenaries have existed since ancient times. Throughout its existence, the profession of a mercenary has been in demand and relevant. The services of mercenaries were used by the ancient Greeks, medieval principalities, and even the Pope himself.
Today, mercenaries unite in so-called PMCs - Private Military Companies. This article will discuss the most famous foreign PMCs.
Blackwater (Academi) - USA
American private military company founded by retired Marines. It has been around since 1997. During their existence, Blackwater mercenaries managed to visit Iraq and Afghanistan. Most often, the customers of the services are the American government and intelligence agencies. The company is currently known as Academi.
Group 4 Securicor (G4S) - UK
British private military company, has been around since the early 2000s. The services of G 4S are used not only for military purposes, but also to perform functions to ensure public order, when this must be done “with arms in hand”. Group 4 Securicor has a positive reputation in the international community. In addition to security services, it also produces technologies and systems for security employees.
Military Professional Resources (MPRI) - USA
Another American PMC. Founded by retired US Army officers in the early 1990s, which influenced the specifics of the company. The company pays special attention to training departments. The peak of activity occurred during the Yugoslav conflict (90s). MPRI employees also participate in the reorganization of the armed forces of those countries that join NATO.
Northbridge Services Group - Dominican Republic
A private military company from the Dominican Republic, but with official representatives in the USA and Great Britain. It provides its services to both states and individuals. Like the British G 4S, it is often used to ensure public order in military conflict zones.
Asgaard German Security Group - Germany
German private military company founded by a retired German paratrooper. The company has representative offices in the countries of the Middle East and Africa. Specializes in security activities, training of military units and also planning combat operations.
ASBS Othago - Poland
Polish private military company founded by the former Minister of the Interior. Specializes in both security and intelligence. This PMC has a greater bias towards scientifically based forecasts for individuals.
Groupe-EHC - France
Founded in 1999 by retired French army officers. Has a representative office in the USA. Specializes in providing physical security in high-risk regions. They mainly provide security in countries that were previously colonies of France, as well as in African countries.
What do foreign PMCs use?
Most often, PMC fighters use equipment whose colors match the “surrounding” environment, that is, when performing missions in the Middle East, desert colors are a priority, and when guarding ships or premises, any practical equipment is used, without priorities in color.
Brands such as 5.11, Blackhawk!, Crye Precision, T asmanian Tiger are very popular among mercenaries.
Among unloading vests, CIRAS, JPC, as well as vests produced by T asmanian Tiger and their analogues are especially popular.
Private military companies are very convenient for countries that do not want to send their soldiers to dubious enterprises that could tarnish the reputation of the state. Mercenaries have special immunity and are not subject to the laws of the country; they are called “untouchables.”
In addition, losses in a private military company (PMC) are easier to hide than in the regular army, therefore, for example, it is much more convenient for Americans to use mercenaries in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. The Russian authorities have similar motives in using the so-called Wagner Group PMC in Syria.
But you should not think that PMCs are engaged only in military operations; their profit comes from rear logistics, building resource supply routes, air transportation of soldiers and cargo, demining territories, protecting objects or persons, and training government soldiers.
Academy
Today it is the most famous and one of the largest private military companies, which has its own weapons production and a small air force. A real army of professionals, ready to win a small war anywhere in the world for a significant reward.
Academi numbers about 21 thousand people, mostly veterans of various army units, including special forces, specialists in the field of intelligence, cyber espionage, gunsmiths and many others.
Blackwater Grizzly armored cars. Photo: gawker.com The PMC has its own training center in North Carolina with an area of 28 sq. km, which, by the way, is the largest in the United States. Here they teach urban combat tactics, conducting assaults, driving vehicles under real fire, and many other skills that can save lives in battle.
The excellent training of PMC fighters is evidenced by the battle in Najaf, when eight Blackwater employees guarding the local military headquarters and entrenched on the roof of the building, along with four American police officers and a US Marine machine gunner, repelled attacks by several hundred Shiite militants for almost a day.
The US Army did not provide any fire support to the mercenaries, and the nearby Spanish and Salvadoran contingents refused to join the battle. The besieged were rescued by PMC pilots who delivered ammunition and picked up a wounded marine.
After the scandal of a shootout in the center of Baghdad in 2007, which ended in the death of seventeen and wounding of eighteen Iraqi civilians, the PMC gained notoriety.
But this did not stop them from earning money. For example, in 2008 the company's revenue exceeded a trillion dollars. Blackwater had hundreds of light armored vehicles and about 20 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Most of the company's income—90 percent—comes from government orders.
The company's Blackwater Armored Vehicle division produces its own armored personnel carrier, adapted for combat in urban environments, the Blackwater Grizzly, and Blackwater Airships designs drones.
In 2009, the company underwent a transformation and became known as Xe Services, a year later the name was changed again to Academi.
G4S (Group 4 Securicor)
If Academi is the most famous, then the British PMC Group 4 Securicor is the most numerous. The number of its employees reaches 585 thousand, and the company has offices in 125 countries.
The main activity of the company is related to the transportation of valuables, money, ensuring the security of both individuals and major events, for example, the London Olympics. G4S employees can be seen at the airports of Heathrow, Oslo, Brussels and many others.
G4S specialists are working on the implementation of electronic security systems and provide cash management and logistics services for banks.
The company is able to create a security system from scratch in an area with the most unfavorable conditions. Its employees are also engaged in demining, training and even managing personnel, and if necessary, they are also employed in the coast guard.
It is noteworthy that the British government commissioned the company to build a private police station. Employees of a private company will take on most of the functions: from escorting criminals to cells to conducting drug testing. The real police will still arrest the bandits.
PMCs of dirty deeds. DynCorp
It is one of the oldest private military companies in the world. The date of its foundation is considered to be 1946. Although the corporation is headquartered in Virginia, all operational management is carried out from an office in Texas. The company employs approximately 14 thousand people.
Employees of this company were involved in numerous crimes: human trafficking, drugs, rape, murder, money laundering and much more, but each time DynCorp management got away with it.
The fact is that the PMC is closely connected with the CIA, and almost 96% of its income comes from government contracts, the amount of which amounts to more than three billion dollars.
DynCorp employees have been involved in all significant conflicts of the last century and today. They were in Bosnia, Colombia, Somalia, Angola, Kosovo and other countries.
The PMC provides air operations services and also provides technical support for helicopters of the US Air Force, Navy and Army.
DynCorp is also engaged in restoring destroyed infrastructure, training intelligence agencies, and providing security services. For example, its employees protected Afghan President Hamid Karzai and trained much of the police forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
DynCorp was one of 8 private military companies specifically selected by the US State Department to remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of American troops.
The best fighters in Africa. Executive Outcomes
This is the largest private military company in Africa, without whose employees not a single local conflict could occur. It consisted of the most experienced fighters on the African continent and was superior in combat effectiveness to any local army.
At one time, Executive Outcomes was armed with Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters, as well as MiG-23 fighters; the company actively used T-72 tanks and armored personnel carriers.
PMCs have been seen in shady deals, from interference in the affairs of an oil company from Sierra Leone to contracts with the largest diamond mining and processing company De Beers, as well as such giants as Rio Tinto Zinc, Texaco and others.
It happened that mercenaries captured rich deposits, and then “forgot” to return them to the country on whose land they were located. Executive Outcomes is believed to have mined gold in Uganda, oil in Ethiopia, and had numerous businesses in other countries in which it fought.
Under pressure from the Americans, Executive Outcomes was liquidated as a PMC in 1998. However, this did not stop it from being revived under the name SRC (Strategic Resource Corporation) and is still operating.
From Russia with love. "Wagner Group"
A small amount of information about this PMC began to leak into the media with the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and Syria. As RBC writes, citing its own sources, Wagner’s group got its name from the call sign of its leader.
The photo is for illustrative purposes only. Photo: wp.com The “Wagner Group” trains at the base in Molkino in the Krasnodar region, where the forces of the 10th separate special forces brigade of the GRU of the Ministry of Defense are also located.
Wagner is the call sign of the detachment leader, but in fact his name is Dmitry Utkin, and he previously served in the Pskov GRU brigade.
This company appeared in Syria shortly before Russia began deploying its military bases in 2015. According to RBC, in 2016 there were from 1 to 1.6 thousand PMC employees in Syria, depending on the tension of the situation.
While at a base in Russia, an employee of the Wagner Group received up to 80 thousand rubles per month ($1,345); directly in Syria, the salary increased to 500 thousand rubles ($8,406).
About a thousand dollars were spent on equipment for each fighter. The fighters of the Wagner Group played a big role in the liberation of Palmyra and in the battles near Deir ez-Zor.
Let us remind you that Belarusian citizens who take part in hostilities in other countries can be prosecuted in Belarus. They can be brought under Art. 133 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus - “Mercenarism”. Responsibility also lies with those individuals who recruit our citizens to participate in confrontations in other countries.
Article 132 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Recruitment, training, financing and use of mercenaries
Recruitment, training, financing, other material support and use of mercenaries to participate in armed conflicts or hostilities is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 15 years.
Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Mercenary
Participation on the territory of a foreign state in armed conflicts, military actions of a person who is not part of the Armed Forces of the warring parties and who acts for the purpose of receiving material reward without the authority of the state of which he is a citizen or on whose territory he permanently resides (mercenarism) - is punishable by imprisonment. for a term of 3 to 7 years with or without confiscation of property.