Armed Forces: Panama Defense Forces (Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá--FDP) include military forces, police forces, and National Guard, with total strength of about 15,000.
Military Units: Principally ground forces with four combat battalions, four support battalions, eight infantry companies, and one cavalry squadron. Also a small air force and navy, as well as paramilitary National Guard.
Equipment: Limited equipment inventory. Most infantry weapons, military vehicles, naval craft, and aircraft from United States. Two largest (thirty-meter) patrol craft from Britain.
Foreign Military Treaties: Bilateral treaties with United States for canal defense.
Police: Police forces subordinate to FDP and include a variety of uniformed, undercover, and civilian forces. Most significant are National Department of Investigations (Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones--DENI), undercover security police, and First Public Order Company (Doberman), which handles riot control.
Data as of December 1987