In Bangladesh, the military’s primary responsibility is external defense but it also has a domestic security role and has traditionally been a significant player in the country’s politics, as well as its economy; the military has a long history of participating in UN peacekeeping missions, which has provided operational experience and a source of funding; it runs an international institute for the training of peacekeepers; the military also conducts multinational and bilateral exercises with foreign partners, particularly India; it has commercial business interests in such areas as banking, food, hotels, manufacturing, real estate, and shipbuilding, and manages government infrastructure and construction projects

the Army is the dominant service and its primary combat forces are approximately 10 infantry divisions, supplemented by several independent brigades and regiments of armor, artillery, and commandos; it maintains a large presence in the Chittagong Hills area where it conducted counterinsurgency operations against tribal guerrillas from the 1970s until the late 1990s; the Navy conducts both coastal and blue water operations and participates in UN and humanitarian missions and multinational exercises; its principal surface warships are a mix of frigates, corvettes, and large patrol ships; it also has a few attack submarines; the Air Force has several squadrons equipped Chinese- and Russian-made combat aircraft; the Air Force has several squadrons of mostly Chinese- and Russian-made combat aircraft  (2024)