The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of certain countries and territories.

Defence forces

Ambazonia Defence Forces The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by th ...

Artsakh Defence Army The Artsakh Defence Army ( hy, Արցախի Հանրապետության պաշտպանության բանակ, Artsakhi Hanrapetut’yan pashtpanut’yan banak) is the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Est ...

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

Bahrain Defence Force The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) is the military force of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force is under direct command and leadership of a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of field marshal. The Government has a Minister of Defe ...

* Barbados Defence Force * Belize Defence Force *

Botswana Defence Force The Botswana Defence Force (BDF, tn, Sesole Sa Botswana) is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 ...

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

: Federal Defence Forces of Germany. * Burundi National Defence Force *

Danish Defence Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

: the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark * Defense Forces of Georgia * Defence Force of Haiti * Eritrean Defence Forces *

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary E ...

Ethiopian National Defense Force The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out ...

Falkland Islands Defence Force The Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the United Kingdom to ensure the security ...

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (which i ...

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. History The GDF was formed on 1 No ...

* Hungarian Defence Force *

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in ...

* Israel Defense Forces *

Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of Military, armed f ...

Kenya Defence Forces The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) ( sw, Majeshi ya Ulinzi ya Kenya, stylized as "KENYA ARMED FORCES" capitalized on its coat of arms) are the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Forc ...

Lesotho Defence Force The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) is the military of the Southern African Kingdom of Lesotho, which consists of about 2,000 personnel and is tasked with maintaining internal security, territorial integrity, and defending the constitution of Lesotho ...

Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces The National Defence Volunteer Forces or NDVF ( lt, Krašto apsaugos savanorių pajėgos [], previously []) is a branch of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Volunteer forces were officially established on 17 January 1991 by the law of the Supreme C ...

*Malawian Defence Force *

Maldives National Defence Force , image = Emblem of the Maldives National Defence Force.svg , alt = Emblem of the Defence Force , caption = Maldives National Defence Force emblem , image2 = Flag of the Maldives National Defe ...

Mozambique Defence Armed Forces The Mozambique Defence Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique) or FADM are the national armed forces of Mozambique. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces and three branches of service: Army, Air Force and Navy ...

* Namibia Defence Force *

National Defence Forces (Syria) The National Defence Forces (NDF) ( ar, قوات الدفاع الوطني ''Quwāt ad-Difāʿ al-Watanī'') is a pro-government militia, that was formed on 1 November 2012 and organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War as a ...

: Syrian pro-government militia *

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her Realm of New Z ...

Norwegian Defence The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Roy ...

: the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Norway *

Papua New Guinea Defence Force The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into be ...

* People's Liberation Army Navy Coastal Defense Force * Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force *

Royal Bahamas Defence Force The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is the military of The Bahamas. Since The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force, its navy composes the entirety of its armed forces. Under The Defence Act, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has been m ...

* Royal Montserrat Defence Force * Rwanda Defence Force * Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force * Self-Defense Forces in the multi-ethnic territories of North and East Syria opposed to Bashar al-Assad *

Seychelles People's Defence Force The Seychelles People's Defence Force is the national military of Seychelles. It consists of a number of distinct branches: the Infantry Unit, Coast Guard, Air Force and a Presidential Protection Unit. Branches Coast Guard The Seychelles Coast ...

Singapore Civil Defence Force The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is an uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates ...

: provides emergency services in Singapore *

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

* South Sudan Defence Forces (militia) * South Sudan People's Defense Forces *

Southern Cameroons Defence Forces The Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (commonly referred to as SOCADEF) is the armed wing of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement. It is led by Ebenezer Akwanga, who is based in the United States, and its ...

State defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

s: defense forces of individual US states. *

Tanzania People's Defence Force The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) ( sw, Jeshi la Ulinzi la Wananchi wa Tanzania) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force ...

* Territorial Defence Force (Poland) * Territorial Defence Force (Ukraine) *

Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defense Forces ( ti, ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ, italic=no; TDF: ሓምት), colloquially ''Tigray Army'' () is a paramilitary rebel group in Tigray. It was founded by distant former generals of Ethiopia in 2020 ...

Timor Leste Defence Force The Timor Leste Defence Force ( tet, Forcas Defesa Timor Lorosae, pt, Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste or Falintil-FDTL, often F-FDTL) is the military body responsible for the defence of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February 20 ...

* Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force * Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force *

Uganda People's Defence Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000– ...

* Vietnam Self-Defence Force *

Zambian Defence Force The Zambian Defence Force is the military of Zambia. It consists of the Zambian Army, the Zambian Air Force, and the Zambia National Service. The defence forces were formed at Zambian independence on 24 October 1964, from constituent units of ...

* Zimbabwe Defence Forces

Air Defence Forces

Cuban Air and Air Defense Force The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force ( es, Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria) commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba. History Background The Cuban Army Air Force was ...

* Egyptian Air Defense Forces *

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force "And You Did Not Throw When You Threw, But God Did Throw" , start_date = 1933–1954 (Part of Ground Force)1954–2008 (Part of Air Force)2008–Present (As Separate Force) , branch = , type = Air defence , command_structure=Artesh , country ...

Kazakh Air Defense Forces , image = Coa vvsrk.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Emblem of the Kazakh Air Defence Forces , start_date = , country = , allegi ...

: Air Force of Kazakhstan * Syrian Air Defense Force * Territorial Air Defence Forces: Part of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces *

Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces The Air and Air Defence Forces (; ) are the aerial arm of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was formed following the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1991, though the military was not created by the Uzbek government until 1992. ...

At the start of the Cold War, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

had established the

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

. It was broken into three different regions: * Eastern Air Defense Force: (1949-1960) *

Central Air Defense Force The Central Air Defense Force (CADF) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960. History ...

: (1951-1960) * Western Air Defense Force: (1949-1960)

Defunct Defence Forces

* British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force (1889-1976) *

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

: Regular force of British Ceylon (1881-1949) * Citizens' Defence Force: A unit of former British Army soldiers and Irish Volunteers organised by Ireland during the Irish Civil War (1922) * Croatian Defence Forces: (1991-1993) *

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

: Wehrmacht translated to defence forces (1935-1945) ** Fatherland Defense Force: A short-lived Wehrmacht-backed Lithuanian military unit made to defend Lithuania against the Soviet Army (1944) * Iceland Defense Force: (1951-2006) *

Indian Defence Force The Indian Defence Force (IDF) was a part-time defence force established as part of the Indian Army in 1917 in order to release regular troops from garrison duties during the First World War. It was divided into British and Indian sections. L ...

: (1917-1920) * Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force: (1944) *

Lofa Defense Force The Lofa Defense Force (LDF) was a rebel group that participated in the Liberian Civil War. It was a local group that crossed the northern border from Guinea to attack armed positions, mostly those of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia f ...

: Liberian Rebel Group (1993-1996) * Panama Defense Forces: (1968-1989) *

People's Self-Defense Force The People's Self-Defense Force ( vi, nhân dân tự vệ) was a South Vietnamese part-time village level militia during the Vietnam War. The People's Self-Defense Force mainly protected homes and villages from attacks by the Viet Cong (VC) and ...

: South Vietnamese militia (1968-1975) * Popular Defence Forces: Paramilitary Force in Sudan (1989-2019) *

Royal Hong Kong Defence Force The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) ()), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. Its powers and duties were mandated by the Royal Hong Kong R ...

: (1960s-1970) *

Russian Aerospace Defence Forces The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsi ...

: (2011-2015) *

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

: (1957-1994) *

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (russian: войска ПВО, ''voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony'', ''voyska PVO'', ''V-PVO'', lit. ''Anti-Air Defence Troops''; and formerly ''protivovozdushnaya oborona strany'', ''PVO strany'', lit. ''Anti-Air De ...

: (1941-1991) *

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a locally recruited British-led force formed in 1925 to assist the police in the event of civil unrest, and to maintain the borders of British administered Sudan. During the Second World War, it also served b ...

: (1924-1955) * Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina: (1990-1992) * Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia): (1969-1992) *

Union Defence Force (South Africa) ) , headquarters = Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa , commander-in-chief = , commander-in-chief_title = Sovereign of South Africa , minister = , minister_title = , commander = , commander_title = Chief ...

: Predecessor to the South African Defence Force (1912-1957) *

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defences of Colombia (''Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia'', or AUC, in Spanish) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period ...

: (1997-2008) * Zanzibar Volunteer Defence Force: (1914-????)

South Africa

In South Africa under

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

the nominally independent

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now N ...

s had their own forces, separately from the

: * Bophuthatswana Defence Force: (1977-1994) *

Ciskei Defence Force The Ciskei Defence Force (CDF) was established during March 1981 from the 141 Battalion of the South African Defence Force (SADF). It was the defence force of Ciskei, a bantustan that was controlled by the apartheid regime of South Africa. The CD ...

: (1981-1994) * Transkei Defence Force: (1981-1994) * Venda Defence Force: (1979-1994)

Football clubs

A number of football clubs related to defence forces are also named such, for example: * Defence Force F.C., of Trinidad and Tobago *

Barbados Defence Force SC The Barbados Defence Force Sports Program (BDFSP) is the sporting arm of the Barbados Defence Force. BDFSP recruits and trains athletes in five disciplines; football, cricket, table tennis, athletics and boxing. The program provides an opportunit ...

* Belize Defence Force FC * Botswana Defence Force XI *

Guyana Defence Force FC Guyana Defence Force FC, colloquially known simply as Defence Force is a Guyanese football club in Georgetown. The club competes in the GFF Elite League, the top league of football in Guyana. The club is fielded by the nation's defence force Th ...

* Lesotho Defence Force FC

Defence forces

Air Defence Forces

Defunct Defence Forces

South Africa

Football clubs

See also