International External Aid to the Lebanese Army – Follow-up Report

This report serves as a direct continuation of the previous analysis by the Alma Center from December 1, 2025, regarding the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and its critical dependence on external aid.

While the previous report detailed the main funding and supply channels arriving from the United States, France, and Qatar, this follow-up report examines the continued support from the donor countries – specifically the United Kingdom, Egypt, the European Union, Italy, and Germany.

Additionally, the current report reviews several updates regarding French and Qatari support.

The donations from these countries provide operational capabilities in missions such as mounted patrols, anti-tank capabilities, soldier salaries, and maritime monitoring.

France

In addition to the extensive support detailed in the previous report from December 2025, France, over the years, has provided a critical qualitative edge to the LAF’s anti-tank capabilities, a specific contribution that complements broader American aid packages and addresses the army’s need for mobile direct fire. In November 2018, Paris transferred ten VAB Mephisto APCs to the Lebanese Army, platforms specializing in anti-tank warfare and equipped with launch turrets for HOT guided anti-tank missiles.

Together with the vehicles, the French government supplied 95 HOT missiles, granting the Lebanese Army a long-range mobile capability to strike armored targets or fortified positions at ranges of up to 4,000 meters.

This shipment included 2 simulators to train soldiers in operating the system.

This shipment was part of a broader effort to strengthen the LAF’s anti-tank array by France. In April 2015, the Lebanese Army received 48 Milan anti-tank missiles from France, funded by a Saudi grant intended to strengthen the country’s army against “non-state actors.”

United Kingdom

The UK has also sent significant weaponry over the years to assist the LAF in the country’s land border security missions, especially along the porous Syrian border, which has historically served as a smuggling route of all kinds.

Since 2012, London has invested over £115 million in infrastructure, vehicles, training, equipment, and border positions of the Lebanese Army, a package including the construction and fortification of more than 75 observation towers deployed from the Mediterranean coast to the Mount Hermon ridges. To ensure that these static positions are supported by mobile patrols, the UK donated 350 Land Rover vehicles, some with “Revised Weapons Mounted Installation Kit” (RWMIK) firing positions installed, which were shipped from the UK in January 2021 and officially handed over to the Lebanese Army in February of that year. These vehicles underwent extensive modifications to navigate difficult terrain and were designed to serve as mobile fire platforms, capable of carrying heavy machine guns (HMGs) and general-purpose machine guns (GPMGs) for the purpose of foiling smuggling and infiltration attempts.

Beyond hardware, the British Army has trained over 11,000 Lebanese soldiers in dedicated border security operations, thereby creating a professional and separate layer of forces within the “Land Border Regiments.”

Egypt

A significant shift in regional security dynamics is the recent entry of Egypt as a direct and active military patron of the Lebanese Army, transitioning from diplomatic support to operational assistance.

During November and December 2025, Cairo deployed “tens” of military advisors to Beirut with a mandate to improve the army’s counter-terrorism and border security capabilities.

This cooperation is expected to expand substantially in the near future; according to publications from January 2026, Egypt has committed to sending armored vehicles and air defense systems to Lebanon.

The Egyptian aid package also includes technical upgrades to the Lebanese Army’s secure communication network and intelligence gathering infrastructure, reflecting President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s strategy to strengthen state institutions in Lebanon to prevent a total security collapse.

Qatar

As noted in the previous report from December 2025, Qatar has taken upon itself the role of the financial “lifeline” of the Lebanese Army, directly subsidizing soldiers’ livelihoods to prevent mass desertion due to the economic crisis in the country.

This pattern has continued in the recent period as well.

The Qatari Foreign Minister, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, visited Lebanon on January 26, 2026, to discuss the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to the country to support electricity infrastructure, but also discussed in Beirut with the Lebanese leadership regarding continued financial support for the LAF.

On April 16, 2025, during a visit by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Doha, Qatar renewed its grant of $60 million for paying soldiers’ salaries.

Alongside this financial injection, Qatar committed to providing 162 military vehicles to improve the army’s logistical mobility.

Qatar also ensured the army’s ability to physically move its assets by supplying vast quantities of fuel; a shipment that arrived at the port of Tripoli in March 2025, contained 6,100 tons of gasoline to keep patrols and transport trucks moving.

Without these consistent injections of cash and fuel from Qatar, the Lebanese Army’s ability to perform even basic patrols or man its checkpoints would have been severely compromised due to the hyperinflation of the Lebanese Lira.

The European Union

The European Union activated the “European Peace Facility” (EPF) to specifically support the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the sensitive South Litani sector, a critical area for the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire of November 27, 2024. In January 2025, the European Council adopted an assistance measure totaling €60 million designed to improve the operational effectiveness of the Lebanese Army in the south, in direct support of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

This aid package focuses on non-lethal but operationally vital equipment, including engineering equipment for fortification and route clearance, medical equipment for field hospitals, and mobility means to ensure a constant army presence in southern Lebanon.

This move followed a previous allocation of €15 million at the end of 2024 intended to strengthen the medical and engineering directorates of the Lebanese Army.

Italy and Germany

The two aforementioned countries provide specialized niche capabilities that complement the broader donor efforts, focusing on training, logistics, and maritime monitoring.

Italy, through its bilateral mission MIBIL (Missione Militare Bilaterale Italiana in Libano), focused on training Lebanese soldiers.

Italy also provided material support for the army’s logistics; unusually and notably, on February 6, 2022, Italy also transferred a shipment of vehicles, including buses and tankers, to the Lebanese Army at the port of Beirut to facilitate the transport of forces and supplies.

Germany took the main responsibility for the maritime domain, and in 2022 donated a coastal radar network granting the Lebanese Navy command and monitoring capability over its territorial waters and the ability to monitor illegal trade. Together with the infrastructure, Germany also trained the relevant personnel to operate it.

Canada

Canada has also carved out a specific niche for itself in supporting the Lebanese Army’s ability to operate in Lebanon’s mountainous terrain.

In April 2023, the Canadian Armed Forces donated special equipment worth $6.5 million, including snowshoes, snowmobiles, and winter warfare equipment, to the Lebanese Army at a ceremony in Beirut.

This donation was intended to help the Lebanese Army’s mountain regiments sustain operations and border patrols during the harsh winter months, when high-altitude smuggling routes are often extremely active.