The Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF) is small, poorly funded, and ineffectively resourced; its mission focus is border and internal security, primarily in countering ethnic Hmong insurgent and opposition groups; with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the government, the Lao People's Army (LPA) is the third pillar of state machinery and, as such, is expected to suppress political and civil unrest and similar national emergencies. The LPA has upgraded skills to respond to avian influenza outbreaks; there is no perceived external threat to the state and the LPA maintains strong ties with the neighbouring Vietnamese military (2008)[citation needed].
The army of 130,000 is equipped with 25 main battle tanks. The army marine section, equipped with 16 patrol crafts, has 600 personnel. The air force, with 3,500 personnel, is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and 24 combat aircraft. Militia self-defence forces number approximately 100,000 organised for local defence. The small arms used by the army include the Soviet AKM assault rifle, PKM machine gun, Makarov PM pistol, and RPD light machine gun.
From its founding, until the present, the LPA receives significant support, training, advisers, troop support and assistance from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army.
On 17 May 2014 the Defense Minister, who was also Deputy Prime Minister, Major General Douangchay Phichit, with other top ranking officials was killed in a plane crash in the north of the country. The officials were to participate in a ceremony to mark the liberation of the Plain of Jars from the former Royal Lao government forces. Their Russian-built Antonov AN 74–300 with 20 people on board crashed in Xiengkhouang province.