List of special forces

The list of special forces includes an international selection of active and decommissioned special forces . The definition of the units as special units is based on the national regulations such as in Germany the concept for the establishment and deployment of special units of the federal states and the federal government for the fight against terrorists , the police service regulation 100 or the deployment and deployment concepts of the special operations department in Operations command of the Bundeswehr taken over.

Active special forces

military

Compound commands

Unit name	Category / organization / association	country	founding
Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas (AFEUR)	Compound command	Colombia	1985
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM)	Compound command	Canada	2006
Comando interforze per le Operazioni delle Forze Speciali (COFS)	Compound command	Italy	2004
Dowództwo Wojsk Specjalnych (DWS) (part of Wojska Specjalne )	Compound command	Poland	2007
Commandement des opérations spéciales (COS)	Compound command	France	1992
Grupos de Acción Unificada por la Libertad Personal (GAULA)	Compound command	Colombia	1996
Command Management Operations of Special Forces (Kdo FOSK)	Compound command	Germany	2005
Special Forces Command (Switzerland) (KSK)	Compound command	Switzerland	2012
Jordanian Special Operations Command	Compound command	Jordan	1996
Groupement des forces spéciales (JRC)	Compound command	Tunisia	1965
Philippine Army's Special Operations Command (PASOCOM)	Compound command	Philippines	1978
United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF)	Compound command	United Kingdom	1987
US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)	Compound command	United States	1980
US Special Operations Command (SOCOM)	Compound command	United States	1987
NATO Special Operations Headquarters (NSHQ)	Compound command	NATO	2006
Special Operations Command (SOCOMD)	Compound command	Australia	2003

units

Unit name	Category / organization / association	country	Lineup
1st regiment de parachutistes d'infanterie de marine (1st RPIMa)	French army	France	1940
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) (Delta Force)	US Army	United States	1977
2nd régiment étranger de parachutistes (2nd REP)	French Foreign Legion	France	1948
2nd Commando Regiment	Australian Defense Force	Australia	2009
4 ° Rgt. Alpini Paracadutisti	Italian army	Italy	(1952)
5. Pluk špeciálneho určenia	Slovak Armed Forces	Slovakia	1993
7 Eskadra Działań Specjalnych	Siły Powietrzne (Operations Management Dowództwo Wojsk Specjalnych des Wojska Specjalne )	Poland	2011
9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment Col Moschin (9 ° Rgt. "Col Moschin")	Italian army	Italy	1953
13e régiment de dragons parachutistes (13e RDP)	French army	France	1948
17º Stormo Incursori	Italian Air Force	Italy	2003
24th Special Tactics Squadron	US Air Force	United States	?
35th Paratrooper Brigade	Israel Defense Forces	Israel	1954
68a Brigada specialni sili	Bulgarian army	Bulgaria
185 ° Rgt.Ricognizione Acquisizione Obiettivi (RAO)	Italian army	Italy	2000
601. skupina speciálních sil	Czech Army	Czech Republic	1995
USGN	Tunisian National Guard	Tunisia	1980
641st Special Warfare Naval Unit	Navy Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan
Agrupación de Fuerzas de Operaciones Especiales (AFOE)	Argentine Armed Forces	Argentina	2005
Aitvaras	Lithuanian Army	Lithuania	1991
ALFA	FSB (domestic secret service)	Russia	1974
Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10	Swiss Army	Switzerland	2004
Army Ranger Wing	Irish Defense Forces	Ireland	1980
Ashura unit	Iranian Revolutionary Guard	Iran	1993
Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR)	Australian Defense Force	Australia	1964
Belize Special Assignment Group (BSAG)	Belize Defense Force	Belize
Bijzondere Bijstand Eenheid (BBE)	Dutch Navy	Netherlands	1973
Bordo Bereliler	Turkish armed forces	Turkey	1952
Brigada de Fuerzas Especiales Kaibil	Armed Forces of Guatemala	Guatemala	1974
Comando de Fuerzas Especiales	Fuerza Aérea de la República Dominicana	Dominican Republic	1984
Comando Subacquei ed Incursori (COMSUBIN)	Italian Navy	Italy	1952
Commando Hubert	French Navy	France	1953
Commando Parachutiste de l'Air N.10	French Air Force	France	?
Commandos de recherche et d'action en profundeur	French army	France	2000
Compañía de Esquiadores Escaladores	Spanish army	Spain	1960
Destacamento de Acções Especiais (DAE)	Portuguese Armed Forces	Portugal	?
Destacamentos de Mergulhadores Sapadores	Portuguese Armed Forces	Portugal	1988
Détachement ALAT des opérations spéciales (DAOS)	French army	France	1997
Eidiko Tmima Alexiptotiston	Greek army	Greece	?
Escuadrilla de Zapadores Paracaidistas (EZAPAC)	Spanish Air Force	Spain	1946
Frømandskorpset	Danish Navy	Denmark	1957
Jednostka Wojskowa Agat	Wojska Specjalne	Poland	2011
Jednostka Wojskowa Formoza	Wojska Specjalne	Poland	1975
Jednostka Wojskowa Grom	Wojska Specjalne	Poland	1990
Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosów	Wojska Specjalne	Poland	1961
Jednostka Wojskowa Nile	Wojska Specjalne	Poland	2009
Groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN)	French Army ( National Gendarmerie )	France	1974
Groupe d'Intervention Spécial (GIS)	Algerian armed forces	Algeria	1987
Groupement des commandos parachutistes (GCP)	French army	France	2001
Grupos de Operaciones Especiales (GOE)	Spanish army	Spain	1991
Gruppo di Intervento Speciale (GIS)	Carabinieri	Italy	1978
Hærens Jegerkommando (HJK)	Norwegian Armed Forces	Norway	1962
Intelligence Support Activity (ISA)	US Army	United States	1980
Jaegerkorpset	Danish army	Denmark	1961
Jagdkommando	Federal Army	Austria	1964
Japanese Special Forces Group	Ground Self-Defense Forces	Japan	1998
Yechidat Duvdevan	Israeli army	Israel	Early 1980s
Jechidat Schaldag	Israeli Air Force	Israel	1974
Joint Aviation Unit	Composite unit of the US armed forces	United States	1980
Joint Communications Unit	Composite unit of the US armed forces	United States	1980
Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2)	Composite unit of the Canadian Armed Forces	Canada	1993
Jordanian Army Counter Terrorism Battalion 71 (CTB-71)	Jordanian Armed Forces	Jordan	1992 (2004)
1st Ktah Khas (KKA)	Afghan National Army	Afghanistan	(2013)
Fight savior	German airforce	Germany	2013
Special Forces Command (KSK)	German army	Germany	1996
Navy Special Forces Command (KSM)	German Navy	Germany	2014
Corps Commando Troepen	Dutch Army	Netherlands	1950
Maderal Oleaga XIX	Spanish Legion	Spain	?
Navy Jegerkommandoen (MJK)	Norwegian Navy	Norway	1951
MEE	Greek Air Force	Greece	1998
Monada Ypovrichion disaster microphone (MYK)	Greek Navy	Greece	1953
New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS)	New Zealand Defense Force	New Zealand	1955
Operational Diving Division	South African Navy	South Africa	1957
PASKAL	Armed Forces of Malaysia	Malaysia	1980
Rannikkojääkärit	Finnish armed forces	Finland	1960
Reparti i Neutralizimit te Elementit te Armatosur (RENEA)	Albanian Armed Forces	Albania	1990
Royal Marine Commandos	Royal Navy	United Kingdom	1946
Sualtı Taaruz / Savunma Kommandoları (SAT / SAS)	Turkish armed forces	Turkey	1963
Särskilda operation groups (SOG)	Swedish Army	Sweden	2011
Schajetet 13	Israeli Navy	Israel	1949
Shqiponjat e Zeza (ShZ)	Albanian Armed Forces	Albania	1995
South African Special Forces Brigade	South African Armed Forces	South Africa	1972
Special Air Service (SAS)	British Army	United Kingdom	1941
Special Boat Service (SBS)	Royal Navy	United Kingdom	194?
Special Boat Squadrons (SBS)	US Navy	United States	1987
Bojna za Specijalna Djelovanja (BSD) / Special Force Battalion	Croatian armed forces	Croatia	2000
Special Forces Brigade	Georgian Army	Georgia	1993
Special Forces Groupe (SFG & DAS)	Belgian Armed Forces ( Para Commando Brigade )	Belgium	1997
Special Forces Groupe (Delta Forces)	Armed Forces of Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1987
Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR)	British Army	United Kingdom	2005
Specialne Sile	Slovenian Armed Forces	Slovenia	?
Specialo Uzdevumu Vieniba (SUV)	Latvian Armed Forces	Latvia	1998
Special Detachment of the Military Police (MP Spez Det)	Swiss Army	Switzerland	2004
Special forces command	Swiss Army	Switzerland	1988
Unidad de Operaciones Especiales (UOE)	Spanish Marines	Spain	1952
Unidad Especial de Buceadores de Combate (UEBC)	Spanish armed forces	Spain	1953
US Army Rangers (75th Rgr Rgt)	US Army	United States	1941
US Army Special Forces Command (Green Berets)	US Army	United States	1952
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC)	US Marine Corps	United States	2006
US Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)	US Navy	United States	1987
US Navy SEALs (USN SEALs)	US Navy	United States	1962
Utti Jaeger Regiment	Finnish Army	Finland	1997
Útvar speciálních operací Vojenské policie	Czech armed forces	Czech Republic	2004
Pennant	FSB (domestic secret service)	Russia	1981

Police, customs and other authorities

Unit name	Category / organization / association	country	Lineup
Macaws	police	Lithuania	?
Argus	Aargau canton police	Switzerland	1973
barracuda	Canton police of Basel-Country	Switzerland	1973
basilisk	Basel-Stadt canton police	Switzerland	?
Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE)	Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1978
Bered cape	Norwegian police	Norway	1976
Brigada Specială de Intervenție a Jandarmeriei	Jandarmeria Română	Romania	2002
COBRAS	Policía Nacional de Honduras	Honduras
Comando de Operaciones Especiales (COPES)	Policía Nacional de Colombia	Colombia	1984
Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais (CORE)	Polícia Civil do Estado do Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1969
Comando de Operações Táticas (COT)	Polícia Federal	Brazil	1988
Dard * 4	Cantonal Police of Vaud	Switzerland
Task Force Cobra (EKO Cobra)	Ministry of Interior / General Directorate for Public Security	Austria	1978
Emergency Response Unit	Garda Síochána	Ireland	1977
gentian	Canton police of Bern	Switzerland	1972
Special units of the federal prison service	FSIN	Russia	1991
Groupe d'Intervention de la Police Nationale d'Haïti (GIPNH)	Police Nationale d'Haïti	Haiti	1996
GRIF	Canton Police of Friborg	Switzerland	1975
Group Especial d'intervenció (GEI)	Mossos d'Esquadra	Spain	1991
Group Especial de Operaciones (GEO)	Cuerpo Nacional de Policía	Spain	1978
Anti-Terrorism Brigade (BAT)	Tunisian National Police	Tunisia	1977
Grupo de Operaciones Policiales Especiales (GOPE)	Carabineros de Chile	Argentina	1979
Grupo Especial de Operaciones Federales (GEOF)	Federal Police (Policía Federal Argentina)	Argentina	1994
GSG 9 of the Federal Police	Federal Police	Germany	1972
Hostage Rescue Team (HRT)	Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)	United States	1983
JAMAM	Israeli border police	Israel	1974
jumbo	police	Switzerland	?
Judicial Guard Task Force (JEG)	Justice Guard	Austria	1997
Comandos Jungla	Policía Nacional de Colombia	Colombia	1989
KNP SWAT	National Police Agency	Republic of Korea	?
Korean Coast Guard Special Operation Unit	Korean Coast Guard	Republic of Korea	2002
K commands	Estonian police	Estonia	1991
lynx	Lucerne police	Switzerland	1986
Mobile Task Force (MEK)	State Police / State Criminal Police Offices (LKA) and Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)	Germany	1974
Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza (NOCS)	Polizia di Stato	Italy	1978
Observation units customs (OEZ)	Federal Customs Administration	Germany	1989
OMON	MWD	Russia	1979
Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK)	police	Malaysia	1997
Polis Özel Harekat	police	Turkey	1983
Protiv Teroristička Jedinica	police	Serbia	2003
Precision Rifle Command (PSK)	State Police	Germany	1974
Research Assistance Intervention Dissuasion (RAID)	Police national	France	1985
SIPA Special Support Unit	SIPA	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2005
Special Action Force (SAF)	Philippine National Police	Philippines	1984
SOBT : Special unit for the fight against terror	Police / gendarmerie	Bulgaria	?
Skupiny Operativniho Nasazeni (SON)	Customs (Celní správa České republiky)	Czech Republic	2017
Special Unit for Observation (SEO)	Ministry of Interior / General Directorate for Public Security	Austria	1998
Special Team 6	United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo	United Nations	1999
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)	police	United States	1972
Special Task Force	South African Police Service	South Africa	1976
Specijalna Antiteroristicka Jedinica	police	Serbia	1978
Special Task Force (SEK)	State Police	Germany	1972
Scorpio intervention unit	City Police Zurich	Switzerland	?
SUAT	Policía Nacional del Perú	Peru	1988
TIGRE	Polícia Civil do Paraná	Brazil	1990
TIGRES	no	Honduras	2014
Tigris	Federal criminal police	Switzerland	2003
Unidad Especial de Apoyo (UEA)	Fuerza Pública	Costa Rica	?
Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI)	Direccion de Inteligencia y Seguridad Nacional	Costa Rica	1982
Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI)	Guardia Civil	Spain	1978
Unité Speciale de la Police (USP)	Police Grand Ducale	Luxembourg	2000
Útvar osobitného určenia (UOU)	police	Slovakia	?
Útvar rychlého nasazení (URNA)	police	Czech Republic	1981
Víkingasveitin	police	Iceland	1982
Jandarma Özel Harekat	Jandarma	Turkey	1991
Jandarma Özel Asayiş Komutanlığı	Jandarma	Turkey	1991
WEGA (WEGA)	police	Austria	1955
Central Customs Support Group (ZUZ)	Federal Customs Administration	Germany	1995

Intelligence service

Unit name	Category / organization / association	country	Lineup
Brigada Antiteroristă	Serviciul român de informații (SRI) / Domestic Intelligence Service	Romania	1977
Counter Terror Center	Georgian Ministry of the Interior (Intelligence Service, Anti-Terrorism Unit)	Georgia	1991
Sajeret Matkal	Agaf HaModi'in (AMAN) / Military Intelligence	Israel	1964
Service action	Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE) / Foreign intelligence service	France	1946
Special Activities Division	Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) / Foreign Intelligence Service	United States	1995
Spetsnaz	Glawnoje Raswedywatelnoje Uprawlenije (GRU) / Military Intelligence Service	Russia	1950
Special Group	Research and Analysis Wing (Foreign Intelligence Service)	India	1981

Special forces decommissioned

Selection of police, military and other units:

Unit name	Category / organization / association	country	Lineup	resolution
9th People's Police Company	Barracked units of the MdI	GDR	1980	1990
14th Intelligence Company	British Army	United Kingdom	1970	2005
AGM / S , working group of the minister "military-operational special tasks"	Ministry for State Security (MfS)	GDR	?	1989
Brandenburg	Wehrmacht	German Empire	1939	1945
Crvene Beretke	Armed Forces of Yugoslavia / Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro	1996	2003
Operations department crane	police	Austria	1980	2002
Task forces of the security police and the SD	Main Office of the Security Police , Reichsführer SS Security Service	German Empire	1939	1945
Paratrooper Companies B1 (Command)	German army	Germany	1990	1996
Tele scout ( tele spying company 200 )	German army	Germany	1962	2015
Combat Swimmer Command 18 (KSK-18)	People's Navy	GDR	1958	1989
Main Department XXII	Ministry for State Security (MfS)	GDR	Late 1960s	1989
Berkut	police	Ukraine	1992	2014
Combat Squadron 200	air force	German Empire	1939	1945
Long Range Desert Group	British Army	United Kingdom	1940	1943
Air Storm Regiment 40	National Peoples Army	GDR	1960	1990
Panteri	Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina	Republic of Serbian Krajina	1990	199?
Särskilda inhämtningsgruppen (SIG)	Swedish Army	Sweden	2007	2011
Särskilda Skyddsgruppen (SSG)	Swedish Army	Sweden	1994	2011
Sivi Vukovi	Armed Forces of Yugoslavia	BR Yugoslavia	1992	1995
Škorpioni	Armed Forces of Yugoslavia	BR Yugoslavia	1995	1999
Special Operations Executive (SOE)	MI6	United Kingdom	1940	1946
SS commando Otto Skorzeny	Armed SS	German Empire	1944	1945
SS special unit Dirlewanger	SS	German Empire	1940	1945
star	City Police Bern	Switzerland	1975	2007
Underwater Demolition Team (UDT)	US Navy	United States	1942	1983
Customs support groups (UGZ)	Federal Customs Administration	Germany	2003	2007
US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance	US Marine Corps	United States	1954	2006
Jechida 101	Israel Defense Forces	Israel	1953	1954
Erillinen Pataljoona 4	Finnish Army	Finland	1943	1944

See also

• List of Israeli special forces

Web links

Commons : Special forces  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ […] 1996 he reorganized the Special Forces and other Elite Units into the Special Operations Command […] , hyperstealth.com , accessed on July 24, 2008