Timor Leste Defence Force
The Timor Leste Defence Force is the military of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and comprises two infantry battalions, small naval and air components and several supporting units.
FALINTIL veterans
F-FDTL soldiers standing in formation
The gate to the F-FDTL Nicolau Lobato Training Centre near Metinaro
East Timorese soldiers during a parade in 2019
The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin party of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to Fretilin's political conflict with the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT).
Falintil veterans in East Timor, 2005
Former resistance fighter and Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmão in 2006 with Condoleezza Rice