The armies in south-east Asia are all infantry-dominated ground forces. It does make sense in BD terrain, since the armored warfare friendly terrain is at certain places only. The good thing is that BD Army is standing at a much better stance than Pakistan Army in East-Pakistan (number of troops, equipment, command and control). There was only 1 Infantry Division (14th Infantry Division) permanently placed in East Pakistan. The reinforcements were under-strength 9th and 16th Infantry Divisions while the diluted civil troops formed 36th and 39th Infantry Divisions which were mainly HQ's rather than a fighting force. On paper those were 5 Infantry Divisions, but in reality many battalions having majority Bengalis had deserted and fought against Pakistan Army.
BD Army has 10 x Infantry Divisions in place (correct me please if wrong), 2 of these IDs have Armored Brigades and 1 of them has a Mechanized Brigade. Since armor and mechanized forces are mainly used for conducting offensive operations, therefore the offensive capability is not that strong. The pride of the place is MBT-2000, similar to Al-Khalid MBT of Pakistan Army, rest are upgraded T-69. Not sure if upgraded T-59 are in service. There is only one SP Artillery Regiment (Nora B-52 wheeled SP) to support armored operations, unless PLZ-45 is also in service. There are few MLRS regiments, but in towed artillery there is no modern piece. There isn't any 155 mm artillery towed gun (correct me if wrong). Considering the terrain, BD Army has wheeled APC's such as BTR-series with amphibious capability. An amphibious Tank, could probably be trialed to check its suitability in BD terrain. There are FM-90 regiments which are wheeled and can assist armor operations for providing AD support. There is a Commando Brigade, which is capable of Para and SF ops. This is a must in all modern Armies.
There is an absence of a dedicated gunship, which is a major drawback for BD Army. Gunships not only blunt armor attacks, they are extremely capable in COIN ops as well. Since the country is prone to flooding which could hinder operations on the ground, fire power from the air becomes necessary. I reckon Mi-17 is used as a makeshift gunship.
There is a Marine academy in place, but are there any formations like Marine Infantry or Army covers that spectrum ? since Bangladesh offers good terrain for amphibious Ops. The SEAL equivalent SWADS is in place with history from SSG (N), the frog-men course qualified defectors who sabotaged PN ships in 1971 war.
I reckon Bangladesh Military could form world's best Amphibious warfare school and invite militaries of other countries to train with them.
