Historically, Ethiopia was heavily built on military and saw decisive invasions against external powers. Despite modern weapons equipped with assistance of European countries such as Portugal, Russia, France and Britain, the Ethiopian army largely relied on feudal system, so its army nearly consisted of peasant militia. The Ethiopian National Defense Force is directed by Ministry of Defense. Other military branches include ground forces, air force and formerly naval force. Since 1996, landlocked Ethiopia has had no navy but in 2018 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on state TV: "We built one of the strongest ground and air forces in Africa... we should build our naval force capacity in the future."