The Angolan Navy ( pt, Marinha de Guerra Angolana) or MGA is the naval branch of the

Angolan Armed Forces The Angolan Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas Angolanas) or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army (), the Angolan Navy () and the National Air Force of Angola (). Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. ...

and is tasked with protecting Angola's 1,600 km long coastline. The Angolan Navy has approximately 1,000 personnel.

History

The Angolan Navy was officially founded on 10 July 1976, though it traces its origins to 11 November 1975 when Angolans took over naval facilities abandoned by the Portuguese Navy. Angolan Navy forces participated in the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

from 1975 until 2002.

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Vice Admiral

Harry B. Harris Jr. Harry Binkley Harris Jr. (born August 4, 1956) is a retired American diplomat and retired U.S. Navy officer. He was the first American of Japanese descent to lead US Pacific Command in the U.S. Navy and was the highest-ranking American of Japanes ...

, then commander of the

US 6th Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

, visited

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

during the 35th anniversary of the MGA on July 9, 2012.

Modernization

Angola's oil wealth is allowing it to modernize its naval forces as most of the existing fleet are Soviet Navy exports from the 1980s. It was reported in 2009 that Angola was hoping to sign a US$800m deal with Germany for 3 new

border protection Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

Fast Attack Craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

, probably Lurssen PV80's. They were still trying to complete the deal in 2011 and there has been no word on it since. In December 2013 it was reported that Angola would be buying a package of old ships from the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

. ''Príncipe de Asturias'' (R11) a small (16,000t) Harrier carrier, to be transferred along with ''Pizarro'' (L42) a ''Newport'' class landing ship, ''Diana'' (F32) a ''Descubierta'' class corvette converted to minesweeper support ship, ''Chilreu'' (P61) lead ship of its class of ocean patrol vessels, and ''Ízaro'' (P27) an ''Anaga'' class patrol ship.

Structure

* Naval War Institute (INSG) *

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

* Naval Specialist School *3 Coastal Surveillance Companies (CRTOC) *1

Naval Infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Unit - 1 Light Amphibious Battalion (4

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

Companies, 1

Naval Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

Unit, 1 Amphibious Operations Unit) *

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, heavy weapons, snipers, boarding units, and an armored section.

Equipment

Surface Vessels

Fast Missile Craft

Small ships or boats designed to fire anti-ship missiles. First used by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, missile-armed FAC's could be used to sink much larger enemy naval ships.

Fast Torpedo Craft

Small ships or boats designed to fire torpedoes. First used in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by both the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

, FAC's could be used to sink much larger enemy naval ships.

Inland/Coastal Patrol Boats

Small border protection craft often used for anti-

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, anti-

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, and border patrolling. May be designed for use on estuaries and rivers (

brown water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings ha ...

) or oceanic (

blue water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

) environments. On 5 September 2014, the Angolan Minister of Defence João Manuel Lourenço and Brazil's Minister of Defence

Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President Lu ...

signed a Memorandum of Understanding as part of Angola's Naval Power Development Program (PRONAVAL). The MOU specifies that Angola will acquire seven Macaé-class patrol vessel, four to be built in Brazil, and three in Angola. The Brazilian

EMGEPRON The Empresa Gerencial de Projetos Navais (EMGEPRON), or "Company for Naval Projects", is a Brazilian state-owned company linked to the Ministry of Defence of Brazil through the Command of the Navy. In addition to project management, the company ...

will have the lead in the project, overseeing the Angolan shipyard and training in addition to overall project management.

Mine Warfare Craft

Small ship designed for either clearing up

minefields A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

or deploying new

Amphibious Vessels

Ship designed to deploy

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

on coasts and beaches during amphibious assault operations. Africa Partnership Station 150306-N-RB579-076

Coastal Defense Equipment

Defensive equipment, both active and passive, used to defend Angola's coasts. # SS-C1 Sepal Radar System.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...

Aircraft designed for

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

s, often involving anti-ship,

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

, and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

duties.

References

{{Authority control Military of Angola Military history of Angola Navies by country 1977 establishments in Angola Military units and formations established in 1977