Fabian Zimpande "Zakes" Msimang (born 1 September 1960) is a retired South African Air Force officer who served as the Chief of the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. He left South Africa with his family at the age of 6 months and went into exile. He completed his secondary schooling in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 1983 he was sent to Tanzania to assist with the opening of the ANC Development Centre.

Career

He received his flying training at Frunze 1 Central Officers Training Center (now the

Military Institute of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic The Military Institute of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic ( ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын Куралдуу Күчтөрүнүн Аскердик институтунун, russian: Военная институт Воор ...

) - Kirghizstan, in the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

from 1986 to 1991. He graduated from the institution with a diploma in Command & Tactics of Military Aviation. He has been a member of the Umkhonto WeSizwe (MK), the military wing of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

and saw combat in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

in 1986. In 1994, he completed the Air Force Junior Staff Course in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

before integrating into the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the Military, armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the Military branch, armed services. They are in turn a ...

. He was appointed assistant project officer on Project Flange (the acquisition programme of the Agusta A109) in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he also completed the Senior Staff Course at the Italian Air Force War School. On his return from Italy, Msimang was then appointed Officer Commanding of the Helicopter Flying School at

Air Force Base Bloemspruit AFB Bloemspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is co-located with Bloemfontein Airport , Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF. and shares the airfield. The base motto is ''Ex Unite Pax'' ("Peace Through Unity"). T ...

. In 2005, he was appointed officer commanding

and promoted to the rank of colonel. In 2006, he completed the Executive National Security Programme at the

South African National Defence College South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. In June 2007, after a two-and-a-half-year tour as officer commanding Air Force Base Bloemspruit, he was appointed director of helicopter systems and promoted to the rank of brigadier general at the Air Command. In November 2010, he was appointed chief director of air policy and plans and promoted to the rank of major general responsible for Air Force strategy, policies, capabilities and resource allocation. Msimang became the Chief of the Air Force on 1 October 2012. He retired at the end of September 2020.

Aircraft flown

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

Atlas Oryx The Atlas Oryx (named after the Oryx antelope) is a medium-sized utility helicopter ostensibly developed and manufactured by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (now Denel Aeronautics) of South Africa. Its largest operator is the South African Air F ...

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to ...

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been o ...

Awards and decorations

The following have been awarded to Msimang: * * * * * * * *

Proficiency awards

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Msimang, Fabian South African Air Force generals Living people People from Johannesburg 1960 births Chiefs of the South African Air Force South African expatriates in the Soviet Union UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel