The Zambian Air Force (ZAF) is the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and the air operations element of the

Zambian Defence Force The Zambian Defence Force is the military of Zambia. It consists of the Zambian Army, the Zambian Air Force, and the Zambia National Service. The defence forces were formed at Zambian independence on 24 October 1964, from constituent units of the ...

. Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, the former Northern Rhodesia Air Force was renamed as the Zambian Air Force. The primary missions of the Air Force are to defend Zambia's borders and protect its

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...

. In addition, it provides various forms of air support to other government departments. It also flies reconnaissance, trooping and transport missions for the police and airlifts medical supplies and personnel to inaccessible areas. Finally, the organisation provides emergency transport whenever needed.

History

Prior to the demise of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

, military air operations in the then

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

protectorate of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

were provided by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, and then the

Royal Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...

. The Northern Rhodesia Air Force was established on 1 March 1964, primarily operating in a

liaison Liaison means communication between two or more groups, or co-operation or working together. Liaison or liaisons may refer to: General usage * Affair, an unfaithful sexual relationship * Collaboration * Co-operation Arts and entertainment * Li ...

and

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

role. It consisted of two squadrons: * No. 1 Squadron NRAF operated four

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

s as well as two

Percival Pembroke The Percival Pembroke is a British high-wing twin-engined light transport aircraft built by the Percival Aircraft Company, later Hunting Percival. Development The Pembroke was a development of the Percival Prince civil transport. It had a ...

s. * No. 2 Squadron NRAF operated eight

De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used ...

s in a liaison role. On 24 October 1964, on the date of the establishment of the independent Republic of Zambia, the name of the Northern Rhodesia Air Force was subsequently changed to Zambian Air Force. The early years of the ZAF saw continued close cooperation with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as a supplier of aircraft, and recruiting British officers still was a standard practice. Thanks to deliveries of six de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks and other equipment, the Flying Training School was formed. These were followed by five DHC-4A Caribous. Starting in 1966, moving away from the British became a priority, and the ZAF started favouring the purchase of Italian and Yugoslavian aircraft. In this period, deliveries of Agusta-Bell AB.205s allowed for the formation of the ZAF's first helicopter squadron. Other aircraft acquired from Italy included

SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (now Leonardo SF-260) is an Italian light aircraft which has been commonly marketed as a military trainer and aerobatics aircraft. The SF.260 was designed by Italian aircraft designer Stelio Frati, while production wo ...

s and Aermacchi MB-326GB light attack aircraft. Soko J-21 Jastrebs and

Soko G-2 Galeb The Soko G-2 Galeb ( en, Seagull) is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav single engine, two-seater jet trainer and light ground-attack aircraft. The G-2 was developed during the 1950s by the Aeronautical Technical Institute at Ž ...

s were delivered by Yugoslavia. In the late 1970s, relations with China increased in importance. In this period, 12 Shenyang F-5s and FT-5s were delivered, as well as 12

Shenyang F-6 The Shenyang J-6 ( Chinese: 歼-6; designated F-6 for export versions; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. Design and ...

s. In September 1980, the USSR started the deliveries of at least 16 MiG-21bis fighters and two MiG-21UM trainers.

Equipment

Few details are available on force deployment, but combat elements are understood to be located at

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

(K-8), Mbala (F-6) and

Mumbwa Mumbwa is a town in the Central Province of Zambia, lying on the M9 Road. Its district covers the western part of the Central Province bordering Kaoma and Western Province to the west, Namwala and Southern Province to the south, Lusaka and Lus ...

(MiG-21), with the small fleet of transport aircraft and utility helicopters also reportedly stationed at

. Zambia Air Force's JL-10 are equipped with

PESA The Pesa is a river in Tuscany, central Italy. It has a length of 53 km, and, after crossing the provinces of Siena and Florence, flows into the Arno River near Montelupo Fiorentino Montelupo Fiorentino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the ...

fire control radar along with wingtip rails for

PL-5 The PL-5 (霹雳-5) air-to-air missile (PL stands for Pi Li, "Thunderbolt" in Chinese, the generic designation for all PRC air-to-air missiles) is a short-range, Infrared homing missile used by Chinese fighters. It is based on AA-2 Atoll technolog ...

air-to-air missiles. A 23mm gun pod can be mounted on the centreline. Four

hardpoints A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on th ...

allow for various

ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unite ...

, including 250 and 500kg bombs, HF-18 57mm rocket pods, LS-6 guided bombs or the TL-10/YJ-9E air-to-surface missile.

Current inventory

Zambian AF Yarbin Y-12 AF215 (8409115700)

Zambian Air Force Hongdu K-8 at AAD 2000

Air defence systems

Commands

Commands are typically under the leadership of an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) who holds a rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. * Strike Command * Training Command * Tactical Air Mobility Command * Logistics Command * Northern Air Defence Command * Central Air Defence Command

Formations

*No. 65 Wing "''Preamonitus Preamonitus'' " *No. 71 Wing "''Defending with valor''"

Flying units

* No. 1 Squadron "''With excellence''" * No. 8 Squadron "''Ready to Move''" * No. 10 Squadron "''On eagle wings, we lift''" * No. 11 Squadron "''Warrior spirit''" * No. 14 Squadron "''Strike Command''" * No. 21 Squadron "''Fighting vipers''" * No. 22 Squadron "''Anytime Anywhere''" * No. 33 Squadron "''Service above self''" * No. 43 Squadron "''Poised and ready to strike''"

Training units

* Centre for Advanced learning "''Learning for proficiency''" * Zambia Air Force Academy "To learn to defend our country" * Technical Training School "''Strive for excellency''" * Ground training School "''Knowledge Efficiency''" * Flying Training School "''Nihil Nisi Optima''" * Air Defence School "''Excellence through knowledge''"

Leadership

Commanders

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Authority control Air forces by country

Air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Military units and formations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Zambia Military aviation in Africa