The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm 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 ...

of the

Botswana Defence Force The Botswana Defence Force (BDF, tn, Sesole Sa Botswana) is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 ...

of Botswana in southern Africa.

Chiefs of the Defence Staff Air Wing

The former heads of the Botswana Armed Forces Air Wing were referred to while in office as either General Officers Commanding or Chiefs of the Defence Staff.

Overview

The Air Wing was formed in 1960 and is organisationally part of the

. All squadrons are designated with a Z, which is used as a designation for "squadron". The main base is near

Molepolole Molepolole is a large village in Kweneng District, Botswana. The people who reside in Molepolole are called Bakwena, who are one of the eight major tribes in Botswana. The Bakwena Kgosi (Chief), Sebele I was among the three chiefs who went to ...

and was built by mostly foreign contractors between 1992 and 1996. The base is a multi-stage project that included runways, taxiways, extensive shelter and ordnance storage facilities, a headquarters facility and a large complex of living quarters and support buildings. Sometimes referred to as the "Eagle" project, the base has received continual improvements since its inception. Other airports used are

Sir Seretse Khama International Airport Sir Seretse Khama International Airport , located north of downtown Gaborone, is the main international airport of the capital city of Botswana. The airport is named after Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana. It was opened in 198 ...

at Gaborone and

Francistown International Airport Phillip Gaonwe Matante International Airport , also known as Francistown International Airport, serves Francistown, Botswana. The airport is on the western edge of the city. Facilities The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old termina ...

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

. The backbone of the Air Wing consists of a squadron of former Canadian CF-116s which are locally designated as BF-5s. Thirteen ex-Canadian CF-116s (ten single-seater CF-5As and three trainer CF-5Bs) were ordered in 1996 to replace the Strikemasters, with another three single-seaters and two dual-seaters delivered in 2000. The aircraft were re-designated OJ-1 through 16. For transport, the Air Wing uses

Britten-Norman Defender The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft, manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. It is the military version of the Britten-Norman Islander, developed for roles such as utility transport, casualty eva ...

s, CASA C-212 Aviocars,

CASA CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

s and C-130B Hercules. The latest addition to the transport fleet was an ex-

AMARC The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (french: link=no, Association Mondiale Des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires, AMARC) is the international umbrella organization of community radio broadcasters founded in 1983, with nearly 3,000 m ...

C-130 Hercules to complement the two existing aircraft. A combination of Bell 412EP and 412SP helicopters are operated by Z21 and perform a variety of functions; search and rescue, medivac, anti-poaching and troop/VIP transport. In 1993, nine ex-

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Cessna O-2As were delivered for use against poaching. In 2011, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd announced that the Botswana Defence Force had selected the PC-7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft to replace their Pilatus PC-7 fleet which has been in service since 1990. The contract value is approximately 40 million Swiss francs to procure a fleet of five PC-7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft, with ground-based training system including computer-based training, spares, support equipment, as well as pilot and technician conversion training elements. The contract was signed in Gaborone on 13 April 2011. Botswana is also believed to operate Elbit Systems Silver Arrow and

Elbit Hermes 450 The Elbit Hermes 450 is an Israeli medium-sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical long endurance missions. It has an endurance of over 20 hours, with a primary mission of reconnaissance, surveillance and communicat ...

UAVs.

Accidents and incidents

*On 18 April 2002, an F-5 jet crashed at Thebephatshwa Air Base during a routine for the Botswana defence force day. The pilot was killed. *On 20 October 2011, two PC-7s of the Botswana Defence Force were involved in a midair collision over Letlhakeng 100 km west of Gaborone. Two of the four aircrew involved were killed in the accident. *On 27 June 2014, The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm lost an AS350 Ecureuil helicopter which crashed during a routine training at Thebephatshwa Air Base. Two pilots who were on board the aircraft, were taken to hospital in a stable condition. *On 9 February 2017, a BDF CASA C-212 crashed near Thebephatshwa village minutes after leaving the Thebephatshwa Air Base, killing all 3 people on board. The aircraft was on its way to the capital,

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

, which is 90 km away. *On 27 April 2018, a day before BDF Day, a BF-5 fighter aircraft crashed at the Gaborone Golf Club during aerobatic rehearsals. The pilot was the only recorded casualty.

Organisation

*Z1 Transport Squadron – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *Z3 Transport (Liaison) Squadron – O-2A, Bat Hawk –

Francistown Airport Phillip Gaonwe Matante International Airport , also known as Francistown International Airport, serves Francistown, Botswana. The airport is on the western edge of the city. Facilities The new terminal building opened in 2011 and the old termina ...

*Z7 Training Squadron – PC-7MkII, King Air 200 – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *Z10 Transport Squadron – C-130, C-212 and CN-235 – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *Z12 Transport Squadron –

*Z21 Transport/Helicopter Squadron – Bell 412 – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *Z23 Transport/Helicopter Squadron – AS-350 – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *Z28 Fighter Squadron – CF-5 – Maparangwane Air Base (Thebephatshwa/Molepolole) *VIP Flight Squadron – G-IV –

Air Bases

Maparangwane Air Base is the only full air base in Botswana. Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is a civilian airport that hosts the VIP jets and Francistown Airport is a joint civilian/military airfield with ownership by the BDF since 2011.

Air defence command and control system

In 2005 Botswana Defence Force (BDF) awarded the Spanish company Indra a €7.1 million contract for the development and implementation of a full air defence command and control system. The project included the development and implementation of an operational control centre, composed of a total of nine air traffic tracking and control posts to process and concentrate the information regarding the country's air space being provided by air surveillance radars, radio communication links with the airships, and air traffic management civil systems.

Aircraft

Current inventory

Retired aircraft

Previous aircraft operated by the Air Force were the

Gulfstream IV The Gulfstream IV (or G-IV or GIV) and derivatives are a family of twinjet aircraft, mainly for private or business use. They were designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United State ...

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander,

Scottish Aviation Bulldog The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat) training aircraft designed by Beagle Aircraft as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at Shoreham Airport. The first order for ...

, and Short Skyvans.

Notes

Citations

References

* * {{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1977 National air wings

Air Wing In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group ( ...

Aviation in Botswana 1977 in Botswana Military aviation in Africa