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 ...

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

and the air operations element of the Zambian Defence Force. 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 th ...

. 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 British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the B ...

, military air operations in the then British protectorate of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesi ...

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) an ...

, and then the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. The Northern Rhodesia Air Force was established on 1 March 1964, primarily operating in a liaison 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, pipelin ...

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

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

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 f ...

s in a liaison role. On 24 October 1964, on the date of the establishment of the independent

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

, 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 ...

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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 wor ...

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 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 Žarkovo as a replacement for the Lockhe ...

s were delivered by Yugoslavia. In the late 1970s, relations with China increased in importance. In this period, 12

Shenyang F-5 The Shenyang J-5 ( Chinese: 歼-5) ( NATO reporting name ''Fresco'') is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5 and was originally designa ...

s and FT-5s were delivered, as well as 12 Shenyang F-6s. In September 1980, the USSR started the deliveries of at least 16

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

bis 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 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 about 3.3 millio ...

(K-8), Mbala (F-6) and Mumbwa (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 The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important rive ...

fire control radar along with wingtip rails for PL-5 air-to-air missiles. A 23mm

gun pod A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns, autocannons, revolver cannons, or rotary cannons and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns. Descriptio ...

can be mounted on the centreline. Four hardpoints 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 Uni ...

, 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 appointe ...

. * 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 ...

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