Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Zambian Defence Force

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Commander-in-Chief
  
President Edgar Lungu

Military age
  
n/a

Minister of defense
  
Davies Chama

Minister of Defence
  
Davies Chama

Reaching militaryage annually
  
NA (2004 est.)

Zambian Defence Force wwwdefencewebcozaimagesstoriesMUGSHOTSMUGSH

Available formilitary service
  
2,477,494, age 15–49 (2004 est.)

Fit formilitary service
  
1,310,814, age 15–49 (2004 est.)

Similar
  
Botswana Defence Force, Namibian Defence Force, Malawian Defence Force, Eritrean Defence Forces, Djibouti Armed Forces

The Zambian Defence Force consists of the Zambia Army, the Air Force, and Zambian National Service (ZNS). The Zambian Defence Force is designed primarily for internal defence in Zambia. Being a landlocked country, Zambia has no navy.

Contents

Army

The current Army organisation is:

Three infantry brigades -

1 Brigade (Arakan Barracks, Lusaka),

2 Brigade (Kohima Barracks, Chindwin Barracks, Kabwe)

3 Brigade (Tug Argan Barracks, Kalewa Barracks, Ndola)

With the following units:

  • 64 Armoured Regiment (tank). U.S. State Department International Military Education and Training records from FY-2006 indicate a Zambian officer attended from 64 Armoured Regiment at Mikongo Barracks, east Lusaka.
  • 17 Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance)
  • one mechanised battalion
  • six light infantry battalions, titled 1 to 6 Battalions Zambia Regiment
  • three reserve infantry battalions
  • 1 Commando Battalion (special forces), Ndola
  • 48 Marine Unit, Kawambwa, raised July 2015.
  • 10 Medium Regiment, Kalewa Barracks, Ndola (also given as an artillery regiment/brigade of two Fire Direction Artillery Battalions and one Multiple Rocket Launchers battalion)
  • 1 Engineer Regiment, Mufulira
  • 6 Construction Regiment, raised March 2017?
  • Support units (logistics, transport, medical, ordnance, electrical and mechanical engineering)
  • Specialist schools (armour, artillery, engineers and signals)

    • Small Arms

  • RPG-7
  • FN FAL
  • Heckler & Koch G3
  • AKM
  • AK-47
  • Sterling submachine gun
  • DShK
  • PK machine gun

    • Air Force

    The Zambian Air Force is a small air force equipped with Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MFs and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S in addition to a range of transport aircraft and helicopters.

    United Nations Peacekeeping Missions

    Zambia has been an active participant in several UN peacekeeping operations, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Zambian personnel have been fated to be caught up in some of the most dramatic incidents of recent UN Peacekeeping in Africa: witnessing the Kibeho Massacre in Rwanda during April 1995; having large numbers of Zambian peacekeepers taken hostage by rebels in Sierra Leone during 2000; and with troops caught up in fighting between Sudanese and South Sudanese forces in the contested Abyei area during May 2011. Despite these crises Zambian forces have generally performed well and earned a reputation as effective peacekeepers.


    UN missions which have seen the deployment of battalions of Zambian troops include the following.

    UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda), October 1993 – 19 April 1996

    Three Zambian fatalities.

    UNAMSIL (United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone), 22 October 1999 to December 2005

    Thirty-four Zambian fatalities.

  • Zambatt 1, deployed April 2000. Shortly after deployment some 200 Zambian peacekeepers were taken hostage by rebels and some later killed.
  • Zambatt 3 (Lt. Col. MS Sitwala). On 5 January 2002 six personnel were killed and another 12 injured in an accidental explosion while transferring surrendered mortar bombs to storage.
  • Zambatt 4, deployed mid-2002, 830 strong.
  • Zambatt 7 (Col. John Siame) – 821 personnel; deployed February 2004 to … (Note: Sgt [Ms] Megani Forry died of natural causes during deployment, early 2004.

    • UNMIS (United Nations Mission in the Sudan), 24 March 2005 – 9 July 2011

    Three Zambian fatalities.

    Four Zambian peacekeepers were wounded on 10 May 2011, shortly before the independence of South Sudan and before an outbreak of fighting when the Zambians were criticised for not better protecting civilians.

    MINUSCA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic)

  • Zambatt 1, 750 personnel, including 50 Special Forces, deployed 30 April 2015 to April 2016.
  • Zambatt 2, deployed 22 April 2016.

    • References

    Zambian Defence Force Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA