Zambia Defence Force
Index
1. Order of battle
2. Overview
3. Defence economics
4. State of military forces
5. Country threat report
6. External deployments
1. Order of Battle
| Total force strength | Army: Active 13 500 Reserve 3000 Air Force: 1600 Navy: Paramilitary: 3000 |
|
| Army | ||
| Armour | 16: Type-59 8: T-54/55 20: PT-76 14: Ratel |
|
| Reconnaissance | 70: BRDM-1/BRDM-2 APC 23: Ratel-20 13: BTR-60 20: BTR-70 24: Ferret 1: Rhino |
|
| Towed artillery | 18: 105 mm Model 56 pack howitzer 25: 122 mm D-30 18: 130 mm M-46 35: 76 mm M1942 |
|
| Multiple Rocket Launcher | 30: 122 mm BM-21 | |
| Mortar | 55: 81 mm 24: 82 mm 12: 120 mm |
|
| Anti-armour | 9: K11 Malyutka (AT-3 Sagger) 12: 57 mm M18 12: 75 mm M20 12: 84 mm Carl Gustav |
|
| Air defence gun | 50: 20 mm M-55 (triple) 40: 37 mm M-1939 30: 57 mm S-60 16: 85 mm KS-12 |
|
| Air defence missile | 9: K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) | |
| Structure | 1: Armoured Regiment ( 1 tank battalion,1 armed reconnaissance regiment) 6: Light Infantry battalion 1: Artillery regiment (2 Fire Direction Artillery Batallion, 1 Multiple Rocket Launchers battalion 1: Engineers Regiment 1: Commando battalion (special forces) |
|
| Air Force | ||
| Combat aircraft | 10: MiG-21MF Fishbed 2: MiG-21U Mongol A |
|
| Trainer aircraft | 15: K-8 Karakourm 10: MB-326GB 10: MFI-15 safari 6: SF-260TW |
|
| Transport aircraft | 5: Do-28 2: MA-60 4: Y-12 (II) 5: Y-12 (IV) 5: Y-12E |
|
| VI Paircraft | 1: CL-604 1: HS-748 |
|
| Transport helicopter | 1: AW139 4: Mi-17 Hip H 10: Bell 205 (UH-1H Iroquois/AB-205) 3: Bell 212 5: Bell 47G 7: AS365/AS565 Panther |
2. Overview
Head of State and Government: Edgar Lungu
Defence Minister: Richwell Siamune
Chief of Defence Staff: Lt Gen Paul Mihova
Chief of Staff of the Army: Lt Gen Paul Mihova
Chief of Staff of the Air Force: Lt Gen Eric Chamese
Member of: UN, AU, Commonwealth, SADC, G-77 etc.
3. Defence economics
Military expenditure (ME) as percentage of GDP (2004-2013)
Military expenditure per US$ Mil (2000-2013)
Military expenditure (ME) percentage growth (2000-2013)
4. State of military forces
The primary responsibilities of the Zambian military are ensuring border security and territorial integrity. The country has a commitment to international peacekeeping, specifically on the African continent. Zambia has seen a gradual increase in military expenditure but its armed forces continue to be hampered by obsolete and outdated equipment along with maintaining ageing weapons systems.
As Zambia is a landlocked nation the country has no navy, however it does have a limited number of patrol boats which ensure security on the country’s rivers. Zambia’s air force also has a limited capacity due to its small size. The country does contribute forces to peacekeeping missions and is an active participant in the Southern African Development Community and African Union.
One of the key issues that the country’s military has dealt with over the last few years has been the eradication of landmines left over from Africa freedom fighters that often had bases in the country. 2014 marked 5 years since a landmine incident occurred in the country.
5. Country threat report
| Threat type | Overview |
| External | • Zambia is currently facing no external security threat. |
| Internal | • Zambia is currently facing no internal security threat |
| Regional | • Occasional instability to the north in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the only major regional threat to Zambia |
| Political | • Zambia is considered to be politically stable along with having a relatively efficient and transparent government |
| Economic | • Zambia’s main economic activity has always been copper mining which is where the country generates most of its wealth. It has numerous contracts with China in this regard. |
6. Major external deployments
| Operation | Country | Personnel/assets |
| UNOCI | Ivory Coast | Troops: 2 |
| MUNUSCO | Democratic Republic of Congo | Troops: 20 |
| UNAMID | Sudan/Darfur | Police: 41 Troops: 18 |
| UNISFA | Sudan/Abyei region | Troops: 3 |
| UNMIL | Liberia | Police: 16 Troops: 3 |
| UNMISS | South Sudan | Police: 30 Troops: 7 |
Contact
Ministry of Defence
PO Box RW 17X, Lusaka
(Telephone: 251-211, 254-667; Fax: 254-670, 221-339, 253-875)
