Military of Swaziland

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search 
Lua error in Module:Infobox at line 235: malformed pattern (missing ']').

The Military of Swaziland (Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force) is used primarily during domestic protests, with some border and customs duties; the force has never been involved in a foreign conflict.[2] The army has struggled with high rates of HIV infection. Since measures were put in place the rate is dropping.[3]

The USDF replaced the Royal Swaziland Defence Force, which was created in 1973 to replace the role of the British Army following independence in 1968.

The King is the Commander-in-Chief of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF), and the substantive Minister of the Ministry of Defence.[4] However, he delegates the responsibilities of the day-to-day activities of the executive arm of the government.[5]

There is a Defence Council, which is responsible for inter alia advising the King on all matters pertaining to the USDF.[5] The USDF is commanded by Major General Stanley Dlamini; the deputy commander is Brigadier General Patrick Motsa,[6] and the formation commander is Brigadier General Jeffry S. Tshabalala.[7]

Equipment

Swaziland Army officers.

Armoured Personnel Carriers

Vehicle Country of origin Type Versions In service Notes
RG-31 Nyala  South Africa Armoured vehicles Mk5E 7[8] 7 delivered in the 1990s

Weapons

Weapon Country of origin Type Versions In service Notes
Armalite AR-18[9]  United States Assault rifle AR-180 Unknown
IMI Galil[10]  Israel Assault rifle Unknown Unknown
SIG SG 540[10]   Switzerland Assault rifle Unknown Unknown
FN FAL[10]  Belgium Battle rifle Unknown Unknown
Sterling submachine gun[10]  United Kingdom Submachine gun Unknown Unknown
Uzi[10]  Israel Submachine gun Unknown Unknown
FN MAG[11][10]  Belgium General-purpose machine gun Unknown Unknown Unknown

Branches

Air Force

An IAI Arava of the Swazi military air wing at Pretoria AFB Waterkloof (October 1995). This airframe was written off in the 2004 accident.

Swaziland also maintains a relatively small air wing, part of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF).[12] The air wing is mainly used for transporting the King as well as cargo, and personnel; surveying land with search and rescue functions, and mobilizing in case of a national emergency.[13]

Both Arava 201 have crashed; the first was on a demo flight in the 1980s, leaving both pilots dead.[14] The second was lost in 2004, after bad weather caused the pilots to miss the runway and crash into a sugar cane field. Although no injuries were reported, the incident left the air force temporarily crippled.[2]

Aircraft Country of origin Type Versions In service Notes
IAI Arava  Israel Cargo plane IAI 202 0[15] 2 delivered, one crashed in the 1980s, and the other in 2004
Canadair Global Express  Canada Passenger plane BD-700-1A10 1[16] 1 delivered, currently used as a troop transport
Cessna 337 Super Skymaster  United States Passenger plane 1[16] 1 delivered, currently used as a medical transport
Learjet 35  United States Passenger plane 1[17] 1 delivered, currently used as a troop transport
Piper PA-28 Cherokee  United States Passenger plane PA-28-140 1[16] 1 delivered, currently used for land surveying
McDonnell Douglas MD-87  United States Passenger plane DC-87 1[18] 1 delivered, currently used by government officials
Aérospatiale Alouette III  France Utility helicopter SA-316B 3[8] 3 donated to Swaziland in 2000[19]

Army

The army, called the Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF), is the main component of Swaziland's military.[20]

Facilities

  • Nsingizini Army Barracks
  • Mbuluzi Barracks
  • Mdzimba Mountain Barracks
  • Phocweni Barracks
  • Etjeni Barracks
  • Zombodze Barracks

Units

  • Ludlukhala Regiment
  • Lindimpi Regiment (watchman/guard)
  • Gcina Regiment

Navy

Due to Swaziland being landlocked, the country does not maintain a navy.[20]

Commanders

Source

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2010 edition".

Notes

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

Bibliography

  • Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35th edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.


Cite error: <ref> tags exist for a group named "note", but no corresponding <references group="note"/> tag was found, or a closing </ref> is missing

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Bishop, Chris. Guns in Combat. Chartwell Books, Inc (1998). ISBN 0-7858-0844-2.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/EVOLUTCHAP10.PDF
  22. ↑ https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/EVOLUTCHAP10.PDF
  23. ↑ https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/EVOLUTCHAP10.PDF
  24. ↑ https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/EVOLUTCHAP10.PDF
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Military_of_Swaziland&oldid=18096"