Tanzania People ' s Defence Force The Tanzania People ’ s Defence Force ( TPDF ) are the armed forces of Tanzania They were set up in September 1964 . From its inception , it was ingrained in the troops that they were a people ’ s force under civilian control . They were always reminded of their difference from the colonial armed forces . Unlike some of its neighbors , Tanzania has never suffered a coup d ' état or civil war . The TPDF was given a very clear mission : to defend Tanzania and everything Tanzanian , especially the people and their political ideology . Tanzanian citizens are able to volunteer for military service from 15 years of age , and 18 years of age for compulsory military service upon graduation from secondary school . Conscript service obligation was 2 years as of 2004 . History . After an aborted mutiny in 1964 , the army was disbanded and fresh recruits were sought within the Tanganyika African National Union youth wing as a source . For the first few years of the TPDF , the army was even smaller than the 2 , 000 strong Tanganyika Rifles , the air force was minuscule , and no navy had yet been formed . However the army was four battalions strong by 1967 . From 1964 to 1974 , the TPDF was commanded by Marisho S . H . Sarakikya , trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , who was promoted from lieutenant to brigadier in 1964 and became the force ' s first commander . In 1972 , the International Institute for Strategic Studies listed the army with 10 , 000 personnel , four infantry battalions , 20 T - 59 , 14 Chinese T - 62 light tanks , some BTR - 40 and BTR - 152 , Soviet field artillery and Chinese mortars . ' Spares [ were ] short and not all equipment was serviceable . ' ( IISS 1972 - 73 , p . 40 ) In 1992 , the IISS listed the army with 45 , 000 personnel ( some 20 , 000 conscripts ) , 3 division headquarters , 8 infantry brigades , one tank brigade , two field artillery battalions , two Anti - aircraft artillery battalions ( 6 batteries ) , two mortar , two anti - tank battalions , one engineer regiment ( battalion sized ) , and one Surface to air missile battalion with SA - 3 and SA - 6 . Equipment included 30 Chinese Type 59 and 32 T - 54 / 55 main battle tank s . In 2007 Tanzania pledged forces for the SADC Brigade of the African Standby Force . Tanzanian Army . , the army is gradually modernising and restructuring . Much of the inventory is in storage or unreliable . Current senior officers include : Air Force Command . The current Commander of Air Force Command : is Maj Gen Ulomi . A few of the Tanzanian air wing ' s transport remain serviceable . However , its Shenyang F - 5 s , and Chengdu F - 7 s are reported to fly rarely because of airworthiness problems . Tanzania ' s long coastline means that transports are also used for patrol flights . Contrary to what is usually reported , Tanzania never purchased any J - 7Is from China . Instead , the Jeshi La Wananchi La Tanzania ( Tanzanian People ' s Defence Force Air Wing , TPDF / AW ) was given 14 MiG - 21MFs and two MiG - 21Us by the USSR in 1974 . Many of these were lost in different accidents due to the poor training , and two were said to have been lost when their pilots defected . Nevertheless , the few surviving examples took part in the Tanzania - Uganda War , in 1978 - 1979 , when they saw much action , even if one was shot down in a case of friendly fire ( it was lost to SA - 7s fired by Tanzanian troops ) . The Tanzanian Army captured seven MiG - 21MFs and one MiG - 21U trainer from the Ugandan Air Force , as well as a considerable amount of spare parts . All of these were flown out to Mwanza AB , to enter service with the TPDF / AW . In 1998 , Tanzania purchased four additional MiG - 21MFs from the Ukraine , but these were reportedly in a very poor shape , and not used very often . Meanwhile , in 1980 , an order for 10 F - 7Bs and two TF - 7s was issued to China , and in 1997 also two F - 7Ns were purchased from Iran , together with four ex - Iraqi Air Force transports of an unknown type . Today , no Russian - supplied MiG - 21s remain in service with the TPDF / AW , and only three or four F - 7s remain operational . The TPDF / AW MiG - 21MFs are now confirmed to have carried serials - in black or green - underneath the cockpit , but no details about these are known . Naval Command . The navy operates 7 fast attack craft and 12 patrol boats . The current Commander of the Naval Command is Rear Admiral ( Maj Gen ) SS Omar . United Nations missions . As of 30 June 2013 , the army is involved in the following United Nations peacekeeping missions :