Botswana Defence Force Air Wing The Botswana Defence Force Air Wing is the air arm of the Botswana Defence Force of Botswana in southern Africa . Overview . The Air Wing was formed in 1977 and is organisationally part of the Botswana Defence Force . All squadrons are designated with a Z , which is used as a designation for " squadron " . The main base is near Molepolole and was built by mostly foreign contractors between 1992 and 1996 . The base is a multi - stage project that included runways , taxiways , extensive shelter and ordnance storage facilities , a headquarters facility and a large complex of living quarters and support buildings . Sometimes referred to as the " Eagle " project , the base has received continual improvements since its inception . Other airports used are Sir Seretse Khama International Airport at Gaborone and Francistown . The airfield near Maun is used as a forward operating location by propeller aircraft but remains unusable for its fighter squadron due to the length of the runway . The backbone of the Air Wing consists of a squadron of former Canadian CF - 116s which are locally designated as BF - 5s . Thirteen ex - Canadian CF - 116s ( ten single - seater CF - 5As and three trainer CF - 5Bs ) were ordered in 1996 to replace the Strikemasters , with another three single - seaters and two dual - seaters delivered in 2000 . The aircraft were re - designated OJ - 1 through 16 . For transport , the Air Wing uses Britten - Norman Defender s , CASA C - 212 Aviocar s , CASA CN - 235 s and C - 130B Hercules . The latest addition to the transport fleet was an ex - AMARC C - 130 Hercules to complement the two existing aircraft . A combination of Bell 412EP and 412SP helicopters are operated by Z21 and perform a variety of functions , including search and rescue , medivac , anti - poaching and troop / VIP transport . In 1993 , nine ex - US Army / AMARC Cessna O - 2As were delivered for use against poaching . In 2011 , Pilatus Aircraft Ltd announced that the Botswana Defence Force had selected the PC - 7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft to replace their Pilatus PC - 7 fleet which has been in service since 1990 . The contract value is approximately 40 million Swiss francs to procure a fleet of five PC - 7 MkII turboprop trainer aircraft , with ground - based training system including computer based training , spares , support equipment , as well as pilot and technician conversion training elements . The contract was signed in Gaborone on 13 April 2011 . Botswana is also believed to operate Elbit Systems Silver Arrow and Elbit Hermes 450 UAVs . Aircraft inventory . As of 2011 , the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing aircraft inventory was : The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm has lost at least two of its original 16 BF - 5 aircraft . One aircraft was lost as a result of a gear - up landing and subsequent fire , and another was lost as a result of a crash during a practice flight . Both aircraft were single - seaters . Neither aircraft has been replaced , bringing the total BF - 5 aircraft in inventory to 14 . Organization . Maparangwane Air Base and Francistown are the only full airbases in Botswana , Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is a civilian airport and Francistown Airport is a joint civilian / military airfield with ownership by the BDF since 2011 . Air defence command and control system . In 2005 Botswana Defence Force ( BDF ) awarded the Spanish company Indra a €7 . 1 million contract for the development and implementation of a full air defence command and control system . The project included the development and implementation of an operational control centre , composed of a total of nine air traffic tracking and control posts to process and concentrate the information regarding the country ' s air space being provided by air surveillance radars , radio communication links with the airships , and air traffic management civil systems .