Air Force of Zimbabwe The Air Force of Zimbabwe ( AFZ ) is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces . It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980 . The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998 – 2001 . History . Formation and early days . The Rhodesian Air Force ( RhAF ) was reconstituted into the Air Force of Zimbabwe in 1980 . The RhAF ' s 12 Hunter FGA . MK 9s were joined by other aircraft in 1981 , 1984 and in 1987 , from Kenya and the British Royal Air Force . In 1981 , the Air Force of Zimbabwe ordered 8 eight Hawk MK60s , which were delivered in July 1982 . On the night of 25 July 1982 a sabotage attack on Thornhill airbase damaged four Hawks , nine Hunters and a single FTB - 337G . One Hawk was written off , another was repaired on site and the other two were returned to BAE for a rebuild . A follow - up order for five additional Hawks was completed in September 1992 . Pakistan was known to have provided an immense amount of extended moral and material support to the Air Force , by providing armed machinery and helping rebuild the Gweru airbase which was destroyed during the liberation struggle . [ 2 ] [ 3 ] In the defence sector , the Pakistan Air Force has also played a role in the establishment of the Zimbabwe Air Force , The first supersonic interceptor operated by the air force was the F7 Airguard , 12 of the IIN and II variants were delivered in 1986 . In 1993 , a pair of O - 2As were delivered for anti - poaching patrols over Zimbabwe ' s national parks . Two Cougar helicopters were reported to be in use in 1997 . One was delivered in April 1995 and the second in September 1996 . They were used for VIP duties . Second Congo war 1998 – 2003 . The Second Congo War , also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa , began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( formerly called Zaire ) , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power ; although hostilities are currently ongoing . Zimbabwe ' s well - trained military entered the war as the best equipped side . In mid - August 1998 , the AFZ deployed five or six F - 7s , most of the C . 212s , at least four Cessna 337G Lynxs , and a dozen or more helicopters , including Alouettes , Bell 412s and Mi - 35s , to Congo . All aircraft were flown by Zimbabwean pilots . After receiving an urgent shipment of spare Hawks , the AFZ apparently deployed some of them as well . At the start of the war , the Hawks had been reported to be in unflyable condition . Due to these circumstances the AFZ contingent in the Congo in August and September 1998 consisted of flights from No . 3 , No . 4 , No . 5 , No . 7 and No . 8 Squadrons , while a flight from No . 2 Squadron was to follow later . The No . 2 AFZ Squadron deployed 12 BAe Hawk T . Mk . 60 / 60As , which were used as strike - fighters and equipped with AIM - 9B Sidewinder AAMs , Mk . 82 - series bombs , and Hunting BL . 755 cluster - bomber units ( CBUs ) , as well as launchers for unguided rockets . Only six or seven F - 7s From No . 5 squadron were fully mission - capable . Prior to the war in Congo , Zimbabwe was in the middle of negotiations with China for 12 additional F - 7s . For transport , the AFZ had the No . 3 Squadron , flying 12 CASA C - 212 Aviocar and six Britten - Norman BN - 2A Islander light transports which had already seen heavy service , and were to see even more of this in Congo . Transport and liaison were also duties of the No . 7 Squadron , equipped with Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III s ( including ex - Portuguese Air Force - and Romanian IAR - built examples ) , as well as of the No . 8 Squadron , equipped with Agusta - Bell 412SP s which were later armed with rocket launchers for this war . However , the latter unit would soon play a significant role in the war in DRC , as it was only recently equipped with the newest addition to the AFZ : six Mi - 35 helicopters ( including two Mi - 35Ps ) . The first AFZ Mi - 35 - crews were trained at Thornhill AB , in Gweru , by Russian instructors . CO of this unit was Sqn . Ldr . Mukotekwa . The first noted AFZ operation took place on 26 August 1998 , where they destroyed a 5 km armoured column of rebels as they were approaching Kinshasa . After defeating the invaders in Kinshasa , the Zimbabweans , in the belief that Kabila ' s government was already safe , suggested that there was no need to continue the war , and peace should be negotiated . This resulted in the reinforcement of rebel efforts as well as the Rwandans and Uganda ns rushing better - equipped units into the battle . The garrisons in eastern Congo that remained loyal to Kabila fell to rebel attacks . The Ndigili airport , in Kibanseke Province , as well as Kitona , both held by Zimbabwean troops , were attacked simultaneously . In both cases the AFZ responded with fierce air strikes . Rebels claimed that up to 100 civilians were killed by their bombs . A series of fierce battles were fought between 4 and 13 September 1998 , during which the Angolan mechanised forces were finally able to deploy their full firepower . The Chadian contingent was meanwhile deployed in NE Congo , where it participated in re - capture of Lubutu . The AFZ and FAC were active in this area for several days , flying a number of strikes during which cluster - bomb units ( CBUs ) were used . According to government reports 45 rebels were killed and 19 captured in this battle On 13 September , when the Angolans attacked towards Kamina , the Zimbabweans found themselves under fierce attacks by thousands of rebels in the Manono area . It was in this area that the AFZ suffered its first documented loss of this war : on 4 September the Aermacchi SF . 260 flown by Sqn . Ldr . Sharunga crashed in bad weather , killing the pilot . Nine days later an Alouette III helicopter carrying several high - ranking officers , including Col . Kufa and Sqn . Ldr . Vundla , was shot down by rebels in eastern central Congo . Kufa and Vundla were killed , while Flt . Sgt . Sande was captured by RCD . In late October 1998 , the Zimbabweans launched an offensive in SE Congo . The offensive was made possible owing to the deployment of additional foreign troops in Congo , including some 2 , 000 Namibians . This began with a series of air strikes , partially flown by BAe Hawk T . Mk . 60s of the No . 2 Squadron , newly deployed in Congo , and by F - 7s of the No . 5 Squadron . These units first targeted airfields in Gbadolite , Dongo and Gmena , and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in the Kisangani area , on 21 November . On the following day the No . 2 Squadron launched a strike package of six aircraft , armed with Mk . 82 bombs and Matra 155 rocket launchers for unguided rockets calibre 68mm , which reached out far over central Congo . They deployed over Lake Tanganyika and attacked ferries used to transport Burundi troops and supplies into the war in Congo . According to Zimbabwean reports their strike came as a complete surprise . With machine - guns and light infantry weapons as the only means of air defense , six ferries were sunk and 600 Burundi and Rwandan troops killed . In a similar attack , on 7 December 1998 , Zimbabwean planes or helicopters sank two rebel boats on Lake Tanganyika some 40 km north of Moba . In November 1998 , it was reported that a $ 54 million shipment of helicopters , fighters and spotter aircraft had arrived in Zimbabwe to assist in the Democratic Republic of Congo . It is unclear who received the delivered weapons . There were only very few reports about the fighting in the next few days , probably because the Congolese , Zimbabwean and Angolan governments found themselves under heavy pressure from Western powers because of this offensive . The few reports released from sources close to the rebels indicated Zimbabwean and Congolese attacks on Nuyuzu , Kasinge and towards Manono , supported by T - 62 tanks and heavy artillery . According to Zimbabwean reports the Hawks and F - 7s continued their operations and made additional attacks against Kalemi on 24 November , and a new round of strikes against different airfields in eastern Congo two days late . After the attacks the pilots of No . 5 Squadron claimed destruction of an unidentified An - 12 transport on the ground . Current organizational structure . The AFZ is subdivided into the Administration Wing , the Engineering Wing , the Flying Wing , and the Regimental Wing . The Administration Wing supports equipment purchasing , recruitment , staff support , food supplies , and related functions . The Engineering Wing maintains and inspects aircraft and related equipment , and covers the School of Technical Training , a tertiary education institution responsible for training aircraft maintenance engineering technicians . The training institute is the only federation aviation school in Africa . The Flying Wing handles aircrew personnel divided into eight squadrons at three primary bases . It also covers the schools for flying and parachute training . The Regimental Wing covers those squadrons specially selected to guard other AFZ assets , such as personnel and installations . Current Air Force equipment . It is difficult to create a reasonable overview of the Air Force of Zimbabwe aircraft inventory since there are few credible sources of information documenting the subject on the Internet or in the open literature . Whatever sources were available at the time of editing are cited below , but as all sources do not completely agree with each other there may be a margin of error in the following statistics . Future . Zimbabwe has been interested in MiG - 29 s in both the recent & more distant past . A 300 million - plus US $ order for a squadron was placed with Russia in the late 1980s but was cancelled in 1992 . Negotiations to buy 14 MiG - 29SMTs from Russia were held again in 2004 but an order for Chengdu FC - 1 fighters was apparently placed instead . See " The Military Balance " , 2005 to 2009 issues . The Zimbabwe Air Force is also sending its officers to attend PAF Combat Commanders School and Pakistan Army School of Army Air Defence each year for Advanced Training . Twelve CAC FC - 1 Xiaolong aircraft were purchased in late 2004 , and they may be intended to replace the Air Force ' s Chengdu F - 7s . The cost of each new plane was US $ 20Million , and at least six of the jets were expected to be delivered soon after their initial purchase . These new aircraft are multi - role fighters that were jointly developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex ( PAC ) and Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group ( CAC ) for the export market . Rank structure . The AFZ ' s rank structure is similar to the RAF ' s rank structure from where , via the Rhodesian Air Force , its ranks were derived . Officers . In descending order , the AFZ officer ranks are : Airmen . In descending order , the AFZ airman ranks are : Aircraft losses . Exact figures for the Air Force of Zimbabwe ' s aircraft losses have not been publicly published . It is believed four Hawks were lost , three F7s and several helicopters .