Mozambique Defence Armed Forces

File:Mozambique army personnel.jpg

Mozambican soldiers

The Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (Template:Langx) or FADM are the national armed forces of Mozambique. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces and three branches of service: Army, Air Force and Navy.

The FADM were formed in mid August 1994, by the integration of the Forças Armadas de Moçambique/FPLM with the military wing of RENAMO, following the end of the civil war.

History

Coelho et al write: "Independence in June 1975 was preceded by a nine-month transition period in which Frelimo took control of a transitional cabinet where ..it held six of the nine ministries."Template:Sfn The previous Forças Populares de Libertação de Moçambique (FPLM), the armed wing of FRELIMO, became the Forças Armadas de Moçambique but retained the FPLM title, becoming "FAM/FPLM". From 1975 to the successful conclusions of the Rome negotiations in 1992, former liberation war leader Alberto Joaquim Chipande served as Minister of National Defence.Template:Sfn

Under the previous FAM, in 1982, ten provincial semi-autonomous military commands were created; the provincial commanders also acted as second in commands of the provincial government. Coelho et al write:Template:Sfn

"the 1st Brigade and the 6th Tank Brigade were located in Maputo; the 2nd Brigade was in Mapai and, together with 8th Brigade based in Chokwe, assured protection of the south; the 3rd Brigade was in Chimoio and the 5th in Beira; the 4th Brigade was placed in Tete, and the 7th in Cuamba, assuring a military presence in Niassa, Cabo Delgado, Zambezia and Nampula, and particularly in the Nacala corridor.."

Throughout the 1980s the FRELIMO government and its armed forces, the Forças Armadas de Moçambique/FPLM, fought the rebel Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO), which received support by South Africa. The Mozambican Civil War only ended in 1992.

The Mozambique Defence Armed Forces were formed in mid-August 1994 after peace negotiations in Rome had produced the General Peace Agreement (GPA, AGP in Portuguese). The new armed forces were formed by integrating those soldiers of the former government Forças Armadas de Moçambique/FPLM and those among the RENAMO rebels who wished to stay in uniform.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They were formed through a commission, the Comissão Conjunta para a Formação das Forças Armadas de Defesa e Segurança de Moçambique (CCFADM), chaired by the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ).<ref>'Final Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Mozambique,' S/1994/1449, 23 December 1994</ref>

Two generals were appointed to lead the new forces, one from FRELIMO, Lieutenant General Lagos Lidimo, who was named Chief of the Defence Force and Major General Mateus Ngonhamo from RENAMO as Vice-Chief of the Defence Force. The former Chief of the Army of the Forças Armadas de Moçambique, Lieutenant General Antonio Hama Thai, was retired.Template:Citation needed

The first three infantry battalions were stationed at Chokwe, Cuamba, and Quelimane.<ref>Richard Synge, Mozambique: UN Peacekeeping in Action, 1992-94, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, D.C., 1997, p.105</ref>

On 20 March 2008, Reuters reported that President Guebuza had dismissed the Chief and Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Lagos Lidimo (FRELIMO) and Lieutenant General Mateus Ngonhamo (RENAMO), replacing them with Brigadier General Paulino Macaringue as Chief of Defence Force and Major General Olímpio Cambora as Vice-Chief of Defence Force.<ref>Reuters, Mozambique leader Guebuza sacks defence chiefs Template:Webarchive, 2008</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filipe Nyussi took office as Minister of Defense on 27 March 2008, succeeding Tobias Joaquim Dai.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nyussi's appointment came almost exactly one year after a fire and resulting explosions of munitions at the Malhazine armoury in Maputo killed more than 100 people and destroyed 14,000 homes. A government-appointed investigative commission concluded that negligence played a role in the disaster, and Dai "was blamed by many for failing to act on time to prevent the loss of life".<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Although no official reason was given for Dai's removal, it may have been a "delayed reaction" to the Malhazine disaster.<ref name="Guebuza">Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2010 it was announced that "the People's Republic of China donated to the FADM material for agriculture worth 4 million euros, including trucks, tractors, agricultural implements, mowers and motorbikes in the framework of bilateral cooperation in the military. Under a protocol of cooperation in the military field, the Government of China will also provide support to the Ministry of Defence of Mozambique with about 1 million euros for the areas of training and logistics. The protocol for granting aid to the Armed Forces for the Defence of Mozambique (FADM) was signed by Defense Minister of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, and the charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Maputo, Lee Tongli."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Mozambique has also been involved in many peacekeeping operations in Burundi (232 personnel),<ref>Helmoed-Romer Heitman, 'Burundi mission at full strength,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 29 October 2003, 16.</ref> Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor and Sudan. They have also actively participated in joint military operations such Blue Hungwe in Zimbabwe in 1997 and Blue Crane in South Africa in 1999.Template:Sfn

Land Forces

File:FADM Training Officer.jpeg

A Mozambique army officer during Exercise SHARED ACCORD 2010 with the United States

The Mozambican Army was formed in 1976 from three conventional battalions, two of which were trained in Tanzania and a third of which was trained in Zambia.Template:Sfn Army officer candidates were initially trained in Maputo by Chinese military instructors.Template:Sfn In March 1977, following Mozambique's Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union, officer candidates became eligible for training in various Warsaw Pact member states.Template:Sfn The Soviet military mission in Mozambique assisted in raising a new army composed of five infantry brigades and an armored brigade.Template:Sfn At the height of the civil war, this was gradually increased to eight infantry brigades, an armored brigade, and a counter-insurgency brigadeTemplate:Sfn modeled after the Zimbabwean 5th Brigade.<ref name=DPRK>Template:Cite book</ref>

The preexisting FAM was abolished after the end of the civil war under the auspices of the Joint Commission for the Formation of the Mozambican Defence Force (CCFADM), which included advisers from Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom.Template:Sfn The CCFADM recommended that former army personnel and an equal number of demobilised RENAMO insurgents be integrated into a single force numbering about 30,000.Template:Sfn Due to logistics problems and budgetary constraints, however, the army only numbered about 12,195 in 1995.Template:Sfn Force levels rarely fluctuated between 1995 and the mid-2000s due to the army's limited resources and low budget priority.Template:Sfn

In 2016, the Mozambican Army consisted of 10,000 troops organised into three special forces battalions, seven light infantry battalions, two engineer battalions, two artillery battalions, and a single logistics battalion.<ref name="IISS2016">Template:Cite book</ref>

As of 2017, the serving chief of the army was Major General Eugènio Dias Da Silva.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Equipment

Between 1977 and 1989, the Mozambican Army was lavishly supplied with Soviet weapons, as well as a Soviet-supervised technical programme to oversee their logistics needs and maintenance.<ref name=Howe>Template:Cite book</ref> Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, along with the resulting departure of Soviet technical staff, much of this equipment was rendered inoperable.<ref name=Howe/> The bulk of the army's hardware remained vested in this ageing and increasingly obsolescent Soviet equipment throughout the 2000s, and serviceability rates have remained low.<ref name="IISS2016"/> In 2016, less than 10% of the army's artillery and armoured vehicles were operational.<ref name="IISS2016"/>

Small arms

Name	Image	Caliber	Type	Origin	Notes
Škorpion<ref name="Bonn"/>	File:Skorpion PICT0105.jpg	.32 ACP	Submachine gun	Template:Flag
Rifles
SKS<ref name="Bonn"/>	File:Simonov-SKS-45.JPG	7.62×39mm	Semi-automatic rifle	Template:Flag
AKM<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:AKM automatkarbin Ryssland - 7,62x39mm - Armémuseum rightside noBG.png	7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Template:Flag
PM md. 63<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:PMmd.1963.jpg	7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Template:Flag
Vz. 58<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:Sa 58-JH01 noBG.png	7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Template:Flag
SA80Template:Sfn	File:New SA80 A3 Assault Rifle MOD 45163882.jpg	5.56×45mm	Bullpup Assault rifle	Template:Flag	Sold as part of British military aid.
FN FAL<ref name="Bonn"/>	File:FN-FAL belgian.jpeg	7.62×51mm	Battle rifle	Template:Flag
Sniper rifles
Mosin–Nagant<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:Mosin-Nagant m91-30 sniper noBG.png	7.62×54mmR	Bolt-action Sniper rifle	Template:Flag
Machine guns
RPK<ref name="Bonn"/>		7.62×39mm	Squad automatic weapon	Template:Flag
PKM<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:7,62 KK PKM Helsinki 2012 no background.JPG	7.62×54mmR	General-purpose machine gun	Template:Flag
DShK<ref name="Bonn">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	File:12,7-мм станковый пулемёт ДШК образца 1938 года.jpg	12.7×108mm	Heavy machine gun	Template:Flag
Rocket propelled grenade launchers
RPG-7<ref name=zaf/>	File:Rpg-7.jpg	40mm	Rocket-propelled grenade	Template:Flag

Anti-tank weapons

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Caliber	Notes
B-10<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:B-10-82mm-recoilles-rifle-batey-haosef-1-1.jpg	Recoilless rifle	Template:Flag	82mm
9M14 Malyutka<ref name="Jane1">Template:Cite book</ref>	File:Malyutka.JPG	Anti-tank weapon	Template:Flag
9K111 Fagot<ref name="Jane1"/>	File:9K111 Fagot (12-05-2021) 01.jpg	Anti-tank weapon	Template:Flag		10 in service.

Mortars

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
PM-43	File:120 mm regimental mortar M1943.jpg	Mortar	Template:Flag	12<ref name="Military Balance">Template:Cite journal</ref>
BM-37	File:Zagan 82 mm moździerz wz 37.jpg	Mortar	Template:Flag	40<ref name="Military Balance" />

Tanks

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
T-54	File:Т-54 (Верхняя Пышма).jpg	Medium tank	Template:Flag	60<ref name="SIPRI"/>

Scout cars

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
BRDM-2	File:BRDM-2 (1964) owned by James Stewart pic7.JPG	Amphibious armored scout car	Template:Flag	28<ref name=zaf/>
BRDM-1	File:Vladivostok. The historian-mechanic museum Automotoantiquity («Automotostarina»). BRDM-1 DSC01298 2200.jpg	Amphibious armored scout car	Template:Flag	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Infantry fighting vehicles

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
BMP-1	File:Bulgarian bmp-1.jpg	Infantry fighting vehicle	Template:Flag	40<ref name="IISS2016" /><ref name=zaf/>

Armored personnel carriers

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
BTR-152	File:Schützenpanzerwagen SPW 152 W1.JPG	Armored personnel carrier	Template:Flag	100<ref name=zaf/><ref name="IISS2016" />
BTR-60	File:BTR-60 pic-004.JPG	Armored personnel carrier	Template:Flag	160<ref name=zaf/><ref name="IISS2016" />
WZ-551	File:Sri Lanka Military 0233.jpg	Armored personnel carrier	Template:Flag	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
AT105 Saxon	File:Saxon Armoured Vehicle MOD 45143139.jpg	Armored personnel carrier	Template:Flag	25<ref name="IISS2016" />
Marauder	File:Army2016demo-111.jpg	Armored personnel carrier	Template:Flag	5<ref name="sipri.org"/>
Casspir	File:Mechem Casspir Mk II (9686200019).jpg	MRAP	Template:Flag	15<ref name="SIPRI"/>

Artillery

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
Rocket artillery
BM-21 Grad	File:BM-21 Grad Armed Forces of Ukraine.jpg	Multiple rocket launcher	Template:Flag	12<ref name="Military Balance" />
Field artillery
BS-3	File:BS-3-batey-haosef-1.jpg	Field gun	Template:Flag	20<ref name=zaf/><ref name="IISS2016" />
Type 56	File:85-mm-Divisionskanone D-44.JPG	Field gun	Template:Flag Template:Flag	12<ref name="Military Balance" />
M-46	File:Iraqi Type 59 130 mm field gun.JPEG	Field gun	Template:Flag	6<ref name="Military Balance" />
M-30	File:VDVHistorymuseum-21.jpg	Howitzer	Template:Flag	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
D-1	File:Д1 Краснослободск.jpg	Howitzer	Template:Flag	12<ref name="Military Balance" />
D-30	File:Д-30А с учебного полигона Алматинского Института Сухопутных Войск.JPG	Howitzer	Template:Flag	12<ref name=zaf/>
M101	File:JGSDF 105mm Howitzer M2A1(Type 58 105mm Howitzer) left front view at Camp Nihonbara October 1, 2017.jpg	Howitzer	Template:Flag	12Template:Sfn
D-48	File:85-мм противотанковая пушка Д-48 (8).jpg	Anti-tank gun	Template:Flag	6<ref name="Military Balance" />

Air defence systems

Name	Image	Type	Origin	Quantity	Status	Notes
ZU-23-2	File:MsSVU39.jpg	Autocannon	Template:Flag	120<ref name=zaf/><ref name="IISS2016" />
61-K	File:61-K anti-aircraft gun, 2007.jpg	Autocannon	Template:Flag	90<ref name="IISS2016" />		10 in storage.
ZSU-57-2	File:ZSU-57-2 (Serb).JPG	SPAAG	Template:Flag	20<ref name=zaf/><ref name="IISS2016" />
S-125 Neva<ref name="Keegan">Template:Cite book</ref>	File:ЗРК С-125М с ЗУР 5В27Д - Парка Патриот 01.jpg	Surface-to-air missile	Template:Flag	103<ref name="SIPRI"/>
9K32 Strela-2	File:SA-7.jpg	MANPADS	Template:Flag	20<ref name=zaf/>		250 in storage.<ref name=Solomon>Template:Cite book</ref>

Air Force

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Navy

There are about 200 personnel in the navy.Template:Sfn In September 2004 it was reported that the South African Navy was to donate two of its Namacurra class harbour patrol boat to the Mozambique Navy. The boats were refitted by the naval dockyard at Simon's Town and equipped with outboard motors and navigation equipment donated by the French Navy. The French Navy Durance class command and replenishment oiler Marne (A360) was to deliver the boats to Maputo en route to its ALINDIEN operational area in the Indian Ocean after a refit in Cape Town.<ref>Helmoed-Romer Heitman, 'SAN patrol boats gifted to Mozambique,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 1 September 2004, p.17</ref>

In 2013, the French shipyard CMN Group confirmed a major order by Mozambique, including 6 patrol vessels & interceptors (HSI32).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 29 July 2019 in the first ever visit by an Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh donated 2 L&T class Fast interceptor boats to the Navy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A team from Indian Coast Guard will also be stationed to train the crew, support for maintenance and operation of the two boats.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In January 2022, two Solas Marine fast interceptor boat were transferred from Indian Navy to Mozambique on board Template:Ship. Mozambique Navy personnel were given training to operate the new interceptor boats.<ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 8 November 2024, the Indian Navy gifted another two Fast Interceptor Crafts of the same class to Mozambique. They were delivered via Template:Ship. The Fast Interceptor Craft are capable of reaching speeds of Template:Convert and equipped with machine guns and bullet-resistant cabins. They will enhance Mozambique's capability to address maritime threats.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Equipment

• PCI-class inshore patrol boat (3 ordered, non-operational)
• 2 × L&T-class fast interceptor craft (donated by India)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• 4 × Solas Marine fast interceptor boat (donated by India)<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" />

• MNS Pebane (P-001) ex-Spanish navy Dragonera (P-32) (85 tons, 32 meters) transferred after refit 2012 from the Spanish Navy<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> for a symbolic price (€100).

• 20 - 25 DV 15 interceptors. An unknown number of units in active service.<ref name=":03">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• 3 × HSI32 Interceptors <ref name=":03" />
• 3 × Ocean Eagle 43 OPV. Three were acquired as part of the CMN deal. Currently all three are based at Pemba.<ref name=":03" />

Decommissioned ships

• 2x Yevgenya-class minesweeper. Decommissioned in 1993<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Conscription in Mozambique

References

Works cited

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• Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". Flight International, Vol. 182 No. 5370. pp. 40–64. {{#if:0015-3710|Template:Catalog lookup link{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}|Template:Error-small}}
• Template:Cite book
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Further reading

• Protocol on the Formation of the FADM Template:Webarchive, Rome 1992
• Cameron R. Hume, Ending Mozambique's War: The Role of Mediation and Good Offices, U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington DC, 1994
• Lundin, Irae B, Martinho Chachiua, Anthonio Gaspar, Habiba Guebuzua, and Guilherme Mbilana (2000). Reducing Costs through an Expensive Exercise: The Impact of Demobilization in Mozambique, in Kees Kingma (ed.) Demobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Development and Security Impacts, Basingstoke, UK: MacMillan, 173-212
• Anica Lala, Security sector reform in post-conflict environments: An analysis of coherence and sequencing in Mozambique. Examining Peacebuilding Challenges of Defence, Police and Justice Reforms in a Neo-Liberal Era, 2014 Bradford thesis
• Anica Lala, Security and Democracy in Southern Africa: Mozambique, 2007
• Paulino Macaringue, "Civil-Military Relations in Post-Cold War Mozambique," Template:Webarchive Ourselves to Know, Institute for Security Studies, 2002.
• Martin Rupiya, 'Historical Context: War and Peace in Mozambique,' in Jeremy Armon, Dylan Henrickson and Alex Vines, eds, The Mozambican Peace Process in Perspective, London: Conciliation Resources Accord Series, 1998
• Richard Synge, Mozambique: UN Peacekeeping in Action, 1992–94, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, D.C., 1997 - includes details on formation of FADM, but has multiple mistakes, including concluding from mid-mission rather than final ONUMOZ report that new army had five (rather than final seven) battalions.
• Eric T. Young, The Development of the FADM in Mozambique: Internal and External Dynamics, African Security Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1996
• [1] Template:Webarchive
• Joao Porto, Mozambique contributes to the African Union Mission in Burundi, April 2003

External links

• United States Marine Corps, Brotherhood of Arms Template:Webarchive- story of one Mozambiqican officer's career
• https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1976MAPUTO00888_b.html Template:Webarchive - details in 1976
• "7000 ghost soldiers found. Soldiers have been paid in cash, and in March actually had to show up to collect. According to Carta de Moçambique (4, 6 May) 7000 ghost soldiers were found. "Among the irregularities detected in recent months is the growing number of children of former combatants, generals, colonels and politicians, who swell the ranks of the FADM and receive salaries without ever having been in military training, let alone setting foot in a military unit," noted Carta. And many salaries of fake soldier were being channelled to senior officials. The scheme also includes the distribution of food, alcoholic beverage, fuel vouchers and rent subsidy. The military will now switch to electronic payments." Joseph Hanlon, Mozambique News Reports and Clippings 596, 16 May 2022, accessible via https://www.open.ac.uk/technology/mozambique/news-reports-clippings-2022 Template:Webarchive.