| Unit Name: | Botswana Defence Force Air Wing |
| Country: |  Botswana |
| Type: | Air force |
| Role: | Aerial warfare |
| Size: | 5,000 personnel |
| Command Structure: | Botswana Defence Force |
| Garrison: | Gaborone |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Commander1: | President Mokgweetsi Masisi |
| Commander1 Label: | Commander-in-Chief |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Roundel |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Fin flash |
| Aircraft Helicopter: | Bell 412SP, AS 350 Ecureuil |
| Aircraft Recon: | Elbit Hermes 450, IAI Silver Arrow 180 |
| Aircraft Trainer: | Pilatus PC-7 Mk II |
| Aircraft Transport: | C-130 Hercules, Beechcraft Super King Air, Britten-Norman Defender, CASA C-212 Aviocar, CASA CN-235, Cessna O-2 Skymaster, Bombardier Global Express |
The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm is the air force of the Botswana Defence Force. The Air Arm was formed in 1977 and squadrons are designated with a Z, meaning "squadron".
The Air Wing was formed in 1977 and is organisationally part of the Botswana Defence Force.[1]
All squadrons are designated with a Z, which stands for "squadron".[2] The main base is near Molepolole and was built by mostly foreign contractors between 1992 and 1996.[3] Other airports used are Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and Francistown International Airport.
The backbone of the Air Wing consists of a squadron of former Canadian Canadair 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 BAC 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 Defenders, CASA C-212 Aviocars, CASA CN-235s and Lockheed C-130B Hercules. The latest addition to the transport fleet was a former U.S. Air Force C-130H 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; 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.[4]
Botswana is also believed to operate Elbit Systems Silver Arrow[5] and Elbit Hermes 450 UAVs.[6]
Maparangwane Air Base is the only full air base in Botswana. Sir Seretse Khama International Airport is a civilian airport that hosts the VIP jets and Francistown Airport is a joint civilian/military airfield with ownership by the BDF since 2011.[11]
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.[12] [13]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | ||||||
| Canadair CF-5 | Canada | fighter | 11[14] | license-built variant of the Northrop F-5 | ||
| Transport | ||||||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | transport | C-130B/H | 4[15] | ||
| CASA C212 | Spain | transport | 3 | STOL capable aircraft | ||
| CASA/IPTN CN-235 | Spain / Indonesia | transport | 2 | |||
| Beechcraft Super King Air | United States | transport | 200 | 1 | ||
| Britten-Norman BN-2 | United Kingdom | utility | 1 | |||
| Dornier 328 | Germany | Transport | 1 | |||
| Bombardier Global Express | Canada | Global 5000 | 1[16] | |||
| Helicopter | ||||||
| Bell 412 | United States | utility | 6 | |||
| Eurocopter AS350 | France | utility / liaison | 10 | |||
| Trainer aircraft | ||||||
| Canadair CF-5 | Canada | conversion trainer | CF-5D[17] | 4 | license-built variant of the Northrop F-5 | |
| Pilatus PC-7 | Switzerland | trainer | Mk II | 5 | ||
Previous aircraft operated by the Air Force were the Gulfstream IV, Cessna 150, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, Scottish Aviation Bulldog, and Short Skyvan.[18]
The Botswana Defence Force Air Wing has been considering a replacement for the BF-5 since 2013, due to the fact that the Canadair CF-5s are old, built in the 1970s, and are increasingly hard to maintain and to find spare parts for them.[19] A report in 2013 by the then the head of the BDF’s air arm, Major General Odirile Mashinyana, recognized the need to replace the aircraft, but also advised that upgrading the BF-5s would allow time to save funds for a well chosen successor.[20] Since that time, the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle,[21] used versions of the F-16, and the Saab Gripen were all considered.[22] The most recent, and most likely, potential replacement is the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited new HAL Tejas fighter.[23]
See main article: Military ranks of Botswana.
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.