| Zimbabwe National Army | |
|---|---|
 National Army Flag | |
| Founded | 18 April 1980; 45 years ago (1980-04-18) (as current service) 1898; 128 years ago (1898) (asSouthern Rhodesia Volunteers) |
| Country |  Zimbabwe |
| Type | Army |
| Size | 25,000[1] |
| Part of |  Zimbabwe Defence Forces |
| Motto | "Our swords are the shield of the nation"[2] |
| Colors | Green, Yellow |
| Anniversaries | Defence Forces Day (2nd Tuesday in August)[3] |
| Engagements |
|
| Website | www.zna.gov.zw |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-In-Chief | PresidentEmmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa |
| Commander of the National Army | Lieutenant GeneralAsher Walter Tapfumaneyi |
| Chief of Staff,General Staff | Major GeneralAugustine Chipwere |
| Chief of Staff,Quartermaster Staff | Major GeneralSimo Maseko |
| Notable commanders | |
TheZimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is the primarybranch of theZimbabwe Defence Forces responsible forland-oriented military operations. It is the largest service branch under the ZimbabweanJoint Operations Command (JOC). The modern army has its roots in theRhodesian Army, which was raised between 1963 and 1964 after the breakup of theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.[4] A Joint High Command created in March 1980 to oversee integration of the formerly belligerentRhodesian Security Forces,Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and theZimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) officially established the Zimbabwe National Army in late 1980, nearly a year after the end of theRhodesian Bush War.[5]
The mission statement of the army is "to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests of Zimbabwe and to contribute to international peace and security" a mandate the force has been able live up to in the region.[2] It is considered an integral component of the JOC, and falls under the ultimate authority of thePresident of Zimbabwe. The ZNA is directed by a Chief of the Army, the senior official being an Army Chief of Staff. Zimbabwe's highest ranking army officer as of 29 March 2025 isLt. Gen.Emmanuel Matatu. In 2011,Harare continued to maintain a statutory strength of 40,000 active personnel; actual numbers hover closer to 30,000.[6]
The origins of the Zimbabwe National Army lie in the formation of theSouthern Rhodesia Volunteers in 1898, a mounted corps supported by bicycles, a signal troop, and engineers. Raised by colonial authorities to suppress further uprisings after theSecond Matabele War, it included a "Western division" and an "Eastern division" staffed by European volunteers. Field outings were conducted in concert with theBritish South Africa Police (BSAP).[7] In 1899, theRoyal Rhodesia Regiment was founded, with many recruits coming from the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers.[8]
The majority of the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers were disbanded in 1920 for reasons of cost, the last companies being disbanded in 1926. TheDefence Act of 1927 created a Permanent Force (the Rhodesian Staff Corps) and a Territorial Force as well as national compulsory military training.[9] In 1927, the Rhodesia Regiment was reformed as part of the nation's Territorial Force. The 1st Battalion was formed in Salisbury (Harare) with a detached "B" company inUmtali and the 2nd Battalion inBulawayo with a detached "B" Company inGwelo.[10] Between the World Wars, the Permanent Staff Corps of the Rhodesian Army consisted of only 47 men. TheBritish South Africa Police were trained as both policemen and soldiers until 1954.[11]
By the time Salisbury joined theCentral African Federation there were three battalions.[12] As Southern Rhodesia was the dominant territory in the federation, its officers represented the senior commanders in charge of all federal units. During this period Southern Rhodesians served overseas on active duty for theBritish Empire, most notably inMalaya,Kuwait, andAden.[13]
When the federation was dissolved in 1963, Southern Rhodesia retained the personnel raised in its territory, including the largest proportion of white soldiers – some 3,400 of the 7,000 men who served in the defunct Federal Army.[4] Over objections raised by newly independent African governments inNorthern Rhodesia (Zambia) andNyasaland (Malawi), it also claimed the majority of armoured vehicles and the potent strike aircraft of theRoyal Rhodesian Air Force.[14]
Recruitment and training for an insurgent campaign against the colony's administration by rival African nationalists from theZimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and theZimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) began in 1963, and intensified afterRhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965.[15] TheRhodesian Bush War, which lasted roughly fifteen years until late 1979, resulted in the creation of two major insurgent armies, expansion of theRhodesian Army, and militarisation of local society.[4] By 1980 there were an estimated 150,000 Zimbabweans with military training or experience, access to arms, and allegiance to an established political organisation.[16]Conscription had been introduced in 1955, and the National Service Act in 1976 provided for 12 months of full-time military service regardless of rank. Three-year reservist obligations for white,Coloured, and Asian males also continued.[17] Personnel strength of the regular army peaked at 20,000 active members (half of them whites) and 2,300 with the air force. The paramilitary BSAP had 11,000 police and a reserve of 35,000. These uniform commands and others – including 20,000Security Force Auxiliaries loyal to interim politicians and a 3,500-manGuard Force for securing protected villages – fell under the authority ofCombined Operations (COMOPS), headed byLieutenant-GeneralPeter Walls.[15]
The Zimbabwe National Army was formed in 1980 from elements of theRhodesian Army, integrated to a greater or lesser extent with combatants from theZimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) andZimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA)guerrilla movements (the armed wings of, respectively, theZimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) andZimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).[18]
Following majority rule in April 1980 and the cantonment of the ZANLA and ZIPRA underOperation Midford,British Army trainers (the British Military Advisory and Training Team, BMATT) oversaw the integration of guerrilla fighters into one unified army.[19] Abattalion structure was overlaid on the existingRhodesian Army. For the first year a system was followed where the top-performing candidate became battalion commander. If he or she was from ZANLA, then his or her second-in-command was the top-performing ZIPRA candidate, and vice versa. This ensured a balance between the two movements in the command structure. From early 1981 this system was abandoned in favour of political appointments, and ZANLA/ZANU fighters consequently quickly formed the majority of battalion commanders in the ZNA.
The ZNA was originally formed into fourbrigades, 1 Brigade, Matabeleland, 2 Brigade, Mashonaland, 3 Brigade, Manicaland, and 4 Brigade, Masavingo.[20] These comprised a total of 29 battalions. The brigade support units were composed almost entirely of specialists of the former Rhodesian Army, while unintegrated battalions of theRhodesian African Rifles were assigned to the 1st, 3rd and 4th Brigades. A5th was formed in 1981 and deployed primarily against ex-ZIPRA dissidents until 1987. The unit was later implicated in an extrajudicial purge of suspected dissidents and their supporters, known asGukurahundi.[21][22]
From August 2021, the ZNA is under the command of Lt General David Sigauke, who took over from General Edzai Absolom Chanyuka Chimonyo following the latter's death.
SomeMozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) elements had crossed fromMozambique into Zimbabwe several times, had robbed some shops along the border and had burned down a timber factory. After several meetings with Mozambican officials it was agreed that the ZDF could pursue into Mozambique any RENAMO elements that might have raided Zimbabwe. This was the basis on which the ZDF started planning follow-up operations which took them deep into Mozambique culminating in occupation of former RENAMO bases at Gorongosa.
The first of these Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) follow-up operations was launched fromKatiyo and Aberdeen in northernManicaland, code-namedOperation Lemon. The operation lasted from 5–9 December 1984. It comprised elements of 3 Infantry Brigade, theSpecial Forces of Zimbabwe the1 Parachute Regiment,Zimbabwe Special Air Service (SAS), and was supported by theAir Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). Bad weather conditions and the difficult mountainous terrain reduced the use of aircraft, and all the trooping had to be done by helicopters. The movement of troops on the ground was also difficult. Four contacts were made and two RENAMO bases were destroyed. However, most RENAMO elements in the bases managed to escape and only eight were captured.
The ZDF considered this operation as a major failure and the code word Lemon was co-opted to mean any failure in all subsequent operations. It was further established that there were no other permanent bases in the area, only some advance posts and temporary bases used by RENAMO as launching pads for food raids into Zimbabwe. It was also revealed for the first time that the main RENAMO bases were at Messinse, Chito, Nyazonia, Buetoni, Gorongosa Central Base and Casa Banana.
The report for Operation Lemon was taken seriously by the commanders of the ZDF, and in July 1985 preparations for major offensive operations were started. Rehearsals for aFireforce operation were carried out at Inkomo Barracks nearHarare. Three infantry brigades were mobilised together with theParachute Group, One Commando Battalion and the AFZ. Men and equipment were moved toChimoio in Mozambique, with a Forward Replenishment Point (FRP) being established at Grand Reef nearMutare.
Intelligence sources had indicated that RENAMO's main regional base in Manica province was at Muxamba and that Casa Banana was the national stronghold of RENAMO. Both bases had to be attacked and Muxamba was targeted first, being only 70 kilometres south of Chimoio. The most important consideration however, was the hope that activities around Muxamba might divert RENAMO's attention from monitoring too closely the movement of the three heavily armed Zimbabwean infantry battalions marching from Chimoio towards theGorongosa Mountains.
Muxamba was believed to hold at least 400 RENAMO elements commanded by Major General Mabachi. The attack on Muxamba was launched on 20 August 1985 by elements of 3 Brigade, supported by theParachute Group and the AFZ. The operation went on for four days with minor problems for the ZDF. One helicopter was riddled with small arms fire but managed to return to Chimoio.
Intelligence sources had indicated that Cassa Banana, RENAMO's national headquarters had a strength of 400 elements. However, the organisation maintained a string of other smaller bases along the Gorongosa Mountains, which were considered as part of the main base. This raised the total estimated strength in the area to 1,000 elements. During the night of 27 August 1985, three Zimbabwe infantry battalions were established in their Form Up Points (FUP) with the help of theSAS and Commando elements. At Chimoio a Fireforce was being given final briefing, and five AFZ planes were given orders for a first light take-off for Gorongosa on the morning of 28 August.
Although the RENAMO elements captured at Katiyo had given a grid reference for Cassa Banana, further intelligence had cast some doubt as to which of the several RENAMO bases scattered on all sides of the Gorongosa Mountains was the actual headquarters of RENAMO. It was because of this uncertainty that the Fireforce was divided into three sections each with one helicopter gunship, two transport helicopters and two transport aircraft with paratroopers.
Each Fireforce section was detailed to attack specific suspected RENAMO positions around the Gorongossa Mountains. It was during this three pronged attack that one helicopter flew overhead Cassa Banana airstrip and the pilot noticed a green pickup truck disappearing into some bushes. It was then that the pilot recognised the place as that given at the briefing as Cassa Banana. The jets fromThornhill, which were already in place overhead a predetermined Initial Point (IP), were then talked on to the target, and the raid on Cassa Banana began.
The aircraft attacked the target, knocking out several Anti-Aircraft gun positions. Two helicopter gunships continued to hit suspected strategic positions and managed to flash out several pockets of resistance. A third helicopter was directing the dropping of the first wave of paratroopers. When the paratroopers had entered the base, the infantry battalions, which were close by, were ordered to move in and occupy strategic positions. The Fireforce then moved on to deal with the several pockets of resistance from the smaller RENAMO bases all along the Gorongosa Mountains. It took the whole day to silence all of these pockets of resistance.
There is no official Zimbabwean record of the number of casualties on the first raid on Cassa Banana. However, considering the amount of effort, the numbers of troops involved on both sides, and the time it took to capture the base, there must have been a lot of deaths and injuries on both sides.[23]
This corridor is a tarred 263-kilometre (163 mi) road running from Nyamapanda on the Zimbabwean border through the Mozambican city of Tete to Zobue on the Malawi border. After UDI in 1965, this route carried Rhodesian goods to and from Malawi, which had not applied United Nations sanctions against the Smith regime. After the independence of Mozambique in 1975, the bulk of Malawi's trade with South Africa went through Rhodesia by road via Tete. It was only in 1984 that trade via this route declined because of RENAMO attacks.
It was in the wake of these developments that in June 1984 the governments of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe formed a joint security committee 13. The aim of the committee was to monitor operations on a day-to-day basis and to attempt to remove all security threats along the Tete Corridor. Zimbabwe's First Mechanised Battalion was ordered to move into Mozambique and they established their headquarters in Tete thereby securing the strategic bridge crossing the Zambezi River. In 1985, President Samora Machel of Mozambique formally requested the governments of Tanzania and Zimbabwe to contribute troops for "the restoration of law and order" in Mozambique. This led to the deployment of Tanzanian troops north of the Zambezi river and Zimbabwean troops to the south.
The decision to send Zimbabwean troops to help restore law and order in Mozambique was partly influenced by Zimbabwe's close relationship with the Mozambican government which dates back to FRELIMO's assistance during Zimbabwe's war of liberation. There was also the underlying fact that FRELIMO and ZANU shared a common Marxist ideology of scientific socialism. The South Africa-backed RENAMO professed to be an anti-communist movement, as did Jonas Savimbi's UNITA movement, which was fighting against the Marxist MPLA government of Angola. There was thus an ideological alliance of the Maputo – Harare – Luanda axis, with support for these governments from the Soviet Union. The fact that the United States of America was providing covert and overt support to opposition movements such as UNITA in Angola and RENAMO in Mozambique reflected the extension of the Cold War to Southern Africa.
There were three United Nations Missions to Angola under UNAVEM. UNAVEM I (January 1989 to June 1991) and UNAVEM II (May/June 1991 to February 1995) involved small numbers of unarmed military observers. Brigadier Michael Nyambuya of Zimbabwe was Chief Military Observer of UNAVEM II between December 1992 and July 1993. During UNAVEM III a Zimbabwean battalion was deployed to eastern Angola, based in the town of Saurimo.[24] Nine Zimbabwean peacekeepers died during the UNAVEM deployments.
After several hints,[25][26] some of which the Zimbabwean Government denied, for the first time the ZDF Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, acknowledged ZNA involvement in theAngolan Civil War.[27]
It was reported that Zimbabwe had more than 2,000 combat troops, including 20 military intelligence officers, deployed in Angola whose presence has helped theAngolan Armed Forces to overrunJonas Savimbi's strongholds, according to reports reaching the Zimbabwe Independent.[28]
Zimbabwe deployed a national contingent to UNOSOM II on 15 January 1993. The initial deployment comprised an infantry company group of 163 personnel under Major Vitalis Chigume. By June 1993 the deployment had built up to a full battalion of 939 soldiers. This battalion was rotated every six months until October 1994, when new deployments ceased, and the last Zimbabweans were finally withdrawn in early 1995.[29]
Four Zimbabweans lost their lives during the UNOSOM mission in Somalia.[30] These included Private Themba Moyo, who was killed by local militia in an altercation during August 1994.[29]
In January 2015 a contingent of Zimbabwe Defence Forces and Zimbabwe Republic Police personnel, reportedly including the Commando Anti-Terrorism Unit, were deployed to Equatorial Guinea to provide security and support during the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The deployment followed a bi-lateral agreement between the two countries' heads of state and was code named Restoring African Pride. Equatorial Guinea had agreed to host the prestigious tournament at the last minute after the original host country, Morocco, pulled out.[31]
This initial deployment to Equatorial Guinea was followed from November 2015 by an ongoing training mission.[32][33] When one ZDF training contingent returned to Harare in January 2017, following a year-long deployment to Equatorial Guinea, it was suggested by senior ministers that was "not the end of the mission".[34]
In June 2018, after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had been replaced by PresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa, it was reported that the ZDF training mission to Equatorial Guinea was continuing.[35] A photograph published at the time shows Zimbabwean soldiers wearing AU brassards, suggesting the training mission had African Union endorsement.[36]
Between 13 November and 18 December 2017 the Zimbabwe Defence Forces deployed in a dramatic intervention in domestic politics to force the resignation of long-time President Robert Mugabe. The operation was stated to have the objective of removing criminal elements that had surrounded the President, 'resulting in anxiety and despondency among the public'. This referred to a number of politicians from the ruling ZANU-PF party that supported President Mugabe's wife and seemed intent on manoeuvering her into the presidency once her aging husband could no longer fulfil that role. Senior members of the defence forces and ZANU-PF reportedly saw this group as a threat to their authority and their own plans, and believed the group did not represent the generation that had suffered during the liberation war of 1966−1980. The defence forces arrested several members of the group and, while showing respect to the President, placed Mugabe under effective house arrest until he agreed to resign from the presidency. Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former vice-president and senior ZANU-PF member, was later appointed as president and senior generals were rewarded with promotion or political appointment.[37][38]
The Zimbabwe National Army has eight brigade-sized formations, plus two district commands. These are 1 to 5 Infantry Brigades,Presidential Guard Brigade, Mechanised Brigade and Artillery Brigade, Harare District and Bulawayo District.[39]
One, now dated, web publication gave the infantry brigade organisation as:[49]
These are the Zimbabwe National Army ranks authorised for use today and their equivalentCommonwealth designations. The ranking order is largely based on the British system, with theAir Force of Zimbabwe maintaining separate titles inherited from theRhodesian Air Force.[4]
The ZNA lost many of its best trained and experienced officers in the early 1990s, failing to recruit or instruct enough personnel to make up for the imbalance caused by death, emigration, or retirement.[6] By the outbreak of theSecond Congo War, only a handful of the officer corps had seen action. An interim measure was the rapid promotion of troops from non-combat units, often selected for their political connections rather than leadership competence.[6] Theoretically, promotions continue to be based on the pre-independence system, which dictates officers below the rank oflieutenant colonel pass a proficiency examination to qualify for advancement. In times of downscaling, those with poorer marks must retire or accept an immediatedemotion.[4]
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zimbabwe National Army[70] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second lieutenant | |||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe National Army |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regimental sergeant major | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 2 | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Lance corporal | Private (or equivalent) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At its formation in 1980, the ZNA was overburdened with a surplus of arms due to having inherited the inventories of the former Rhodesian Army as well as the two constituent insurgent factions of thePatriotic Front.[4] Especially problematic was the integration of Soviet and Chinese weapons with the Rhodesian NATO standard arms, which had different gauges and calibers.[4] The Zimbabwean government initially ordered that the guerrillas' Soviet or Chinese arms be placed into storage, hoping to simplify maintenance and logistics by re-issuing only former Rhodesian weapons and ammunition.[4] This decision was later overturned when it became clear that the Rhodesian era weapons were insufficient to equip the ZNA, especially after a significant percentage of its7.62×51mm NATO ammunition stockpiles were destroyed in a sabotage action around 1981.[4] The guerrillas' former arms were brought out of storage and re-issued to individual units, being supplemented by additional supplies of Soviet-style arms from North Korea.[4] Serious logistical difficulties resulted from the use of such a menagerie of disparate equipment within individual battalions, forcing the ZNA to standardize equipment on the battalion and later the brigade level.[4] Unfortunately this resulted in additional problems, such as the use of separate communications equipment in certain brigades which were otherwise incompatible with those of other units.[75]
ThePeople's Republic of China emerged as the ZNA's largest external supplier of arms during the 1980s.[76] Most of the new artillery, tanks, and APCs accepted into service after 1981 were of Chinese origin.[76] Nevertheless, the ZNA continued to look to a number of diverse suppliers to meet its needs, including member states of theEuropean Union and theCommonwealth of Independent States.[76] Domestic production of small arms and ammunition, including multiple rocket launchers, small arms ammunition, artillery shells, and hand grenades, commenced for the ZNA in the mid-1980s throughZimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI).[77]
The operational readiness and serviceability rate of the army's weapons systems began undergoing a decline during theSecond Congo War, due to an inability to source new parts and ammunition at a pace sufficient to keep up with wartime wear.[78] Development loans to the Zimbabwean government by theWorld Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund were suspended when the ZNA was accused of diverting the money into the war effort.[78] The ZNA was also badly affected by a subsequent arms embargo imposed by the EU due to allegations of human rights abuses.[79] One consequence of the embargo was that the ZNA was forced to retire much of its technical equipment, namely radios, of Western origin.[79] The logistics problem was further exacerbated during the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar against major world currencies, which led to further budgetary restraints.[6] Over half the army's tanks and armoured vehicles were rendered unserviceable due to a lack of funds to source spare parts, fuel, or training ammunition.[6] To raise funds, the ZNA was forced to auction off much of its trailers, ammunition trucks, and engineering vehicles.[6] Army ammunition continued to be sourced from ZDI, but the latter suspended operations in 2015 when the ZNA defaulted on its payments.[80]
In February 2017, Zimbabwean officials revealed that the ZNA was heavily in debt with Chinese creditors due to defaulting on payments for Chinese arms.[81] The government granted a number of domestic platinum claims to a Chinese defence contractor,Norinco, to help cover the existing debt.[81]
| Weapon | Type | Origin | Photo | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistols | ||||||
| Browning Hi-Power[82] | Semi-automatic pistol |  Belgium |  | |||
| TT pistol[82] | Semi-automatic pistol |  Soviet Union | .jpg) | |||
| Submachine guns | ||||||
| PPSh-41[83] | Submachine gun | Soviet Union |  | |||
| Sterling[82] | Submachine gun |  United Kingdom |  | |||
| Uzi[82] | Submachine gun |  Israel | Some manufactured under licence.[84] | |||
| Rifles | ||||||
| Type 56 carbine[83] | Semi-automatic rifle |  China |  | |||
| AK-47 | Assault rifle | Soviet Union |  | Standard service rifle of the ZNA.[6] | ||
| AKM[83] | Assault rifle | Soviet Union |  | |||
| Type 56 assault rifle[85] | Assault rifle | China |  | |||
| FN FAL[6] | Battle rifle | Belgium |  | Used by special forces.[6] | ||
| Heckler & Koch G3[83] | Battle rifle |  Germany |  | |||
| Dragunov SVD[86] | Sniper rifle | Soviet Union |  | |||
| Machine guns | ||||||
| RPD[83] | Light machine gun | Soviet Union |  | |||
| RPK[83] | Light machine gun | Soviet Union |  | |||
| FN MAG[83] | General-purpose machine gun | Belgium |  | |||
| Ultimax 100[82] | Squad Automatic Weapon |  Singapore |  | |||
| PK | Medium machine gun | Soviet Union | .png) | Standard squad automatic weapon.[6] | ||
| Browning M2[83] | Heavy machine gun |  United States |  | |||
| SG-43 Goryunov[87] | Medium machine gun | Soviet Union |  | |||
| Weapon | Type | Origin | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-tank | ||||||
| M20 | Recoilless rifle | United States | Superseded theM40 in ZNA service in 1980.[88] | |||
| B-11[89] | Recoilless rifle | Soviet Union | ||||
| Type 69[90] | Rocket-propelled grenade | China | ||||
| RPG-7[90] | Rocket-propelled grenade | Soviet Union | Standard platoon anti-tank weapon.[6] | |||
| HJ-8[6] | Anti-tank guided missile | China | ||||
| Air defence | ||||||
| ZU-23-2 | Anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | 45 in service.[91] | |||
| 61-K | Anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | 39 in service.[91] | |||
| ZPU | Anti-aircraft gun | Soviet Union | 36 ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4 in service.[91] | |||
| 9K38 Igla[83] | Surface-to-air missile | Soviet Union | ||||
| 9K32 Strela-2[90] | Surface-to-air missile | Soviet Union | Up to 200 in storage.[89] | |||
| Artillery | ||||||
| Type 60 | Field gun | China | 18 in service.[89] | |||
| Type 54 | Howitzer | China | 12 in service.[89] | |||
| D-30 | Howitzer | Soviet Union | 4 in service.[91] | |||
| Ordnance QF 25-pounder | Howitzer | United Kingdom | 18 in service.[90] | |||
| BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun | Medium gun | United Kingdom | 8 in service.[90] | |||
| ZiS-3 | Field gun | Soviet Union | 34 in service.[92] Relegated to ceremonial roles.[93] | |||
| Type 63 | Multiple rocket launcher | China / North Korea | 16—18 in service.[91][89] Acquired from North Korea.[4] | |||
| RM-70 | Multiple rocket launcher |  Czechoslovakia | 6 operational;[91] 58 may have once been in service.[76] | |||
| 120-PM-43 | Heavy mortar | Soviet Union | 4 in service.[89] | |||
| 82-BM-37 | Infantry mortar | Soviet Union | 200 in service.[89] | |||
| L16[82] | Infantry mortar | United Kingdom | ||||
| Vehicle | Type | Origin | Number | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks | ||||||
| Type 59 | Main battle tank | China | 30[1] | |||
| Type 69 | Main battle tank | China | 10[89] | |||
| T-54/55 | Main battle tank | Soviet Union | 20 | Status uncertain.[6] | ||
| Armoured cars | ||||||
| EE-9 Cascavel | Armoured car |  Brazil | 80[91] | Refurbished in 2014.[94] | ||
| Eland | Armoured car |  South Africa | 20 in service[95][91] | |||
| Ferret | Scout car | United Kingdom | 15 in service[1] | |||
| Armoured personnel carriers | ||||||
| Type 63 | APC | China | 30 in service[91][95] | |||
| VTT-323 | APC | China | 22 in service[91] | |||
| Type 89 | APC | People's Republic of China | In service as of 2017.[96] | |||
| ACMAT TPK 420 BL | APC |  France | 55 in service[91] | |||
| UR-416 | APC | West Germany /  Rhodesia | 14 in service[92] | Unlicensed variant produced locally.[88] | ||
| EE-11 Urutu | APC |  Brazil | 7 in service[76][97] | |||
| Crocodile | MRAP | Rhodesia | 50–60 in service[95][89] | |||
| Mine Protected Combat Vehicle | MRAP | Rhodesia | In service as of 2017.[96] | |||
| Military light utility vehicles | ||||||
| Dongfeng EQ2050 | Utility vehicle | China | 300 in service[98] | |||
| Mazda T35[79] | Transport truck |  Japan | ||||
| Mazda B1800[79] | Light truck | Japan | ||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
