The Botswana Defence Force Air Wing is the air arm

Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

 of the Botswana Defence Force

Botswana Defence Force

The Botswana Defence Force is the military of Botswana. It was formed in 1977 and has approximately 9,000 members. The commander is Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire. The commander in chief is the President of Botswana...

 of the country of Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 in southern Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

Overview

The Air Wing was formed in 1977 and is organisationally part of the Botswana Defence Force

Botswana Defence Force

The Botswana Defence Force is the military of Botswana. It was formed in 1977 and has approximately 9,000 members. The commander is Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire. The commander in chief is the President of Botswana...

.

All squadrons are designated with a Z, which has no other meaning but is used as a designation for "squadron". The main base is Molepolole

Molepolole

Molepolole is Botswana's biggest village. It lies in the south east of the county. The people who reside in Molepolole are the Bakwena, who are one of the eight major tribes in Botswana. The Bakwena chief was among the three chiefs who went to England to seek protection from the British in the...

 and was built mostly by foreign contractors between 1992 and 1996. Other bases used are Sir Seretse Khama International Airport

Sir Seretse Khama International Airport

Sir Seretse Khama International Airport located north of Gaborone is the main international airport of the capital city of Botswana. The airport is named for Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana...

 at Gaborone and Francistown

Francistown

Francistown or Nyangabgwe is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 85,363, and often described as the "Capital of the North". It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gaborone...

.

The backbone of the Air Wing is formed by ex-Canadian CF-116s which are locally designated as CF-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. For transport the Air Wing uses Britten-Norman Defender

Britten-Norman Defender

|-External links:*...

s, CASA C-212 Aviocars, CASA CN-235

CASA CN-235

The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport plane that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and IPTN of Indonesia as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance, and air transport...

s and C-130 Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

. The latest addition to the transport fleet was an ex-AMARC

Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group , often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base...

 C-130 Hercules to complement the two existing aircraft.

A combination of Bell 412EP and 412SP helicopters are operated by Z21. In 1993 nine ex-US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

/AMARC

Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group , often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base...

 Cessna O-2As were delivered for use against poaching.

In 2011 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd

Pilatus Aircraft

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aircraft manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. The company employs more than 1,100 people.-History:The company was established in 1939, but it was not until 1944 that a Pilatus-built aircraft, the SB-2 Pelican, first took to the air...

 announced that the Botswana Defence Force selected the PC-7

Pilatus PC-7

The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and night flying. It has been selected by more than twenty air forces as...

 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 5 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

Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators. Established in 1967, and based in Haifa, Israel, Elbit employs 11,000 people worldwide....

 Silver Arrow and Elbit Hermes 450

Elbit Hermes 450

-Operators: *In June 2008, Azerbaijan ordered ten Hermes 450, choosing it over other drone models because of its "'invisibility' for the enemy's anti-aircraft defense." On September 12, 2011, a UAV was reportedly shot down by the air defense arm of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army over the...

 UAVs.

Aircraft inventory

As of 2011, the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing aircraft inventory is:

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In service
Fighter aircraft
Canadair CF-5\CF-116 Freedom Fighter	Canada	Fighter Advanced trainer	CF-5A CF-5D	9 5
Pilatus PC-7 Pilatus PC-7 The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and night flying. It has been selected by more than twenty air forces as...  MK-2	Switzerland	Trainer		0 [5 on order]
Pilatus PC-7 Pilatus PC-7 The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and night flying. It has been selected by more than twenty air forces as...	Switzerland	Trainer		6
Transport/utility Utility helicopter A Utility Helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter. A utility military helicopter can fill roles such as ground attack, air assault, cargo, surveillance and troop transport. Their size is generally between cargo helicopters and light observation helicopters....  helicopter Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
Bell 412 Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:... SP	United States	Utility helicopter VIP helicopter	412SP 412EP	5 2
Eurocopter AS 350 Ecureuil	France/Germany/Spain	Light attack\utility helicopter	AS 350B AS350BA AS350B3	1 4 3
Cargo/transport aircraft Cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...
Beechcraft Super King Air Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...	United States	Staff transport	Super King Air 200	1
Britten-Norman Defender Britten-Norman Defender |-External links:*...	United Kingdom	Transport	BN-2A	9
CASA C-212 Aviocar	Spain	Transport	C-212-300	2
CASA CN-235 CASA CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport plane that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and IPTN of Indonesia as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance, and air transport...	Spain/Indonesia	Transport	CN-235	2
Cessna O-2 Skymaster	United States	Liaison	O-2	8
Gulfstream IV Gulfstream IV The Gulfstream IV and derivatives are a family of twin-jet aircraft, mainly for private or business use. The aircraft was designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United States from 1985 until 2003.-Design and development:Gulfstream, in...	United States	VIP transport	G-IV	1
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	Transport	C-130B	3
Elbit Hermes 450 Elbit Hermes 450 -Operators: *In June 2008, Azerbaijan ordered ten Hermes 450, choosing it over other drone models because of its "'invisibility' for the enemy's anti-aircraft defense." On September 12, 2011, a UAV was reportedly shot down by the air defense arm of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army over the...	Israel	UAV		Unknown
IAI IAI IAI is an acronym for:* The Information Architecture Institute* Institute of Art and Ideas* Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research* International African Institute* International Association for Identification... Silver Arrow 180	Israel	UAV		3

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.