The Armed forces of Malawi are the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. They originated from British colonial units formed before independence in 1964.

Army structure

The Malawi Rifles was a unit in the Malawi army formed on the country's gaining independence from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1964. Its first battalion was formed from the 1st Battalion, King's African Rifles

King's African Rifles

The King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within the East African colonies as well as external service as...

. On independence the battalion became 1st Battalion, The Malawi Rifles (King's African Rifles). They were based (and elements still may be based) at Cobbe

Alexander Cobbe

General Sir Alexander Stanhope Cobbe VC GCB KCSI DSO was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

 Barracks, Zomba.

On 6 July 1966 Malawi became a Republic and His Excellency The Hon. Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda became the first President of the new Republic. After the swearing in Ceremony his first duty was to present the Battalion with his own Presidential Colour and the new Regimental Colour.

The Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

 army is now made up of two rifle regiments and one parachute regiment. The military is organized under the purview of the Ministry of Defence. State Department IMET training documentation from FY 2003 indicates the United States trained army personnel from the 2nd Battalion, Malawi Rifles, 3rd Battalion, Malawi Rifles (Moyale Barracks), the Parachute Battalion, and the Combat Support Battalion (Mvera).

Equipment

• Sterling submachine gun
  Sterling submachine gun
  The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1944 until 1994, when it was phased out with the introduction of the L85A1 assault rifle.-History:...
  
   MK-4
• FN-FAL SAR  Belgium
• AKM
  AKM
  The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
  
   AR
• SIG
  Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft
  Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft , or SIG, is the former name of SIG Holding AG, a Swiss company that has been active in various businesses during its more than 150 years of operation. Since the year 2000 the Society has undergone strategic refocus, concentrating on its core compentence in...
  
   SG-540 AR
• H&K
  Heckler & Koch
  Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...
  
  G-3
  Heckler & Koch G3
  The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
  
   AR
• PK
  PK machine gun
  The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
  
   LMG
• FN MAG
  FN MAG
  The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...
  
   LMG  Belgium
• Browning
  Browning Arms Company
  Browning Arms Company is a maker of firearms, bows and fishing gear. Founded in Utah in 1927, it offers a wide variety of firearms, including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and rimfire firearms and sport bows, as well as fishing rods and reels....
  
   M2-HB HMG
• L16A
  L16 81mm Mortar
  The United Kingdom's L16 81 mm mortar is the standard mortar used by the British armed forces. It originated as a joint design by UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, whilst the version used by the U.S...
  
  -1 81mm Mortar
• LAW MK-80 Light ATRLs
• RPG-7
  RPG-7
  The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
  
  V Light ATRLs
• 10x T-55
  T-55
  The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
  
  AM 100mm MBT
• 70x Alvis Fox
  Fox Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle
  The FV721 Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance was a 4x4 armoured car deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car and the Saladin Armoured Car...
  
   30mm 4x4 ARV
• 12x Panhard
  Panhard
  Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...
  
   AML-90 90mm 4x4 ARV
• 13x Armscor
  Armscor (South Africa)
  Armscor , the Armaments Corporation of South Africa is a South African government-supported weapon-producing conglomerate that was officially established in 1968, primarily as a response to the international sanctions by the United Nations against South Africa that began in 1963 and...
  
   Eland
  Eland Mk7
  The Eland is a South African light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Its permanent 4x4 drive gives it its mobility, and it can carry either a 90 mm quick firing low pressure gun, or a 60 mm breech loading mortar as main weapons...
  
  -90 90mm 4x4 ARV
• 10x Daimler
  Daimler Motor Company
  The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
  
   FV-702 Ferret
  Ferret
  The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
  
   MK2\2 4x4 ARV
• 12x BRDM
  BRDM
  BRDM is an initialism for Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, , literally "Combat Reconnaissance Patrol Vehicle". The BRDM is a four wheeled amphibious vehicle which is very lightly armoured by today's standards. Both versions were produced in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc...
  
  -2 4x4 ARV\APC
• 12x Casspir
  Casspir
  The Casspir is a landmine-protected personnel carrier that has been in use in South Africa for over 20 years. It is a four wheeled armoured vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated gear. The Casspir was unique in design when...
  
   4x4 APC
• 1x Rhino
  Rhino
  Rhino is a colloquial abbreviation of rhinoceros"Rhino" may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Rhino , a character from the Marvel Comics universe and sometime-foe of Spider-Man...
  
  4x4 APC
• 5x BM-21
  BM-21
  The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
  
   Grad 122mm MRL
• 12x L118 105mm light-gun\howitzer
• 1x Cymbeline artillery radar
• 4x M102
  M102 howitzer
  First introduced during the Vietnam War, the M102 was the light-towed 105 mm howitzer used by the United States Army in the Vietnam War, the First Gulf War, and most recently in the Iraq War.- An Air Mobile Howitzer for the Vietnam War :...
  
   105mm howitzer
• M40A1
  M40 recoilless rifle
  The M40 recoilless rifle was a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States...
  
  -C1 106mm RCL
• 14x Blowpipe
  Blowpipe missile
  The Shorts Blowpipe is a man-portable surface-to-air missile which was in use with the British Army and Royal Marines from 1975. It was superseded by an interim design, Javelin, and later the greatly improved Starstreak missile.-Description:...
  
   MANPAD launchers\70 missiles
• ZPU-4 14.4mm AAGs
• Landrover 4x4

Air force

The Malawi Air Force was established with German help in 1976 with the delivery of six single engined Dornier Do 27's and eight Do 28 light twins in 1976-1980. Also in the same era the air force received an Alouette III, an AS 350 and a AS 355 Ecureuil, as well as three SA 330 H/L Puma Helicopters from France. A single BAE 125-800 was delivered in 1986. Four Dornier Do 228 light twin turbo props were acquired between 1986 and 1989 in part to dispose of the older Dornier products. In 1990 two Douglas C-47's and PT6A turboprops were delivered from the US.

The Malawi Army Air Wing operates the following aircraft:

Aircraft inventory

! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Manufacturer
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Model
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Origin
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Type
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Service entry
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Number
! style="text-align:left; background:#acc;"|Notes
|-
| Dornier

Dornier Flugzeugwerke

Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claudius Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many notable designs for both the civil and military markets.-History:...

| Dornier 228
|
| Tactical Transport
| ?
| 2?
| Two confirmed in service 2006, possibly two more
|-
| Hawker Siddeley
| Hawker Siddeley HS-125
|
| VIP Transport
| ?
| 1
|dasault falcon jet 900 series vip confrimed in service 2009
|-
| Eurocopter
| SA 330 Puma
|
| Multi-purpose helicopter
| 1976–1980
| 2
|
|-
| Eurocopter
| Eurocopter Dauphin

Eurocopter Dauphin

The Eurocopter SA 365/AS365 Dauphin 2 is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter .-Design and development:...

|
| Multi-purpose helicopter
| 1976–1980
| 1
|
|-
| British Aerospace

British Aerospace

British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...

| British Aerospace BAe 125

British Aerospace BAe 125

The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...

|
| Corporate jet
| 1986
| 1
|
|-
| Basler
| Basler BT-67

Basler BT-67

-See also:-External links:* * * * *...

|
| Cargo aircraft
| 1990
| 2
|
|-
| Dornier

Dornier Flugzeugwerke

Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claudius Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many notable designs for both the civil and military markets.-History:...

| Dornier Do 228

Dornier Do 228

The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier GmbH from 1981 until 1998. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Approximately 270 Do 228 were built at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and...

|
| Light transport aircraft
| 1986–1989
| 4
|
|-
| Eurocopter
| Eurocopter Ecureuil

Eurocopter Ecureuil

The Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil is a single-engined light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale . The AS350 is marketed in North America as the AStar...

|
| Light utility helicopter
| ?
| 1
|dasault falcon jet 900

External links

• Official website of the Ministry of Defence of Malawi