Mozambique Defence Armed Forces#Navy

{{redirect|FADM|the U.S. naval rank|Fleet admiral (United States){{!}}fleet admiral}}

{{Infobox national military

| name = Mozambique Defence Armed Forces

| native_name = {{native name|pt|Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique}}

| image2 = Flag of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces.svg

| caption2 = Flag of the Armed Forces

| founded = 1975

| current_form = August 1994

| branches = {{ill|Army (Mozambique)|es|Ejército de Mozambique}}
{{ill|Naval Command|es|Armada de Mozambique}}
Air and Air Defence Forces
Militia

| headquarters = Ministry of National Defence, Avenida Martires de Mueda, MaputoMilitary Technology, World Defence Almanac, Vol. XXXII, Issue 1, 2008, p.323

| website = {{URL|mdn.gov.mz/index.php/fadm}}

| commander-in-chief = Daniel Chapo

| commander-in-chief_title = President

| chief minister = Maria Benvinda Levy

| chief minister_title = Prime Minister

| minister = Cristovão Chume{{cite web| url = https://clubofmozambique.com/news/you-dont-need-to-be-a-military-officer-to-be-defence-minister-jaime-bessa-neto-150707/| title = "You don't need to be a military officer to be defence minister" – Jaime Bessa Neto {{!}} Club of Mozambique| access-date = 30 October 2021| archive-date = 26 October 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211026004027/https://clubofmozambique.com/news/you-dont-need-to-be-a-military-officer-to-be-defence-minister-jaime-bessa-neto-150707/| url-status = live}}

| minister_title = National Defence Minister

| commander = Joaquim Mangrasse

| commander_title = Chief of General Staff

| age = 18

| manpower_age = 18 to 65

| active = ~11,200{{sfn|IISS2021|page=478}}

| amount = $245 million (2020 est.)

| percent_GDP = 2.5% (2008 est.)

| foreign_suppliers = {{ubl|{{flag|China}}|{{flag|India}}|{{flag|Portugal}}}}

| history = {{ubl|Mozambican War of Independence|Mozambican Civil War|Rhodesian Bush War|Angolan Civil War|Uganda–Tanzania War|1999 East Timorese crisis|RENAMO insurgency (2013–2019)|Insurgency in Cabo Delgado}}

| ranks = Military ranks of Mozambique

}}

File:Mozambique_army_personnel.jpg

The Mozambique Defence Armed Forces ({{langx|pt|Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique}}, 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."{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015|p=161}} 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.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015|p=162}}

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:{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015|p=173}}

"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.{{Cite web|title=Suppressing the Revival of Conflict in Mozambique through Inclusive National Dialogue|url=https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/suppressing-revival-conflict-mozambique-inclusive-national-dialogue/|website=ACCORD|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-28|archive-date=25 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325172454/https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/suppressing-revival-conflict-mozambique-inclusive-national-dialogue/|url-status=live}} 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).'Final Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Mozambique,' S/1994/1449, 23 December 1994

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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}

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

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.Reuters, [https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL20381858 Mozambique leader Guebuza sacks defence chiefs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210120945/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL20381858 |date=10 February 2018 }}, 2008{{Cite web|title=A History of the Mozambican Civil War|url=http://www.adelinotorres.info/africa/David%20Robinson,%20Curse%20on%20the%20Land-History%20of%20the%20Mozambican%20Civil%20War.pdf|last=World Library|website=worldlibrary.org|access-date=2020-05-28|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024232014/http://www.adelinotorres.info/africa/David%20Robinson,%20Curse%20on%20the%20Land-History%20of%20the%20Mozambican%20Civil%20War.pdf|url-status=live}}

Filipe Nyussi took office as Minister of Defense on 27 March 2008, succeeding Tobias Joaquim Dai.{{cite news |title= Mozambique: New Ministers Sworn in |url= http://allafrica.com/stories/200803271044.html |work= allAfrica.com |date= 2008-03-27 |access-date= 2008-04-18 |archive-date= 2 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002223246/http://allafrica.com/stories/200803271044.html |url-status= live }} 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".{{cite news | title = Mozambique defence minister axed a year after arms depot tragedy | url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mozambique+defence+minister+axed+a+year+after+arms+depot+tragedy+-a01610947762 | work = International News Service | date = 2008-03-26 | access-date = 2008-04-23 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Although no official reason was given for Dai's removal, it may have been a "delayed reaction" to the Malhazine disaster.{{cite news | title = Mozambique: Guebuza Sacks Defence Minister | url = http://allafrica.com/stories/200803260897.html | work = allAfrica.com | date = 2008-03-26 | access-date = 2008-04-18 | archive-date = 2 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121002222839/http://allafrica.com/stories/200803260897.html | url-status = live }}

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."{{cite web |url=http://www.oje.pt/noticias/africa/china-equipa-exercito-de-mocambique-com-material-agricola-de-4-milhoes-de-euros |title= Oje - o Jornal Economico - África - China equipa exército de Moçambique com material agrícola de 4 milhões de euros|access-date=2010-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427194640/http://www.oje.pt/noticias/africa/china-equipa-exercito-de-mocambique-com-material-agricola-de-4-milhoes-de-euros |archive-date=27 April 2010 }}

Mozambique has also been involved in many peacekeeping operations in Burundi (232 personnel),Helmoed-Romer Heitman, 'Burundi mission at full strength,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 29 October 2003, 16. 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.{{sfn|Berman|Sams|2000}}

Land Forces

Image:FADM Training Officer.jpeg

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.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} Army officer candidates were initially trained in Maputo by Chinese military instructors.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} 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.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} The Soviet military mission in Mozambique assisted in raising a new army composed of five infantry brigades and an armored brigade.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} At the height of the civil war, this was gradually increased to eight infantry brigades, an armored brigade, and a counter-insurgency brigade{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} modeled after the Zimbabwean 5th Brigade.{{cite book|last=Bermudez|first=Joseph|title=Terrorism, the North Korean connection|date=1997|page=124|publisher=Crane, Russak & Company|location=New York|isbn=978-0844816104}}

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.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} 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.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015|p=181}} Due to logistics problems and budgetary constraints, however, the army only numbered about 12,195 in 1995.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}} Force levels rarely fluctuated between 1995 and the mid-2000s due to the army's limited resources and low budget priority.{{sfn|Coelho|Malache|Macaringue|2015}}

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.{{cite book|publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies|title=The Military Balance 2016|year=2016|location=London|isbn=978-1857438352|pages=457–458}}

As of 2017, the serving chief of the army was Major General Eugènio Dias Da Silva.{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiablooms.com/ibns_new/news-details/N/32933/sunil-lanba-visits-mozambique-tanzania.html|title=Sunil Lanba visits Mozambique, Tanzania|website=Indiablooms.com|access-date=2017-07-24|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

=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.{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Herbert|title=Ambiguous Order: Military Forces in African States|date=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ambiguousordermi0000howe/page/59 59–60]|publisher=Lynne Reinner Publishers|location=Boulder, Colorado|isbn=978-1588263155|url=https://archive.org/details/ambiguousordermi0000howe/page/59}} 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. 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. In 2016, less than 10% of the army's artillery and armoured vehicles were operational.

== Small arms ==

width=16%\| Name ! width=10%\| Image ! width=15%\| Caliber ! width=12%\| Type ! width=10%\| Origin ! width=28%\| Notes
class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
Škorpion \| 150px \| .32 ACP \| Submachine gun \| {{Flag\|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic}} \|
colspan="6"\| Rifles
SKS \| 150px \| 7.62×39mm \| Semi-automatic rifle \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \|
AKM \| 150px \| 7.62×39mm \| Assault rifle \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union}} \|
PM md. 63 \| 150px \| 7.62×39mm \| Assault rifle \| {{Flag\|Socialist Republic of Romania}} \|
Vz. 58 \| 150px \| 7.62×39mm \| Assault rifle \| {{Flag\|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic}} \|
SA80{{Sfn\|Grant\|2016\|p=75}} \| 150px \| 5.56×45mm \| Bullpup Assault rifle \| {{Flag\|United Kingdom}} \| Sold as part of British military aid.
FN FAL \| 150px \| 7.62×51mm \| Battle rifle \| {{Flag\|Belgium}} \|
colspan="6"\| Sniper rifles
Mosin–Nagant \| 150px \| 7.62×54mmR \| Bolt-action Sniper rifle \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \|
colspan="6"\| Machine guns
RPK \| \| 7.62×39mm \| Squad automatic weapon \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union}} \|
PKM \| 150px \| 7.62×54mmR \| General-purpose machine gun \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union}} \|
DShK{{cite web\|title= SALW Guide: Global distribution and visual identification (Mozambique country report)\|author=\|url=https://salw-guide.bicc.de/pdf/countries/152/mozambique.std.en.pdf\|location=Bonn\|publisher=Bonn International Center for Conversion\|date=2016\|access-date=19 March 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319205054/https://salw-guide.bicc.de/pdf/countries/152/mozambique.std.en.pdf\|archive-date=19 March 2018}} \| 150px \| 12.7×108mm \| Heavy machine gun \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \|
colspan="6"\| Rocket propelled grenade launchers
RPG-7 \| 150px \| 40mm \| Rocket-propelled grenade \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union}} \|

==Anti-tank weapons==

width=16%\| Name ! width=21%\| Image ! width=15%\| Type ! width=12%\| Origin ! width=10%\| Caliber ! width=26%\| Notes
class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"
B-10 \| 150px \| Recoilless rifle \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \| 82mm \|
9M14 Malyutka{{cite book \| last = Hogg\| first = Ian\|title = Jane's Infantry Weapons, 1991-1992\| year = 1991\|edition= 1992\|page= 747 \| publisher = Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd\| isbn= 9780710609632}} \| 150px \| Anti-tank weapon \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \| \|
9K111 Fagot \| 150px \| Anti-tank weapon \| {{Flag\|Soviet Union\|1936}} \| \| 10 in service.

==Mortars==

class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"

width=14%| Name

! width=20%| Image

! width=14%| Type

! width=12%| Origin

! width=10%| Quantity

! width=06%| Status

! width=24%| Notes

Mozambique Defence Armed Forces#Navy

History

Land Forces

=Equipment=

== Small arms ==

==Anti-tank weapons==

==Mortars==

==Tanks==

==Scout cars==

==Infantry fighting vehicles==

==Armored personnel carriers==

==Artillery==

==Air defence systems==

Air Force

Navy

=Equipment=

= Decommissioned ships =

See also

References

=Works cited=

Further reading

External links