Mozambique Air Force
The Mozambique Air Force (Força Aérea de Moçambique, FAM) was formed after independence in 1975 with Soviet and Cuban help, flew MiG-21s through a civil war that killed about a million people, let most of its aircraft rot after the 1992 peace, and has been rebuilt piecemeal — Romanian-overhauled MiGs, South African helicopters and Mwari surveillance aircraft, a new C295 — for a jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado where hired contractors and Rwandan troops have done much of the fighting.
The Mozambique Air Force story: Soviet MiGs in a civil war, a Romanian rebuild and the war in Cabo Delgado
1975–1977: an air force from nothing, with Soviet and Cuban help
Mozambique became independent from Portugal in 1975 with no air force of its own. The new state built one, as Wikipedia’s account puts it, with support from Cuba and the Soviet Union, and Wikipedia’s article on the armed forces dates Soviet training support from 1977. The service that emerged was small and dependent on foreign instructors and spare parts from the start. From 1985 to 1990 it carried a revolutionary name, the People’s Liberation Air Force (Força Aérea Popular de Libertação, FAPL). Its early equipment and the precise date of its founding are thinly documented in sources that can be checked online; this page gives the year, 1975, and leaves the rest out rather than guess.
1977–1992: the civil war and 48 MiG-21s
The civil war between the FRELIMO government and the RENAMO insurgency ran from 1977 until the Rome General Peace Accords of 4 October 1992, which took effect on 15 October. Estimates of the dead, from fighting and famine together, run to about a million. RENAMO was founded with Rhodesian backing and after 1980 had South Africa as its main sponsor; Zimbabwe intervened on the government side from 1982, and Tanzania and later Malawi sent troops. For the air force the war meant Soviet jets: Wikipedia’s list of MiG-21 operators records 48 MiG-21bis delivered from the USSR from 1983 for use against RENAMO. How much they achieved, and what they lost, is not documented in any source this page could check, and no figure is given. In October 1986 President Samora Machel was killed when his Tu-134 crashed near the South African border; a South African investigation blamed the crew, later inquiries were inconclusive, and the cause is still disputed.
1992–2014: peace, storage and a Romanian rebuild
Peace ended the money. After the ceasefire, Wikipedia says, the MiG-21s went into storage and most were unserviceable by 1992, while Cuban support dwindled; defenceWeb blames poor serviceability since 1975 and the collapse of Soviet aid in the early 1990s. The armed forces were rebuilt in August 1994 as the FADM, merging government and RENAMO soldiers. The air force survived on small gifts: Portugal handed over two refurbished Reims FTB-337G Milirole utility aircraft in 2011–2012 and trained crews at the Mavalene school in Maputo; a Hawker 850XP arrived for VIP work in 2013 and two refurbished An-26Bs came from Ukraine. The largest project was Romanian: Aerostar overhauled six MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM trainers and an L-39, some of which had not flown for some 20 years, finishing in July 2014. Brazil’s 2014 offer of Tucanos and Super Tucanos was cancelled in 2016.
2017–2021: Cabo Delgado, Wagner and the Dyck Advisory Group
In October 2017 an armed group known locally as al-Shabaab attacked Mocímboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado, and the insurgency that followed had killed more than 1,300 civilians and displaced 500,000 people by early 2021, according to Amnesty International. The air force could not meet it alone. In September 2019 a Russian An-124 delivered two Mi-17 helicopters to Nacala for the Wagner Group, whose operation was judged a failure and ended in March 2020 after its men were killed in ambushes, according to Wikipedia’s account. The government then hired the Dyck Advisory Group, a South African company that flew Gazelle, AS350 and Alouette III helicopters and Bat Hawk light aircraft. Amnesty’s report of 2 March 2021, based on interviews including 53 witnesses of DAG operations, found that DAG had fired machine guns from helicopters and dropped hand grenades indiscriminately into crowds and repeatedly fired at hospitals, schools and homes, and that this violated international humanitarian law.
2022–2026: Mwari, a C295 and a war others help to fight
The rebuilding since 2021 has been South African and, increasingly, outsourced in another sense. Paramount Group, according to defenceWeb, supplied refurbished Gazelle, Mi-8/17 and Mi-24 helicopters, then a second-hand CN235M and an L-410, and made Mozambique the launch customer for its Mwari reconnaissance aircraft: three were ordered, the first deployed in the north in December 2022 and had flown 400 hours by September 2024. An Airbus C295W, FA655, arrived in Maputo on 27 February 2025. The ground war, though, has depended on others: Rwandan forces since July 2021 (about 2,500 troops and police by 2024) and the SADC mission SAMIM from 15 July 2021 until July 2024. The jets remain a question mark — FlightGlobal still counted eight MiG-21s in 2023, but no source checked here shows them flying operations in Cabo Delgado.
The Mozambique Air Force in numbers
Service
- Native name
- Força Aérea de Moçambique (FAM)Portuguese is Mozambique’s official language. From 1985 to 1990 the service was called the Força Aérea Popular de Libertação (FAPL), People’s Liberation Air Force
- Founded
- 1975Formed after independence from Portugal with Cuban and Soviet support; no exact founding date was found in a checkable source
- Part of
- Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM)The FADM were formed in August 1994 by merging the government forces with RENAMO’s fighters after the civil war
- Commander
- Brig. Candido Jose TiranoAs named by Wikipedia; appointment date not published in any source found
- Minister of National Defence
- Cristóvão ChumeAs listed by Wikipedia, under President Daniel Chapo as commander-in-chief
- Chief of General Staff
- Joaquim MangrasseAs listed by Wikipedia
Strength
- Personnel
- About 4,000Wikipedia’s infobox figure, which also gives 16 aircraft; the whole FADM is put at about 11,200 active personnel, so the air force figure looks high and should be read as an estimate
- Combat aircraft
-
- MiG-21bis/UM — 8 listed, serviceability unclear
- Paramount Mwari — 3 ordered (1 listed by FlightGlobal)
The eight MiG-21s are those overhauled in Romania in 2013–2014; FlightGlobal’s counts (as cited by Wikipedia) still list them. The Mwari is an armed-reconnaissance design used so far for surveillance
- Helicopters
-
- Mi-24 (Mi-25) — 2
- Mi-8/Mi-17 — 4
- SA341 Gazelle — 2
FlightGlobal World Air Forces counts as cited by Wikipedia; defenceWeb says Paramount supplied refurbished Gazelle, Mi-8/17 and Mi-24 helicopters
- Transport
-
- Airbus C295W — 1 (2025)
- CN235M — 1
- L-410 Turbolet — 1
- An-26 — 1–2
- Hawker 850XP (VIP) — 1
Two An-26Bs were bought from Ukraine in 2013; Wikipedia lists one in service
- Trainers
-
- Aero L-39 — 1
- Light aircraft: Aerostar Festival, Cessna 152 and 172, Piper Seneca, FTB-337G
Light types as listed by defenceWeb in 2014; current status not confirmed
Infrastructure
- Main bases
-
- Maputo — headquarters, VIP and transport; C295 delivered here
- Beira
- Nacala — Mwari seen operating here in 2023
- Nampula
Wikipedia names Beira, Nacala and Nampula as the main bases; Maputo hosts the Mavalene flying school and received the C295
- Operational area
- Cabo Delgado provinceThe air force’s only active campaign since 2017, alongside Rwandan forces and, until July 2024, SAMIM
- Jet capability
- MiG-21bis and L-39Eight MiG-21s and one L-39 were overhauled by Aerostar in 2013–2014; no current operational use was found
How the Mozambique Air Force is organised
The air arm of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces, headquartered in Maputo, with no published squadron structure or unit basing. Its fleet has been rebuilt piecemeal for the jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado: Mwari surveillance aircraft and refurbished Mi-24, Mi-8/17 and Gazelle helicopters from South Africa’s Paramount Group, and an Airbus C295W delivered in 2025. The eight MiG-21s overhauled in Romania in 2013–2014 are still counted by FlightGlobal, but no source checked shows them flying operations.
Mozambique Air Force
The air arm of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM), headquartered in Maputo, under the Chief of General Staff, Joaquim Mangrasse, and with President Daniel Chapo as commander-in-chief. Wikipedia names Brigadier Candido Jose Tirano as commander; no appointment date and no official Mozambican page confirming him was found. Wikipedia’s figure of about 4,000 personnel should be read as an estimate.
MiG-21s and Mwaris
Eight MiG-21s, six MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM trainers, were overhauled by Aerostar in Romania and returned by July 2014, and FlightGlobal still listed them in 2023; whether any fly today was not confirmed. Mozambique is the launch customer for the Paramount Mwari, with three ordered: the first deployed to the north in December 2022 and had flown 400 hours on reconnaissance and surveillance by September 2024.
Helicopter fleet
Two Mi-24s (Mi-25s), four Mi-8/17s and two SA341 Gazelles in FlightGlobal’s counts as cited by Wikipedia, refurbished and supplied by Paramount Group according to defenceWeb. They support ground forces in Cabo Delgado; no squadron or base is named in the sources.
Transport fleet
An Airbus C295W, FA655, which reached Maputo on 27 February 2025, a second-hand CN235M and L-410 from Paramount Group in late 2022, one or two An-26s bought from Ukraine in 2013 and a Hawker 850XP for VIP transport. Air force officers said the CN235M moves cargo and troops and drops special forces and paratroopers.
Escola Prática de Aviação
The School of Practical Aviation, newly formed in 2013 at the air force’s base at Maputo’s international airport, where Portuguese advisers trained aircrew and mechanics, according to defenceWeb. Light aircraft listed in 2014 include Aerostar Festivals, Cessna 152s and 172s and a Piper Seneca; an L-39 jet trainer was overhauled with the MiG-21s. Whether the school is still active was not confirmed by a later source.
What the Mozambique Air Force flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis and MiG-21UMIn service | Fighter | 8 | 1983 | Six MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM trainers overhauled by Aerostar in Romania and returned by July 2014; FlightGlobal listed eight in December 2021 and in 2023.
More |
||
| Paramount MwariIn service | Reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft | 3 | 2022 | Three ordered (defenceWeb, September 2024); FlightGlobal, as cited by Wikipedia, lists one. Two had been delivered by February 2023. | ||
| Mil Mi-24 (Mi-25)In service | Attack helicopter | 2 | Two Mi-25 as of 2023 (FlightGlobal, as cited by Wikipedia). | |||
| Mil Mi-8/Mi-17In service | Utility helicopter | 4 | Four (FlightGlobal, as cited by Wikipedia). | |||
| Aérospatiale SA341 GazelleIn service | Light utility and armed helicopter | 2 | Two (FlightGlobal, as cited by Wikipedia). | |||
| Airbus C295WIn service | Tactical transport | 1 | 2025 | One, registered FA655. | ||
| CASA/IPTN CN235MIn service | Transport | 1 | 2022 | One second-hand aircraft. | ||
| Let L-410 TurboletIn service | Light transport | 1 | 2022 | One second-hand aircraft. | ||
| Antonov An-26In service | Transport | 1 | 2013 | Two refurbished An-26Bs were bought from Ukraine in 2013; Wikipedia lists one in service. | ||
| Aero L-39 AlbatrosIn service | Jet trainer | 1 | One, overhauled by Aerostar in the MiG-21 package. | |||
| Hawker 850XPIn service | VIP transport | 1 | 2013 | One, built 2005. | ||
| Reims-Cessna FTB-337G MiliroleIn service | Utility and observation | 2 | 2011 | Two, ex-Portuguese Air Force; current status not confirmed. | ||
| Light aircraft: Aerostar Festival, Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper SenecaIn service | Training and liaison | 2011 | Two Festivals and one each of the others, per defenceWeb in 2014; current numbers not confirmed. |
Where the Mozambique Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases; none of the airfields listed has closed. All four airfields are shared with civil airports: Wikipedia names Beira, Nacala and Nampula as the air force’s three main bases, and its most visible base, with the flying school and the 2025 C295 delivery, is at Maputo’s international airport, Mavalane. No source names a unit based at Beira, Nacala or Nampula, and Nacala, a former air base, reopened as a civil international airport in December 2014.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BeiraSofala Province | FQBR | Active | 12/302,362 m17/351,698 m06/24920 m |
|
| Maputo-MavalaneMaputo City | FQMA | Active | 05/233,660 m10/281,700 m |
|
| NacalaNampula Province | FQNC | Active | 01/193,100 m | |
| NampulaNampula Province | FQNP | Active | 05/232,000 m13/311,565 mgravel |
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Mozambique Air Force
Units by base. Mozambique publishes no squadron designations or basing for its aircraft; the only unit named at a base is the School of Practical Aviation at Maputo, formed in 2013 with Portuguese advisers. The Portuguese Air Force’s Base Aérea N.º 10 at Beira is listed and marked as not Mozambican.
- Escola Prática de Aviação (EPA, School of Practical Aviation)Flying and technical school · active
- Aerostar Festival, Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper Seneca
- Base Aérea N.º 10 (Portuguese Air Force)
- Transport aircraft (types not stated)
No unit matches that search.
Mozambique Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
Independence from Portugal; the air force is formed with Cuban and Soviet support.
Civil war between the FRELIMO government and RENAMO begins; Soviet military training support starts the same year.
Zimbabwe intervenes on the government side to protect its transport routes.
Deliveries of 48 MiG-21bis from the USSR begin.
The service is renamed Força Aérea Popular de Libertação (FAPL), a name kept until 1990.
19 October: President Samora Machel is killed when his Tu-134 crashes near the South African border; the cause is still disputed.
June: Lt Gen António Hama Thai, former chief of the air force, becomes Chief of General Staff; Col João Bernardo Honwana takes over the air force.
4 October: Rome General Peace Accords; the ceasefire takes effect on 15 October. Most MiG-21s are by now unserviceable.
August: the FADM are formed from government and RENAMO forces.
July: Portugal hands over the second of two FTB-337G Milirole aircraft.
September: a Hawker 850XP joins for VIP work; November: two An-26Bs bought from Ukraine and eight MiG-21s due back from overhaul.
July: Aerostar ships the last of eight overhauled MiG-21s; Brazil offers Tucanos (the deal is cancelled in 2016).
October: insurgents attack Mocímboa da Praia, starting the Cabo Delgado war.
25 September: a Russian An-124 lands two Mi-17s at Nacala for the Wagner Group, which withdraws in March 2020.
2 March: Amnesty’s report on war crimes in Cabo Delgado, including by Dyck Advisory Group helicopter crews. July: Rwandan forces and SAMIM (from 15 July) deploy.
December: the first Paramount Mwari deploys to northern Mozambique; a CN235M and L-410 arrive from Paramount.
April: Botswana leaves SAMIM; the mission ends in July for lack of funds. September: the first Mwari passes 400 flying hours.
27 February: an Airbus C295W, FA655, arrives in Maputo.
Every war the Mozambique Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- Mozambican Civil War 1977–1992 Flew Soviet-supplied MiG-21bis jets and helicopters for the government against the RENAMO insurgency
- Insurgency in Cabo Delgado 2017– Supports ground forces with helicopters, transport and, since December 2022, Mwari reconnaissance aircraft; much of the armed air work in 2019–2021 was done by private contractors hired by the government
Who built the Mozambique Air Force fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Mil, Aérospatiale, Aero Vodochody, Aerostar, Airbus, Antonov, CASA, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, IPTN, Let Kunovice, Mikoyan, Paramount Group, Piper, Reims Aviation
Everything people ask about the Mozambique Air Force
What is the Mozambique Air Force called in Portuguese?
When was the Mozambique Air Force founded?
What aircraft does the Mozambique Air Force fly?
Does Mozambique still fly MiG-21s?
What is the Mwari and why does Mozambique fly it?
Who was the Dyck Advisory Group and what did Amnesty find?
Did Russian mercenaries fly in Mozambique?
Who helps Mozambique fight in Cabo Delgado?
What did the air force do in the civil war?
Where is the Mozambique Air Force based?
Read the aircraft the Mozambique Air Force flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Amnesty International: “What I saw is death”: War crimes in Mozambique’s forgotten cape (AFR 41/3545/2021, 2 March 2021)More than 1,300 civilians killed and 500,000 displaced since October 2017; DAG fired machine guns and dropped grenades indiscriminately from helicopters.
- Amnesty International: Mozambique: Civilians killed as war crimes committed by armed group, government forces and private military contractors (March 2021)53 witnesses on DAG operations; hospital at Mocímboa da Praia destroyed by DAG helicopters in June 2020; government hired DAG to fight with armed helicopters.
- defenceWeb: Mozambique Air Force gets a C295 (28 February 2025)C295W FA655, Seville 24 February, Maputo 27 February 2025; CN235M and L-410 from Paramount in late 2022; Mi-24, Mi-8/17, Gazelle; three Mwari, in use since December 2022.
- defenceWeb: Aerostar completes Mozambican MiG-21 upgrade (8 July 2014)Six MiG-21bis and two MiG-21UM; L-39 overhaul; light aircraft list; Hawker 850XP; Mavalene school in Maputo; poor serviceability since 1975.
- defenceWeb: articles tagged Mozambique Air ForceHeadlines and dates: second FTB-337G from Portugal (5 July 2012); VIP jet (1 November 2013); eight overhauled MiG-21s (4 November 2013); two An-26s (7 November 2013); MiGs stuck in Germany (7 April 2014).
- defenceWeb: Mozambique revealed as Mwari launch customer (17 March 2023)FA-402 (ex ZU-MWA) around Nacala; first delivery December 2022, second February 2023; Paramount supplied refurbished Gazelle, Mi-8/17, Mi-24, L-410 and CN235M.
- defenceWeb: Mwari demonstrates operational impact in Mozambique (23 September 2024)Three ordered; first deployed December 2022; 400 flying hours; new crews in training.
- defenceWeb: Botswana exits SAMIM as Rwanda grows troop numbers (9 April 2024)SAMIM to leave in July 2024 for lack of funds; Rwanda about 2,500 troops and police; about EUR 20 million EU funding.
- defenceWeb: articles tagged DAGHeadlines only: contractor in Mozambique set for longer stay; another private military contractor aircraft (a DAG Bat Hawk) down in Mozambique.
- defenceWeb: Mozambican Air Force to get eight overhauled MiG-21s (4 November 2013)The Escola Prática de Aviação at "the Air Force’s base at Maputo-Mavalene International Airport"; Portuguese advisers; light aircraft listed.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Cen / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Landolso / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Filip.vidinovski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: SGT. Kimberly Yearyean / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Lubos Sramek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Articseahorse / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Gleb Osokin – Russian AviaPhoto Team / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)