29 Aug 2022

The Association of African Air Forces (AAAF) has been urged to develop tailor-made solutions for the continent.

Speaking at the just ended AAAF liaison officers working group conference in Kasane, Botswana Defence Force acting deputy air arm commander, Brigadier Collen Maruping said the proximity and inter-dependence of AAAF required them to face common challenges together and seize opportunities that geography, history and interests had created.

He added that there was need to adopt a posture of readiness to rescue any situation anywhere in Africa.

Brigadier Maruping also noted that non-conventional threats such as climate change were becoming more and more evident with all countries experiencing floods and droughts every year and that the recent COVID-19 pandemic proved that the military was always called as the last line of defence where other national, regional and international apparatus became overwhelmed.

“As the AAAF, we need to act urgently and collectively to be ready for such threats and develop tailor-made solutions that suite our continent,” he said.

Brigadier Maruping also said the SADC peace keeping mission in Mozambique had demonstrated that the region needed airlift capability as medium-heavy lift aircraft operating in the area were constrained.

He said AAAF needed to come up with mechanisms of optimising the use of limited resources available, hence the need for airlift resources sharing being one of the topical issues for the AAAF liaison officers working group conference.

He said with the current economic downturn, shrinking budgets, the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating gas and fuel prices, AAAF should come up with ways on how they could deliver on their mandate of providing credible air power for the fulfilment of their respective countries.

In his remarks, BDF air arm commander, Major General Hendrick Rakgantswana, said the conference, which was the fifth, was co-hosted by the BDF Air Command and the United States Air Forces Africa.

Maj. Gen. Rakgantswana said the AAAF was conceived with the objectives of exchanging experiences, examining opportunities to cooperate and to collaborate to improve air operations across Africa as well as to advise respective governments, regional and international bodies on the effective and efficient use of air resources.

He said the decision to co-host the conference provided an opportunity to grow partnerships between Botswana and other Africans and permitted the African Air Forces to build capacities required for security and military diplomacy.

He said the AAF’s future initiatives would look into involving Women Peace and Security (WPS) as per United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 of October 2000.

The conference was attended by about 26 African countries with a diverse group of airmen.ENDS