Online Reporter
Bernard Yombayomba
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standing Aviation Committee (SAC) will hold a multinational humanitarian-cum-military exercise in Zimbabwe next year.
Zambia hosted the exercise at Livingstone Air Force Base last year.
The exercise, which was code-named Exercise Blue Lugwasho, was conducted from September 8, 2025 to September 26, 2025. The participating air forces were coming from nine member states, comprising Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and the host, Zambia.
The biennial humanitarian exercise is hosted alphabetically among SADC SAC members as was agreed to in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2024. Zimbabwe is poised to host a similar exercise in 2027.
Air Vice-Marshal Biltim Chingono, who attended the official closing ceremony of the exercise on September 25, 2025 at Livingstone Air Force Base, representing Commander Air Force of
Zimbabwe, Air Marshal John Jacob Nzvede, described the successful event as a testament of regional co-operation.
He revealed the significance of having participated in such a multinational exercise where 19 military aircraft were made available for various tasks during the exercise.
“This is a testament of regional co-operation. I am excited that as AFZ, we have participated in this exercise successfully. I can say it is a learning process, where we are here to learn as well as gather the ability to operate together,” he said.
As Exercise Blue Lugwasho officially ended on September 26, 2025, Zimbabwe became the next host in 2027.
The closing ceremony was marked by various activities, including a culture expo, aerobatics by the Zambian Air Force and an airborne demonstration by Zambian Special Forces.
Beyond combat training exercises, SADC air forces demonstrated that peacetime operations, such as blue exercises, are a testament to regional cooperation.
