Online Reporter
Walter Muchinguri
THE Air Force of Zimbabwe is set to test and enhance its operational capabilities when the country hosts the 2027 SADC Blue Runde Exercise, with preparations already under way for the multinational exercise.
The exercise will be conducted in Masvingo and Matabeleland South provinces.
AFZ Chief of Staff (Operations), Air Vice Marshal Biltim Chingono, who officially opened the 2027 SADC Standing Aviation Committee Blue Exercise Concept Development Conference in Harare yesterday, said the meeting provided an opportunity for participating countries to develop a shared understanding of the exercise’s objectives, concept and expected outcomes before detailed planning begins.
The SADC Blue Exercises, he said, are an important practical mechanism through which SADC air forces translate regional aviation co-operation into operational capability. “The exercises bring together personnel, aircraft and support elements from participating SADC member states to practise common procedures and develop interoperability,” Air Vice Marshal Chingono said.
“The exercises also provide an opportunity to identify capability gaps, test communications and co-ordination arrangements, and strengthen relationships among participating air forces.”
The exercise series began with Exercise Blue Hungwe, hosted by Zimbabwe in 1997, and has since been conducted biennially, rotating among participating SADC air forces in line with agreed regional arrangements (in alphabetical order). Zambia hosted the last exercise, Exercise Blue Lugwasho, in 2025; hence, Zimbabwe will be hosting the 2027 edition. Air Vice Marshal Chingono said hosting the exercise would allow the AFZ to demonstrate its capacity to plan, co-ordinate and conduct a multinational air exercise while contributing to SADC’s collective defence and security objectives.
“It will also allow Zimbabwe to utilise its air bases, training areas, air traffic management arrangements, command-and-control structures and logistical systems in a multinational environment,” he said.
“More importantly, hosting the Blue Exercise will enable us to test our operational readiness and interoperability against regional standards. It will expose personnel to different aircraft, operating procedures, communications systems and command arrangements used by sister air forces. The exercise can, therefore, assist the AFZ in identifying deficiencies in areas such as airspace management, communications, logistics, aviation support, search and rescue, medical support and disaster response capabilities.”
Zimbabwe, Air Vice Marshal Chingono said, could also use the exercise to reinforce its role in regional humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
“Given the increasing occurrence of floods, cyclones, droughts and other emergencies in the SADC region, the exercise can be designed to demonstrate how military aviation assets can rapidly deploy personnel, equipment and humanitarian supplies while conducting evacuation, reconnaissance and rescue missions,” he said.
“To all participants, I recognise that each of you brings valuable experience, knowledge and expertise, and I trust that these will be brought to bear during our deliberations.
“The success of an exercise is largely determined by the quality of thought, analysis, co-ordination and planning that precedes it.
“It is against this background that this concept development conference is particularly important. This conference provides us with an opportunity to step back, examine the broader purpose of the forthcoming exercise and ensure that we have a shared understanding of what we seek to achieve, why we seek to achieve it and how best to achieve it.”
Air Vice Marshal Chingono urged participants to make full use of the lessons learnt from previous exercises.
