Angola's Military Might: A Force To Reckon With?

Angola's military history is marked by conflicts rooted in tribal clashes, colonialism, and the Cold War. The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) is the country's military organisation, comprising the Angolan Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Angolan Army is the land component of the FAA and is the largest segment, with the Navy and Air Force maintaining fewer troops. The FAA was established in 1991 following the abortive Bicesse Accord with the Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). The Angolan Army has a significant number of personnel and a range of military equipment, including armoured vehicles, artillery, and aircraft.

Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)

The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) are the military of Angola, consisting of the Angolan Army, the Angolan Navy, and the National Air Force of Angola. The FAA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who reports to the Minister of National Defense. The Angolan Army is the land component of the FAA and is by far the largest of the services with about 120,000 men and women. It is organized into six military regions (Cabinda, Luanda, North, Center, East, and South), with an infantry division based in each. The Army also includes an artillery regiment, a military police regiment, a logistical transportation regiment, and various other specialized units.

The National Air Force of Angola is the air component of the FAA and has an inventory of more than 300 aircraft, making it one of the largest and strongest air forces in Africa. It is organized into six aviation regiments, each with several squadrons, and has a total personnel count of about 8,000. The Air Force's equipment includes transport aircraft and Russian-manufactured Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets.

The Angolan Navy is the naval component of the FAA and has a total personnel count of about 1,000. It is organized into two naval zones (North and South) and operates a handful of small patrol craft and barges. The Navy has been neglected and ignored as a military arm, leading to a loss of skilled personnel and inoperable ships. However, the military of Angola aims to modernize its naval capability due to a rise in maritime piracy within the Gulf of Guinea, which may adversely affect the country's economy.

Angolan Army

Angola's military might, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), consists of the Angolan Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Angolan Army is the land component of the FAA.

The Angolan Army is the largest segment of the FAA, with the Navy and Air Force maintaining far fewer troops. The Angolan Army has about 120,000 men and women, including around 29,000 "ghost workers" who remain enrolled in the ranks and receive a salary. The Army is organised into six military regions (Cabinda, Luanda, North, Centre, East, and South), with an infantry division based in each. Distributed across these six military regions/infantry divisions are 25 motorized infantry brigades, one tank brigade, and one engineering brigade.

The Angolan Army operates a large amount of Russian, Soviet, and ex-Warsaw Pact hardware, much of which was acquired in the 1980s and 1990s due to hostilities with neighbouring countries and the Angolan Civil War, which lasted from November 1975 until 2002. The Army's major equipment includes over 140 main battle tanks, 600 reconnaissance vehicles, over 920 AFVs, infantry fighting vehicles, 298 howitzers, and various rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, and anti-tank weapons.

In 2014, Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem became the first Angolan woman to be promoted to the post of General Officer of the Angolan Armed Forces. As of 2021, the reported total manpower of the FAA was about 107,000. Angola is ranked 55th out of 145 countries in the 2024 Global Firepower review, with a Power Index score of 0.8702.

Angolan Navy

The Angolan Navy, or MGA, is the naval branch of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and is tasked with protecting Angola's 1,600km-long coastline. It was founded in 1977, but its origins can be traced back to 1975 when Angolans took over naval facilities abandoned by the Portuguese Navy. The Navy has approximately 1,000 personnel and operates a handful of small patrol craft and barges.

The Angolan Navy has been neglected and allowed to deteriorate, largely due to the guerrilla struggle against the Portuguese and the nature of the civil war. As a result, the Navy has shrunk from around 4,200 personnel in the early 1990s to its current size, leading to a loss of skills and expertise needed to maintain equipment. Most of the vessels in the Navy's inventory date back to the 1980s or earlier, and many are now inoperable due to age and lack of maintenance.

However, Angola's oil wealth is enabling the Navy to modernise its forces. In 2014, it was reported that the Angolan Navy would acquire seven Macaé-class patrol vessels from Brazil as part of a Technical Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the production of the vessels as part of Angola's Naval Power Development Programme (Pronaval). Additionally, Germany delivered several Fast Attack Craft for border protection in 2011, and in 2023, Angola signed a 1 billion euro deal with the United Arab Emirates' Edge group for the delivery of a fleet of corvettes.

The Angolan Navy's current known inventory includes:

• 4 Mandume-class craft
• 3 18.3m long Patrulheiro-class patrol boats
• 2 Namacurra-class harbour patrol boats
• Fisheries Patrol Boats
• Ngola Kiluange and Nzinga Mbandi vessels
• 28-metre FRV 2810 vessel
• LDM-400 vessel
• Coastal defense equipment, including the SS-C1 Sepal radar system
• Maritime patrol aircraft, including the Fokker F27 Friendship, F27 Maritime Enforcer, and Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante

National Air Force of Angola

The National Air Force of Angola (FANA), or Força Aérea Nacional de Angola in Portuguese, is the air branch of the Angolan Armed Forces. Angola gained independence from Portugal on 11 November 1975. However, the foundations for the establishment of the air force were laid before independence when members of the then Flying Club of Angola were assembled at Luanda in October 1975. These people and the aircraft left behind by the Portuguese Air Force formed the basis for the air transport branch of the force.

The force was formally established on 21 January 1976, as the People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola (FAPA/DAA). Its first batch of Soviet MiG fighter aircraft was delivered in mid-December 1975. The FANA has bases at Luanda, Catumbela, Belas, Luena, Kuito, Lubango, and Moçâmedes.

The FANA is organised into six aviation regiments, each including several squadrons. To each of the regiments corresponds an air base. In addition to the aviation regiments, there is also a Pilot Training School. The FANA has a reported total manpower of about 8,000, with equipment including transport aircraft and six Russian-manufactured Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft.

The Angolan Air Force is under the operational control of the Army and is headed by the Chief of Staff of the FANA, who is a General directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces.

Angolan Civil War

Angola does have an army, which is the land component of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). The Angolan Civil War was a 27-year conflict that began in 1975, shortly after Angola gained independence from Portugal, and continued, with interludes, until 2002.

The war was a power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements: the communist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). A third movement, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), had fought alongside UNITA during the Angolan War of Independence but played a minimal role in the Civil War.

The roots of the conflict can be traced back to the anti-colonial movements of the 1950s. The MPLA was primarily an urban-based movement in Luanda, composed largely of Mbundu people. On the other hand, the FNLA and UNITA were rural groups, with the former consisting mainly of Bakongo people from Northern Angola, and the latter, an offshoot of the FNLA, was made up of Ovimbundu people from the Bié Plateau.

The conflict can be divided into three periods of major fighting: from 1975 to 1991, 1992 to 1994, and 1998 to 2002, with fragile periods of peace in between. The war resulted in devastating consequences for Angola, with a death toll between 500,000 and 800,000, over a million internally displaced people, and severe damage to infrastructure, public administration, the economy, and religious institutions.

The Angolan Civil War was notable for the high degree of foreign military and political involvement, with the Soviet Union and Cuba supporting the MPLA, and the United States and South Africa backing UNITA. It is widely considered a Cold War proxy conflict and became intertwined with the Second Congo War and the South African Border War.

The war ended with the MPLA achieving victory in 2002, but the country continues to bear the scars of the conflict, with land mines still littering the countryside and contributing to civilian casualties.

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