Finally: aerial strength returns

The Air Force of Mozambique (FAM) has received in recent months in Maputo eight fighter-bomber aircraft MIG-21, which have been completely reconstructed and re-equipped with modern technology instruments, which lend the fleet of warplanes exceptional actualidade.Os aircraft They were fully converted in the workshops of the aerospace company Aerostar in Bacau, Romania, a company that is now one of the most prestigious sector of the repair, maintenance and modernization of military aircraft in Europe, with great support from reputable brands, including Airbus. It has been remarkable work that the Aerostar has developed into equipment coming from the factories of the countries that were once united in the 'Iron Curtain' or were assigned to the Soviet Union. The case of the MIG-21 Mozambique are proof that good work, highlighted by the European trade press in their editions' on line'.Os aircraft were acquired by Mozambique in 1982, but some did not get to fly 10 years (were intact in former Nacala airbase) and others not left the boxes, according to international press reports. When Mozambique decided three years ago to rehabilitate its Air Force had no planes and those who did not were operacionais.O contract for recovery of seven MIG-21 'Fishbed' (two seater) and two MG-21UM 'Mongol-B' ( used for instruction), also included the recovery of other aircraft, two seats, a L-39ZO Albatros, a jet of advanced training, developed by the former Czechoslovakia in the sixties, and is now also back to Moçambique.

O program -Contract between FAM and the Aerostar was 12 months and also included the education and training of military pilots and mechanics and other personnel will support the MIGs squad in terra.Segundo the magazine specializing in military affairs and defense ' IHS Jane's Defence 'Mozambique also acquired the Aerostar two ultralight planes' Festival' that will certainly be used in the training of pilot cadets who join the FAM. These aircraft are Romanian manufacture.The renovation project of the Mozambican Air Force has accelerated in recent months.

 Last year the FAM received two Antonov transport planes Na-26, second-hand in Ukraine, where the devices have been totally revised and painted with the colors of the military institution in Mozambique. Already in Maputo.It is recalled that Mozambique received in 1978 ten transport planes of that model, then provided under the military-technical cooperation agreements that the Armed Forces of Mozambique had with the former Soviet Union (USSR), as they are of Ukrainian manufacture, country which was then integrated in the former USSR. These planes is known that one was shot down assets due to having been destroyed in an accident in Pemba Airport in northern Mozambique that killed three crew members and 41 of the 48 passengers were on board. Six were parked in the open in the military zone of Maputo Airport, two in Beira Airport and another in Cuamba. None of these planes is recoverable, according to sources related to aviation in Mozambique.The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90s, was crucial for the future of military aviation in Mozambique was practically dependent on the support of the then Soviet.Besides the two An-26 military transport planes already in Maputo, the Mozambican Air Force acquired last year an executive jet 'Hawker 850XP', secondhand and built in 2005 in the United States, which is intended to transport individuals, including government officials, when on official travel. 

Earlier, in September 2012, the Mozambican Armed Forces signed a cooperation agreement with Portugal (CTM - Military-Technical Cooperation) through which the Portuguese Air Force is training Mozambican staff in various services of military activity at the same time they were Mozambique offered the two light aircraft 'Cessna / Reims FTB-337G Milirole', who were assigned to the Aviation School of Practice and which are used in training pilots, medical evacuations and air traffic control of the Mozambican coast.The School of Aviation Practice is still in its training fleet a Cessna 152, a Cessna 172 and a Piper PA-32 Seneca, it acquired in 2011. 

The President of Brazil authorized the deployment to Mozambique, the supply of title, three Emb-312 Tucano fighters for training Air Force Mozambique. The planes, which once were part of the fleet of the Brazilian Air Force, are now allowed to continue their journey to Mozambique. These aircraft follow free, but the Brazilian defense minister has hinted that the offer has a double interest, as Brazil believes that in the near future Mozambique will order the Brazilian plant three Emb-314 Super Tucano aircraft, the updated version of the plane Embraer's military training. It's natural interest that we are witnessing the refit and relaunch air force Mozambican, who last was an excellent breeding ground for pilots, many in civilian life working in estrangeiro.Nunca was well understood because the Mozambican government, after Samora Machel, left drop the Air Force. There are mismatched versions, some unorthodox analysis and chain justification, but we've never seen confirmed or denied by the government of Maputo, that the FAM has been suspended, for so it was agreed when negotiating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between Frelimo and the Renamo on 4 October 1992 in Rome.