27/09/2025
THE OFFICER CONDUCTING SADC EXERCISE BLUE LUGWASHO 2025 DECLARES IT A SUCCESS AND THANKS ALL STAKEHOLDERS
The last flights ferrying the last consignments of the relief maize took off from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Standing Aviation Committee (SAC) Exercise Blue Lugwasho 2025 Main Operating Base (MOB) at Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Livingstone on 26 September 2025.
Speaking during the closing ceremony, the Officer Conducting the Exercise and Zambia’s Air Force Commander, Lt Gen Oscar Nyoni announced that the objectives set out prior to the commencement of the exercise have been successfully achieved.
Lt Gen Nyoni said the Exercise primary objective of testing and exercising the SADC Air Forces, and the secondary but equally important objective of delivering relief food, clean water, medical services, and infrastructure to the people of Zambia had been achieved.
“The exercise tested the SADC Air Forces interoperability, refined procedures, and explored ways to enhance response to complex humanitarian situations. The SADC Exercise Blue Lugwasho 2025 was not merely theoretical but applied practical solutions to real-world problems and brought real help ‘lugwasho’ to the people of Zambia. Our ability to overcome the challenges faced during the exercise has strengthened our resilience and enhanced our preparedness to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies, security threats, natural disasters, or humanitarian crises,” Lt Gen Nyoni said.
He went on to say that through the employment of air assets provided by participating SADC Member States, humanitarian aid in the form of 450 metric tonnes of relief maize from the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit was airlifted to Livingstone, Maamba, Namwala, Itezhi-Tezhi, Sinazongwe, Gwembe, Mulobezi and Mwandi.
The Officer Conducting the Exercise also acknowledged and thanked all the stakeholders who contributed to the success of the Exercise. He thanked the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Defence Force of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, for the support rendered, which enabled the successful ex*****on of Exercise Blue Lugwasho 2025.
Lt Gen Nyoni also noted the support to the Zambia Air Force from the Minister of Defence, Honourable Ambrose Lwinji Lufuma MP.
Lt Gen Nyoni expressed gratitude to the SADC Standing Aviation Committee Chairperson, Maj Gen Shabani Baragash Mani for his leadership and support towards the Exercise.
He further commended the SADC Air Chiefs for their commitment to regional cooperation by honouring their pledges of personnel, air assets and equipment.
“I wish to report that a total of nineteen air assets from various SADC Member States participated in this exercise. These included the C-130 from Botswana, the Zambia Air Force C-27J Spartan aircraft, and the Tanzanian CASA-235. Other aircraft critical to tactical airlift from the main operating base to beneficiary districts included the Zimbabwean CASA-212 aircraft and Bell-412 helicopter, the Tanzanian Airbus AS-332 (Super Puma) helicopter, the South African A-109 helicopter, and the BK-117 helicopter,” Lt Gen Nyoni said.
He also noted that the Zambia Air Force had deployed the Y-12 and C-208 Caravan aircraft and that two K-8 fighter aircraft from Namibia had operated seamlessly with four Zambia Air Force K-8 fighter aircraft in a display of interoperability to simulate asymmetric warfare and conduct fly-past.
Lt Gen Nyoni stated that while regional cooperation was at the core of the Exercise, the Zambia Army and Zambia National Service contributed to its success. For this reason, Lt Gen Nyoni thanked the Zambia Army and Zambia National Service Commanders, for demonstrating outstanding inter-service collaboration in support of the Exercise.
He acknowledged the contribution of the Zambia Army Level One Mobile Medical Unit deployed in Maamba, comprising a pharmacy, radiology, outpatient, dental, and eye care facilities, all supported by a power truck. He also expressed appreciation for the participation of the Zambia Army Special Forces saying they added realism to the Exercise.
The Officer Conducting the Exercise also recognized the Zambia National Service for rehabilitating essential runway infrastructure in Namwala, which was critical to the conduct of this exercise and proved to be of strategic importance, as it enabled landings by fixed-wing aircraft and enhanced capacity to distribute relief food and ferry medical supplies.
Lt Gen Nyoni also expressed appreciation to the Exercise stakeholders including the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), the Zambia Flying Doctor Service, World Vision, the Civil Aviation Authority Zambia Revenue Authority, Maamba Collieries Limited and Zambia Airports Corporation Limited.
The Eight SADC Member States that participated in the ex*****on phase of Exercise Blue Lugwasho 2025 include Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Although the last flight under Exercise Blue Lugwasho 2025 landed, the lessons learnt will ensure the success of future operations and ensure SADC Air Forces are better equipped to interoperate, save lives, safeguard peace, and strengthen stability across the SADC region.
Credit;ZAF
