Armée du Malawi / Malawian Defence Force

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Malawi Defence Force Marine Unit takes delivery of BR850 interceptors

The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Marine Unit has commissioned seven new Guardian BR850 interceptor boats from Nautic Africa, which are being deployed on Lake Malawi.

They were commissioned by President Joyce Banda last week at their Monkey Bay base, on the shore of Lake Malawi. The boats will be used to patrol the lake, and will also engage in VIP transport/escort, search and rescue and disaster relief operations. They were delivered in pairs over the last three months.

James Fisher, CEO of Nautic Africa, told defenceWeb that the contract for the seven boats includes training and maintenance support over a period of five years and that Malawi is in discussions to purchase additional larger boats from the company. One option could be purchasing a 35 metre patrol boat and using it as a ‘mother ship’ from which to launch BR850s, allowing Malawi to cover a much larger area of the lake.

Although the BR850s were delivered without weapons, Malawi intends to arm them – the interceptors have weapons mounts for items such as 12.7 mm machineguns.

According to the Malawi News Agency, the delivery is a big boost to the operational capability of the Marine Unit, which has struggled to accomplish its mission of securing the country's maritime domain since its foundation in 1978.

The Malawi Defence Force’s maritime wing has only a few patrol boats in its inventory, including a couple of armed launches, a dozen Zodiacs and several small patrol craft, including two Namacurras donated by the South African Navy.

Fisher said the delivery of the BR850s was a major boost to the Marine Unit as the boats are fast, hardy and strong and suitable for beach landings and navigating shallow creeks and other waterways.

Banda said the acquisition of the boats was part of a comprehensive government strategy to improve the working and living conditions of the defence force.

"(The) government is committed to improving the living conditions for all men and women in uniform who are currently performing remarkably despite the lack of modern resources and the poor living conditions they are enduring. I am pleased to report that our soldiers who are on the peacekeeping assignment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are performing excellently and that is an indication of the well disciplined military that Malawi owns," Banda said.

The Guardian BR850 is an 8.5 mm aluminium craft with a full load displacement of 3.8 tonnes and can be carried aboard larger vessels for use on boarding operations – it has a single-point hoist mechanism, making it easy for mother ships to hoist the boat onto the water.

The craft has a 2.8 m beam and 60 cm draught - this shallow draft combined with a 373 kW diesel with a tunnel propeller drive allows operations close to the shore and in river deltas.

They craft has a maximum speed of 42 knots with a range of 295 km at that speed, or a 700 km range at 20 knots for inshore patrol or similar tasks. It is designed for a crew of two with space for a six-strong boarding party, and can be fitted with shock-mitigating seats if intended for high-speed intercept missions. Systems include a GPS/chart plotter and a 2 kW 4G broadband radar. Ballistic protection is available using Nautic’s SuperShield armour, which protects to NATO Level 3+. However, this adds a couple of tons of weight.

Nautic began sea trials of the 8.5 metre Guardian BR850 in December 2012. Several African customers have already ordered, and received, the BR850. Nautic Africa recently concluded a R600 million deal to build several 35 metre multi-role patrol vessels for West African clients and these will carry BR850 boats.

Ten and 12 metre variants of the Guardian are also available, but none have been built yet as Nautic is full up with other orders. Fisher said there was a lot of interest in the range, and expects further BR850 orders before year-end.

The Paramount Group last week announced it had acquired a majority stake in Nautic Africa, and once the Paramount marketing machine gets rolling, Fisher is confident of receiving many more orders – in fact, he is worried that the company won’t be able to cope and that it will need to expand it premises even more. He told defenceWeb that production capacity stands at R500 million a year, but Paramount could bring in orders worth billions.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32638:malawi-defence-force-marine-unit-takes-delivery-of-br850-interceptors&catid=51:Sea&Itemid=106

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Malawi Peacekeepers Protest Allowance Cuts in DRC
March 8, 2016



Soldiers from Malawi Defence Force (MDF) serving on UN peace keeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo are protesting angrily against government decision to drastically cut their United Nations sponsored allowance.

Chief of military operations Valentino Phiri confirmed soldiers are not happy with the government decision to cut allowances from the UN to fund other military operations both back in Malawi and abroad.

The government of Malawi provides the soldiers and the UN is responsible for their allowances which are wired direct to the government purse upon completion of their assignment.

“There is welfare problem within the military. We know the economy is not doing well back home but you can see the terrain our soldiers are working,” said Phiri.

The army has taken a contingent of Malawi media both from the public and private for them to see the difficult conditions the soldiers are in and dispel rumours from some soldiers who claimed the military is embezzling their allowances.

It has however transpired that the military was using some of the allowances for other operations in view of huge government budget cuts affecting all government departments.

Chairman of parliamentary committee on defence Willet Kalonga who is also in the DRC said he would lobby to parliament for more budgetary allocation to the military.

“The government should ensure that our troops are equipped. As you can see here, the forest is thick, vision is up to five metres they are in bad terrain,” he said.

Deputy defence minister Malison Ndau who is also in north Kivu with the troops said the government will always support the troops.

Soldiers stay in DRC for the UN mission for year up from eight month.

Military officials are however reluctant to disclose how much they pay soldiers when they finish their mission nor could they say by how much the allowances have been reduced.

As reported by Owen Khamula for the Nyasa Times




http://www.african-defense.com/defense-news/malawi-peacekeepers-protest-allowance-cuts-in-drc/

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Malawi Defence Force to Patrol Mountain Areas
May 19, 2016



The Malawian government through the Department of Forestry has engaged the services of the Malawi Defense Force (MDF) to help in protecting the Mulanje Mountain.

MDF has been given a go ahead by council members from both Phalombe and Mulanje districts which surround the mountain.

Speaking during a meeting held in Mulanje, Director for Forestry Department, Clement Chilima said illegal harvesting of timber and charcoal are among the things that are depleting more resources from the mountain making it lose its attraction which it had before hence the idea to involve MDF to bring back sanity in the management and conservation of the mountain.

He added that government had done the same in the Dzalanyama Range in Lilongwe and Chikangawa in Mzimba as one way of protecting the forest reserves which he described as source to valuable things like water.

“We have involved the MDF to make people comply with regulations in the management of forestry reserves though it is just on temporary measure as we did at Dzalanyama and Chikangawa forest reserves while we are working towards tangible solutions to the problem,” Chilima explained.

Chilima further said although a non -governmental organization like the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) was working towards protecting the mountain, still there was huge task considering the vastness of the area covered by the mountain hence engaging MDF in the course.

Speaking on behalf of the two districts, Member of Parliament for Phalombe East, Amos Mailosi welcomed MDF to protect the Mountain saying it was high time something was done and asked people surrounding the mountain to adhere to what the soldiers will be promoting because at the end of the day the people are the ones to benefit and not the soldiers who in this case are just partners in development.

In his remarks, Chief of Military Operations, Brigadier Paul Phiri said their coming has been well strategized to ensure that laws on the conservation of the Mountain are enforced.

Phiri stressed the need for people to understand that they are not coming as their enemies and asked them to partner with them to stop malpractices happening in the mountain.

“As you might be aware we are also working in Dzalanyama and Chikangawa and we have had several instances where our soldiers were in dispute with people in those areas because maybe they feel they are there to take away what belongs to them but that is not actually the case, we are here sorely to help in bringing back sanity in the protection of the mountain,” Phiri said.

As reported by Nellie Kanyemba for the Nyasa Times


http://www.african-defense.com/defense-news/malawi-defence-force-to-patrol-mountain-areas/

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Malawi’s First Lieutenant Colonel
May 23, 2016 14
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Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has promoted Chanju Mwale, who is the first female lawyer in the history of the country’s army, from the rank of major to Lieutenant Colonel.

Chanju, 37-year-old single mother, studied at Kamuzu Academy and then went to Chancellor College to pursue a Bachelor of Laws Degree.

After graduation, she joined the Judiciary as senior resident magistrate and stayed for two years before joining the military in 2004.

Chanju has undergone various courses and trainings, including being deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a military observer from 2010 till 2011 and taking part in military exercises at SADC level.

In 2014, she was awarded the United Nations (UN) Fellowship in International Law (of the sea) a prestigious fellowship which was sponsored by the Nippon Foundation of Japan.

During a published interview, Chanju said the military is a traditionally male dominated institution and proving oneself worthy is an uphill battle every single day.

“We still have a lot of ground to cover for women to be fully incorporated into the system. Mind sets need more adjustments and this applies to both males and females in the service. Changes can, however, be embraced if they stem from management and policy level to trickle down to ranks.

“All in all, I am proud of myself because I worked hard and sacrificed a lot to be where I am. It can be daunting because of the responsibilities I hold as a woman, lawyer and service member.”

Chanju is a mother to daughter Taweneko who is 15 and Shaun who is eight.

“It is not easy to be a single mother and support the two, but I always prioritise them in my expenditures. My parents have been instrumental in the bringing up of my children, offering support whenever I travel on duty.”

As reported by the Nyasa Times




http://www.african-defense.com/defense-news/malawis-first-lieutenant-colonel/

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India to supply of up to 500 military vehicles for Malawi
Jul 17, 2016


The India’s Ashok Leyland will supply of up to 500 vehicles for military and civil purposes, covering everything from armored personnel carriers to fuel trucks to Malawi.

The Malawi Ministry of Defence is looking to acquire armoured personnel carriers, light trucks, fuel tankers, field ambulances, water bowsers, buses and logistics vehicles to replace its Tata-made military fleet, which was also acquired from India a decade ago.

The new vehicles would cost around $45 million.



http://defence-blog.com/army/india-to-supply-of-up-to-500-military-vehicles-for-malawi.html

Citation :

Malawi commissions naval vessels

Written by defenceWeb -
22nd Aug 2019
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Malawi's new patrol boats.

Malawi President Peter Mutharika on 21 August presided over the commissioning of patrol vessels that he said would help boost the operations of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Maritime Unit.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of two patrol vessels and four high speed interceptors at Mangochi, Mutharika said he was determined to ensure that MDF is well equipped to defend the country.

“Today marks another milestone in the history of Malawi, especially MDF with the commissioning of these state-of-the-art warships. Our soldiers are among the best in the world. I am proud of them because of their discipline and professionalism and my government will continue in ensuring that they are well equipped. These new warships will boost the capabilities of MDF maritime force,” Mutharika said.

The vessels were supplied by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), with the Vice President of NORINCO, Zheng Yi, attending the commissioning ceremony. The two patrol vessels are named SMR Mutharika (after the president) and SMR Muluzi after the first Commander–in-Chief of the MDF in the multiparty dispensation.

The high speed interceptor boats have been named after four Commanders of the MDF, namely General Melvin Khanga (SMR Khanga), General Isaac Yohane (SMR Yohane), General Dismas Maulana (SMR Maulana) and General Manken Chigawa (SMR Chigawa).

Speaking earlier Malawi Deputy Defence Minister Chipiliro Mpinganjira hailed the government for buying the equipment from China.

Army General Vincent Nundwe said the vessels would go a long way in helping boost the operations of MDF. “These vessels are ready to sail on Lake Malawi and safeguard the nation,” Nundwe said. He added that the vessels would be used for search and rescue, coastal patrols, VIP escort and humanitarian relief, amongst others.

The Malawi Defence Force’s maritime unit was established in 1978 with two boats and one landing craft. In 2013 it took delivery of seven new Guardian BR850 interceptor boats from Nautic Africa, which were deployed on Lake Malawi.

The Malawi Defence Force’s maritime wing has only a few patrol boats in its inventory, including a couple of armed launches, a dozen Zodiacs and several small patrol craft, including two Namacurras donated by the South African Navy

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/featured/malawi-commissions-naval-vessels/

19.05.2023

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