Nine Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries are represented at Exercise Blue Lugwasho currently underway in Zambia.
The exercise takes its name from the Tonga verb meaning to help, with the blue colour prefix used in any number of regional bloc defence and military exercises. Examples are Blue Hungwe in Zimbabwe (1997), Blue Crane in South Africa (1999), and Blue Angle in Zambia (2003).
Blue Lugwasho was “flagged off” by Zambia’s Acting Defence Minister, Brenda Tambatamba, on behalf of President Hakainde Hichilema, at the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Lusaka air base on Monday 8 September. She termed the exercise “a practical demonstration of regional solidarity and preparedness in responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and modern security threats”.
Participating countries are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and hosts Zambia. All told, according to the Zambia Air Force, nearly a thousand military personnel are taking part, along with fixed wing aircraft like C-130 Hercules, C-27J Spartan, C295 and Il-76 airlifters, and H215, BK117 and Agusta A109 rotorcraft. These assets will move personnel and supplies in and around Zambia’s southern corridor.
Zambia is currently being gripped by drought – its worst in 40 years. This will see the country’s disaster management and mitigation unit deliver 450 tons of maize to assist with hunger relief during Blue Lugwasho. The humanitarian aid is earmarked for the Livingstone, Sinazongwe, Maamba, Namwala, Itezhi-Tezhi, Gwembe, Mulobezi and Mwandi districts.
ZAF Commander, Lieutenant General Oscar Nyoni, told the “flagging off” parade the exercise would also see medical outreach in rural areas delivered by the Zambia Flying Doctor Service with operational support from government ministries and security wings as well as the SADC Secretariat and member countries.
“What distinguishes Blue Lugwasho 2025 is its integration of asymmetrical warfare simulations, a first for SADC SAC (Standing Air Committee) blue exercises. This inclusion ensures participating air forces can train for the real world, not just theory,” Nyoni is quoted as saying.
He sees the exercise testing the SADC air forces’ ability to operate in complex environments where humanitarian assistance may coincide with security threats, such as enemy intrusion or non-state actor aggression. Both the Zambia Army and Zambia National Service will participate in Blue Lugwasho.
Held under the coordination of the SADC Standing Aviation Committee, Blue Lugwasho marks the first major post-COVID-19 blue exercise, following a pandemic induced hiatus since 2019. Blue Lugwasho 2025 runs to 26 September.
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