Rwandan Defence Forces - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF, in French Forces Rwandaises de Défense) is the national army of Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

. Largely composed of former Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) fighters, it comprises (a) The High Command Council of the Rwanda Defence Forces; (b) the General Staff of the Rwanda Defence Forces; (c) the Rwanda Land Force; (d) the Rwanda Air Force; and (e) specialised units. In November 2002 Emmanuel Habyarimana

Emmanuel Habyarimana

Emmanuel Habyarimana is a former Rwandan soldier and politician.Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu, was a former member of the Rwandan Armed Forces in the Hutu-dominated state of Juvénal Habyarimana...

was removed from his post as Minister of Defence, which government spokesperson Joseph Bideri attributed to his "extreme pro-Hutu" views. Habyarimana was replaced by Marcel Gatsinzi

Marcel Gatsinzi

Marcel Gatsinzi is a Rwandan soldier and politician, and Rwanda's current Minister of Defence.An ethnic Hutu from Butare, Gatsinzi is a former member of the Rwandan Armed Forces , which was the national army prior to the conquest of Rwanda by the RPF following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide...

.

After the successful conquest of the country in 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide

Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...

, the Rwandan Patriotic Front

Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...

decided to split the RPF into a political division (which retained the RPF name) and a military division, which was to serve as the official army of the Rwandan state in two distinct and independent institutions.

Defence spending continues to represent an important share of the national budget, largely due to continuing security problems along the frontiers with the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

and Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

, and lingering concerns about Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

's intentions towards its former ally. The government has launched an ambitious plan to demobilize thousands of soldiers.

Four serving army officers of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) were indicted in June 2008 for crimes committed during the 1994 genocide.

Historical outline 1962-1994

The U.S. Army's Area Handbook for Rwanda, compiled in 1968-69, describes the security forces of Rwanda in 1969 as the 2,500 plus strong National Guard and the National police, about 1,200 strong. The National Guard had been established two years before independence and had gained experience by repelling small Tutsi

Tutsi

The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....

invasions in 1963 and 1964. It was under the direction of the Minister of Defence, Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...

, who also held the function of Chief of Staff of the National Guard in mid 1969. At that time it was composed of a headquarters, an intervention group (effectively an infantry battalion), five other rifle companies, and five independent rifle platoons.

The Rwandan Armed Forces or Forces Armées Rwandaises was the national army of Rwanda

Rwanda

until July 1994, when the Hutu

Hutu

The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...

-dominated government collapsed in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide

Rwandan Genocide

and the invasion by Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...

's Rwandan Patriotic Front

Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...

. Alison Des Forges

Alison Des Forges

Alison Des Forges was an American historian and human rights activist who specialized in the African Great Lakes region, particularly the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. At the time of her death, she was a senior advisor for the African continent at Human Rights Watch.-Life:Des Forges was born Alison B...

and Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...

describe the army under President, former General, Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana

, as some 7,000 strong, including about 1,200 of whom were part of the Gendarmerie

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

. Elite troops included the Presidential Guard, estimated at between 1000 - 1300 troops, as well as the Paracommando and Reconnaissance units. These two units were of battalion strength by 1994, and then counted a total of 800 troops.

In response to the RPF invasion of 1990, the 5,000-man FAR rapidly expanded, with French training assistance (as many as 1,100 French troops were in Rwanda at a time), to some 30,000 by 1992. A significant number of the new soldiers opposed the negotiations with the RPF (the process that would lead to the Arusha Accords

Arusha Accords

The Arusha Accords were a set of five accords signed in Arusha, Tanzania on August 4, 1993, by the government of Rwanda and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front , under mediation, to end a three-year Rwandan Civil War...

), not just because they did not wish to give up the fight, but because the dreaded demobilisation, and potential return to menial labour that they thought they 'had left behind' by their new military careers.

The Arusha Accords

Arusha Accords

, signed on August 4, 1993, laid out a very detailed plan for the integration of the Rwandan Government and Rwandan Patriotic Front

Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...

military forces. The Rwandan government was to provide 60% of the troops for the new integrated army, but would have to share command positions with the RPF down to the level of battalion. The new army was to consist of no more than 19,000 soldiers and 6,000 Gendarmerie

Gendarmerie

. However radical elements within the Rwandan government were implacably opposed to implementation of the Accords and, instead, began the planning that would lay the foundations for the genocide.

The Reconnaissance Battalion's commander, François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye

François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye

François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye is a former Rwandan soldier, who is chiefly known for his alleged role in the Rwandan Genocide.- Background and role in genocide :...

, and his subordinates played a key role during the genocide. Together with the Reconnaissance Battalion, the Paracommando Battalion under Major Aloys Ntabakuze and the Presidential Guard under Major Protais Mpiranya

Protais Mpiranya

Protais Mpiranya is a Rwandan soldier, who is alleged to have participated in the Rwandan Genocide.- Background and role in genocide :An ethnic Hutu, Mpiranya was born in Gitarama prefecture. In 1993, he held the rank of major in the Rwandan Armed Forces and was second-in-command of military...

became the three most significant genocidare units.

Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Marcel Gatsinzi

was briefly named chief of staff of the armed forces from April 6 to April 16, 1994, but was replaced by Augustin Bizimungu

Augustin Bizimungu

Augustin Bizimungu is a former general in the Rwandan Armed Forces . In 1994, he briefly served as chief of staff of the army...

, quickly promoted to major general, as Gatsinzi opposed the genocide. Bizimungu was only briefly chief of staff before fleeing the country. Many soldiers of the FAR have since been implicated by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...

in the genocide, including its leader during the genocide, Colonel Théoneste Bagosora

Théoneste Bagosora

Colonel Théoneste Bagosora is a former Rwandan military officer. He is chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. And for that, he is sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTR.-History and career:...

, who was chief of the cabinet (private office) of the Ministry of Defence prior to the genocide. Other top leaders in the FAR were implicated in the assassination of the President, Juvénal Habyarimana

Juvénal Habyarimana

, which sparked the genocide.

Many elements of the former Rwandan régime, including soldiers formerly of the FAR, fled to eastern Zaire

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

after the RPF victory, where they formed the RDR army, which still has a descendant force in today's Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda is the primary remnant Rwandan Hutu Power rebel group in the east of the of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is often referred to as simply the FDLR after its original French name: the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda...

, active primarily in North Kivu.

Land Forces

A number of sources, including Gerard Prunier

Gérard Prunier

Gérard Prunier is a French academic and historian specializing in the Horn of Africa and East Africa.Prunier received a PhD in African History in 1981 from the University of Paris. In 1984, he joined the CNRS scientific institution in Paris as a researcher. He later also became Director of the...

, document U.S. aid to the RPA before the First Congo War

First Congo War

The First Congo War was a revolution in Zaire that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko, a decades-long dictator, with rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Destabilization in eastern Zaire that resulted from the Rwandan genocide was the final factor that caused numerous internal and external actors...

. The officially admitted part of the training was Joint Combined Exchange Training

Joint Combined Exchange Training

Joint Combined Exchange Training or JCET programs are exercises designed to provide training opportunities for American Special Forces who are stationed outside of the United States by holding the training exercises in countries that the forces may one day have to operate in, as well as providing...

. Prunier strongly implies the United States supplied communications equipment, vehicles, boots, and medicines to the RPA before the war began and after it broke out, delivered second-hand Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

weapons and ammunition either directly to Goma

Goma

Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...

or by airdrop along the AFDL front lines.
He reports that after the war's outbreak, the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

had switched from using C-141 Starlifter

C-141 Starlifter

The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...

s and C-5 Galaxy

C-5 Galaxy

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...

s to deliver the non-lethal aid to Kigali Airport and Entebbe Airport, to airdrops by C-130 Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

aircraft.

From July 1994 until December 1997 the RPA had six brigades, as designated in the Arusha Accords: 402nd in Kigali and Kigali Rurale Prefecture; 201st in Kibungo, Umatura, and Byumba Prefectures; 301st in Butare, Gikongoro, and Cyangugu Prefectures; 305th in Gitatama and Kibuye Prefectures; and 211th in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Prefectures. The brigade boundaries mirrored the political administrative boundaries, which often complicated
military operations. During the First Congo War

First Congo War

the brigade headquarters remained inside Rwanda but directed operations inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

.

Jane's World Armies said in July 2009 that 'the RDF is deployed to protect the country's borders and defend against external aggression. There are four divisions, each deploying three brigades:

1 Division, based at Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...

, covers the central and east region;
2 Division, based at Byumba
Byumba
Byumba is a city in northern Rwanda, and is the capital of Gicumbi district and the Northern Province. It is home to an SOS Children's Village. The city lies 60 km north of the capital Kigali, and is not far from the border with Uganda....

, covers the north and east region;
3 Division, based at Gisenyi
Gisenyi
Gisenyi is a city in Rubavu district in the Western Province of Rwanda. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The population of the city is about 106 000 .-Description:...

, covers the northwest region; and
4 Division, based at Butare
Butare
Butare is a city in the Southern Province of Rwanda and capital of Huye district. It was the capital of the former Butare Province, Rwanda, that was dissolved on January 1, 2006....

, covers the southwest region.'

The Cyangungu Military Camp (alternative spelling seems to be Cyangugu

Cyangugu

Cyangugu is a city and capital of the Rusizi district of Western Province, Rwanda. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Kivu, and is contiguous with Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but separated from it by the Ruzizi River...

) has been reported to house the 31st Brigade of the 4th Division of the Rwandan Defence Forces.

Lieutenant General Charles Kayonga is the Chief of Defence Staff of the Rwandese Defence Forces.

Many soldiers from the former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), the national army under the previous regime, have been incorporated into the RDF since 1994. This process began soon after the genocide in January 1995, when several former FAR officers were given high positions in the new armed forces: Colonel Marcel Gatsinzi became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the RPA, Colonel Balthazar Ndengeyinka became commander of the 305th Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Laurent Munyakazi took command of the 99th battalion, and LTC Emmanuel Habyarimana became an RPA member of parliament and the director for training in the Ministry of Defence. Gatsinzi later became Director of Security and then Ministry of Defence in 2002.

Equipment

Tanks and infantry fighting vehicle

Infantry fighting vehicle

An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...

s reported in service include 24 T-55 tanks (30 received) from the Soviet Union, and BMP-1

BMP-1

The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...

Infantry fighting vehicles from the USSR.

Small arms reported in service include the Soviet AK-47

AK-47

The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

, AKM

AKM

The AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....

, the South African R4

R4 assault rifle

The R4 is a 5.56mm assault rifle that was introduced into service with the South African Defence Force in 1982, replacing the earlier 7.62mm FN FAL rifle, that was manufactured in South Africa under a license agreement from Fabrique Nationale as the R1...

rifle, the German Heckler & Koch G3

Heckler & Koch G3

The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....

, the Belgain FN FAL

FN FAL

The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...

, the Soviet RPK machine gun and
DShK machine gun, the Soviet RPG-7

RPG-7

The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...

, and three types of mortar: French 81mm mortar

81mm Mortar

A 81mm Mortar is a medium weight mortar. It is a smooth bore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for long-range indirect fire support to light infantry, air assault, and airborne units across the entire front of a battalion zone of influence....

and 120mm mortar, and Soviet 82mm mortar.

Armoured Personnel Carriers

M113 armored personnel carrier
M113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...

- 16
BTR-60
BTR-60
The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen first time in public in 1961...

-
RG-31 Nyala- 30
RATEL 20-35 (including 20 Ratel-60) South Africa
Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...

M3 VTT-12 Early Modern France
ZBF05-20 Mainland China
Buffal APC-18

Armored Cars

Panhard AML
Panhard AML
-Former Operators:: unknown number of AML-60s and AML-90s in service between 1960-1975.: 34 Eland 90s and Eland 60s in service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1979, passed on to successor state.-Trivia:...

- 15 AML-60\90 Early Modern France
Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...

VBL
VBL
The Panhard Véhicule Blindé Léger is a wheeled 4x4 all-terrain vehicle offered in various configurations. It was designed to combine the agility of the Peugeot VLTT liaison vehicle with adequate protection against small arms fire, artillery fragments, mines and NBC weapons...

- 16 Early Modern France

Surface to air missiles

SA-7
SA-14
SA-16
Mistral Early Modern France

Artillery and Multiple Rocket Launchers

D30 122mm Towed Howitzer-12
M101 105mm Towed Howitzer
M101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...

-10
BM-21
BM-21
The BM-21 launch vehicle , a Soviet truck-mounted 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, and a M-21OF rocket were developed in the early 1960s. BM stands for boyevaya mashina, ‘combat vehicle’, and the nickname means ‘hail’. The complete system with the BM-21 launch vehicle and the M-21OF rocket...
RM-70
RM-70
The RM-70 multiple rocket launcher is a Czechoslovak army version and the heavier variant of the BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, providing enhanced performance over its parent artillery system that was introduced in 1971 .- Overview :RM-70 was developed in Czechoslovakia as a successor for...

- 5 Czech Republic
Lynx MRL-5

Air Force

After achieving independence in 1962, the air arm (Force Aerienne Rwandaise) was formed with Belgian help. By 1972 the first modern equiment started to arrive in the form of seven Alouette IIIs. Other deliveries included SA 342L Gazelles, Britten-Norman Islander

Britten-Norman Islander

The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...

s, Nord Noratlas

Nord Noratlas

The Nord Noratlas was a 1950s French military transport aircraft intended to replace the older types in service at the end of World War II. Several hundred were produced in a run lasting over a decade, finding a wide variety of uses.-Development:...

, SOCATA Guerrier armed light planes and AS 350B Ecureuils. After fighting began between the RPA and the government in 1990 most aircraft were shot down, destroyed on the ground or crashed. Few survived.

Aircraft reported to be currently in service are listed below.

! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
| Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin

Aérospatiale Dauphin

The Aérospatiale SA 360 Dauphin was a single-engine French utility helicopter developed as a replacement for Aérospatiale's Alouette III and was to be called the "Business Alouette", in the early 1970s and to fill a gap in the company's product line in the six to ten-seat helicopter category...

Eurocopter AS355

The Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 is a twin-engine light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale...

|
| utility helicopter
| SA 355F
| 1
|
|-----
| Mil Mi-24 Hind

Mil Mi-24

The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...

|
| attack helicopter
|
| 2
|
|-----
| Mil Mi-8 Hip

Mil Mi-8

The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....

|
| transport helicopter
|
| 3
|
|-----

| SA-342 Gazelle

|

Early Modern France

| utility helicopter

|

| 7

|

External links

Ministry of Defence, Republic of Rwanda

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Historical outline 1962-1994

Land Forces

Equipment

Armoured Personnel Carriers

Armored Cars

Surface to air missiles

Artillery and Multiple Rocket Launchers

Air Force

Further reading

External links