Brief history Mozambique, of Moçambique in Portuguese, is a large country in South East Africa. After gaining independence from Portugal on 25 June 1975, the country suffered a lengthy civil war. It was not until 1994 before this was over and the first democratic elections could be held. As with many countries in Africa that have a history of turmoil, the armed forces are oversized and filled with relics from that era.
The air force has a lineage of Soviet types, some of which were sought again wghen the Air Force needed to be built up again. This way, again MiG-21s were obtained, this time from Romania. Also from Romania came some Aerostar R40S light aircraft. Fromer colonist portugal aided by delivering two CeF337s. More recently, Brazil promised second-hand Tucanos. All current active aircraft are believed to operate from Maputo's international airport, occupying the Western half of it. Although some relics are to be found at former installations, like at Beira airport.
