The Combat and Military Systems of Africa and its Diaspora

[DrBanneker]

An Abyssinian made flintlock rifle from the Auckland Museum

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

I'm really hoping to do a series on the Mfecane soon. It should be very interesting history to examine. Especially assessing the tactics of Nguni-speakers such as the Zulu and their Ndebele cousins. Of course, the legendary exploits of the Sotho will be spoken of as well.

 

[DrBanneker]

I'm really hoping to do a series on the Mfecane soon. It should be very interesting history to examine. Especially assessing the tactics of Nguni-speakers such as the Zulu and their Ndebele cousins. Of course, the legendary exploits of the Sotho will be spoken of as well.

Good stuff. Moshoeshoe didn't lose a major battle against the Boers and Lesotho still exists for a reason.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

How Westerners attempted to re-build the Liberian Army
https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pdffiles/PUB1181.pdf

 

[intruder]

Well, Trump is selling Super Tucano planes to Nigeria. They look like this:

Yes, they use propellers but they're great against insurgents. Good for ground attacks, I reckon

I guess its because the engines are much quieter than jet engines. Fighter jets are audible from miles away. But these planes look like they would be easy targets for even shouldered anti-aircraft missiles due to speed.

That too but not really

Airplanes with that type of airframe preform better in ground attacks (mainly ground support missions) because they perform better and are more stable at low speeds. Not all aircrafts do well at low speeds. Thus why the A-10 has been the US's workhorse for decades when it comes to ground support missions. Notice the similarity in airframes

Spoiler

 

[intruder]

EVERY NATION (ESP. IN AFRICA NEEDS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES!
Why Uganda Needed Sukhoi Fighters

Uganda was the first African country to buy Su-30 fighter-bombers from Russia. While this acquisition was often explained by the possible requirement to protect oil sources that might – or might not be – be found in the south of the country, the local air force made the decision to buy Su-30s, for a host of different reasons.

Most of these were related to the Ugandan involvement in the Congo Wars fought between 1996 and 2003 and, more recently, Uganda’s pursuit of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Both experiences showed that the Ugandan air force needed a long-range, multi-role fighter-bomber – simply because of the requirement to hit targets that were hopelessly outside the range of existing jets.

With Ugandan pilots already trained on such Eastern types as the MiG-21 and L-39 and the necessity of replacing a miscellany of combat types already in service, the Su-30 was actually a logical choice.

Angola followed in fashion and placed an order for Su-30s for similar reasons, including the requirement to replace old and worn-out MiG-23s and Su-22s, it own experiences in the Congo Wars and also its own wars against local insurgents. Angola also needed to outmatch Botswana’s CF-5s in the event of a border dispute.

The other reason why these countries are going for Sukhoi-30s is because it's a superior fighter to most if not all aircrafts in the world when it comes to maneuverability and performance.

The SU-30 is simply a 2-seater variant of the famous SU-27 which has been the world's best performing fighter aircraft since the 80s. So that model already had a reputation and track record for decades. No other production 4th generation aircraft can pull maneuvers that the SU-27 and its variants (SU30, SU33, SU34 and SU35) can perform. The only 5th generation aircraft that can pull maneuvers (like the Pugachev Cobra) is the F-22 and those are so expensive even the USA couldnt afford to make more.

THe F-35 is a duck in terms of maneuverability but very advanced/smart. And that's the only deficiency those SU27 variants have is its avionics (electronics systems,radoar, etc) arent as advanced as some of its counterparts ,like say the US's F-15Ds and F22s, thus why it's cheaper. But trust me when it comes to an aerial dogfight no sane pilot in the world wants to get into an close encounter with an SU27 or it's variants piloted by a remotely competent pilot.

Too bad for Russia the air combat of the future wont involve dog-fights anymore as advance stealth and radar guided missiles are changing the game and almost rendering maneuverability an obsolete skill in air combat. That's why they are pushing hard for India to help them further develop their SU57

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

The other reason why these countries are going for Sukhoi-30s is because it's a superior fighter to most if not all aircrafts in the world when it comes to maneuverability and performance.

The SU-30 is simply a 2-seater variant of the famous SU-27 which has been the world's best performing fighter aircraft since the 80s. So that model already had a reputation and track record for decades. No other production 4th generation aircraft can pull maneuvers that the SU-27 and its variants (SU30, SU33, SU34 and SU35) can perform. The only 5th generation aircraft that can pull maneuvers (like the Pugachev Cobra) is the F-22 and those are so expensive even the USA couldnt afford to make more.

THe F-35 is a duck in terms of maneuverability but very advanced/smart. And that's the only deficiency those SU27 variants have is its avionics (electronics systems,radoar, etc) arent as advanced as some of its counterparts ,like say the US's F-15Ds and F22s, thus why it's cheaper. But trust me when it comes to an aerial dogfight no sane pilot in the world wants to get into an close encounter with an SU27 or it's variants piloted by a remotely competent pilot.

Too bad for Russia the air combat of the future wont involve dog-fights anymore as advance stealth and radar guided missiles are changing the game and almost rendering maneuverability an obsolete skill in air combat. That's why they are pushing hard for India to help them further develop their SU57

Excellent post.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

DR Congo army launches offensive against ADF rebels

DR Congo army launches offensive against ADF rebels

The Democratic Republic of Congo's military has launched an operation against a Ugandan rebel group who call themselves, "The Allied Democratic Forces", commonly known as the ADF. The ADF is suspected of killing 15 Tanzanian UN peacekeepers in December.

Troops are targeting members of the ADF near the town of Beni, in Congo's North Kivu province.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

 

[intruder]

If these African nations are smart they would be better off to buy weapons from the Russians and Chinese and worst case scenario, the French rather than buy American.

Buying American: Aside from being super expensive. As everyone knows buying weapons from the U.S. comes with too many political strings attached. The minute you're out of the U.S.'s good graces they immediately restrict exports of spare parts which would ground your fleet. But most importantly U.S. has historically absolutely refused to do technology transfers due to . So after you buy your fancy F-35 or F-18 all the major maintenances are to be done by american technicians. Meanwhile the French and Chinese and Swedish are the mains ones willing to do technology transfers allowing the planes to not only be BUILT in the country it's being sold to (thus providing jobs) but also allows technology transfer so the buying country can also further develop the technology to their liking. The U.S. will not allow this under any circumstances.

Buying Swedish: Buying from the Swedish can be tricky. The Grippen which is Sweden's new flagship fighter is a formidable attack/fighter platform and a superb machine in its own right. But currently uses Volvo engines which i believe come from General Electric which would be subject to U.S. Export-Control rules. So again the U.S. can somehow block you form getting the spare parts you need for said engine.

Brazil just went through an ordeal with that nonsense and is stuck with it since the contract is signed now after they did all they could to avoid american weapons for fear of further spying after it was revealed the NSA had tapped the Brazilian government's phones.

Buying Russian: While russian fighters, and tanks are world renowned they have a very bad reputation with supporting/maintaining the systems once they are sold. Spare part deliveries are typically back-ordered and late deliveries. But Russia, like the U.S., has always been reluctant to do technology transfers but Russian seems more open to it now as seen in their (pending) deal with India. So if they can workout a deal for tech-transfer they could provide jobs and support their own fleet with limited need to lean on Russian assistance.

Buying French: The French have a very good reputation among buyers due to little to no political strings attached. In the proposed deal with India they seem open to technology transfers + their Rafale is proving to be a formidable fighter despite little exports to other countries. Downside i.s, like the U.S. platforms, the Rafale is rather expensive even tho it doesnt break the bank like the F-35 it's still pricier than the Russian and Swedish options

I dont know much about chinise military exports to give an opinion but China seems to have good relations with a lot of African and South American countries. If anything i think Argentina should try and buy from them since the British is threatning anyone from selling to Argentina because they fear Argentina will retake the Falklands from them. Problem is Argentina is broke and cant afford premium fighters. Hell i think last i heard they were trying to buy a bunch of old used F1's from France.

 

[DrBanneker]

If these African nations are smart they would be better off to buy weapons from the Russians and Chinese and worst case scenario, the French rather than buy American.

Buying American: Aside from being super expensive. As everyone knows buying weapons from the U.S. comes with too many political strings attached. The minute you're out of the U.S.'s good graces they immediately restrict exports of spare parts which would ground your fleet. But most importantly U.S. has historically absolutely refused to do technology transfers due to . So after you buy your fancy F-35 or F-18 all the major maintenances are to be done by american technicians. Meanwhile the French and Chinese and Swedish are the mains ones willing to do technology transfers allowing the planes to not only be BUILT in the country it's being sold to (thus providing jobs) but also allows technology transfer so the buying country can also further develop the technology to their liking. The U.S. will not allow this under any circumstances.

Yeah, isn't Iran still bootlegging spare parts for those F-14s the Shah got before the Revolution?

Buying Swedish: Buying from the Swedish can be tricky. The Grippen which is Sweden's new flagship fighter is a formidable attack/fighter platform and a superb machine in its own right. But currently uses Volvo engines which i believe come from General Electric which would be subject to U.S. Export-Control rules. So again the U.S. can somehow block you form getting the spare parts you need for said engine.

Brazil just went through an ordeal with that nonsense and is stuck with it since the contract is signed now after they did all they could to avoid american weapons for fear of further spying after it was revealed the NSA had tapped the Brazilian government's phones.

SA has had some Gripens for a while (though there was a corruption investigation out of it). That is a sweet looking plane. Not sure it has ever seen combat though.

Buying Russian: While russian fighters, and tanks are world renowned they have a very bad reputation with supporting/maintaining the systems once they are sold. Spare part deliveries are typically back-ordered and late deliveries. But Russia, like the U.S., has always been reluctant to do technology transfers but Russian seems more open to it now as seen in their (pending) deal with India. So if they can workout a deal for tech-transfer they could provide jobs and support their own fleet with limited need to lean on Russian assistance.

They been good with Indians for decades. Hindustan Aerospace was domestically building MiGs since the 70s or 80s. Those are the platforms India's indigenous fighters are based off of.

Buying French: The French have a very good reputation among buyers due to little to no political strings attached. In the proposed deal with India they seem open to technology transfers + their Rafale is proving to be a formidable fighter despite little exports to other countries. Downside i.s, like the U.S. platforms, the Rafale is rather expensive even tho it doesnt break the bank like the F-35 it's still pricier than the Russian and Swedish options

I don't trust the French in Africa. Maybe I trust them slightly more than US/UK but that's not saying much. I have trouble believing a deal with Africa from the French comes with no strings attached. They get pretty jealous if you turn your back on them. See Niger and Cote d'Ivoire.

I dont know much about chinise military exports to give an opinion but China seems to have good relations with a lot of African and South American countries. If anything i think Argentina should try and buy from them since the British is threatning anyone from selling to Argentina because they fear Argentina will retake the Falklands from them. Problem is Argentina is broke and cant afford premium fighters. Hell i think last i heard they were trying to buy a bunch of old used F1's from France.

China has some pretty interesting fighters it has developed. The J-11 is kind of their Su-27 and the J-10 is their MiG-29. They almost never export anything besides small arms though. Even North Korea doesn't have any modern Chinese fighters. Maybe that will change but outside of small arms their military exports are more tentative than you might think.

 

[Neuromancer]

does anyone have anymore info on the Akarafena sword style from the Ashanti/Akan?

There are Ashanti City-State schools that hold the techniques of these swords practitioners in the past. The schools hold the genuine Ashanti Swords techniques.[7]

It is said that there were 20 fighting postures in training; The Ashanti people practitioners of the past generally used low kickingtechniques to distract, dismantle and disable the opponent when holding the sword in one hand and sheath in the other. The sword-based fighting techniques is similar in part to that of Eskrima and the combat hand-techniques and kicking techniques is similar in part to that of Wing Chun.[7]

Akrafena - Wikipedia

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

does anyone have anymore info on the Akarafena sword style from the Ashanti/Akan?

There are Ashanti City-State schools that hold the techniques of these swords practitioners in the past. The schools hold the genuine Ashanti Swords techniques.[7]

It is said that there were 20 fighting postures in training; The Ashanti people practitioners of the past generally used low kickingtechniques to distract, dismantle and disable the opponent when holding the sword in one hand and sheath in the other. The sword-based fighting techniques is similar in part to that of Eskrima and the combat hand-techniques and kicking techniques is similar in part to that of Wing Chun.[7]

Akrafena - Wikipedia

Taking a deep-dive right now. I didn't know the Ashanti had cavalry!

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Akan Sword-Bearer:

 

[Neuromancer]

Akan Sword-Bearer:

I am very interested in African Martial arts and weaponry as I write comics with african leanings. I want my heroes to have their own styles and armerment.