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The navies of sub-Saharan Africa are dwarfed by the magnitude of the challenges facing the area. Not even the largest regional navy—that of South Africa—has much of an open- ocean capability. All others are coastal forces, and only one of these—that of Nigeria—has the potential to become something more in the foreseeable future. If these navies were left to their own resources, they would remain very small. However, external forces are fueling national issues, permitting many African nations to develop modern military forces.
During 1981. sub-Saharan Africa was in turmoil. In the northeast, almost open warfare raged between Somalia and Ethiopia. Somalia also clashed with its southern neighbor Kenya. In the south, South Africa was engaged in a border war with Angola on the west and Mozambique on the east. Nigeria was rocked by religious riots and a border clash with Cameroon. Libya sent troops into Chad, sending chills into the Sudan and Nigeria. Each of these countries reacted by beginning a major upgrading of its military. A coup plot was discovered and crushed in Sudan: another was unsuccessfully executed in Mauritania; and, at the end of the year, a third succeeded in Ghana. In Zaire, riots followed the arrests of government critics.
African turmoil grows from three sources. First, many boundaries shaped during the colonial era are artificial and impractical. Second, countries having long colonial heritages have not yet matured as independent nations. Third, African nations are seeking to take their places in the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa is made up primarily of nonaligned nations which are in neither superpower's backyard. At first glance, one might conclude that the Soviet Union has failed in its attempts to forge permanent commitments with these nations. Soviet expulsion from Egypt and Somalia and the recent cooling of relations with Liberia are cited to support this conjecture. However. Soviet setbacks in these areas may prove to be the exception. These nations had well-established ruling classes prior to Soviet activities, and thus were able to shed the sickle and hammer when they found it advantageous to do so. Today, the Soviets have strong influences over Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. To a large degree, those in power in these countries owe their positions to the Soviet Union. They may not find it so easy to change course. In Angola. Cubans even control the internal security forces. The United States has been slow to make commitments in the area. The Vietnam syndrome has plagued U. S. policy; this is not changing in Africa.
Also vying for influence are the former African colonial powers of Great Britain, France, and Italy. These countries have strong cultural, economic, and military ties with former colonies. Following the Libyan intervention in Chad. France sent reinforcements to the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal; France also offered to send troops to Cameroon and Niger. France has defense agreements with these nations. China also competes for influence in this area. Even Cuba has demonstrated a keen interest, sending 37,000 troops into sub-Saharan Africa.
The typical composition of military forces in an African nation must be a storekeeper's nightmare and an arms merchant's delight. Many countries in the region have shifted allegiances from East to West and vice versa at least once since gaining their independence. During 1981. Liberia has gone from Cuban advisors to training with U. S. Green Berets and a goodwill visit from the USS Thorn (DD-988).
Many have a collage of hardware. Prior to 1977, Somalia was outfitted by the Soviet Union. Today, an ally of the West, it is receiving radar and air defense guns from the United States, Soviet-built T-54 tanks from Egypt, and Shenyang F-6 fighters (MiG-19 copy) probably from China. A year ago. Italy was Somalia's major supplier. Nigeria, which is also now pro-West. has an army equipped with T-55 tanks and an air force flying MiG-15s and MiG-17s, all acquired in the 1960s when it was affiliated with the East.
Why contend for sub-Saharan Africa? First, there must be a commitment to ideals. Second, the continent has vast deposits of national re-
sources. Third. sub-Saharan Africa is the key to the Cape of Good Hope and the entrance into the Red Sea. A clockwise survey, beginning with Sudan in the northeast, will allow an easy comparison of neighbors, who often are not too cordial.
Sudan: The late 1980 Libyan military intervention in Chad caused Sudan to increase its military strength. Exiled Chad forces are reported to be operating from inside the Sudanese border. Sudan has since strengthened its political ties with Egypt; relations between these countries had cooled when Egypt signed the Camp David Accord. The 1981 increases in the Sudanese military occurred in the army and air force.
The Sudanese Navy, which operates on the Red Sea and in the Nile River, has not been affected by the events in Chad. Initially, the navy had Yugoslavian advisors (1962-72), thus accounting for the largest source of naval craft. The Sudanese Navy has II ex-Yugoslav patrol boats, 7 patrol craft of West German and U. S. origin, 2 landing craft, and 3 small auxiliaries. Most are in marginal operating condition, and all are more than ten years old.
Ethiopia: Fighting continued in Ethiopia during 1981. The northern Eritrean region is now seeking total independence. Although the Somali Army has been pushed out of the disputed eastern Ogaden territory, border clashes between the two countries continue. It is estimated that there are
1.0 Soviet officers commanding
16.0 Cuban troops remaining in Ethiopia. In November 1978, Ethiopia had signed a defense pact with the Soviet Union. The Soviets have been granted naval facilities anchorage in the Dahlak Archipelago, which dominates the entrance to the Red Sea. Published reports suggest that the Ethiopian-Soviet courtship is cooling—but this seems unlikely.
The Ethiopian Navy is a predictable mixture of Soviet and Western equipment. Two “Osa II” missile attack craft were added to the fleet in March 1981. The fleet is now composed of 7 Soviet “Osa II” missile attack craft, 2 Soviet “Mol" torpedo boats, 1 U. S. Barnegat-dass frigate used as a training ship. 1 Dutch minesweeper (used as a patrol boat), 12 patrol boats and craft, 2 French Edic-class utility landing ships, and 5 smaller amphibious craft. There have been reports of dis-
content within the navy. Some of the U. S.-supplied units—particularly the elderly Ethiopia (Bamegat class)—are probably inoperative. The “Osas” and “Mols” probably have Soviet “advisors” as part of their complement.
Somalia: As mentioned, Somalia continued to have border clashes with Ethiopia during 1981. Between 1977 and 1978, Somali Army soldiers fought alongside ethnic brethren in Ogaden against the Ethiopian Army, which was supported by Soviet officers and Cuban troops. The Somali Army was defeated and pushed back into its own territory. Prior to this war, Somalia had been in the Soviet camp. In late 1980. Somali forces raided into Kenya, thus complicating area analysis. Somalia is now receiving ground and air hardware from China, Egypt, Italy, and the United States.
Somalia possesses one of the longest coastlines in Africa and a respectable patrol boat force. All of these units of Soviet origin are perhaps surprisingly, still reasonably active. Somalia has two “Osa IIs, four “Mols,” (two with torpedo tubes, two without), four “P-6” torpedo boats, five “Poluchat” patrol boats, one “Polnocny” medium landing ship, and four “T-4” LCMs. Although no new naval units were acquired during 1981, the United States would seem to be the most likely supplier of future ships.
Kenya: As noted last year, Kenya has developed an efficient and well- maintained small coastal navy. This nation has security assistance agreements with the United States and Great Britain. The latter provides training, some aerial reconnaissance, and has been the sole source of the Kenyan Navy's craft.
Kenya is seeking to purchase four seagoing patrol boats, probably from the United Kingdom. These units are to improve surveillance over the 200- mile territorial water limits, la the meantime, the seven existing British- built patrol boats are being equipped with two Israeli Gabriel II antiship
Despite being cut off from the world's major arms suppliers, the South African Navy remains the most powerful in Africa south of the Sahara. The Gabriel-armed Reshef.v are the Navy’s newest combatants.
missiles to augment their 40-mm. gun batteries.
Tanzania: Tanzania has a small coastal navy principally based upon craft received from China in the early 1970s, although there are North Korean. Soviet, East German, and West German-built units as well. The navy operates: seven Chinese-supplied
“Shanghai II" patrol boats, four Chinese Huchuan torpedo boats (without hydrofoils), three ex-East German Navy, Soviet-built “P-6” torpedo boats (torpedo tubes have been removed), two ex-East German Schwalbe-dass minesweepers (now used for patrol), two West German- built patrol craft, and one Soviet “Poluchat”-class torpedo retriever. Several North Korean Nampo-class high-speed assault landing craft, configured as patrol boats, were delivered in 1980-81. These craft are simplified versions of those found in the exporting countries. Four patrol craft operated on Lake Victoria; the remainder are based on the coast. The affiliated island of Zanzibar operates four British-built patrol craft.
Mozambique: A former Portuguese colony, Mozambique signed a defense treaty with the Soviet Union in March 1977, and has since been aligned with the East. In 1981, South Africa attacked African National Council guerilla bases in Mozambique for the first time. In response, the Soviet Union declared its support for the independence of Mozambique and sent warships to Mozambique’s ports of Beira and Maputo as a show of support.
The Mozambique Navy did not acquire any new units during 1981; however, additional transfers of patrol craft from the Soviet Union are probably imminent, and two more patrol craft are to be delivered in 1982 from
the Netherlands. The navy operates five Soviet “Zhuk”-class patrol craft, two Dutch-built patrol craft, and an assortment of former Portuguese patrol craft on Lake Malawi. The 1941-vintage “corvette” of the British Bangor class probably has little operational value.
South Africa: The military pressures on South Africa continued during 1981. The solution concerning the future of Namibia has regressed during the past year. This territory is the former German colony of South West Africa. Following World War I, it had been mandated by the League of Nations to South Africa. In late 1980, talks in Geneva failed to implement a U.N. plan for Namibian independence; the talks collapsed. Tensions have continuously escalated since then. SWAPO—a Namibian-based guerilla group—proclaimed a stepped- up war of independence. South Africa has increased its raids into Angola for the first time. The raids in Angola are now carried out on an almost regular basis.
The South African Navy has been cut off from Western technology but has found an alternate source for at least some of its needs through Israel. In 1974. South Africa contracted for six Reshef-class missile-armed, fast attack craft. Three of these units (called the “Minister” class in South Africa) were built in Haifa, Israel, and three at Durban, South Africa. In 1977, South Africa reportedly contracted for six additional “Ministers,” all to be built in South Africa. To date, none of these has materialized.
The "Ministers” are identical to the Reshefs in hull and machinery. They are armed with six Skorpioen SSMs, essentially a license-built South African version of the Gabriel II, two OTO Melara 76-mm. compact guns, and four 12.7-mm. machine guns. The power plant will be four West German MTU diesels producing 14,000 horsepower.
The South African Navy possesses a few ships capable of open-ocean operations. It operates three Daphne- class submarines (the only submarines operated by a sub-Saharan
The newest ship in the modern Nigerian Navy is the “Meko 360”- class missile frigate Aradu. She is armed with SSMs and SAMs.
navy), two Rothesay-class frigates —built in England in the early 1960s and rebuilt in South Africa in the late 1970s—and the only underway replenishment ship operated by a subSaharan navy. The navy also has ten “Ton”-class minesweepers, the only sub-Saharan navy with this capability; four of these have been redesigned as patrol boats and are operated by the “Citizen’s Force.” The navy also has assorted small craft, including a road- transportable small-craft design, the “Namacurra,” of which two dozen have been built or ordered. South Africa has extensive naval yard facilities at Cape Town and can easily maintain its own surface units and submarines. Nearly all indigenous shipbuilding for the navy is at Durban.
Angola: Probably the most secure Soviet pawn in the sub-Saharan region is Angola. It signed a military assistance agreement with the Soviet Union in July 1974. In fact, there are an estimated 20,000 Cuban troops in the country who are used to guarantee internal security. During 1981. Angola was used as a base for guerillas operating against South Africa to the south and Zaire to the north. During 1981, Angolan border regions were under almost continual attacks from South Africa, attempting to destroy SWAPO guerilla bases.
The Angolan Navy is a mixture of recent Soviet transfers, a few purchases in the West, and craft left behind by the old colonial power—Portugal. In January 1981, Angola received one F-27 Fokker maritime patrol aircraft from the Netherlands. The navy is composed of six Soviet “Shershen”-class torpedo boats, three Soviet “Zhuk” patrol craft, one Soviet “Poluchat-I” configured as a torpedo retriever/pa- trol craft, two Soviet “Polnocny-B” medium landing ships, and assorted Portuguese landing craft.
Zaire: Zaire, which has a very short coastline, is a large, populous country. Its population and territory are about the size of South Africa’s. In 1981, Soviet-armed, Cuban-trained rebels based in Angola attacked the copper-rich Shada province. As internal security improves in Angola, these attacks will probably increase. Zaire has a security assistance agreement with the United States and has received military aid from numerous nations including Belgium, China, Egypt, France, and Morocco.
The Zaire Navy has a hodgepodge collection of patrol craft including 3 North Korean-built torpedo boats, 4 Chinese “Shanghai-IT’patrol boats, 6 U. S. “Swift” patrol boats, and 29 French Arcoa patrol craft, 15 of which were delivered in 1981.
Congo: The Congo has a population of about 1.5 million and possesses but a geographical fraction of its Belgian colonial namesake. The navy operates a torpedo tube-less Soviet “Sher- shen,” three Chinese “Shanghai- IIs,” four Chinese “Yu Lin” patrol craft, and assorted small craft. Three 134-ton Spanish Barcelo-class patrol boats were ordered in May 1981 from Bazan at San Fernando, marking the first Western naval sale to the nation.
Cameroon: Cameroon has a defense agreement with France and has received aid from China. A new naval base was built at the principal port, Douala, by a U. S. firm during 197980. The navy operates one French “P-48” patrol boat, two Chinese “Shanghai-II" patrol boats, and three smaller patrol craft. In December 1980. Cameroon ordered a larger variant of the “PR-48” design plus helicopters and munitions from France.
Nigeria: Nigeria has a population^
70.5 million, twice as large as any other sub-Saharan nation—and the economic potential necessary to develop more than a coastal navy. Among the nation’s leading exports are petroleum and uranium.
The immediate challenges confronting the Nigerian armed forces come from Libyan influence in Chad. In December 1980, Libya successfully intervened militarily in this landlocked nation, which borders Nigeria on the northeast. Rioting by Moslem fundamentalists soon followed in Kano, an Islamic center in northern Nigeria; this activity has spread. In this atmosphere, Nigeria announced that it would spend $6.4 billion for defense in a five-year Fourth National Development Plan. Most of these defense dollars will be spent on modernizing the army and air force, both had been last equipped during the days of Soviet affiliation. In late-1980 and early-1981, Nigeria began order, ing substantial armaments.
The backbone of the Nigerian Navy is one “Meko 360” frigate, one training frigate, and four corvettes; all of these ships are modern and reasonably well kept up. The Aradu, the “Meko-360,” was delivered in October 1981 and is the first of a series of sisters also being built for Argentina by Blohm and Voss of Germany. This frigate is a first-line unit by any standard; she is armed with Otomat surface-to-surface missiles and Aspide short-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). All four of the corvettes were built by Vosper Thornycroft of England. The two Mk-9s were completed in 1980, and the two Mk-3s in 1972. The Mk-9s are fitted with Sea Cat short-range SAMs. The training frig- / ate Obuma (formerly a first-line unit) Was built by Wilton-Fijenoord of Holland; she was refitted in the Netherlands in 1977.
The Nigerian Navy also operates six large missile attack boats, three West German Liirssen “FPB-57s” armed with four Otomats each, and three French La Combattante MBs armed with four Exocets each; all Were delivered during 1981. There are i also nine non-missile armed patrol craft, eight of which are being overhauled and rearmed with U. S. Emerson Emerlec twin 30-mm. gun mountings. Two German-built LSTs were added to the fleet in 1979, and the nation’s coast guard and customs services are currently being augmented
by the delivery of large numbers of British-built patrol craft and service units.
Benin: Benin has a population of 3.5 million and a 75-mile coastline. The navy has two Soviet ”P-6s” (without torpedo tubes) and five Soviet “Zhuk” patrol craft which were delivered in 1979-81.
Liberia: Liberia has done an about face since the April 1980 coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. Cuban advisors have been expelled, and aid has been sought from the United States. Liberia has a population of less than two million and has a coast guard, which is responsible for maritime defense. The coast guard operates three 50-ton patrol craft delivered from Sweden in August 1980 and three smaller, older patrol craft built by Swiftships of Morgan City, Louisiana.
Guinea: Guinea has received military aid from France, China, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. No new acquisitions were made in 1981. The largest naval unit is the ex-Soviet “T-58”- class former minesweeper Lamine Sadji Kaba (which has had all sweep gear deleted), while the Soviet Union has also supplied three de-tubed “Shershen”-class torpedo boats and two “Poluchat-Is” configured for patrol duties. China delivered six “Shanghai-II” patrol boats between 1974 and 1976, and a single 57-ton patrol craft arrived from France in 1979.
Guinea-Bissau: This small navy operates units from France, Spain, and the Soviet Union, while the patrol craft Nana arrived from the Netherlands in May 1981. The only sizeable ship is a Polish-built Biya-class survey ship donated by the Soviet Union in 1978. The Soviets have also contributed the inevitable tubeless “Sher- shens” and two "Poluchat-Is,” while France and Spain have supplied five small patrol craft.
Senegal: Senegal has received military assistance from Canada, Great Britain, France, and the United States. One 451-ton French-built “PR-72” fast patrol boat was delivered during June 1981. There are three French-built 250-ton fast patrol boats and a mixture of small craft. The navy also operates one ex-French Edic- class landing craft, and two ex-U. S. LCMs.
Sierra Leone: The only naval unit to arrive since three Chinese "Shang- hai-IIs” were donated in mid-1973 has been a 31-ton Farrey Allday Marine
Tracker Mk-II patrol craft delivered in August 1981 from Great Britain.
Mauritania: Mauritania has one of the smallest populations in sub-Saharan Africa—less than 1.5 million. The navy is composed of an assortment of craft used for patrol duty. The Rapiere, the first of two French “Pa- tra -class fast patrol boats ordered from Auroux, Arcachon, was completed on 1 November 1981. This class is armed with six SS-12 wire-guided antiship missiles and a 40-mm. gun. Also in service are three new Spanish Barcelo-dass patrol boats and four small French-built patrol craft; two former Spanish Navy trawlers and two ex-Soviet “Mirnyy”-class whalers. used as patrol boats, were sold in 1981.
With the exceptions of Nigeria and South Africa, the nations of sub-Saharan Africa have the resources to maintain only coastal navies. Nationalism is the strongest political motivation in this area. Therefore, it may be difficult to predict public positions of these governments if a nation has firmly sided with the East or West. How an international decision will
play at home” is a major consideration. Base concessions are a good example. In 1975, Mozambique refused to allow the Soviets to establish a naval base. The Angolan constitution explicitly prohibits such base concessions. Yet, these nations are now firmly in the Soviet camp and would allow the Soviets the use of their facilities in an emergency.
There will be no respite from the turmoil that raged in 1981. No end is in sight to the Somali-Ethiopian conflict. The pressures on South Africa from Angola in the west and Mozambique in the east will continue. The Soviet Union is fully committed to this task, and will not permit the collapse of these governments. There is no foreseeable lessening of the pressures building on South Africa. Libyan control of Chad will guarantee the continued building of Sudanese and Nigerian forces. Nigeria will modernize its armed forces at an accelerated rate during 1982. Generally, the events in sub-Saharan Africa will be determined more by outside influence than internal events.
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Dr. Scheina also authored the regional review of the Latin American Navies.