Zimbabwe military strength gets major boost

The strength of Air Force of Zimbabwe has received a major boost after the Hawk Fighter Jets flew for the first time in years.

Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba using his new Twitter moniker Tinoedza Zvimwe said, "WHAOOOOO!!!!! Zimbabwe's long mothballed squadron of Hawk Fighter Jets are flying again!!!!!! This after years of being grounded because of military sanctions against the country by Britain! Bravo Zimbabwe!!! We continue to scale to new heights under conditions of sanctions!!!!!"

According to reports, AFZ has been constantly linked to Mikoyan MiG-29 since 1980 and even sent pilots to the then USSR for training. In February 2002 the EU enforced an arms embargo on Zimbabwe in reaction to severe violations of human rights in the nation.

WHAOOOOO!!!!! Zimbabwe's long mothballed squadron of Hawk Fighter Jets are flying again!!!!!! This after years of being grounded because of military sanctions against the country by Britain! Bravo Zimbabwe!!! We continue to scale to new heights under conditions of sanctions!!!!!

— Tinoedza Zvimwe (@Tinoedzazvimwe1) April 28, 2022

Unable to buy spare parts for the British designed and manufactured BAE Systems Hawk, in 2006 the air force received the first K-8. The air force also had Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter jets donated by the late Muammar Gaddafi. In the late 1980s an order for MiG-29s placed with Russia, but was cancelled in 1992. Negotiations to buy 14 MiG-29SMTs from Russia were held again in 2004 but an order for JF-17 fighters was apparently placed instead