Zambian Army

Australian Governor General Quentin Bryce inspecting the Zambia Regiment in Lusaka (2009)

The Zambian Army, is the land military branch of the Zambian Defence Force. Like all branches of the Zambian military, citizens of the nation are required to register at 16 years old, and citizens can join at 16 years old with parental consent or at 18 years old when they are classified as adults by Zambia. There is currently no conscription. (There was a Zambia National Defence Force conscription from 1975 to 1980.) Applicants must be Zambian citizens and must have a school Grade 12 certification. Applicants must also undergo a test for HIV on enlistment. Personnel can serve until age 65, when there is a mandatory retirement. Its first Major General was Michael Grigg, appointed by Kenneth Kaunda. The first local Commander was Gen Kingsley Chinkuli. According to the 2014 CIA World Factbook:

There are 3,041,069 men between 16-49 who are classified as manpower (this does not mean that all of them are fit for duty), and 2,948,291 women between 16–49 who are classified as manpower. This makes a total of 5,989,360 people classified as manpower.
There are 1,745,656 men who are classified as fit for military service between the ages of 16–49. There are 1,688,670 women who are classified as fit for military service between the ages of 16–49. Therefore, Zambia has 3,434,326 people fit for military service between the ages of 16–49.
1.55% of the GDP of Zambia is spent on the military. Ranked 70 in the world.^[1]

Organisation

The current Army organisation is as follows:^[2]^[3]

Three infantry brigades:

1 Brigade (Lusaka)
2 Brigade (Kabwe)
3 Brigade (Ndola)

With the following units:

64th Armoured Tank Regiment (tank).
17th Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance)
10th Medium Artillery Regiment
- 2 Artillery Battalions
- Multiple Rocket Launchers Battalion
1 Engineer Regiment, Mufulira
6 Construction Regiment
Mechanised battalion
Zambia Regiment (raised in 1964 from the Northern Rhodesia Regiment)
- Light Infantry
  - 1st Battalion
  - 2nd Battalion
  - 3rd Battalion
  - 4th Battalion
  - 5th Battalion
  - 6th Battalion
- Reserve Infantry
  - 7th Battalion
  - 8th Battalion
  - 9th Battalion
1 Commando Battalion
48th Marine Unit
Specialist schools

Equipment

Small arms

Vehicles and artillery

Name	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
T-54/55	Soviet Union	Main battle tank		25^[6]	Deliveries in 1976 and 1981.
Type 59	China	Main battle tank		20^{[citation needed]}
PT-76	Soviet Union	Light tank		50^[6]
Ratel	South Africa	Infantry fighting vehicle		14^[7]
BTR-80	Russia	Armoured personnel carrier		20^{[citation needed]}
BTR-70	Soviet Union	Armoured personnel carrier		20^[6]
BTR-60	Soviet Union	Armoured personnel carrier		13^[6]
WZ551	China	Armoured personnel carrier	6X6 WZ551B variant.^[6]	20
Buffel	South Africa	Armoured personnel carrier	Rhino variant.	1^[6]
Ferret	United Kingdom	Armoured car		28	Inherited from Northern Rhodesian security forces.^[6]
Saymar Musketeer	Israel	Armoured car		^[8]
BRDM-2	Soviet Union	Scout car		44	Acquired in 1981.^[6]
BRDM-1	Soviet Union	Scout car		44	Acquired in 1980.^[6]
GAZ Tigr	Russia	Infantry mobility vehicle	GAZ-233014	35^[9]
Elbit Spear MK2	Israel	Self-propelled mortar		6	Mounted on an Indian Tata Trucks LPTA 713TC 4×4 chassis.^[5]
D-30	Soviet Union	Howitzer		24^[6]
M-46	China	Howitzer	Type 59.	18^[6]
ATMOS M46	Israel	Self-propelled howitzer		6	Mounted on a Czech 6×6 Tatra 10-tonne chassis.^[5]
BM-21	Soviet Union	Multiple rocket launcher		50^[6]
Elbit Skylark	Israel	Miniature UAV		2^[5]