Lesotho Defence Force

The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) is the military of Kingdom of Lesotho, which consists of about 3,000 personnel and is tasked with maintaining internal security, territorial integrity, and defending the constitution of Lesotho. Since the mountainous kingdom is completely landlocked by South Africa, in practice the country's external defence is guaranteed by its larger neighbour, so the armed forces are mainly used for internal security. The LDF is an army with a small air wing.

Lesotho Defence Force
MottoTs'epo ea Sechaba
(Hope of the nation)
Founded1978
Service branchesArmy
Air Squadron
HeadquartersMaseru
Leadership
MonarchKing Letsie III
Prime MinisterTom Thabane
Minister of Defence and National SecurityTefo Mapesela
Commander of the Defence ForceLieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela
Manpower
Active personnel~3,000 personnel
Related articles
RanksMilitary ranks of Lesotho

The military was established in 1978.[1] The Lesotho Defense Force participated in the military coup in 1986, internal conflicts in 1994 and 1998, and unrest in 2007.[2] On 30 August 2014 , an alleged abortive military "coup" took place, forcing then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to flee to South Africa for three days.[3][4] A brief crisis occurred in September 2017 when Lt. General Khoantle Motsomotso was assassinated by some junior officers, leading to an intervention by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).[5][6][7]

Army

The army of Lesotho began in the 1960s initially as a paramilitary police force, established separately from the Lesotho Mounted Police Service on 1 April 1978. It was recognised as an army in August 1979 and was expanded in the 1980s in response to Basutoland Congress Party insurgent activities. After the January 1986 military coup that brought General Justin Lekhanya to power, the army was renamed the Royal Lesotho Defence Force. As of 1990, it was estimated to have about 2,000 personnel divided into seven companies, one special forces platoon, and a support company.[1] Following the 1993 Lesotho general election, in August 1994 King Letsie III dissolved the newly elected parliament in a coup that was supported by the military.[8]

Air Wing

The Lesotho Defence Force Air Wing was an originally a 1978 offshoot of the paramilitary police mobile unit and began operations with two Short Skyvan twin turboprop STOL transports; a leased Cessna A152 Aerobat; two MBB Bo 105 helicopters; and a Bell 47G helicopter converted to turboshaft power. Two Mil Mi-2 twin turbine helicopters were donated by Libya in 1983 but were retired by 1986.

Deliveries of four Bell 412 helicopters were delayed in 1983 to 1986 because of South Africa's influence. This changed when a 1986 military coup resulted in new security agreements with South Africa being signed. In the mid-1980s the air wing was merged into the Lesotho Defence Force. In 1989, the Skyvans were replaced by two CASA C-212 Aviocar light turboprop transports; one immediately crashed, requiring a third to be delivered in 1992. A fifth Bell 412 (an EP model) was delivered in May 1998 to replace one written off the previous January.

Aircraft
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Transport
CASA C-212 Spain transport 2[9]
GippsAero GA8 Australia transport / utility 1[9]
Helicopters
Bell 412 United States utility 3[9]
Eurocopter AS350 France light utility 2[9]

See also

References
  1. Lesotho Defense Force (LDF). Global Security. Accessed 13 April 2019.
  2. Allison, Simon (5 September 2017). New Lesotho murders highlight need for military reform. Mail and Guardian. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  3. Lesotho 'coup' forces PM Thabane to South Africa Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. 30 August 2014.
  4. Lesotho PM Thabane returns home after fleeing 'coup' Archived 29 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. BBC. 3 September 2014
  5. In Lesotho, military and politics make a dangerous mix. France 24. Published 9 September 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  6. "Commander of Lesotho defense force shot dead: defense official". Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  7. SADC fore deployed in Lesotho after killing of army commander. Times Live. Published 4 December 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. Dr. Mothibe, T. The Military and Democratisation in Lesotho. National University of Lesotho.
  9. "World Air Forces 2020". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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