ADF

The 2026 African Air Chiefs Symposium will include a live-fly exercise, a first for the intracontinental organization. In past years, the symposium has been limited to indoor “tabletop” demonstrations. A live-fly exercise is a real-time, full-scale training event designed to simulate combat scenarios and refine aircrew readiness. Such exercises involve flying aircraft in real-world conditions, often involving multiple nations and simulating various operational challenges. The chiefs of Africa’s air forces made the decision during their 2025 meeting in Zambia. Co-hosted by the Zambia Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa, the 2025 event saw more than 240 participants…

Simon’s Town, home port to the South African Navy submarine component, has hosted the first joint operational sea training for underwater craft with India. The two-week training session included collaboration in establishing what South African Chief Petty Officer Nkululeko Zulu termed a “block training programme,” according to defenceWeb. It was designed to test and evaluate the operational readiness of submarine platforms in service with both navies. “The collaboration between the Indian and [South African] Navy for work-up of ships and submariners has shown immense progress in the last two years,” Indian Rear Adm. Srinivas Maddula told Sailors after training, defenceWeb…

It was almost inevitable that Phoenician settlers would establish a trade center more than 2,200 years ago in what is now the Tunisian port city of Tunis. The Phoenicians named it Carthage, which means “new town.” It juts into the central part of the Mediterranean Sea, and its sailing access to ports along the European and African coasts made it critical to trade routes. It also made Rome and Carthage competitors in a rivalry that lasted for centuries. The Phoenicians, from what is now Lebanon, chose their maritime colonies carefully, focusing on the quality of their harbors and how well…

CLUES This area is considered the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush. The site includes pyramids, temples, palaces and industrial areas. The architecture reflects Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan African influences through what was a major trade corridor. Though not an island, its name comes from its proximity to the confluence of the Atbara, Blue Nile and White Nile rivers. ANSWER  The Island of Meroe, Sudan

With one tap of a torch, Kenyan President William Ruto set ablaze a huge stockpile of firearms at the National Police Leadership Academy in Ngong on June 13. The weapons were either surrendered under amnesty programs or seized in security operations. The event also marked the 20th anniversary of the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons, a United Nations-funded partner organization that coordinates disarmament efforts across 15 countries in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa regions. A leader in small arms and light weapons (SALW) control on the continent, Kenya has disposed of nearly 40,000 illegal firearms…

At Uganda’s border crossings with Kenya and Tanzania, every vehicle entering the country gets fitted with a new license plate that lets the government track it and monitor the driver’s activity. The foreign vehicles join tens of thousands of Ugandan cars, trucks and motorcycles that have been outfitted since January with so-called digital license plates under a 10-year contract the government signed in 2023 with Russia-based Joint Stock Company Global Security. The Russian company controls the system, known as Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), and gets paid through hefty fees for each license plate and equally heavy fines levied against…

From Burkina Faso to Sudan, drones have gained an ever-increasing role in conflicts, evolving from reconnaissance tools to nearly unstoppable airborne explosives. Now, experts worry, those same conflicts might become the testing ground for autonomous drones programmed to attack targets without human input. Some argue that the continent already has seen its first killing by an autonomous drone. That was in 2020 in Libya, when a Turkish-made STM Kargu-2 equipped with facial recognition software pursued and killed forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. A United Nations investigation found inconclusive evidence that the drone, while capable of acting autonomously, actually…

Artisanal fishermen in Cameroon’s Douala-Edéa National Park are decrying Chinese trawlers that destroy their fishing gear, fish in prohibited zones, and use illicit nets and chemicals to catch fish. A fisherman in Mbiako, a fishing town of about 3,000 people along the Sanaga River basin, said three local fishermen were shot in 2024 amid confrontations with the industrial trawlers, which access the park from the Gulf of Guinea via the Sanaga River. They fish on Lake Tissongo and in the park’s mangrove swamps and coastal waters. “The trawlers’ army pursues us with guns at sea,” the fisherman anonymously told the…

In a historic first, Libya will co-host Exercise Flintlock 2026, a training event intended to bring together both factions of the country’s divided armed forces. U.S. Lt. Gen. John Brennan, the deputy commander of U.S. Africa Command, made the announcement on October 14 during a weeklong visit to the country. Flintlock, the premier special forces exercise on the African continent, will also include a training location in Côte d’Ivoire.  “This exercise isn’t just about military training; it’s about overcoming divisions, building capacity, and supporting Libya’s sovereign right to determine its own future,” Brennan said. “By working alongside Libyans from the…

The continent loses up to $50 billion annually to illicit financial flows, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Crimes such as trafficking of humans, weapons and drugs; illegal fishing; oil theft; and other sea crimes are linked to porous ports and under-resourced customs systems. Maritime security analysts now say securing ports and other maritime gateways is as critical as building roads or negotiating trade agreements. As noted by the African Press Agency (APANews), port investments often focus first on terminal expansion and optimizing logistics, with security a secondary priority. This approach also affects landlocked African nations, as…