Several Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter jets, paratroopers and commandos were part of the drills at display on Sunday as Uganda showed off its military might as the East African country christened the Pearl of Africa celebrated its 60th independence anniversary.
With an unspecified number of personnel, military equipment and aircraft involved, they made march-pasts as President Museveni and other visiting heads of state watched the enormous spectacle of a patriotic display of drills of military power at the Kololo independence grounds.
Paratroopers
It was another specular show as Uganda’s first paratroopers from the Special Forces Command(SFC) displayed different tactics as the country displayed its military might.
SFC is an elite and specialized service of the UPDF that carries out special missions both within and outside the country.
Uganda has throughout the years continued to build its military arsenal to become one of the forces to reckon with on the African continent.
According to the Global Fire Power (GFP), armies are ranked basing on the number of serving military members, the naval force, fuel availability for military operations, number of jet fighters, the defence budget and logistics flexibility.
According to Statista, in East Africa, Uganda comes second behind Kenya in military spending with the Pearl of Africa estimated to be spending around 900 million U.S. dollars on defence.
“These heavy investments aimed at improving Algeria’s national security, as well as supporting the country’s military force,” Statista said.
The Ugandan army has played a crucial role in a number of peacekeeping missions on the African continent including being part of the AMISOM which has pacified Somalia from Islamic militants that controlled a largest percentage of the country.
Because of the pacification of the country by the AMISOM troops led by the UPDF, in 2019, the US reopened its embassy in Mogadishu after 28 years whereas other countries also followed suit.
Uganda played a big role in stopping the war in South Sudan as forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his vice president Dr. Riek Machar fought each other.