Senegal launches Africa Air Force Forum

The two-day conference to address the evolving role of Africa’s air forces through emerging requirements, counter terrorism, and counterinsurgency efforts across the continent.


“The most important thing we can do to guarantee future success is to stand shoulder-to shoulder, build trust in one another, and face these challenges together.” - Gen. Hecker
By U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs DAKAR, Senegal Oct 26, 2022
View Gallery
fallback
Gallery contains 2 images

The Senegalese Air Force-hosted Africa Air Force Forum brings over 40 Africa nations and international partner delegations, including U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, to Dakar, Senegal, for the two-day conference to address the evolving role of Africa’s air forces through emerging requirements, counter terrorism, and counterinsurgency efforts across the continent.

The conference marks U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker’s first visit to the African continent as the USAFE-AFAFRICA commander. During the conference, Hecker presented on the growing presence of international air forces in Africa and their ability to support partners beyond counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts.

“The most important thing we can do to guarantee future success is to stand shoulder-to shoulder, build trust in one another, and face these challenges together,” Hecker said. “We continue to lean into forums like this and others such as the African Partner Flights and Association of African Air Forces events. Each occasion should remind us that we are in this fight together.”

Multilateral military-to-military engagements build aviation capacity, enhance local and regional cooperation, and promote interoperability across nations. USAFE-AFAFRICA aims to strengthen these mutually beneficial networks between the U.S. and African partners, as well as between African partners themselves.

In the past year, the U.S. has provided critical airlift support through foreign military sales and training, hosted multiple engagements through the Association of African Air Forces, integrated with regional partners in exercise African Lion 2022, and provided critical operational awareness to partners throughout the continent.

U.S. Africa Command, through USAFE-AFAFRICA and the 4353th Air Expeditionary Wing, continues to share resources, providing operational expertise, and managing security needs throughout the continent.

For more information on USAFE-AFAFRICA’s engagement, investments, and operations in Africa, please contact U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Public Affairs via email at usafepao-pao@us.af.mil. 

More in Partnerships
Winning the Peace through Religious Collaboration
U.S. chaplain delegation led by U.S. Africa Command Chaplain Colonel Karen Meeker conducted collaborative meetings to bring stability through faith and new avenues of collaboration in support of the warfighter while in Cairo, Egypt, March 17, 2025.
Read more
General Langley Engages with Leaders in Côte d’Ivoire
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, traveled to Côte d’Ivoire, April 24-25, to meet with Ivorian leaders and deliver remarks at the opening ceremony of Flintlock 25, the command's annual combined special operations exercise.
Read more
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more
More in Partnerships
Winning the Peace through Religious Collaboration
U.S. chaplain delegation led by U.S. Africa Command Chaplain Colonel Karen Meeker conducted collaborative meetings to bring stability through faith and new avenues of collaboration in support of the warfighter while in Cairo, Egypt, March 17, 2025.
Read more
General Langley Engages with Leaders in Côte d’Ivoire
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, traveled to Côte d’Ivoire, April 24-25, to meet with Ivorian leaders and deliver remarks at the opening ceremony of Flintlock 25, the command's annual combined special operations exercise.
Read more
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more
More in Partnerships
Winning the Peace through Religious Collaboration
U.S. chaplain delegation led by U.S. Africa Command Chaplain Colonel Karen Meeker conducted collaborative meetings to bring stability through faith and new avenues of collaboration in support of the warfighter while in Cairo, Egypt, March 17, 2025.
Read more
General Langley Engages with Leaders in Côte d’Ivoire
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, traveled to Côte d’Ivoire, April 24-25, to meet with Ivorian leaders and deliver remarks at the opening ceremony of Flintlock 25, the command's annual combined special operations exercise.
Read more
Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord
NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”
Read more