soldiers from the former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), the national army under the previous regime, have been incorporated into the RDF since 1994. This process began soon after the genocide in January 1995, when several former FAR officers were given senior positions in the new armed forces: Col. (later Gen.) Marcel Gatsinzi became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the RPA, Col. Balthazar Ndengeyinka became commander of the 305th Brigade, Lt. Col. Laurent Munyakazi took command of the 99th Battalion, and Lt. Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Emmanuel Habyarimana became an RPA Member of Parliament and Director of Training in the Ministry of Defence. Gen. Gatsinzi later became Director of Security and then Minister of Defence in 2002. Marine Unit The Rwandan Land Forces also contain a marine unit which operates on Lake Kivu. The unit utilizes several Fabio Buzzi powerboats equipped as fast attack craft, each armed with a single Chinese Type-85 heavy machine gun. In 2021, Rwanda deployed several of the powerboats to operate in littoral waters in the Indian Ocean as part of its deployment to support Mozambique during the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado. Air Force After achieving independence in 1962, the air arm (Force aérienne rwandaise) was formed with Belgian help. By 1972 the first modern equipment started to arrive in the form of seven Alouette IIIs. Other deliveries included Aérospatiale Gazelle, Britten-Norman Islanders, Nord Noratlas, SOCATA Guerrier armed light planes and Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil. After fighting began between the RPA and the government in 1990 most aircraft were shot down, destroyed on the ground or crashed. Few survived. Flight International's World Air Forces 2017 states the Rwandan Air Force has twelve Mil Mi-8/17 helicopters, five Mil Mi-24 and four Aerospatiale Gazelle SA.342. During December 2012 an aviation unit of three helicopters was sent to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The Rwandan Aviation Unit was subsequently increased to six helicopters - reportedly Mi-17. Aircraft Equipment Army equipment Small arms Characteristics Marching style Despite not being a former British colony, Rwanda has generally used British foot drill during official parades and functions. Since 2019, however, the RDF has adopted the Chinese variant of the goosestep, which is today mostly used by countries in Central and Eastern Europe, by communist countries, as well as by countries with a large Prussian/German influence (Russia, China and Chile all being examples of each). It was first displayed in April during