The Armed Forces of Malta will early next year take delivery of a new fixed wing aircraft equipped with modern surveillance and communications equipment as well as new equipment for offshore search and rescue operations, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said today.

He was speaking at AFM Luqa barracks where he watched seven AFM officer cadets and 61 recruits hold their passing out parade on completion of basic training.

Dr Gonzi praised the new soldiers for opting to follow a career of service to the country. He underlined the investment being made in the AFM, which this year also received four new patrol boats and new communications equipment, and said recruitment would continue as the role of the AFM grew.

He also thanked the soldiers who are serving abroad - off Somalia as well as in Georgia, among other countries.

The 18-week basic training of the recruits was based on military discipline, physical training and skill at arms. They were also lectured in first aid, basic swimming, basic water rescue, military law and international humanitarian law, and navigation. The training was handled by the Training School of 4 Regiment AFM.

The officers' training also included leadership, the role of the officer, military tactics, counter-insurgency and peacekeeping Some of the cadets followed courses at the Royal Military Academy Samhury and in the Repubic of Ireland.

The soldiers were also congratulated by the Commander AFM, Brigadier Martin Xuereb.