Military flags of Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde military and other armed forces and similar entities’ flags and emblematics

Last modified: 2026-02-28 by antónio martins
Keywords: forças armadas | lutar e vencer | fin flash |
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image by Zoltan Horvath, 29 Apr 2024 | (based on photo)

• Armed Forces of Cabo Verde:
  • Flag of the Armed Forces
    • Emblem detail
  • National Guard
  • Coast Guard
  • Historical entities
• Civil security forces of Cabo Verde:
  • Judiciary Police
  • National Police (since 2005)
    • Public Order Police (before 2005)
  • Civil Defense and Firefighting
• National markings on planes
  • National flag of 1975-1992 on fin flash
  • National flag of 1992- as fin flash
  • National flag of 1992- on fin flash

See also:

• Cabo Verde
• Military flags (other countries)

External links:

• Official website
• Cape Verdean Armed Forces, in the English Wikipedia

Flag of the Armed Forces

The flag of the Armed Forces is red with the emblem of the Armed Forces in the middle of the flag. (Sources: photos of official use in 2010, 2023, and 2024 (arch.). While it seems to be shorter than the national flag, but longer than the flag of the National Guard or of the Coast Guard, I created it with a 2:3 ratio.)
Zoltan Horvath, 29 Apr 2024

Emblem detail

image by António Martins, Feb 2026 | (source image)

The emblem of Armed Forces can be seen at this 2023 official report.
Zoltan Horvath, 29 Apr 2024

Historical entities

As far as I could gather (and corrections are very welcome!) defunct military entities in Cabo Verde are the following:

• pre-independence Portuguese military
• FARP - Forças Armadas Revolucionárias do Povo (People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces), military wing of P.A.I.G.C., which operated up to 1975 mostly in Bissau-Guinea, but had a strong binational character
• FARP - Forças Armadas Revolucionárias do Povo (People’s Revolutionary Armed Forces): same name, after independence in 1975. Subdivided in:
  • Army (Exército)
  • Coast Guard (Guarda Costeira)
  • Navy and naval aviation (Marinha de Guerra e Aviação)
• Marine corps (Fuzileiros Navais), created in 1977
• National People’s Navy (Marinha Nacional Popular), new name for the navy (and naval aviation), in the early 1980s; disestablished in the late 1980s

Capeverdean Air Force (Força Aérea Caboverdiana), formed 1982, according to book [c2e98].
Dov Gutterman, 13 Jun 2004

National markings on planes

Capeverdean Air Force / Força Aérea Caboverdiana (formed 1982 — 6 cargo and light planes) and Guarda Costeira de Cabo Verde (with 1 plane); the book [c2e98] reports a national flag as fin flash (changed as the flag changed in 1992).
Dov Gutterman, 13 Jun 2004

National flag of 1975-1992 on fin flash

(photo)
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 Apr 2024

A An-26 airplane with small 1975-1992 national flag painted on the drab olive background of the tail fin; its hoist is on the side of the nose of the aircraft, as usual.
António Martins, 15 Feb 2026

National flag of 1992- as fin flash

(photo)
Nozomi Kariyasu, 29 Apr 2024

A Do-228 airplane with its whole tail fin painted in blue to resemble a vertical version of the national flag (with very small stars); the smaller blue area faces the tail end of the aircraft, which looks better but implies that this flag, if upright, would be fluttering against the vehicle’s motion. (Compare with another photo of the same Do-228 in the same livery, showing its right side.)
António Martins, 15 Feb 2026

National flag of 1992- on fin flash

(photo)
Dov Gutterman, 13 Jun 2004

Yet another photo of a Cabo Verde Coast Guard Do-228 airplane, showing the national flag painted on the white background of the tail fin; its hoist is on the side of the nose of the aircraft, as usual.
António Martins, 15 Feb 2026

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