- National Air Force of Angola
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National Air Force of Angola
Força Aérea Nacional AngolanaActive 1976 - Country Angola Size 285-348 aircraft Commanders General Francisco Lopes Gonçalves Afonso Insignia Roundel Aircraft flown Attack Su-25, Su-22, Mi-24/35 Fighter Su-27, MiG-23, MiG-21 Patrol Fokker F27, EMB-110 Trainer Yak-11, PC-7, Tucano Transport L-100, An-12, An-26, C.212, Mi-8 The National Air Force of Angola (Portuguese: Força Aérea Nacional Angolana, FANA) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola.
FAN was established, after the independence of Angola from Portugal, on January 21, 1976 as the People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola (Força Aérea Popular de Angola/Defesa Aérea e Antiaérea (FAPA/DAA)) and initially made use of the aircraft left behind by the Portuguese Air Force. The FAPA/DAA fought several battles with South African Air Force aircraft.
FAN has bases are at Luanda, Belas, Luena, Kuito, Lubango and Mocamedes. The World Factbook, produced by the CIA, reported that by 2007 the name of the force had changed to "National Air Force".[1]
Most of the inventory is out of service, and refers to historical equipment delivered along the years. FAN has many bases - most of them, former Portuguese Air Force bases and other courtesy of the cold war - but few airplanes that actually fly. The main body of the active air force is made of transport/cargo planes, used for moving supplies, equipment and personnel between parts of the country.
Contents
Aircraft Inventory
Aircraft Source Type Versions In service[2] Notes Fighter Aircraft Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed Soviet Union Fighter
TrainerTotal
MiG-21MF
MiG-21U18
20
5Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger Soviet Union Fighter MiG-23ML 26 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker Soviet Union / Russia Air superiority fighter
TrainerTotal
Su-27S
Su-27UB18
5
1from Belorussia[3] Ground Attack Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter Soviet Union / Slovakia Ground attack Su-22M-4 8 Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Soviet Union Ground attack Su-25K 8 Trainer Aircraft Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer Switzerland Trainer PC-7 12 Yakovlev Yak-11 Moose Soviet Union Trainer Yak-11 11 Embraer EMB-312 Tucano Brazil Trainer EMB-312 5 Maritime patrol Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante Brazil Maritime patrol EMB-111 2 Fokker F27 Friendship Netherlands Maritime patrol F27MPA 1 Transports Ilyushin Il-76 Candid Soviet Union / Russia Transport Il-76 1 Crashed on 27 August 2009 Antonov An-32 Cline Soviet Union / Ukraine Transport An-32 3 Antonov An-26 Curl Soviet Union / Ukraine Transport An-26 12 CASA C.212 Aviocar Spain Transport Total
C.212-200
C.212M11
6
5IAR BN-2 Islander Romania Transport IAR BN-2A 8 Antonov An-12 Cub Soviet Union / Ukraine Transport An-12 10 Pilatus PC-6 Porter Switzerland Transport PC-6/B 4 Lockheed L-100 Hercules United States Transport L-100-30 1 Dornier Do 228 Germany Transport Do 228 1 Cessna 172 Skyhawk United States Utility Cessna 172 3 Dornier Do 28 Germany Utility Do 28 1 Embraer ERJ-135 Brazil VIP Transport ERJ-135BJ Legacy 600 1[4] Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia Brazil VIP Transport EMB-120 1[4][5] Crashed on 14 September 2011 Helicopters Mil Mi-24 Hind Soviet Union Attack helicopter Total
Mi-25
Mi-3515
5
10Mil Mi-8 Hip Soviet Union / Russia transport helicopter Mi-8 48 Aérospatiale SA 315 Alouette II France Utility helicopter SA 315B 2 IAR 316 Alouette III Romania Utility helicopter IAR 316B 15 Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin France Utility helicopter SA 365C 10 Aérospatiale SA 342 Gazelle France Utility helicopter SA 342M 7 Bell 212 Twin Huey United States Utility helicopter Bell 212 8 Accidents and incidents
- 14 September 2011: An Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia, tail number T-500, carrying 23 occupants aboard, crashed in Huambo, breaking in two and catching fire. Seventeen people lost their lives in the accident.[4][6]
References
- ^ "Non official site with history of FAN". fanangola.webnode.pt. http://fanangola.webnode.pt/news/for%C3%A7a%20aerea%20nacional,%2035%20anos%20%2821-01-1976%20a%2021-01-2011%29/. Retrieved August 21, 2011. (Portuguese)
- ^ "Aviation Week & Space Technology 2009". January 26, 2009. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/sourcebook/content.jsp?channelName=pro&story=xml/sourcebook_xml/2009/01/26/AW_01_26_2009_p0240-112924-04.xml&headline=World%20Military%20Aircraft%20Inventory%20-%20Angola. Retrieved 25 July 25, 2009.
- ^ milavia.net
- ^ a b c Dominic Perry (14 September 2011). "Angolan air force Embraer transport crashes". Flightglobal.com. Flight International. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/09/14/362052/angolan-air-force-embraer-transport-crashes.html. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ Embraer Reports Third-Quarter 2007 Deliveries and Updates Order Book
- ^ Accident description for T-500 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 15 September 2011.
External links
Categories:- Military of Angola
- Air forces by country
- Aviation in Angola
- Military units and formations established in 1976
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