National Air Force of Angola
| National Air Force of Angola Força Aérea Nacional Angolana |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 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 |
[edit] Aircraft Inventory
| Aircraft | Type | Versions | In service[2] | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter Aircraft | ||||||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed | Fighter Trainer |
Total
MiG-21MF MiG-21U |
18
20 5 |
|||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger | Fighter | MiG-23ML | 26 | |||
| Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker | Air superiority fighter Trainer |
Total
Su-27S Su-27UB |
18
5 1 |
from Belorussia[3] | ||
| Ground Attack | ||||||
| Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter | Ground attack | Su-22M-4 | 8 | |||
| Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot | Ground attack | Su-25K | 8 | |||
| EMB-314 Super Tucano | Light attack | A-29 | 6 | |||
| Trainer Aircraft | ||||||
| Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer | Trainer | PC-7 | 12 | |||
| Yakovlev Yak-11 Moose | Trainer | Yak-11 | 11 | |||
| Embraer EMB-312 Tucano | Trainer | EMB-312 | 5 | |||
| Maritime patrol | ||||||
| Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante | Maritime patrol | EMB-111 | 2 | |||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | Maritime patrol | F27MPA | 1 | |||
| Transports | ||||||
| Ilyushin Il-76 Candid | Transport | Il-76 | 1 | Crashed on 27 August 2009 | ||
| Antonov An-32 Cline | Transport | An-32 | 3 | |||
| Antonov An-26 Curl | Transport | An-26 | 12 | |||
| CASA C.212 Aviocar | Transport | Total
C.212-200 C.212M |
11
6 5 |
|||
| IAR BN-2 Islander | Transport | IAR BN-2A | 8 | |||
| Antonov An-12 Cub | Transport | An-12 | 10 | |||
| Pilatus PC-6 Porter | Transport | PC-6/B | 4 | |||
| Lockheed L-100 Hercules | Transport | L-100-30 | 1 | |||
| Dornier Do 228 | Transport | Do 228 | 1 | |||
| Cessna 172 Skyhawk | Utility | Cessna 172 | 3 | |||
| Dornier Do 28 | Utility | Do 28 | 1 | |||
| Embraer ERJ-135 | VIP Transport | ERJ-135BJ Legacy 600 | 1[4] | |||
| Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia | VIP Transport | EMB-120 | 1[4][5] | Crashed on 14 September 2011 | ||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Mil Mi-24 Hind | Attack helicopter | Total Mi-25 Mi-35 |
15 5 10 |
|||
| Mil Mi-8 Hip | transport helicopter | Mi-8 | 48 | |||
| Aérospatiale SA 315 Alouette II | Utility helicopter | SA 315B | 2 | |||
| IAR 316 Alouette III | Utility helicopter | IAR 316B | 15 | |||
| Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin | Utility helicopter | SA 365C | 10 | |||
| Aérospatiale SA 342 Gazelle | Utility helicopter | SA 342M | 7 | |||
| Bell 212 Twin Huey | Utility helicopter | Bell 212 | 8 | |||
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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.
