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National Air Force of Angola

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The National Air Force of Angola (FANA; Portuguese: Força Aérea Nacional de Angola) is the air force branch of the Angolan Armed Forces.

National Air Force of Angola
Força Aérea Nacional de Angola
Emblem
Founded21 January 1976; 48 years ago (1976-01-21)
Country Angola
TypeAir force
RoleAerial warfare
Size6,000 personnel[1]
286 aircraft
Part ofAngolan Armed Forces
HeadquartersLuanda
Engagements
Commanders
Commander-in-ChiefPresident João Lourenço
Air Force Chief of StaffGeneral Altino Dos Santos
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
AttackSu-25, Su-22
FighterSukhoi Su-30, Su-27, MiG-23, MiG-21
HelicopterMi-8
Attack helicopterMi-24/35
PatrolFokker F27, EMB-110, C.212
TrainerYak-11, PC-7, Embraer EMB 312 Tucano
TransportC-130 Hercules, An-12, An-26

With an inventory of more than 300 aircraft, FANA is (on paper) one of the largest and strongest air forces of Africa.

History

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Angola became independent from Portugal on 11 November 1975. However, the foundations for the establishment of the air force were laid before independence when members of the then Flying Club of Angola (Aeroclube de Angola) were assembled at Luanda in October 1975.[2] These people and aircraft left behind by the Portuguese Air Force formed the basis for the air transport branch of the force.

The force was formally established on 21 January 1976 as the People's Air Force of Angola / Air and Antiaircraft Defense or FAPA/DAA (Força Aérea Popular de Angola / Defesa Aérea e Antiaérea). Its first batch of Soviet MiG fighter aircraft was delivered in mid-December 1975.[2] The FAPA/DAA fought several battles with South African Air Force aircraft in November 1981, October 1982, and twice in September 1987.[3]

Circa 1983–85, in order to enhance MPLA's combat capacity, Romania sent 150 flight instructors and other aviation personnel, who contributed to the establishment of an Angolan Military Aviation School.

The FANA has bases at Luanda, Catumbela, Belas, Luena, Kuito, Lubango and Moçâmedes. The World Factbook, produced by the CIA, reported that by 2007 the name of the force had changed to "National Air Force".[4]

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.

Structure

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The National Air Force of Angola is headed by the Chief of Staff of the FANA (Chefe do Estado-Maior da FANA). The Chief of Staff of the FANA is a General directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Angola.

FANA follows a Russian/ex-Soviet organizational model, with its air units being aviation regiments (regimentos de aviação), each one including several squadrons (esquadrões). To each of the six aviation regiments corresponds an air base. Besides the aviation regiments, there is also a Pilot Training School.

Its order of battle is:[citation needed]

  • 25th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Kuito Airport)
    • 13th Fighter Squadron (Su-27 and Su-27UB)
    • 12th Fighter Squadron (MiG-23ML and MiG-23UB)
    • 11th Fighter Squadron (MiG-21bis, MiG-21M, MiG- 21F-13 and MiG-21U)
  • 26th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Moçâmedes Air Base)
    • 14th Fighter Squadron (Su-24MK)
    • 16th Fighter Squadron (Su-25K and Su-25UBK)
    • 15th Fighter Squadron (Su-22M-4K and Su-22UM-3K)
  • 24th Training Regiment (Menongue Airport)
    • 8th Training Squadron (L-39ZA, EMB-312, PC-9 and PC-7)
    • 9th Training Squadron (L-29 Delfin, MiG-15UTI, Yak-11 and PC-6B)
    • 10th Training Squadron (Cessna 172 and Z-142C)
  • 23rd Air Transportation Regiment (Luanda Air Base)
    • 5th Light Transportation Squadron (An-2, An-12, An-24, An-26, An-28, An-32, An-72, An-74, F-27, C-212-300, C-212-200, BN- 2A-21 Commander Turbo, Do-27, Do-28C and Do-228)
    • 6th Transportation Squadron (Il-76T, C-130K, Lockheed L-100-20 and Boeing 707)
    • 7th Transportation Squadron (Boeing 707 and EMB-120)
Mil Mi-24s of Angola
  https://twitter.com/HammerOfWar5/status/1608164658170437632/photo/1
  • 21st Transportation Helicopter Regiment (Luena Airport)
    • 1st Helicopter Squadron (SA-315, IAR-316, SA-342m, AB-212 and SA-365m)
    • 2nd Helicopter Squadron (Mi-8, Mi-17 and AS-532)
  • 22nd Combat Helicopter Regiment (Huambo Air Base)
    • 3rd Helicopter Squadron (Mi-25, Mi-35, AS-565AA, AS-565UA and SA-342m)
    • 4th Helicopter Squadron (Mi-24, Mi-25 and Mi-35)
  • Pilot Basic Training School (Lobito)

Inventory

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Aircraft

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An Angolan Air Force MiG-21bis
 
Angolan VIP Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy
 
A Cessna 501 used for Maritime Patrol
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Combat aircraft
Embraer EMB 314 Brazil Attack / COIN 6[5]
MiG-21 Russia Fighter MiG-21bis 23[5]
MiG-23 Russia Fighter 22[5] Some supplied by Belarus[6]
Sukhoi Su-22 Russia Fighter-bomber 14[5] Some supplied by Belarus[6]
Sukhoi Su-25 Russia Attack Su-25K 6[5]
Sukhoi Su-30 Russia Multirole Su-30K 12[5]
Maritime patrol
CASA C-212 Spain Maritime patrol 1[5]
CASA C-295 Spain Maritime patrol C-295 MSA 2 on order[5]
Cessna Citation I United States Maritime patrol 1[5] Fitted with a Seaspray AESA radar and electro-optical sensor
Transport
Antonov An-12 Russia Heavy transport 8[5]
Antonov An-26 Russia Transport 1[5]
Antonov An-32 Russia Transport 4[5]
Antonov An-72 Russia Heavy transport 4[5]
CASA C-212 Spain Utility 1[5]
CASA C-295 Spain Utility 1 on order[5]
Daher Kodiak United States Utility Kodiak 100 3[5]
Ilyushin Il-76 Russia Strategic airlift 7[5]
Xi'an MA60 China Transport 2[5]
Helicopter
AgustaWestland AW109 Italy Utility 2[5] 4 on order[5]
AgustaWestland AW139 Italy SAR / Utility 4[5]
Alouette III France Liaison / Utility 21[5]
Bell 212 United States Utility 9[5]
Mil Mi-17 Russia Utility 65[5]
Mil Mi-24 Russia Attack Mi-35 15[5]
Trainer
Aero L-29 Czechoslovakia Jet trainer 6[5]
Aero L-39 Czechoslovakia Jet trainer 4[5]
Embraer EMB 312 Brazil Trainer 12[5] Aircraft acquired from Peru[7]
Hongdu JL-8 China Jet trainer K-8W 12[5]
Pilatus PC-7 Switzerland Basic trainer 5[8]
Pilatus PC-9 Switzerland Trainer 4[5]
Sukhoi Su-25 Russia Conversion trainer Su-25UBK 5[5]
Sukhoi Su-27 Russia Conversion trainer Su-27UB 1[5]
UAV
TAI Aksungur Turkey UCAV Unknown quantity ordered[9]

Air Defense

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Name Origin Type In service Notes
SAM
S-75M Volkhov Soviet Union Medium-range surface-to-air missile 40[10]
2K12 Kub Soviet Union Short-range surface-to-air missile 16[10] Upgraded to 2K12-ML standard[11][12]
S-125 Pechora Soviet Union Short-range surface-to-air missile 12[10]
9K35 Strela-10 Soviet Union Short-range surface-to-air missile 10[10]
9K33 Osa Soviet Union Short-range surface-to-air missile 15[10]
9K31 Strela-1 Soviet Union Short-range surface-to-air missile 20[10]

Armaments

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Name Origin Type Notes
Air-to-air missile
K-13 Soviet Union Infrared homing air-to-air missile [13]
R-60 Soviet Union Infrared homing air-to-air missile [13]
R-73 Soviet Union Infrared homing air-to-air missile [13]
R-23 Soviet Union Semi-active radar homing [13]
R-27 Soviet Union Infrared homing air-to-air missile / Semi-active radar homing [13]
Air-to-surface missile
9M17 Fleyta Soviet Union Anti-tank missile [10]
Anti-radiation missile
Kh-28 Soviet Union Anti-radiation missile [13]

Accidents and incidents

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On 14 September 2011, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, operated by the Air Force, crashed just after takeoff from Nova Lisboa Airport,[14] killing 11 army officers (including three generals, among them Kalias Pedro) and six civilians.[15][16] The accident occurred at 11:30 am at the airport, with a military delegation on board the flight at Albano Machado Airport.[17]

Ranks

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Main article: Military ranks of Angola

Commissioned officer ranks

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The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers
  National Air Force of Angola[18]
                    
General-de-Aviação General Tenente-general Brigadeiro Coronel Tenente-coronel Major Capitão Tenente Sub-tenente

Other ranks

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The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
  National Air Force of Angola[18]
                 No insignia
Sargento-mor Sargento-chefe Sargento-ajudante Primeiro-sargento Segundo-sargento Sub-sargento Primeiro-cabo Segundo-cabo Soldado

References

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  1. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (25 February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. London: Routledge. p. 448. ISBN 9781032012278.
  2. ^ a b Cooper, Tom & Weinert, Peter (2010). African MiGs: Volume I: Angola to Ivory Coast. Harpia Publishing LLC. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-9825539-5-4.
  3. ^ Cooper and Weinert 2010, 52, 54, 60.
  4. ^ "Non official site with history of FAN" (in Portuguese). fanangola.webnode.pt. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Hoyle, Craig (2023). "World Air Forces 2024". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "World Air Forces 2001 pg. 35". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  7. ^ "World Air Forces 2002 pg. 35". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  8. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies; Hackett, James (ed.). The Military Balance 2016. London: Routledge. ISBN 1857435575.
  9. ^ Torlak, Hakan (17 March 2023). "Üretim kapasitesi arttı: AKSUNGUR İHA Kırgızistan ve Angola yolcusu". DefenceTurk (in Turkish). Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g International Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. p. 449. ISBN 9781032012278.
  11. ^ "Angola has received upgraded SA-6 surface-to-air missiles". defenceWeb. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Angola received upgraded SA-6 systems". Shephard Media. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org.
  14. ^ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  15. ^ "Angola: Huambo air force plane crash kills generals". BBC News. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Angola army says 17 killed in air crash". Dawn.com. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  17. ^ "17 Killed in Wednesday Air Force plane crash". Angola Press Agency. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Postos da Força Aérea Nacional". faa.ao (in Portuguese). Angolan Air Force. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

Further reading

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  • Cooper, Tom & Weinert, Peter (2010). African MiGs: Volume I: Angola to Ivory Coast. Harpia Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-0-9825539-5-4.
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