The Congolese Air Force () is the air branch of the

Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo The Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo (), also less formally denoted as the ''Forces armées congolaises'' or its acronym FAC, are the military forces of the Republic of the Congo. They consist of the Congolese Army, the Congolese Air Fo ...

, in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

(Congo-Brazzaville).

Former Cold War air force

After achieving independence from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1960, the Congolese air force () was started with equipment such as the

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

s, Broussards and Bell 47Gs, these were followed by Nord Noratlas tactical transports and Sud Alouette helicopter. In the 1970s the air force switched to Soviet equipment. This included five Ilyushin Il-14 and six turboprop Antonov An-24 transports and an

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

in return for providing bases for

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n MiG-17 operations over

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. These fighters and a few MiG-15UTI combat trainers were transferred to the FAC. In 1990 these fighters were replaced by 16

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

supplied MiG-21MF/bis Fishbeds plus a couple of MiG-21US trainers. Together with a Soviet training mission which stayed until late 1991, during that time there were numerous accidents that involved both Soviet and Congolese personnel. After the Soviets left there was only limited funding for MiG operations and they were withdrawn. Six Mi-8 helicopters were delivered from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in mid-1997 before the Cobra rebel takeover.

Former personnel and budget

A small, but adequate budget and personnel. Financial aid also came from the former USSR and some personnel were either Soviets or Cubans.

Political and combat role

Its role was as a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

bastion in central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and to counter the politically unstable, pro-Western regime in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

(the then former name of the

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

). Its role is now one of countering cross-border smuggling operations, intermittent counterinsurgency actions in the northern provinces and successfully containing the crisis in the DRC along its border. Its first batch of aircraft, the MiG-15s and some of the MiG-17s, arrived in the early 1960s just after the Congo's independence from

and Zaire's independence from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It was organised into fighter, counterinsurgency, transport and support wings.

Arms suppliers and personnel training

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

supplied arms and aircraft. The Soviets and Cubans trained the air force as a whole, but France also trained some of its officers.

Aircraft

Current inventory

Retired aircraft

Previous aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

, MiG-17F, C-47 Dakota, SN.601 Corvette, N.2501F Noratlas, Ilyushin Il-14, Antonov An-24, Antonov An-26, Alouette II, Alouette III, AS365 Dauphin, and the MiG-15UTI.

Arms suppliers and personnel training

and

supplied the arms and aircraft. France and China also trained the air force as a whole, but France has also trained most of its air force officers.

References

Sources

* Dorling Kinnersley World reference atlas for 1994 * Tri-service pocketbook- Soviet and East European Major Combat Aircraft for 1990, * * Tri-service pocketbook- NATO Major Combat Aircraft for 1990, * A news clipping on the helicopter and transport plane of about the same date. * Prentice Hall/Salamander Books book- An Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Markings (1989). * Aircraft information files Bright star publishing File 358 sheet 2

Former Cold War air force

Former personnel and budget

Political and combat role

Arms suppliers and personnel training

Aircraft

Current inventory

Retired aircraft

Arms suppliers and personnel training

See also

References

Sources

Further reading