The Rwandan Air Force () is the air branch of the Rwandan Defence Forces.

History

After achieving independence in 1962, the Air Force was formed with the aid of

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 ...

, the initial aircraft consisted of three ex-

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

CM.170 Magisters, which operated in a counterinsurgency role along with a

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...

. Other deliveries included SA 342L Gazelles, Nord Noratlas, SOCATA Guerrier, and

C-47 Skytrain 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. During the

Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...

, most of the aircraft were either shot down, destroyed on the ground or crashed.

Inventory

References

External links

Official website
* https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/rwanda/air-force.htm * https://www.rwandan-flyer.com/rwanda-air-force-guide-2014

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Military aviation in Africa Air forces by country {{Mil-aviation-stub