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.

Aircraft Inventory

Aircraft	Source	Type	Versions	In service[2]	Notes
Fighter Aircraft
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed	Soviet Union	Fighter Trainer	Total MiG-21MF MiG-21U	18 20 5
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger	Soviet Union	Fighter	MiG-23ML	26
Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker	Soviet Union /  Russia	Air superiority fighter Trainer	Total Su-27S Su-27UB	18 5 1	from 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.212M	11 6 5
IAR 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-35	15 5 10
Mil 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

1. ^ "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)
2. ^ "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. 
3. ^ milavia.net
4. ^ ^{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. 
5. ^ Embraer Reports Third-Quarter 2007 Deliveries and Updates Order Book
6. ^ Accident description for T-500 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 15 September 2011.

External links