Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congolese Air Force | ||
---|---|---|
Force Aérienne Congolaise | ||
Observation helicopter Alouette III | | |
Utility helicopter | Bell UH-1, Mil Mi-2, Mil Mi-8, Aérospatiale SA 330 | |
Transport | Boeing 727, Boeing 737, Douglas DC-8, Antonov An-12, Antonov An-26, Antonov An-72, Ilyushin Il-76 |
The Congolese Air Force (
History
Shortly after the Congo became independent in 1960, the province of Katanga seceded, and the newly formed State of Katanga began building its own army. The Katangese seized most of the aircraft operated by the Aviation de la Force Publique and created the Katangese Air Force. The Congolese Air Force was created in mid-1961 largely to oppose the new Katangese Air Force. In 1963, Katanga was defeated by United Nations forces in Operation Grandslam, and the remaining assets of the Katangese Armed Forces were integrated into the Congolese Air Force.[2]
A
In July 1970 the
In July 1974 the International Institute for Strategic Studies described the FAZ as numbering 800 personnel with 33 aircraft. The Military Balance for 1974–75 listed one fighter wing with 17 MB-326GB, 6 AT-6G and 10 T-28 armed trainers, one transport wing with 9 C-47, 4 C-54, and 3 C-130, one training wing with 8 T-6 and 12 SF-260MC, and one helicopter squadron with 20 Alouette II/III and 7 Aérospatiale SA 330 Pumas.[4] It noted that 17 Mirage V and 3 C-130H were on order.
The Air Combat Information Group states that by the mid-1980s the FAZ suffered from the same problems as the rest of the
In the 1980s the air force was theoretically organised into the 1er Groupement Aérien, at Kinshasa (N'djili Airport?), with the 19th Logistics Support Wing (C-130s and Dakotas), the 12th Liaison Wing (helicopters, MU-2Js, and Cessna 310Rs) and the 13th Training Wing. The 2e Groupement Aérien Tactique at Kamina Air Base comprised the 21st Fighter-Attack Wing with Mirage 5s and MB.326Ks, and the 22nd Tactical Transport Wing, with 221 Squadron operating the two of three originally delivered DHC-5 Buffalos.[7]
The extreme corruption of the force meant that Zairian aircraft were more often used for private 'business' of their fliers and their superiors[8] than operations against rebels. From an originally delivered eight Dassault Mirage 5Ms,[9] only seven were left by 1988, with five being lost in different accidents. By the mid-1990s the last three were sold. Michela Wrong's In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo reports a story that the remaining Mirages were sold in France whilst there for maintenance, in order to finance a Zairian Air Force commander's retirement.[10]
The FAZ played little part in the First Congo War, with most aircraft inoperable. Some aircraft were imported and used by Serbian mercenaries, but had little operational effect.[5] The FAC has reportedly hired Georgian ex-military pilots to train FARDC pilots in counterinsurgency operations, who may also have participated in combat operations.[11]
Two FAC Mi-24 helicopters were shot down in
As of January 2023, there are media reports of an FAC
Current structure
As of 2007, all military aircraft in the
Like the other services, the Congolese Air Force is not capable of carrying out its responsibilities. Few of the Air Force's aircraft are currently flyable or capable of being restored to service and it is unclear whether the Air Force is capable of maintaining even unsophisticated aircraft. Moreover, Jane's states that the Air Force's Ecole de Pilotage is 'in near total disarray' though Belgium has offered to restart the Air Force's pilot training program.[15]
Known chiefs of staff
- Major General Faustin Munene in 1997
- Brigadier General Jean Bitanihirwa Kamara in 2005
- Major General Djedje Ndamba in 2006
- Major General John Numbiin 2007
- Major General Rigobert Massamba Musungu from 2007[16][1]
- Brigadier General (Major General from July 2018)Numbi Ngoie Enoch since 2014[18]
Aircraft
According to
A report on the Facebook page of Scramble magazine in December 2018 shows a
Current inventory
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat Aircraft | ||||||
MiG-23 | Soviet Union | fighter | 2 | 1 used for conversion training[24] | ||
Sukhoi Su-25 | Russia | attack | 6[24] | |||
Reconnaissance | ||||||
AHRLAC Mwari | South Africa | reconnaissance | 2 on order[24] | |||
Transport | ||||||
Boeing 727 | United States | VIP transport | 1[24] | |||
Antonov An-26 | Soviet Union | transport | 3[24] | |||
Antonov An-72 | Soviet Union | transport | 1[24] | |||
Ilyushin Il-76 | Soviet Union | 1[24] | ||||
Helicopters
| ||||||
Aérospatiale SA 330 | France | utitily / transport | 10[24] | |||
Alouette III | France | liaison | 2[24] | |||
Bell UH-1 | United States | utility | UH-1H | 3[24] | ||
Bell 206 | United States | utility | 2[24] | |||
Mil Mi-2 | Poland | utility | 2[24] | |||
Mil Mi-8 | Soviet Union | utility | Mi-8/17 | 4[24] | ||
Mil Mi-24 | Soviet Union | attack | 8[24] | |||
Mil Mi-26 | Soviet Union | heavy lift | 1[24] |
References
- ^ a b Standardization in the FARDC: Major General Musungu retires old equipment Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine Digital Congo. 7/8/2010
- ^ "Congolese Republic". Interavia. Vol. 22. 1967. pp. 1305–1306.
- ^ ISS Military Balance 1970–71, p.47-48
- ^ IISS, Military Balance 1974–75, p.45
- ^ a b Tom Cooper & Pit Weinert, Zaire/DR Congo since 1980 Archived 2007-07-30 at the Wayback Machine, 2 September 2003, Air Combat Information Group, accessed August 2007
- ISBN 9789064455261.
- ^ Lindsay Peacock, The World's Air Forces, Salamander, 1991, p.156
- ^ See for example Jean-François Bayart, L'etat en Afrique: La Politique du Ventre, 1989
- ISBN 1-874023-36-0.
- ISBN 1741791863, p.321
- ^ a b Fittarelli, Alberto (June 26, 2017). "The Strange Tale of the Georgians in Congo". bellingcat. Archived from the original on 2017-06-26. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
- ^ "DR Congo Deploys Fighter Jets Against M23 Rebels". The Defense Post. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ "Spanningen tussen Congo en Rwanda nemen toe: Rwanda beschiet Congolese straaljager om "luchtruim te verdedigen"". 25 January 2023.
- Jane's Information Group. pp. 134–135.
- Jane's Information Group. p. 135.
- ^ Jean Omasombo et al., 2009, 166.
- ^ Fardc: Joseph Kabila names Lieutenant-General Celestin Mbala Munsense General Staff Archived 2018-08-20 at the Wayback Machine. Digitalcongo.net, 16 July 2018.
- ^ Rogue army for a fragile state Archived 2015-03-19 at the Wayback Machine GGA. Published February 1, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
- IISSMilitary Balance 2007 p.271
- ^ "World Air Forces 2004 pg. 52". flight Global. Archived from the original on 2015-01-09. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ Jane's World Air Forces. Issue 25, 2007. Pages 135–136.
- ^ Air Forces Monthly No.232, July 2007, p.27
- ^ "Scramble Magazine". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Hoyle, Craig, ed. (2023). "World Air Forces 2024". Flightglobal Insight. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
Further reading
- Cooper, Tom & Weinert, Peter (2010). African MiGs: Volume I: Angola to Ivory Coast. Harpia Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-0-9825539-5-4.
External links
- Air Combat Information Group, Congo, Part 1: 1960–63
- National Security Advisor, Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon, Washington, August 7, 1970 (regarding purchase of first three C-130s and river patrol craft)