Mauritania Islamic Air Force
Mauritania Islamic Air Force | |
---|---|
Force Aérienne Islamique de Mauritanie | |
Founded | 1960 |
Country | Mauritania |
Type | Air force |
Role | Aerial warfare |
Part of | Mauritanian Armed Forces |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Brigadier General Hamadi Ely Maouloud[1] | |
Insignia | |
Roundel | |
Aircraft flown | |
Attack | Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano |
Helicopter | Harbin Z-9 |
Transport | Basler BT-67, Pilatus PC-6, Harbin Y-12, Cessna 208 Caravan |
The Mauritania Islamic Air Force (French: Force Aérienne Islamique de Mauritanie or FAIM) is the air force of the Armed Forces of Mauritania. It was established in 1960. Like many of the former French colonies, Mauritania received limited economic and military aid from France. The FAIM started out as a French-operated transport force, and has seen combat against the Polisario Front in the 1970s.
History
Beginnings
The Mauritania Islamic Air Force came into being shortly after the country's independence, in 1960. At that time, it was named the Aviation Group of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (Groupement Aérien de la République Islamique de Mauritanie). Its first aircraft were one
Thanks to the influx of newly trained native pilots and ground personnel, the FAIM grew significantly in the early 1970s. A 1971 reorganisation saw the creation of a transport squadron (operating C-47s) and a liaison squadron (operating the Broussards and seven second-hand
War with the Polisario Front
In 1976, the
The war against the Polisario Front was a huge strain on the Mauritanian national budget, and it caused more and more discontent in the country, including inside of its armed forces. Two successful military coups took place in 1978 and 1979 respectively. While the war with the Polisario continued, on 27 May 1979 the junta's strongman Ahmed Ould Bouceif died in the crash of the FAIM DHC-5D that was bringing him to an ECOWAS summit in Dakar, together with the other 11 occupants. The new Mauritanian government then decided to stop the country's involvement in Western Sahara, and a peace treaty between Mauritania and the Polisario Front was signed in August.[8]
From the 1980s to today
The Air Force School was recently created in Atar. It was founded to train pilots, mechanics, other crewmen for the Air Force.[9]
More recent procurements have been from China in the form of the
Aircraft
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft | ||||||
EMB 314 Super Tucano | Brazil | COIN / attack | 4[11] | |||
Reconnaissance | ||||||
Cessna 208 | United States | reconnaissance | 2[11] | |||
Transport | ||||||
Basler BT-67 | United States | transport / utility | 1[11] | modified DC-3 with P&W PT6A Turboprop engines | ||
Cessna 441 | United States | VIP transport | 1[11] | |||
Pilatus PC-6 | Switzerland | utility | 1[11] | STOL capable aircraft | ||
Harbin Y-12 | China | transport | 1[11] | |||
CASA/IPTN CN-235 | Indonesia | transport | 2[11] | |||
Helicopters
| ||||||
Harbin Z-9 | China | utility | 2[11] | |||
AgustaWestland AW109 | Italy | utility | 2[11] | |||
Trainer Aircraft
| ||||||
EMB-312
|
Brazil | trainer | 5[11] | |||
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 | Italy | trainer | 2[11] |
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "L'attaché militaire allemand en visite à la base aérienne d'Atar". Armée Nationale Mauritanienne. 21 September 2022.
- ^ Cooper & Grandolini 2018, p. 33
- ^ Cooper & Grandolini 2018, pp. 46–47
- ^ Cooper, Grandolini & Fontanellaz 2019, p. 31
- ^ Cooper, Grandolini & Fontanellaz 2019, pp. 30–31
- ^ Cooper, Grandolini & Fontanellaz 2019, p. 33
- ^ Cooper, Grandolini & Fontanellaz 2019, pp. 37–38
- ^ Cooper, Grandolini & Fontanellaz 2019, pp. 38–39
- ^ Super Administrateur. "The Directorate of Air". Archived from the original on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ "CORRECTED-OFFICIAL-Kinross chartered plane crashes in Mauritania, 7 dead". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "World Air Forces 2023". Flightglobal Insight. 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
Bibliography
- Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert (2018). Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 1: Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1945-1975. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. ISBN 978-1-912390-35-9.
- Cooper, Tom; Grandolini, Albert; Fontanellaz, Adrien (2019). Showdown in Western Sahara, Volume 2: Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1975-1991. Warwick, UK: Helion & Company Publishing. ISBN 978-1-912866-29-8.