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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 2296.PDF
AJJ* ?USirJB5 Ur f £ yjUJiLU f.uH!M;ihw.i;i AFGHAN REPUBLICAN AIR FORCE Afghanistan's continuing civil war makes any accurate assessment of the state of the air force effectively impossi ble. Taliban forces continue to fight with other factions in the north of the country, having captured the capital, Kabul. The air force's combat element was built on the basis of lour squadrons of MiG-21 interceptors and at least two squadrons of MiG-23s based at Bagram, north of Kabul. Shindand was the home of two Su-7BA1 ground-attack units, which were operated alongside a unit of Su-20/22s. Another ground-attack wing at Mazar-i-Sharif was equipped with MiG-17Fs Type MiG-23/UB Flogger MiG-21 Fishbed MiG-17 Fresco Su-17/20/22 Fitter Su-25A Frogfoot L-39C Albatros L-29 Delfin Yak-11 Moose/Yak-18 Max An-32 Cline An-26 Curl An-24 Coke An-12 Cub 11-14 Crate 11-18 Coot An 2 Colt Mi-24 Hind Mi-8/17 Hip No 30+ 65+ 30+ 50+ 12 24 24 15+ 6+ 15 1 12 6+ 1 12+ 30+ 45+ Role int/attack int FGA FGA attack trng/COIN trng/COIN trng trans trans VIP trans trans VIP FAC/comms attack assault ALBANIA ALBANIAN PEOPLE'S ARMY - AIR FORCE Albania suffered from considerable civil unrest in the first half of 1997, with the country teetering on the brink of civil war. Given this, the readiness and operational availability of much of the air force's inventory must be under question. Administered by die army, most of die air force's equipment, including some 90 combat aircraft, are Chinese copies of Russian designs. A fighter regiment, including the opera tional conversion unit, is based at Berat. Other bases include Tirana and Shingjin, while the helicopter regiment operates from Karkas. A transport force includes about 20 fixed-wing aircraft and a similar number of helicopters. Type Shenyang F-7 (MiG-21) Shenyang F-6 (MiG-19) Shenyang F-5/FT-5 (MiG-17) Shenyang F-2 (MiG-15) Shenyang FT-2 (MiG-15UTI) NanchangCJ-5(Yak-18) II-14M Crate Harbin Y-5 (An-2) Harbin Z-5 (Mi-4) No 10 60 16 13 10 10 4 10 11 Role int int FGA FGA trng trng trans trans trans filVUHM AL OUWWAT AL IAWWIYA AL JAZA'ERIYA (AIR FORCE) Algeria was previously a client state of the former Soviet Union. The country is wracked by a bitter conflict between government forces and Muslim oppostion goups. The status of much of its Soviet-vintage inventory is in question, with many of the aircraft cither not airworthy or scrapped. The air arm's combat element consisted of a squadron of \li(. -25s,delivered in 1979, and included A1iG-25R recon naissance aircraft, together with at least three MiG-21 units assigned to air defence. Several squadrons of MiG-23s and Su-20s were allocated to ground attack, while the remaining MiG-17Fs were operated primarily in the tactical training role, as are die MiG'-l5s. MiG-23B/E/BN/U Flogger20/40/5 FGA/int/trng MiG-21MF/bis/U Fishbed 70+ int/trng MiG-17 Fresco 40 adv trainer Su-24 Fencer* 10 strike Su-20 Rtter 32 FGA Su-7BM/U Fitter 12+ FGA/trng L-39ZA Albatros 10 armed trng CM.170 Magister 20+ armed trng MiG-15UTI Midget 3 trng Zlin 142 20 trng T-34C Turbo-Mentor 6 tmg An-12 Cub 6 trans 11-76 Candid 3 trans C-130H/H-30 Hercules 10/6 trans F27 Friendship 400/600 2/1 VIP/trans Gulfstream III 3 VIP Falcon 900 2 VIP King Air 200T coast patrol Mi-24 Hind 30 attack Mi-8/17 Hip 50 trans SA330 Puma 3 trans Alouette III 4 liaison * not confirmed ANGOLA FORCE AEREA POPULAIRE DE ANGOLA (AIR FORCE) Angola's fragile peace continues to hold following two decades of conflict. The air force had been operationally- engaged without interruption throughout the 20-year strug gle, initially with heavy support from Cuba. During the con flict, guerrillas claimed the destruction of more than 200 air craft, including some 90 MiG-21/23 fighters, from me beginning of 1985. The air force is to be scaled down dramatically, with cuts mainly to fighters and combat helicopters. The MiG-2 Is and MiG-23s are based at Kuito, Luena, Menongue, and Mocamedes, while a single squadron of Su-22s is operated from Luanda. Helicopters, particularly gunships, form an important part of the inventory, having being been flown on intensive anti-guerrilla operations. Type MiG-23 Flogger MiG-21MF/bis Fishbed MiG-17 Fresco Su-22 Fitter Su-25 Frogfoot PC-7/9 Turbo-Trainer Fokker F27MPA Embraer EMB-111A MiG-21U Mongol MiG-15UTI Midget Yak-11 Moose Cessna 172 L-100-20 Hercules An-26 Curl C-212 Aviocar BN-2A Islander An-2 Colt Dornier 27 Boeing 707 Mi-25/35 Hind Mi-8/17 Hip SA365M Dauphin SA342M Gazelle SA341 Gazelle SA316 Alouette III IAR316 Alouette III No 20 15 8 10/5 9 4 1 2 6 3 6 3 2 10 6 6 5 5 1 28+ 16/7+ 5 6 5 15 29+ Role int/attack int/trng adv trainer attack/trng attack/tmg trng/attack MP MR trng trng trng trng trans trans trans trans trans liaison VIP attack trans/attack liaison/attack anti-armour liaison/attack liaison/attack liaison/attack Type MiG-25PD/RB/RU Foxbat No Role 30+ int/recon/trng FUERZA AEREA ARGENTINA (AIR FORCE) The air force placed an order in early 1997 for eight Sukhoi Su-29 trainers, the first time Argentina has bought military aircraft from Russia. Meanwhile, it continues to look to the USA to provide surplus aircraft from its inven tory, and the air force has been discussing the release of an additional 12 ex-USN A-4M Skyhawks as spares for the 36 aircraft being upgraded by Lockheed Martin. 'The air force is also looking for additional OV-ls and UII-ls. Type No Role Mirage IIIC/B 1 int/recon/trng Mirage IIIE/D 12/2 int/trng Mirage SA 9 FGA Dagger A/B 19/3 FGA/trng Canberra B62/T64 5 bomber/trng A-4B/C Skyhawk 12 attack A-4M/0A-4M Skyhawk 36 attack/trng IA-58A Pucara 75 attack T-34A Mentor 32 trng EMB-312 Tucano 27 trng IA-63 Pampa 14 trng MS.760B Paris 21 trng/COIN PA-25 Pawnee trng PA-34 Seneca 3 trng PA-28 Arrow trng KC-130H Hercules 2 tanker/trans C-130E/H Hercules 11 trans L-100-30 Hercules 1 trans Boeing 707-320B/C 5 trans F27 Friendship 400/600 8/5 trans F28 Fellowship 1000/lOOOC 4 VIP/trans Piper PA-28 Dakota 10 trans DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 7 trans IA-50 Guarani 11 trans/calib Sabreliner 75A VIP Learjet 35A 5 calib/survey PA-31 Navajo 1 comms Commander 500 12 comms Cessna A182J 25 liaison CH-47C Chinook Antarctic suppt Bell 212 5 trans/SAR UH-ID/H Iroquois 2 trans Hughes 369/500CD 22 AOP/COIN SA315B Lama 4 SAR COMMANDO DE AVIACION NAVAL ARGENTINA (NAVY) I he Argentinian navy is expected to take deliver)' of the first two of six P-3Bs from USN-surplus stock before the end of 1997. The remaining aircraft will be delivered during 1998. The P-3 will replace the L-188 in the maritime-patrol role. I I .IN"T-inodifcd L-188s, however, may be retained. The navy has also taken delivery of the first of three King Airs being modified for the MPA role. Type Super Etendard A-4Q Skyhawk P-3B Orion* MB.339A MB.326GB EMB-326 Xavante T-34C TurboMentor AS.555 Fennec S-2E/G Tracker L-188 Electra F28 Fellowship 3000 King Air 200 Queenair B80 PC-6B Turbo-Porter SH-3D/H Sea King SH-2F Seasprite AgustaA.109A Alouette III *on order COASTGUARD C-212 Aviocar 300 AS332B Super Puma SA330H Puma HB350B Esquilo Hughes 500 No Role 12 attack/ASV 5 attack 6 MPA 5 attack/trng 4 trng 12 trng 10 trng 4 trng 5/2 ASW/utility 6 MR/ELINT/trans 2/1 trans/VIP 6/3 surv/trng/VIP/MPA 5 comms/survey 2 comms 5/4 ASW/SAR/trans 6 ASW 4 utility 3/3 ASW/SAR 5 patrol/SAR 1 SAR 1 SAR 6 SAR 2 SAR 36 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 10 - 16 September 1997
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