Aircraft
In comparison with the extensive Aviation Week and Space Technology table of aircraft below, the IISS Military Balance 2007 lists the Air Force with 6 combat capable jet aircraft (2 MiG-23 Flogger and 4 Su-25 Frogfoot) and 7+ helicopters, 6 Mi-24 Hind, 1 Mi-26 Halo, and an unknown number of Mi-8 Hips. The IISS estimates air force strength at 4,000. It is likely that in compiling the list below, AW&ST, a specialist U.S. aviation magazine with limited specific knowledge of the DRC, simply recorded known deliveries and removals from service without fully checking on the exact current status of the Air Force.
Jane's World Air Forces 2007 can only confirm that the Air Force has four fixed-wing aircraft in service (2 C-130, 1 DHC-5D, 1 Boeing 727) and an unknown number of Su-25s (no more than 8 in the air force's fleet following losses), C-47s, MB-326GBs and possibly some MiG-23s. Jane's also states that the Air Force operates between 9 and 22 Mil Mi-24/35s attack helicopters, a Super Puma transport helicopter and possibly a single Mi-26. The condition of the DRC's aircraft which are not currently in service is generally so poor that they cannot be repaired and returned to flyable status.
Of the thirteen aircraft in service that AW&ST and the IISS agree on, probably the latest available information concerns the DRC's single Mil Mi-26 'Halo'. Air Forces Monthly (AFM)'s July 2007 issue includes a photo of the helicopter without obvious rust and appearing to be in good condition which was taken on April 12, 2007, at Lubumbashi. It was delivered in 2005. AFM says that a second Mi-26 prepared for the DRC has been stored with Skytech at Liège Airport, Belgium since at least June 2002, and was still there in May 2007.
On the 50th Independence Commemoration June 30, 2010, at least 6 Mi-24, 2 Mi-17, 1 An-26, and 1 B727 took part in a fly-past.
| Aircraft | Type | Versions | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aermacchi MB-326 | trainer attack |
MB-326GB MB-326K |
8 | Originally 8 GB and 6 K; by mid-1990s only 8 total | |
| Aermacchi SF-260 | trainer | SF-260M | 5 | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette III | utility helicopter | SA 316B | 2 | ||
| Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma | transport helicopter | SA 330 | 4 | ||
| Antonov An-26 Coke | tactical transport | 1 | |||
| Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | utility transport | BN-2A | 1 | ||
| Cessna 150 | utility | 12 | |||
| Cessna 310 | utility | 3 | |||
| de Havilland Canada DH-5 Buffalo | tactical transport | 2 | DHC-5D | ||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | tactical transport | C-47 | 4 | ||
| Eurocopter AS 332 Cougar | transport helicopter | AS 332 | 1 | ||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | tactical transport | C-130H | 2 | 2 more impounded in France | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger | fighter | MiG-23MS MiG-23UB |
1 1 |
||
| Mil Mi-8 | |||||
| Mil Mi-35 Hind-E | attack helicopter | Mi-35 | 6 | ||
| Mil Mi-26 Halo | transport helicopter | 1 | Serial 9T-HM15 | ||
| Reims Cessna 337 Skymaster | liaison | FTB 337 MILROLE | 10 | ||
| Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot | attack | Su-25K | 8? |
Read more about this topic: Air Force Of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo