Congolese Air Force

Congolese Air Force
Congolese Air Force roundel
Founded	29 July 1959 - present
Country	Republic of the Congo
Branch	Air Force
Part of	Congolese Armed Forces
Insignia
Former roundel
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Mirage F1
Helicopter	Mil Mi-35, Mil Mi-17
Transport	An-32, CN235

The Congolese Air Force (1990–2000) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo, in the Republic of the Congo (aka Congo-Brazzaville). Political tensions have now declined with the fall of the Cold War in Africa and most of its fighter aircraft were scrapped in 2001.

After achieving independence from France in 1960, the Congolese air force (Force Aerienne Congolaise) was started with equipment such as the Douglas C-47s, Broussards and Bell 47Gs, these were followed by Nord Noratlas tactical transports and Sud Alouette helicopter. In the 1970s the air force switched to Soviet equipment. This included five Ilyushin IL-14 and six turboprop Antonov An-24 transports and an An-26 in return for providing bases for Cuban MiG-17 operations over Angola. These fighters and a few MiG-15UTI combat trainers were transferred to the FAC. In 1990 these fighter were replaced by 16 USSR supplied MiG-21MF/bis Fishbeds plus a couple of MiG-21US trainers. Together with a Soviet training mission which stayed until late 1991, during that time there were numerous accidents that involved both Soviet and Congolese personnel. After the Soviets left there was only limited funding for MiG operations and they were withdrawn. Six Mi-8 helicopters were delivered from Ukraine in mid-1997 before the Cobra rebel takeover.

A small, but adequate budget and personnel. Financial aid also came from the former USSR and some personnel were either Soviets or Cubans.

Its role was as a Communist bastion in central Africa and to counter the politically unstable, pro-Western regime in Zaire (the then former name of the DRC). Its role is now one of countering cross-border smuggling operations, intermittent counterinsurgency actions in the northern provinces and successfully containing the crisis in the DRC along its border. Its first batch of aircraft, the MiG-15s and some of the MiG-17s, arrived in the early 1960s just after the Congo's independence from France and Zaire's independence from Belgium.