Czech Air Force

Czech Air Force
Czech Air Force emblem
Founded	1 January 1993
Country	Czech Republic
Size	54 fixed-wing aircraft 51 helicopters
Part of	Army of the Czech Republic
Headquarters	Prague
Motto(s)	Vzduch je naše moře (Air is our sea)
Commanders
Air Force Commander	Major general Jaromír Šebesta
Insignia
Roundel
Low-visibility roundel
Aircraft flown
Attack	Mi-24, L-39ZA, L-159A
Fighter	JAS 39 Gripen
Helicopter	Mi-8, Mi-17, W-3A
Trainer	L-39C, L-159T1
Transport	CASA C-295M, Bombardier Challenger CL-601, Airbus A319, Let L-410, Yak-40

The Czech Air Force (Czech: Vzdušné síly Armády České republiky, literally the "Air Force of the Army of the Czech Republic"), is the air force branch of the Army of the Czech Republic. Along with the Land Forces, the Air Force is the major Czech military force. With traditions of the military aviation dating back to 1918, the Czech Air Force succeeded the Czechoslovak Air Force together with the Slovak Air Force in 1993. On 1 July 1997, the 3rd Tactical Aviation Corps and the 4th Air Defence Corps of the Czech Army were merged to form an independent Air Force Headquarters.

The Air Force is responsible for securing the integrity of the Czech Republic's airspace through the NATO Integrated Air Defence System (NATINADS), close air support to the Land Forces and for transportation tasks including government and state priority flights. In peacetime the Air Force is contributing to tasks originating in the Czech laws and interministerial agreements, for example to the air ambulance service or the SAR role.

Czech JAS-39C/D Gripen multirole fighters fulfill primarily the tasks related to the air defence of the Czech Republic and the NATO within the system of NATINADS. In the so-called national reinforcement system the subsonic L-159 ALCA jets could be deployed to fulfil this task too. The radar surveillance of the airspace of the Czech Republic is a responsibility of the 26th Air Command, Control and Surveillance Regiment at Stará Boleslav. Altogether seven radio-technical companies are spread around the country so that they can continuously cover its whole territory.