| Unit Name: | National Air Force of Angola |
| Native Name: | Portuguese: Força Aérea Nacional de Angola |
| Country: |  Angola |
| Type: | Air force |
| Role: | Aerial warfare |
| Size: | 6,000 personnel[1] 286 aircraft |
| Command Structure: | Angolan Armed Forces |
| Garrison: | Luanda |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Battles: | |
| Commander1: | President João Lourenço |
| Commander1 Label: | Commander-in-Chief |
| Commander2: | General Altino Dos Santos |
| Commander2 Label: | Air Force Chief of Staff |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Roundel |
| Aircraft Attack: | Su-25, Su-22 |
| Aircraft Fighter: | Sukhoi Su-30, Su-27, MiG-23, MiG-21 |
| Aircraft Helicopter: | Mi-8 |
| Aircraft Helicopter Attack: | Mi-24/35 |
| Aircraft Patrol: | Fokker F27, EMB-110, C.212 |
| Aircraft Trainer: | Yak-11, PC-7, Embraer EMB 312 Tucano |
| Aircraft Transport: | C-130 Hercules, An-12, An-26 |
The National Air Force of Angola or FANA (Portuguese: Força Aérea Nacional de Angola) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola.
With an inventory of more than 300 aircraft, FANA is (on paper) one of the largest and strongest air forces of Africa.[2]
Angola became independent from Portugal on 11 November 1975. However, the foundations for the establishment of the air force were laid before independence when members of the then Flying Club of Angola (Portuguese: Aeroclube de Angola) were assembled at Luanda in October 1975.[3] These people and aircraft left behind by the Portuguese Air Force formed the basis for the air transport branch of the force.
The force was formally established on 21 January 1976 as the People's Air Force of Angola / Air and Antiaircraft Defense or FAPA/DAA (Portuguese: Força Aérea Popular de Angola / Defesa Aérea e Antiaérea). Its first batch of Soviet MiG fighter aircraft was delivered in mid-December 1975. The FAPA/DAA fought several battles with South African Air Force aircraft in November 1981, October 1982, and twice in September 1987.[4]
Circa 1983–85, in order to enhance MPLA's combat capacity, Romania sent 150 flight instructors and other aviation personnel, who contributed to the establishment of an Angolan Military Aviation School.
The FANA has bases at Luanda, Catumbela, Belas, Luena, Kuito, Lubango and Moçâmedes. The World Factbook, produced by the CIA, reported that by 2007 the name of the force had changed to "National Air Force".[5]
Most of the inventory is out of service, and refers to historical equipment delivered along the years. FAN has many bases – most of them, former Portuguese Air Force bases and other courtesy of the Cold War – but few airplanes that actually fly. The main body of the active air force is made of transport/cargo planes, used for moving supplies, equipment and personnel between parts of the country.
The National Air Force of Angola is headed by the Chief of Staff of the FANA (Portuguese: Chefe do Estado-Maior da FANA). The Chief of Staff of the FANA is a General directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Angola.
FANA follows a Russian/ex-Soviet organizational model, with its air units being aviation regiments (Portuguese: regimentos de aviação), each one including several squadrons (Portuguese: esquadrões). To each of the six aviation regiments corresponds an air base. Besides the aviation regiments, there is also a Pilot Training School.
Its order of battle is:
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Aircraft | ||||||
| Embraer EMB 314 | Brazil | attack / COIN | 6[6] | |||
| MiG-21 | Russia | fighter | MiG-21bis | 23 | ||
| MiG-23 | Russia | fighter | 22 | some supplied by Belarus[7] | ||
| Sukhoi Su-22 | Russia | fighter-bomber | 14 | some supplied by Belarus | ||
| Sukhoi Su-25 | Russia | attack | Su-25K | 6 | ||
| Sukhoi Su-30 | Russia | multirole | Su-30K | 12 | ||
| Maritime Patrol | ||||||
| CASA C-212 | Spain | martime patrol | 1 | |||
| CASA C-295 | Spain | martime patrol | C-295 MSA | 2 on order | ||
| Cessna Citation I | United States | martime patrol | 1 | fitted with a Seaspray AESA radar and electro-optical sensor | ||
| Transport | ||||||
| Antonov An-12 | Russia | heavy transport | 8 | |||
| Antonov An-26 | Russia | transport | 1 | |||
| Antonov An-32 | Russia | transport | 4 | |||
| Antonov An-72 | Russia | heavy transport | 4 | |||
| CASA C-212 | Spain | utility | 1 | |||
| CASA C-295 | Spain | utility | 1 on order | |||
| Daher Kodiak | United States | utility | Kodiak 100 | 3 | ||
| Ilyushin Il-76 | Russia | strategic airlift | 7 | |||
| Xi'an MA60 | China | transport | 2 | |||
| Helicopter | ||||||
| AgustaWestland AW109 | Italy | utility | 2 | 4 on order | ||
| AgustaWestland AW139 | Italy | SAR / utility | 4 | |||
| Alouette III | France | liaison / utility | 21 | |||
| Bell 212 | United States | utility | 9 | |||
| Mil Mi-17 | Russia | utility | 65 | |||
| Mil Mi-24 | Russia | attack | Mi-35 | 15 | ||
| Trainer | ||||||
| Aero L-29 | Czechoslovakia | jet trainer | 6 | |||
| Aero L-39 | Czechoslovakia | jet trainer | 4 | |||
| Embraer EMB 312 | Brazil | trainer | 12 | aircraft acquired from Peru[8] | ||
| Hongdu JL-8 | China | jet trainer | K-8W | 12 | ||
| Pilatus PC-7 | basic trainer | 22 | ||||
| Pilatus PC-9 | trainer | 4 | ||||
| Sukhoi Su-25 | Russia | conversion trainer | Su-25UBK | 5 | ||
| Sukhoi Su-27 | Russia | conversion trainer | Su-27UB | 1 | ||
| UAV | ||||||
| TAI Aksungur | Turkey | UCAV | Unknown quantity ordered[9] | |||
On 14 September 2011, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, operated by the Air Force, crashed just after takeoff from Nova Lisboa Airport,[14] killing 11 army officers (including three generals, among them Kalias Pedro) and six civilians.[15] [16] The accident occurred at 11:30 am at the airport, with a military delegation on board the flight at Albano Machado Airport.[17]
See main article: Military ranks of Angola.
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.