Mali Air Force
The Mali Air Force (Armée de l'Air du Mali) was founded in 1961 with French supplied military aid this included MH.1521 Broussard utility monoplane followed by two C-47 transports until Soviet aid starting in 1962 with four Antonov AN-2 Colt biplane transports and four Mi-4 light helicopters. In the mid-1960s the Soviets delivered five MIG-17F fighters and a single MIG 15UTI fighter trainer to equip a squadron based at Bamako/Senou initially with Soviet pilots. Two Ilyushin Il-14 transports and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter were delivered in 1971 followed by two Antonov AN-24 transports. In 1976 an AN-26 transport was acquired along with a second AN-26 in 1983. Also in 1970s the first of 12 MiG-21MF fighter and two MIG 21UM trainers were delivered. In 1983 six Aero L-29 jet trainers were delivered to form an Ecole de Pilotage (pilots school).
The current inventory of the air force:
| Aircraft | Type | Versions | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aero L-29 Delfín | Advanced trainer | 6 | Received from USSR in 1983 | |
| Antonov An-2 Colt | Transport | AN-2P 'Colt' | 2 | Received from USSR in 1962 |
| Antonov An-24 Coke | Transport | 2 | Received from USSR in 1976 | |
| Antonov An-26 Curl | Tactical transport | 1 | Received from USSR in 1976 | |
| Basler BT-67 Turbo Dakota | Transport | BT-67 Turbo Dakota | 2 | |
| Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil | Utility helicopter | AS 350B | 1 | |
| Harbin Z-9 | utility helicopter | Chinese variant of AS-365N Dauphin 2 | 2 | |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco | Fighter/ Light attack | MiG-17F | 5 | Received from USSR in 1965 |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed J | Air defence Ground attack |
MiG-21BIS/MF/UM | 14 | Received from USSR in 1976 |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot | Combat trainer | MiG-15UTI | 1 | Received from USSR in 1965 |
| Mil Mi-8 Hip | Transport helicopter | 1 | ||
| Mil Mi-24 Hind | attack helicopter | Mi-24D | 2 | Received from Bulgaria in 2007 Deagel.com Mi-24 transaction reports |
| Yakovlev Yak-18 Max | Primary trainer | 2 | Received from USSR in 1983 |
Read more about this topic: Military Of Mali
Famous quotes containing the words air and/or force:
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—Attributed to Seattle (c. 1784–1866)
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—Frantz Fanon (1925–1961)