Albanian military aircraft include all airplanes and helicopters which have been operated by the Albanian Air Force since its formal inception in 1947. Since Albania has no domestic aircraft manufacturing capacity, all aircraft have been procured from other countries. Additionally, the country's limited resources have meant that such procurement has been primarily through foreign military aid provided to Albania for strategic reasons. Initially, the Warsaw Pact provided equipment through the 1950s, but after a political rift, China supplanted them as the country's main benefactor. After the end of the Cold War and a significant shift in Albanian international relations, as well as a re-posturing of the Albanian Armed Forces, the air force has sought more modern support helicopters from Western Europe to support its new role in partnership with NATO.
Cold War era aircraft
editFounding years and the Warsaw Pact
editIn 1951, the Soviet Union provided the newly created Air Force of the Albanian People's Army with obsolete Yak-9 fighters and Po-2 trainer aircraft. A small batch of newly built Yak-18 trainer aircraft was also delivered.[1]
As a founding member of the Warsaw Pact, Albania received MiG-15 fighter and trainer aircraft in 1955.[2] Additional aircraft were supplied by the Soviets until the Albanian-Soviet split in 1961.[3] In 1963, it was estimated the Albanians operated two squadrons of Soviet-built MiG-15 and MiG-17, and several Soviet transport and trainer aircraft.[4]
| Aircraft | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Fighters | ||
| Yakovlev Yak-9 | Second-hand, 12 delivered in 1951.[1] | |
| MiG-15 | Second-hand, 24 MiG-15bis delivered in 1955 and 8 Chinese-built F-2 in 1956.[1] | |
| MiG-19 | Second-hand, 3 MiG-19 and 12 MiG-19PM delivered in 1959.[1] | |
| Bomber | ||
| Ilyushin Il-28 | 1 delivered in 1957.[1] | |
| Helicopters | ||
| Mil Mi-1 | 2 delivered in 1957.[1] | |
| Mil Mi-4 | 4 Mi-4A delivered in 1957.[1] | |
| Transport | ||
| Ilyushin Il-14 | 1 delivered in 1957; in 1963, Czechoslovakia delivered 1 Avia-14T, while East Germany delivered 2 VEP-14P.[1] | |
| Trainers | ||
| Polikarpov Po-2 | Second-hand, 5 delivered in 1951.[1] | |
| Yakovlev Yak-18 | 4 delivered in 1951; 6 Yak-18A delivered in 1959.[1] | |
| Yakovlev Yak-11 | 6 delivered in 1954.[1] | |
| MiG-15UTI | 4 delivered in 1955; another 4 Czechoslovak-built, plus 4 Chinese-built FT-2 delivered in 1956.[1] | |
-
Albanian MiG-15bis -
Albanian F-2
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Chinese assistance
editAfter 1970 the Albanian Air Force completely replaced its fleet of Soviet MiG-15 and MiG-17 with Chinese equivalents.[5] According to former Albanian Air Force commander, Edip Ohri, China delivered a total of 100 combat aircraft including 70 F-5 (MiG-17) and 12 F-6 (MiG-19), with another batch of 95 F-6s delivered later.[6] Most of the Albanian fighters were limited to daytime operations, lacking the radars and avionics necessary to operate in night and all-weather operations. The Chinese also supplied the Albanians with a F-7 (MiG-21) squadron, these were the most modern aircraft in the Albanian Air Force.[5]
Additional aircraft supplied included 12 Y-5 (An-2) transports, 36 helicopters, and four special purpose aircraft including a VIP transport plane for Enver Hoxha, although he never crossed the border since the plane was delivered.[6] Chinese-supplied Li-2 transports were also used.[7]
After China started reducing the deliveries of spare parts to Albania in 1976 (due the Sino-Albanian split), combat readiness of the Albanian Air Force quickly declined. Once China completely ceased its arms deliveries, the inventory of aircraft shrunk, with older aircraft being unable to be repaired or replaced.[7]
In 2016, Albania has put 40 of its remaining Soviet and Chinese aircraft in storage for auction. Due bureaucratic red tape they were still stored for sale in 2019.[8][9]
| Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|
| Fighters | |
| Shenyang J-5 | 12 delivered in 1962.[1] |
| Shenyang J-6 | 71 (including the FT-6 trainer version) delivered between 1965 and 1971, partly in exchange for MiG-19PMs.[1] |
| Chengdu J-7 | 12 delivered in 1962.[1] |
| Bomber | |
| Harbin H-5 | 1 B-5 delivered in 1971.[1] |
| Transports | |
| Nanchang Y-5 | 13 delivered between 1963 and 1964.[1] |
| Helicopters | |
| Harbin Z-5 | 37 delivered between 1967 and 1971.[1] |
| Trainers | |
| Shenyang FT-2 | 11 delivered between 1965 and 1966.[1] |
| Shenyang FT-5 | 8 delivered in 1961.[1] |
| Nanchang CJ-6 | 10 BT-6 delivered between 1963 and 1964; 10 BT-6A delivered in 1967, with an additional 10 delivered in 1971.[1] |
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Albanian F-5 -
Albanian F-6 -
A pair of Albanian F-7s -
Albanian B-5
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Albanian Y-5 -
Albanian Z-5 -
Two Albanian CJ-6
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_at_Kucove._(11278513206).jpg)
Post-communist era aircraft
editIn 2005, the Albanian Ministry of Defence decided to retire its fixed-wing aircraft squadrons, due their poor condition and the nation's limited resources. With the country on the verge of joining NATO (reducing the risk of any immediate aerial threats), the Albanian MoD decided to focus on the development of a helicopter force to support the Land Forces.[10]
In 2010, the Albanian Air Force operated Bell 205, Bell 206, AW109 and MBB Bo 105 helicopters.[2] In 2014, EC145 helicopters were also purchased while in 2016, 4 AS-532AL attack helicopters were delivered from France.[1] In 2022, Albania purchased Bayraktar TB2s drones from Turkey, to be operated from the Kuçovë Aerodrome.[11] In October 2024, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the Turkey will supply Albania with a "considerable" amount of kamikaze drones, without disclosing the exact number of systems or specific model of drone.[12]
| Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|
| Helicopters | |
| Bell 205 | 7 second-hand Agusta Bell-205A1 delivered by Italy in 2005 as a gift.[1] |
| Bell 206 | 7 second-hand Agusta Bell-206C-1 gifted by Italy in 2003.[1] |
| MBB Bo 105 | 6 second-hand but modernized before delivery to the Bo-105E4 standard. Delivered by Germany in 2006.[1] |
| Eurocopter AS532 Cougar | 4 AS-532AL delivered by France between 2012 and 2014.[1] |
| Eurocopter EC145 | 2 delivered in 2015 by Germany.[1] |
| Unmanned aerial vehicles | |
| Bayraktar TB2 | 3 purchased from Turkey in 2022.[11] |
| Unknown loitering munition | To be delivered by Turkey.[12] |
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An Albanian AB-205A1 (front) with a Z-5 helicopter (behind) -
An Albanian Agusta Bell-206C-1 -
An Albanian Bo 105 -
An Albanian Cougar
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Arms transfer database". SIPRI. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ a b Wragg 2011, p. 50.
- ^ Keefe & Foreign Area Studies 1971, p. 184.
- ^ Steinberg 2016, p. 800.
- ^ a b Zickel, Iwaskiw & Keefe 1992, p. 221.
- ^ a b Bytyçi 2022, p. 174.
- ^ a b Zickel, Iwaskiw & Keefe 1992, p. 222.
- ^ "Albania auctions off 40 communist-era aircraft". BBC News. AFP news. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Mizokami, Kyle (1 April 2019). "Albania's Ghost Air Force Is Up for Sale, But It Doesn't Look So Good". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Meijer & Wyss 2018, p. 327.
- ^ a b "Albania's army buys 3 Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UAVs". AP News. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Albania to get kamikaze drones from Turkey - PM Rama". Reuters. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Bytyçi, Enver (2022). In the Shadows of Albania-China Relations (1960-1978). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-7909-5.
- Keefe, Eugene K.; Foreign Area Studies, American University (1971). Area Handbook for Albania. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- Meijer, Hugo; Wyss, Marco, eds. (2018). The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-250774-7.
- Steinberg, S. H., ed. (2016). The Statesman's Year-Book 1963: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations (100th ed.). London: Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-27092-3.
- Wragg, David (2011). The World Air Power Guide. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84468-784-8.
- Zickel, Raymond E.; Iwaskiw, Walter R.; Keefe, Eugene K. (1992). Albania: a country study (PDF). Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 November 2024.