Albanian Air Force
Forca Ajrore e Republikës së Shqipërisë
Emblem of the Albanian Air Force
Founded	1928; 97 years ago (1928)
Country	Albania
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	650 Personnel[1]
Part of	Albanian Armed Forces
Equipment	20 helicopters 1 private jet 9UAVs
Commanders
Commander	Major General Ferdinant Dimo
Insignia
Roundel
Flag
Aircraft flown
Helicopter	UH-60 Black Hawk,AS532 Cougar,EC145,BO-105,AW109,AS350,Bell 205,Bell 206,Bell 212
Reconnaissance	Bayraktar TB2[2]

TheAlbanian Air Force (Albanian:Forca Ajrore e Republikës së Shqipërisë - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force ofAlbania and one of the branches of theAlbanian Armed Forces.

In 1914 the government of Albania ordered threeLohnerDaimler aircraft fromAustria to form an air force. As a result of the outbreak ofWorld War I, the order was cancelled. Albania did not have the resources to start the development of a proper Air Force during the 1920s and 1930s. After the establishment of theAlbanian Kingdom in 1928,King Zog formed theRoyal Albanian Air Corps under the direction of theRoyal Albanian Army.

After its launch, the group was provided with four Albatros C.XV/L.47s and one Albatros C.XV/L.47b, but they were never put into full service.

The Royal Air Force, and the rest of Albanian armed forces, were abolished following theItalian invasion of Albania.^[3]

AfterWorld War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence on 24 April 1951 when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft.^[4] The first squadron was equipped withYak-9Ps. The first jet fighter to enter service was theMiG-15bis, entering service on 15 May 1955, followed by theMiG-17F. Some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from theNorth Korean Air Force. TheMiG-19 (NATO code "Farmer") became the backbone of the Albanian Air Force. 12MiG-19PM were delivered by theUSSR in October 1959 and in the same year pilots and specialists were sent in theUSSR to obtain training for the new aircraft. Anacademy was founded inVlorë in 1962.^[4] Albania cut diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1962, leading to a shift to China for the supply of necessary parts to maintain its MiGs.^[5] After the collapse of USSR-Albanian relations, significant numbers ofShenyang J-6 fighters (Chinese copy of the MiG-19S), were acquired from China. In the early 1970s, Albania exchanged its lot of MiG-19PM fighters with 12 more advanced,Chengdu J-7A fighters (Chinese copy of the Soviet-builtMiG-21). Two of them were lost in incidents in the early 1970s and eight had problems with lack of batteries in the early 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

In total, during the 70s and early 80s, the equipment of the Albanian Air Force consisted of 142 Shenyang J-6Cs, 12 Chengdu J-7As, a fighter squadron equipped with MiG-17s, a considerable number of MiG-15 (bothBIS andUTI versions), and 4 Soviet-madeIl-14 transport aircraft. A squadron ofShijiazhuang Y-5 was deployed inTirana and theAir Force Academy inVlora had two squadrons ofYak-18 for basic pilot training purposes. Thehelicopter component consisted in 18Harbin Z-5 (Chinese copy ofMil Mi-4) helicopters based inFarkaTirana, meanwhile there was a single prototype of a lightH-5bomber based inRinas.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the collapse of relations betweenAlbania and the Chinese, maintenance became extremely difficult and the number of deadly incidents involvingMikoyan fighters increased. Despite Albanian efforts and some initial success in repairing the engines of theMiGs, the lack of specificjet fuel forced authorities to start production locally, resulting in low-quality production (the first attempt was in 1961, when theKuçova factory produced the special jet fuel (a derivative ofkerosene calledTSI). Thefuel shortened the lifespan of the jet engines and was often blamed as the main reason for several deadly incidents. 35 Albanian pilots lost their lives from 1955 to 2005, mainly due to mechanical failures with the MiG aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

Following thefall of communism in Albania in 1990, the air force had 200 jets and 40 helicopters, and fourIl-14 transport planes.^[5] In the early 1990s, 7594 Regiment becameAviation Regiment 4020, seemingly with its 1st Squadron of fighter aircraft and 2nd Squadron ofFT-5s, and Y-5s (Antonov An-2s).^[6] Duringthe 1997 uprising in Albania, seven aircraft of the airforce were destroyed and their parts were stolen.^[5] In the early 90s, in an effort to keep the fighter jets flying, the Albanian Air Force received spare parts fromBulgaria and engines from the ex-GDR. By 2004, Albania still had 117 J-6C aircraft, (although most were not operational) and only 12 J-7A.^{[citation needed]} The Albanian fighter jets were finally withdrawn from active service in late 2004 after the last deadly incident involving a J-6C which crashed during take-off from the military area atMother Teresa Airport inTirana.^{[citation needed]}

By 2006, Albania had scrapped over half of itsZ-5s and had signed a contract for the delivery of sixBolkow 105s over three years.^[7] This acquisition allowed air force to operate with 4Y-5s, 7B206s, 3B205s, 6Bolkow 105s.^[7] Currently, theAlbanian Air Brigade does not operate any Soviet-era aircraft. Since 2011, 9Shijiazhuang Y-5 have been retired from service.^{[citation needed]} In 2011, the air force sold fourIl-14 transport planes for scrap.^[5]

In 2016, 40 retired Albanian military aircraft were prepared for auction at a future date. The aircraft for sale include a military trainer aircraft, the Yak-18, and four types of military jets – MiG-15s, MiG-17s, MiG-19s, and MiG-21s – and four Mi-4 transport helicopters. The government said there has been interest from collectors and museums, and that it will sell another 100 jets if the auction is successful. The funds generated will be used to further modernise the Air Force.^[5]

The Albanian Air Force has retired all of itsfixed-wing aircraft and now operates several types of helicopters.

As of November 2020^[update], Albania Air Force operates aAN/FPS-117 Long-range radar system on Mida mountain , which was a joint investment of Albania and the US throughLockheed Martin with $19 million coming from Albania and $3 million from the US. The radar is integrated into theNATO Integrated Air Defense System.^[11]

The air force's headquarters is located inTirana and it operates three airbases:Tirana Air Base with the national Control and Reporting Centre, which reports toNATO'sIntegrated Air Defense System CAOC Torrejón in Spain,Kuçovë Air Base, andLapraka Air Base, home to the government's transport helicopters.^[12]

• Headquarters -Tirana^[13][14]
  • Staff Support Company - Tirana
  • Helicopter Squadron-Farka Air Base
  • Support -Kucove Air Base
  • Air Surveillance Centre, inRinas reports toNATO Integrated Air Defense System's CAOC Torrejón atTorrejón Air Base inSpain
  • Ground-Based Air Defense Battalion (GBAD)^[15]
  • Detachment of Unmanned Aircraft (UAV),Kucove Air Base^[15]
  • Military Meteorological Service - Tirana
    • Automated weather stations in Farkë,Gjadër, Kuçovë,Kukës,Vlorë, andGjirokastër

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1
Albanian Air Force[16] v t e
					Gjeneral lejtant		Gjeneral major		Gjeneral brigade		Kolonel		Nënkolonel		Major		Kapiten		Toger			Nëntoger

NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Albanian Air Force[16] v t e
	Kryekapter						Kapter		Rreshter		Tetar						Nëntetar						Ushtar IV				Ushtar III		Ushtar II						Ushtar I

• Roundels of Albanian Air Force (1946–1992)
• 
  (1946–1958)
• 
  (1958–1960)
• 
  (1960–1992)
• 
  (1960–1992)
• 
  Fin flash (1946–1960)

• List of Albanian Air Force aircraft
• Albanian Armed Forces
• Albanian Land Force
• Albanian Naval Force

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAlbanian Air Force.

• Albanian Armed Forces
• Eastern Orbat,Albanian Air Force 1988
• Aeroflight,World Air Forces - Albania, last revised 8 June 2006

• Albanian Air Force
• Military units and formations of Albania
• Aviation in Albania
• Military units and formations established in 1928

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• Webarchive template wayback links
• CS1 Albanian-language sources (sq)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
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• Use British English from October 2017
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Articles containing Albanian-language text
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• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019
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