Namibian Air Force

The Namibia Air Force was commissioned on March 13th, 2005 at Grootfontein Air Force Base. Following the independence of Namibia from South Africa in 1990, the Air defence wing of the defence forces were established on July 23rd, 1994. The policy, mission statements and concept of operations envisage the development of an Air Force to operate in support of the Army and the Navy.

Five separate roles for Air Force are; surveillance, transport of personnel and transport of supplies/equipment; support to the civil authorities or civil community, and training.

With Grootfontein as the main Air Force Base, expansion projects are underway to expand the Keetmanshoop air base, as well as construct a new base at Karibib. This was reported by The Namibian on June 20th, 2008. The Air Force Headquarters are now based at Karibib Air Force Base.

The Namibian Air Force has 1,740 active duty personnel and 58 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

Combat Aircraft

 * Chengdu F-7NM/NG Airguard x 14 (Fighter/Trainer) - 8 F-7NG on order
 * Hongdu K-8 Karakorum x 12 (Fighter/Trainer)
 * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 x 6 (Fighter)

Transport Aircraft

 * Antonov An-26 x 2 (Transport Aircraft)
 * Cessna Skymaster x 6 (Utility Transport)
 * Dassault Falcon 900 x 2 (VIP Transport)
 * Harbin Y-12 x 2 (Transport/VIP Transport)
 * Learjet 36 x 2 (VIP Transport)

Helicopters

 * HAL Cheetah x 2 (Light Utility Helicopter)
 * HAL Chetak x 4 (Light Utility Helicopter)
 * Harbin Z-9 x 2 (Light Transport Helicopter)
 * Mil Mi-17 x 2 (Assault Helicopter)
 * Mil Mi-25 x 2 (Attack Helicopter)