Ugandan People's Defence Force Air Force
| Ugandan People's Defence Air Force | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the UPDF | |
| Active | 1964 |
| Country | Uganda |
| Branch | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Part of | Uganda People's Defence Force |
| General command | Kampala, Uganda |
| Nickname(s) | UPDFAF or UAF |
| Engagements | Operation Entebbe
[[Uganda–Tanzania War African Union Mission in Somalia |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | Roundel of Uganda - Type 1.svg |
The Ugandan People's Defence Force Air Force is the air force of Uganda.[1]
History
In 1970 the Ugandan government created an air arm of 450 with 12 Fouga Magister armed jet trainers, and seven MiG-15s and MiG-17s.[2] In the 1976 Palestinian hijacking during Operation Entebbe, the Israeli military destroyed 12 MiG-21s and three MiG-17s based at Entebbe Airport to prevent pursuit.[3]
In 1977, before the Uganda–Tanzania War, the Ugandan armed forces were reported by IISS as consisting of 20,000 land forces personnel,[4] An air arm was 1,000 strong with 21 MiG-21 and 10 MiG-17 combat aircraft. The IISS noted that the Ugandan armed forces collapsed in the face of the Tanzanian onslaught and the serviceable aircraft were removed to Tanzania.
On 12 August 2012, two Ugandan Mil Mi-24s flying from Entebbe across Kenya to Somalia crashed in rugged terrain in Kenya. They were found two days later, burned out, with no likely survivors from the ten Ugandan servicemen on board the two helicopters. Another aircraft from the same flight crashed on Mount Kenya, and all seven Ugandan servicemen on board were rescued a day later. The aircraft were supporting AMISOM in the ongoing Somali Civil War. An accompanying Mil Mi-17 transport helicopter landed without problems in the eastern Kenyan town of Garissa near the Somali border for a scheduled refuelling stop.[5]
Current formation
There are conflicting reports on what aircraft the Air Force has in service. Major General Samuel Turyagyenda is the commander.[6]
In 2011, Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, the central bank governor, caused large volatility in the Ugandan shilling when he told the Financial Times that President Museveni had ignored technical advice against using Uganda's small foreign exchange reserves to buy new Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft.[7]
Air force inventory
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Aircraft | ||||||
| MiG-21bis | Soviet Union | fighter | 5[8] | |||
| Sukhoi Su-30 | Russia | multirole | Su-30MK2 | 8 | 4 on order[8] | |
| Transport | ||||||
| Cessna 208 | United States | utility /surveillance | 2[9] | donated by the U.S.[10] | ||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Bell 206 | United States | utility | 7[8] | |||
| Huey II | United States | multirole | 5[11] | donated by the US[11] | ||
| Mil Mi-17 | Russia | utility | 10[8] | |||
| Mil Mi-24 | Russia | attack | Mi-35 | 6[12] | ||
| Trainer Aircraft | ||||||
| Aero L-39 | Czech Republic | jet trainer | 6[8] | |||
| SF.260 | Italy | trainer | 4[8] | |||
Retired inventory
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Aircraft | ||||||
| Mig-17 | Soviet Union | fighter | Mig-17bis | 7[13] | ||
| Mig-15 | Soviet Union | fighter | Mig-15UB | 7[13] | ||
| Transport | ||||||
| C-130 | United States | utility | 1[13] | donated by the U.S.[10] | ||
| Trainer Aircraft | ||||||
| Fouga Magister | France | Attack | 12[13] | |||
| L-29 Delfin | Czechoslovakia | Attack | 2[13] | |||
Gallery
References
- ^ Pike, John. "Uganda Air Force". Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- ^ IISS Military Balance 1970–71, p. 53
- ^ "The East African - Fallout over raid on Entebbe". Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ IISS Military Balance 1979–80, p.55
- ^ Burnt wreckage of two Ugandan army helicopters found, Agence France-Presse via SpaceWar.com, 14 October 2012, accessed 15 August 2012
- ^ The Independent, Muhoozi, 15 February 2013. Archived 28 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Butagira, Tabu; Ssebuyira, Martin (13 July 2011). "New Russian-built jet fighters arrive". The Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "World Air Forces 2015 pg. 31". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "US donates two Cessna 208's to Uganda". Air Forces Monthly. Key Publishing: 26. June 2015.
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b DefenceWeb (17 March 2015). "US donates two Cessna 208B Caravans to Uganda". South Africa: defenceweb.co.za. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ a b Mufumba, Isaac (29 September 2016). "US explains Shs265b combat helicopters' aid to Uganda". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "World Air Forces 2015 pg. 11". Flightglobal Insight. 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Mondey, David (1977). The International encyclopedia of aviation. United kingdom: Octopus books limited. p. 159. ISBN 0-600-56080-5.
