The Chadian Air Force

The Chadian Air Force, in French Force Aérienne Tchadienne, was formed in 1961 as the Escadrille Nationale Tchadienne (Chadian National Flight/Squadron), and was given its current name in 1973. It continues to be part of the Chadian Army.

The force shares a base with French forces at N'Djamena International Airport.

Enhancement

In 1973, when its strength was increased to 200 men, the air force possessed three C-47 medium transport aircraft (increased to 13 in the mid-1970s), three light transport planes, and one helicopter, all serviced at the local French air base in N'Djamena. Nearly all of the pilots at the time were French.

In 1976, the Air Force obtained 7 Douglas AD Skyraiders from France, which were used in anti-guerrilla campaigns in the north until 1987 when they were deemed inoperable. (C-47 tail numbers included 100509, 10307 and 10409, and Skyraider 126959).

Aircraft Inventory

In addition to rotated French aircraft which are often operated by Chad, the Air Force operates 20 aircraft, including 8 helicopters. In July 2008 speculation rose about Chad ordering six ex-Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft.

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Aermacchi SF-260	Italy	trainer/light attack	SF-260W	2	survivors of 9 captured from Libya
Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette III	France	utility helicopter	SA 316	2
Antonov An-26	Ukraine	tactical transport		1
Douglas DC-9	United States	VIP Transport	DC-9-87	1
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	tactical transport	C-130A C-130H C-130H-30	1 1 1	acquired from 1983 two have been scrapped since
Mil Mi-8/-17	Soviet Union	transport helicopter	Mi-8 Mi-17	2 2
Mil Mi-25	Soviet Union	attack helicopter	Mi-25	2
Pilatus PC-6 Porter	Switzerland	utility transport		2	serving since 1976 1 sold in the late 1990s
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer / Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	trainer (reconfigured as attack aircraft)		3 and 1	1 PC-9 is an attrition replacement
Reims F337 Skymaster	France	liaison		2	license built Cessna Skymaster
Sukhoi Su-25	Ukraine	attack	Su-25 Frogfoot A Su-25UB	4 2

Operational aircraft of the force may be far less than official figures represent. According to a report in Le Figaro in April, 2006, the Chad Air Force consisted only of two Lockheed C-130 Hercules transports, one working Mil Mi-17 Hip-H helicopter, and two non-working Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters^[5].