Albanian Air Force

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The Albanian Air Force (Forcat Ajrore Shqiptare, FASH) is the national air force or aviation branch of the Albanian military. Currently its headquarters are located in Tirana and it operates six airbases (soon to be reduced to two).

[edit] History

Military aviation started in Albania in 1914, when the Albanian government ordered three Lohner-Daimler aircraft from Austria to form the Albanian Air Corps. As a result of the outbreak of World War I, the order was cancelled. Albania did not have the resources to restart its construction during the 1920s and 1930s.

After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first squadron was equipped with Yakovlev Yak-9s. The first jet fighter used was the MiG-15 in 1955, followed by the MiG-17. The basic jet fighter became the MiG-19. 12 MiG-19PM were bought from the USSR, and after a collapse of Soviet-Albanian relations, many Shenyang F-6s (the Chinese copy of MiG-19S) were bought from China. As of 2004, Albania still had 65 MiG-19 and F-6 aircraft, although most were not operationally used. In the early 1970s, Albania bought 12 Chengdu F-7A fighters (the Chinese copy of the MiG-21F-13). From 1974 they operated from a base in Gjadër. Although obsolete by modern standards, they were Albania's finest fighter jets before they went out of service in late 2005.

[edit] The Albanian Air Force Today

The Albanian Air Force currently consists of cargo helicopters and other various support aircraft types. Albanian fixed wing aircraft like the Shenyangs and some other Chinese versions of older MiG planes are currently stored and are scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2010. Air defence has become a lower priority for the Albanian military. Current plans are to reduce the manpower of the Albanian Air Force to around 400. Despite recent defense spending cuts, rumors have persisted that Albania will revive its fixed wing aircraft and possibly purchase more modern aircraft.^{[citation needed]}