The Senegalese Air Force (french: Armée de l'Air Sénégalaise) is the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

branch of the

Senegalese Armed Forces The Armed Forces of Senegal (french: Forces armées du Sénégal) consists of about 17,000 personnel in the army, air force, navy, and gendarmerie. The Senegal military force receives most of its training, equipment, and support from France and th ...

History

It was formed on 1 April 1961 with

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

s, MH.1521 Broussards, plus Sud Aloutte II and Agusta-Bell 47G helicopters. Close ties to France have been maintained with France through training and base facilities agreements. From the early 1970s saw further French deliveries, the first jet aircraft enter service. The

Fouga Magister Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...

jet trainer/ground attack as well as an SA 341H Gazelle and SA 330F Puma helicopters were delivered. During the

1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt The 1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt began on 30 July 1981 and was quashed in early August following a Senegalese military intervention. The insurrection was carried out by members of the Gambia Socialist Revolutionary Party and disaffected st ...

one of the SA 330F was shot down attempting to recapture the

Radio Syd Radio Syd ("Radio South") was a Swedish pirate radio station. It began life as ''Skånes Radio Mercur'', the first "pirate radio" in Sweden, and started to broadcast in December 1958. History The station was started by a young Swede, Nils-Eric ...

transmitter outside Banjul, killing all 18 onboard. Later expansion saw the delivery of six

Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Euro ...

transport to replace the C-47s from 1977, when also four

SOCATA Rallye The SOCATA Rallye ( en, Rally) is a light aircraft that was manufactured by French aviation company SOCATA. It was originally developed during the 1950s by French aircraft manufacturer Morane-Saulnier as the MS.880. On 10 June 1959, the prototype ...

light planes were acquired. Four armed Rallye 235A Guerrier version followed in 1984.

Organization

The Air Force's headquarters are currently located at

Ouakam Ouakam is a commune d'arrondissement in the city of Dakar, Senegal. The commune is the birthplace of French politicians Ségolène Royal and Rama Yade and Senegalese writer and politician Birago Diop. Ouakam is one of the four original Lebou vil ...

, near the capital of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, on the opposite side of the

Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport international Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, ) is an international freight and former passenger airport serving Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The airport is situated near the t ...

. The air force has the role of defending Senegalese airspace, protecting airport areas, supporting other Senegalese forces,

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

and

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

. Funding remains a constant problem for the Senegalese Air Force and the increasing cost of aviation fuel restricts the number of available flying hours.''Force Report: Senegalese Air Force'',

Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing, and based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1988. It provides news and analysis on military aviation, technology and related topics ...

magazine, November 2008 issue, pp. 48–50.

Air Force Chiefs of Staff

*General Pape Souleymane Sarr *General Birame Diop *General Ousmane Kane *General Alain JC Pereira *Captain Mamadou Mansour Seck *Commander Amadou Lam *Colonel Mamadou Diop *Colonel Sidy Ndiaye Bouya *Colonel Raoul Dacosta *Colonel Amadou Fall *Colonel Tamba Meissa *Colonel Mouhamadou Diawara

Aircraft

Current inventory

References

First Senegalese KT-1s arrive
{{Authority control Air forces by country Military of Senegal Military units and formations established in 1961 Military aviation in Africa