Ghana Air Force
The Ghana Air Force was set up in 1959 by Israeli instructors and an Indian air commodore, taken over by the RAF within a year, and has spent most of the time since as a small transport and helicopter service with a handful of jets — in 2026 it flies four K-8 trainers, Mi-17 and Z-9 helicopters and C-295 transports, is still waiting for the light attack aircraft it has announced since 2014, and is rebuilding after the Z-9 crash of 6 August 2025 that killed Ghana’s defence and environment ministers.
The Ghana Air Force story: Israeli instructors in 1959, a flight lieutenant in power and a long wait for combat aircraft
1959–1966: Israeli instructors, an Indian chief and Nkrumah’s air force
The Ghana Air Force began two years after independence as a flying school run by foreigners. According to Wikipedia’s summary of the old Ghana Armed Forces history pages, a Flying Training School started on 24 July 1959 with Israeli instructors and technicians under Lieutenant Colonel Adam Shatkay of the Israeli Air Force, and the service was formally established days later; an Indian officer, Air Commodore K. Jaswant-Singh, set up headquarters in Accra as the first Chief of the Air Staff. Wikipedia’s article on Ghana–Israel relations puts the arrangement more bluntly: Israel, with help from India, supervised the creation of the air force from April 1959, until the British persuaded Kwame Nkrumah to send the Israeli advisers home in 1960. RAF personnel took over the training that year and a small Royal Canadian Air Force team followed in 1961. On 1 March 1961 the former RAF Station Takoradi became a Ghana Air Force station with Chipmunk trainers. Nkrumah also invited the German pilot Hanna Reitsch, who ran a national gliding school at Afienya from 1962 to 1966.
The jet era: MB-326, MB-339 and a short list of trainers
Nkrumah’s air force was mostly a transport and liaison service: Chipmunks for training, de Havilland Canada Beavers, Otters and Caribous, Doves and Herons, a DH.125 jet for the president, Westland Whirlwind helicopters and Hughes helicopters for mosquito control. The first combat-capable jets were Italian. Wikipedia records nine MB-326F two-seat trainers ordered in 1965, plus single-seat MB-326KG attack aircraft built for Ghana; its own operator list says 15 MB-326s were delivered in all. Four MB-339As followed later, according to the same encyclopedia, and the inventory history also names Czechoslovak L-29 and L-39 jets, Bulldog trainers, Islanders, Skyvans, Fokker F27s, Alouette IIIs, Bell 212s and Mi-2s. Delivery dates and numbers for most of these could not be confirmed from primary sources, and this page leaves them blank rather than guess. What is clear is the pattern: a few aircraft of many types, which is expensive to keep flying.
1979–1981: a flight lieutenant takes power
The air force’s best-known officer never commanded it. Jerry Rawlings joined after leaving Achimota in 1967, trained at Takoradi from March 1968 and was commissioned as a pilot officer in January 1969, winning the Speed Bird Trophy as best cadet, according to Wikipedia. As a flight lieutenant he led a failed mutiny against General Fred Akuffo’s government on 15 May 1979 and was sentenced to death by court martial; soldiers freed him on 4 June 1979 and installed him as chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. That council had three former heads of state — Acheampong, Akuffo and Afrifa — and other senior officers executed by firing squad, then handed power to President Hilla Limann on 24 September 1979. On 31 December 1981 Rawlings removed Limann and ruled through the Provisional National Defence Council until constitutional rule returned. Wikipedia’s list of chiefs of the air staff shows how unsettled those years were: six chiefs between 1976 and 1982.
1990–2016: ECOMOG, UN airlift and the Mahama re-equipment drive
When the ECOWAS Monitoring Group landed at Monrovia from Nigerian and Ghanaian ships on 24 August 1990 under the Ghanaian Lieutenant General Arnold Quainoo, Ghanaian aircraft went too: the New York Times reported on 17 September 1990 that Ghana was said to have struck Liberian rebels, as cited by Wikipedia. Peacekeeping later became a matter of airlift. Ghana took the first of its CASA C-295s in November 2011 and a second in April 2012; one flew for the UN mission in Mali from Bamako-Sénou from late September 2014, and defenceWeb reported similar UN air services in Côte d’Ivoire. President John Mahama then announced a re-equipment drive at Air Force Base Accra on 20 November 2014: four Z-9EH helicopters, paid for with a China Development Bank loan, were commissioned on 23 September 2015, a third C-295 arrived in February 2016, and four Mi-171Sh had joined the Mi-17V-5s delivered in December 2004. The four K-8 jet trainers had been bought from China under a 2005 agreement whose British broker was later convicted in the UK for brokering it without a licence.
Promises without aircraft: Super Tucano, L-39NG and pilots leaving
The attack aircraft have been harder. Embraer announced a contract for five A-29 Super Tucanos in June 2015; the deal depended on conditions that were never met. In December 2021 Parliament approved €111.4 million for six Aero L-39NG trainers and light combat jets, a plan defenceWeb says then stalled for lack of money. Meanwhile Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee reported in December 2023 that trained pilots were leaving because there were too few aircraft to fly, and noted that air combat capability was needed to watch the country’s airspace. Embraer flew an A-29 for the Chief of the Air Staff and the defence minister at Accra on 19 February 2024, and Aero showed its L-39 Skyfox there in December 2025; neither has produced an order. defenceWeb’s 2026 profile sums it up: the government talks of better ground support capability, but little to no progress has been made.
2025–2026: the Z-9 crash, a grounded presidential jet and the Airbus order
On 6 August 2025 a Ghana Air Force Z-9 flying from Accra to Obuasi for an event against illegal mining crashed in the Adansi area of the Ashanti Region, killing all eight on board: the defence minister Edward Omane Boamah, the environment minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, three other officials and politicians, and the crew of Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum-Ampadu and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah. Three months later the deputy defence minister said that many of the air force’s helicopters and jets were down, while the presidential Falcon 900EX spent eight months in France for repairs to a corroded fuel tank and engine defects. The government’s answer was a single package: in December 2025 Parliament was asked to approve about €126 million for four Airbus helicopters and US$60.7 million for a Dassault Falcon 6X. The first H175 landed at Accra on 5 March 2026. It is the first new type in a decade — but it is a transport, not the combat aircraft that every review since 2014 has asked for.
The Ghana Air Force in numbers
Service
- Official name
- Ghana Air ForceEnglish is Ghana’s official language; the service uses the English name, abbreviated GHF to distinguish it from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). English Wikipedia titles its article "Ghana Air Force"
- Founded
- July 1959Wikipedia gives 24 July 1959 for the start of the Flying Training School and 29 July 1959 for the formal establishment; its article on Ghana–Israel relations dates Israeli supervision of the new air force from April 1959
- Part of
- Ghana Armed ForcesOne of three services with the Ghana Army and Ghana Navy; Janes and defenceWeb report that the army and navy operate no aircraft of their own. The air force shares the rotating ceremonial guard at the Presidency, most recently taking over at Jubilee House on 14 September 2026
- Headquarters
- Burma Camp, AccraThe Accra station moved from No. 3 hangar at Accra airport to Burma Camp towards the end of 1965
- Founding help
- Israel, India, Britain, CanadaIsraeli instructors and an Indian first chief in 1959; RAF from 1960, a Canadian team from 1961. Nkrumah also brought in the German glider pilot Hanna Reitsch (1962–1966). The air force’s most famous officer, Flt Lt Jerry Rawlings, led the 1979 and 1981 seizures of power
- Chief of the Air Staff
- AVM Eric Agyen-FrempongAppointed by President John Mahama on 24 March 2025
- Chief of the Defence Staff
- Lt Gen William AgyapongAppointed on 24 March 2025
- Minister of Defence
- Dr Cassiel Ato Forson (acting, March 2026)Acting minister after Edward Omane Boamah was killed in the Z-9 crash of 6 August 2025; Ernest Brogya Genfi is deputy minister. Whether the acting arrangement still applied in October 2026 was not confirmed
Strength
- Personnel
- About 2,000defenceWeb’s estimate; the Ghana Armed Forces as a whole are put at 16,000–20,000 active personnel by defenceWeb and 15,500 by Wikipedia. No official air force headcount was found
- Combat-capable aircraft
-
- Hongdu K-8 Karakorum — 4
Jet trainers with a light attack capability; defenceWeb calls them combat capable. No other armed fixed-wing aircraft are in service; the Super Tucano and L-39NG purchases have not materialised
- Transport and VIP
-
- CASA C-295 — 2–3
- Diamond DA42 — 3–4
- Dassault Falcon 900EX — 1
- Fokker F28 — 1, probably stored
Wikipedia counts two C-295s and three DA42s; defenceWeb’s 2026 profile lists three and four. The third C-295 was damaged in a ground overrun in January 2020
- Helicopters
-
- Mil Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171Sh — 5
- Harbin Z-9EH — 3
- Airbus H175 — 1 (more on order)
- Bell 412 — 1
Mi and Z-9 figures from defenceWeb (2026); the Bell 412 from Wikipedia only
- Trainers
-
- Cessna 172 — 0–3
- Diamond DA42 (multi-engine) — 1
defenceWeb lists three Cessna 172s in service; Wikipedia lists the type as retired
- Defence budget
- GH₵3.8 billion (2024, Ministry of Defence)Approved by Parliament in December 2023. Wikipedia gives US$360 million, 0.4 per cent of GDP, for 2019
Infrastructure
- Air bases
-
- Accra — headquarters, transport, helicopters
- Takoradi — Training Command and recruit school
- Tamale
- Bui
defenceWeb’s list. Accra and Tamale share their runways with the civil airports
- Flying units
-
- No. 3 Squadron — helicopters
- No. 4 Squadron — surveillance and ground attack
- Communication Squadron — transport and VIP
- Two transport squadrons
- A training squadron
As listed by defenceWeb; Ghana does not publish a squadron order of battle
- Training
- Air Force Training Command, TakoradiThe Air Force Recruit Training School at Takoradi passed out 293 recruits on 25 September 2026 after 26 weeks. A flying school at Tamale was announced in 2014; no opening was found. Air traffic controllers train abroad (eight officers at ATNS in South Africa, 2023–2024) and US Air Forces Africa has trained Ghanaian aeromedical evacuation instructors for UN missions (2022, 2024)
- Search and rescue
- Coordinator for the Accra FIRThe air force coordinates and directs search and rescue in the Accra Flight Information Region
- Maintenance
- AbroadMi-8/17 overhauls by LOM Praha in the Czech Republic (2019, 2020); the Falcon 900EX by Dassault at Le Bourget (2025)
How the Ghana Air Force is organised
One of the three services of the Ghana Armed Forces, and the only one with aircraft according to Janes and defenceWeb, commanded from Burma Camp in Accra by Air Vice Marshal Eric Agyen-Frempong since 24 March 2025, with about 2,000 people by defenceWeb’s estimate. Its only armed jets are four K-8 trainers; the rest of the fleet is transports and helicopters, from two or three C-295s to Mi-17s, three Z-9EHs and the first of four Airbus helicopters ordered in January 2026. Ghana does not publish a squadron order of battle; defenceWeb lists No. 3 Squadron for helicopters, No. 4 Squadron for surveillance and ground attack, a Communication Squadron, two transport squadrons and a training squadron.
Ghana Air Force Headquarters
One of the three services of the Ghana Armed Forces, with the Ghana Army and the Ghana Navy, which Janes and defenceWeb report operate no aircraft of their own. President John Mahama named Air Vice Marshal Eric Agyen-Frempong Chief of the Air Staff on 24 March 2025, succeeding Air Vice Marshal Frederick Asare Bekoe, with Lt Gen William Agyapong as Chief of the Defence Staff. The headquarters moved from No. 3 hangar at Accra airport to Burma Camp towards the end of 1965.
Transport and Communication Squadrons
defenceWeb lists a Communication Squadron for transport and VIP flying, with the C-295M, the Fokker F28, probably stored, and the presidential Falcon 900EX, beside two transport squadrons. Wikipedia places one C-295 squadron at Air Force Base Accra; two or three of the three C-295s delivered from November 2011 are in service, and one flew for the UN mission in Mali from Bamako from late September 2014. A Falcon 6X was put before Parliament in December 2025.
Helicopter squadrons
defenceWeb names the helicopter unit No. 3 Squadron without giving its base. Wikipedia places a helicopter squadron with Z-9s and Mi-17s at Accra, where the first of four Airbus helicopters ordered on 15 January 2026, an H175, landed on 5 March 2026, and names a 1 Squadron with Z-9s at Takoradi. Five Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171Sh and three Z-9EH remain after the Z-9 crash of 6 August 2025, according to defenceWeb.
No. 4 Squadron
Listed by defenceWeb for surveillance and ground attack, with the four K-8 jet trainers, Ghana’s only armed jets, and the DA42 surveillance aircraft; its base is not published. K-8s flew at Air Force Base Accra during the Super Tucano demonstration of 19 February 2024. Neither the Super Tucano nor the six L-39NGs approved by Parliament in December 2021 has been bought.
Air Force Training Command
Commanded by Air Commodore Richard Danso, who reviewed the passing-out of 293 recruits from the Air Force Recruit Training School after 26 weeks on 25 September 2026. Wikipedia lists a Flight Training School with DA42s at the base, which has trained Ghanaian pilots since it became a Ghana Air Force station flying Chipmunks on 1 March 1961.
What the Ghana Air Force flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hongdu K-8 KarakorumIn service | Jet trainer and light attack | 4 | Four, per defenceWeb (2026) and Wikipedia. | |||
| Airbus (CASA) C-295MIn service | Tactical transport | 2011 | 2–3. Three delivered (November 2011, April 2012, February 2016); Wikipedia counts two in service, defenceWeb’s 2026 profile three. | |||
| Diamond DA42In service | Maritime surveillance, reconnaissance and multi-engine training | 3–4. Wikipedia: two for surveillance and one trainer; defenceWeb: four. | ||||
| Dassault Falcon 900EXIn service | Presidential transport | 1 | One. | |||
| Fokker F28 FellowshipIn service | VIP transport | 1 | One, described by defenceWeb as likely in storage. | |||
| Mil Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171ShIn service | Transport helicopter | 5 | 2005 | Five in 2026 (defenceWeb). Four Mi-17V-5 arrived in December 2004 and four Mi-171Sh in 2013; President Mahama spoke of ten Mi-17s in November 2014. | ||
| Harbin Z-9EHIn service | Utility and maritime helicopter | 3 | 2015 | Three; four were delivered and one was lost on 6 August 2025. | ||
| Airbus Helicopters H175In service | Transport, SAR and VIP helicopter | 1 | 2026 | One of three H175s delivered by October 2026 as far as found. | ||
| Bell 412In service | Utility helicopter | 1 | One, per Wikipedia only. | |||
| Cessna 172In service | Basic trainer | 0–3: defenceWeb lists three in service, Wikipedia lists the type as retired. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus Helicopters H175M and ACH160On order | 3 | 2026 | Ordered on 15 January 2026 with one ACH175 (two H175M, one ACH175, one ACH160); Parliament had been asked in December 2025 to approve €125.97 million for the four.
MoreOne H175 arrived on 5 March 2026; the remaining delivery dates were not published. Parliament’s committee spoke of deliveries over four years from 2026. |
|
| Dassault Falcon 6XOn order | 1 | US$60.68 million contract laid before Parliament on 3 December 2025. Wikipedia lists it as on order; defenceWeb’s 2026 profile lists one in the fleet.
More |
||
| Mil Mi-35On order | 1 | The Chief of the Air Staff said in January 2016 that one was being acquired; Wikipedia still lists one on order. No delivery was found. | ||
| Aero L-39NGOn order | 6 | Parliament approved €111.4 million for six in December 2021; defenceWeb reported in January 2026 that the plan had stalled for lack of funding. Not a live order in practice. |
Every type the Ghana Air Force has retired
15 types, from the de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk to the de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk | Basic trainer | 1961– | Not found. | |||
| de Havilland Canada Beaver, Otter and Caribou | Light and tactical transport | Not found. | ||||
| de Havilland Dove, Heron and DH.125 | Communications and VIP transport | Not found. | ||||
| Westland Whirlwind and Wessex | Helicopter | Not found. | ||||
| Hughes light helicopters | Utility helicopter (mosquito control) | Not found. | ||||
| Aermacchi MB-326F and MB-326KG | Jet trainer and ground attack | 13–15. Wikipedia lists nine MB-326F two-seaters and four single-seat MB-326KGs built for Ghana, and separately says Ghana received 15 MB-326s. | ||||
| Aermacchi MB-339A | Jet trainer and light attack | 4 | K-8 | Four delivered. | ||
| Aero L-29 Delfín | Jet trainer | Not found. | ||||
| Aero L-39ZO Albatros | Jet trainer | Not found. | ||||
| Scottish Aviation Bulldog and HAL HT-2 | Basic trainer | Not found. | ||||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | Transport | Not found. | ||||
| Short Skyvan, Britten-Norman Islander and Beagle Husky | Light transport and liaison | Not found. | ||||
| Aérospatiale Alouette III | Light helicopter | Not found. | ||||
| Bell 212 | Utility helicopter | Not found. | ||||
| PZL Mil Mi-2 | Light helicopter | Not found. |
Where the Ghana Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases; the gliding school at Afienya, run from 1962 to 1966, is listed for its history and the tactical air base reported under construction at Jogboi as planned. The air force flies from four bases by defenceWeb’s count: Accra, its main base beside the headquarters at Burma Camp; Takoradi, a wartime RAF ferry base and its first station from 1961; Tamale in the north; and Bui, about which nothing more was found. Accra and Tamale share their runways with civil airports. Coordinates are from English Wikipedia because the Ghana AIP could not be reached; Bui, Jogboi and Afienya carry no pin.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force Base AccraGreater Accra Region | DGAA | Active | 03/213,403 m |
|
| Air Force Base BuiBui area (the Bui Dam lies on the border of the Savannah and Bono regions) | Active | |||
| Air Force Base TakoradiWestern Region | DGTK | Active | 03/211,751 m |
|
| Air Force Base TamaleNorthern Region | DGLE | Active | 05/23— m |
|
| Jogboi tactical air baseplannedNorthern Ghana (region not stated in the source) | Closed |
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Ghana Air Force
Flying units by base, current units first. Ghana does not publish squadron numbers, and its sources disagree: Wikipedia names a 1 Squadron with Z-9s at Takoradi, while defenceWeb calls the helicopter unit No. 3 Squadron and gives no base. The RAF ferry organisation and the South African Wellington squadron that flew from Takoradi in the Second World War are listed and marked as not Ghanaian. Where a unit’s base or number rests on one source, the entry says so.
- Transport squadron (C295)Transport squadron · active
- Airbus (CASA) C295M
- Helicopter squadronHelicopter squadron · active
- Mil Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171Sh, Harbin Z-9EH, Airbus H175 (from March 2026)
- K-8 jet trainersJet trainer and light attack · active
- Hongdu K-8 Karakorum
- Air Force Training Command (AFTRAC)Training command · active
- Air Force Recruit Training SchoolRecruit school · active
- Flying Training SchoolFlying training · active
- Diamond DA42, de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (from 1961; retired)
- Helicopter squadron (Z-9)Helicopter squadron · active
- Harbin Z-9EH
- RAF Takoradi (aircraft assembly and ferry base)1940–
- Hawker Hurricane, Bristol Blenheim IV, Supermarine Spitfire
- No. 26 Squadron, South African Air Force
- Vickers Wellington
- Helicopter detachmentHelicopter detachment · active
- Harbin Z-9EH
No unit matches that search.
Ghana Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
April: Israel, with Indian help, begins supervising the creation of an air force (Wikipedia). 24 July: the Flying Training School opens under Lt Col Adam Shatkay of the Israeli Air Force; Air Commodore K. Jaswant-Singh of India becomes the first Chief of the Air Staff.
Nkrumah withdraws the Israeli advisers under British pressure; the RAF takes over training.
A Royal Canadian Air Force team joins. 1 March: RAF Station Takoradi becomes a Ghana Air Force station, flying Chipmunks.
Hanna Reitsch founds the national gliding school at Afienya, which she runs until 1966. J. E. S. de Graft-Hayford becomes the first Ghanaian Chief of the Air Staff (Wikipedia gives both 1961 and 1962).
Nine MB-326F jet trainers ordered from Italy (Wikipedia, uncited). Late in the year the Accra station moves to Burma Camp.
15 May: Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings leads a failed mutiny; 4 June: freed by soldiers, he heads the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, which hands over to President Limann on 24 September.
31 December: Rawlings takes power again and forms the Provisional National Defence Council.
24 August: ECOMOG lands at Monrovia under Ghana’s Lt Gen Arnold Quainoo. In September the New York Times reports Ghanaian air strikes on Liberian rebels.
December: four Mi-17V-5 helicopters arrive; they are commissioned in January 2005.
June: agreement for four K-8 jet trainers from China; two are delivered before February 2007.
November: the first CASA C-295 arrives; the second follows in April 2012.
Four Mi-171Sh helicopters delivered; Ghana offers C-295s to the UN.
Late September: a C-295 deploys to Bamako for MINUSMA. 20 November: President Mahama announces Super Tucanos, Z-9s, Mi-17s and a third C-295.
June: Embraer announces a contract for five A-29 Super Tucanos, never completed. 23 September: four Z-9EH helicopters commissioned.
December: Parliament approves €111.4 million for six L-39NGs; the purchase later stalls.
24 March: Air Vice Marshal Eric Agyen-Frempong becomes Chief of the Air Staff. 6 August: a Z-9 crashes in the Ashanti Region, killing eight, including two ministers.
15 January: four Airbus helicopters ordered. 5 March: the first H175 arrives at Accra.
Every war the Ghana Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- ECOMOG intervention in the First Liberian Civil War 1990 Supported the ECOWAS Monitoring Group; Ghanaian aircraft were reported to have struck rebel targets
- UN airlift in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) by 2014 Flew UN air services for the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire
- UN airlift in Mali (MINUSMA) 2014– One C-295 flew passengers and cargo within Mali for the UN mission
Who built the Ghana Air Force fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Airbus Helicopters, Dassault Aviation, Mil, Aero Vodochody, Airbus, Bell, Cessna, Diamond Aircraft, Fokker, Harbin, Hongdu
Former fleet
Aermacchi, de Havilland Canada, Aérospatiale, Beagle Aircraft, Britten-Norman, HAL, Hughes, PZL-Świdnik, Scottish Aviation, Short Brothers, Westland, de Havilland
Everything people ask about the Ghana Air Force
What is the Ghana Air Force called officially?
What aircraft does the Ghana Air Force fly in 2026?
Does Ghana have fighter jets?
Who helped found the Ghana Air Force?
Who commands the Ghana Air Force?
What happened in the Ghana Air Force helicopter crash of August 2025?
Was Jerry Rawlings a Ghana Air Force pilot?
Did Hitler’s test pilot Hanna Reitsch work for Ghana?
Did the Ghana Air Force fight in Liberia?
What new aircraft is Ghana buying?
Read the aircraft the Ghana Air Force flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Daily Graphic: President Mahama promotes new Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs (24 March 2025)AVM Eric Agyen-Frempong Chief of the Air Staff; Lt Gen William Agyapong CDS.
- CNN: Ghana’s defence and environment ministers among eight killed in helicopter crash (6 August 2025)Z-9, Accra to Obuasi, eight killed; names of passengers and crew; "national tragedy".
- Janes: Ghana orders military helicopters from Airbus (January 2026)Two H175M, one ACH175, one ACH160; army and navy operate no aircraft.
- defenceWeb: Ghana MoD orders multiple helicopters from Airbus (21 January 2026)Order of 15 January 2026; fleet of five Mi-17V-5/Mi-171Sh and three Z-9EH.
- defenceWeb: Ghana’s Air Force receives first H175 helicopter from Airbus (10 March 2026)First H175 at Accra on 5 March 2026; €125 million helicopter contract and US$60 million Falcon 6X approved December 2025; acting defence minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
- MyJoyOnline: Ghana Air Force welcomes first Airbus H175 helicopter (March 2026)Arrival ceremony with the CDS and acting defence minister; further H175s, an H160 and a Falcon 6X planned.
- defenceWeb: African militaries – Ghana (2026 profile)Air force about 2,000 personnel; CAS Agyen-Frempong; bases Accra, Takoradi, Tamale, Bui; fleet by type; squadrons; little progress on combat capability.
- defenceWeb: African Military Profile: Ghana (May 2026)Ghana Armed Forces 16,000–20,000 active personnel, three services.
- defenceWeb: Ghana confirms Super Tucano, Z-9 acquisitions (18 February 2015)Mahama on 13 February 2015: five Super Tucanos, four Z-9s; C-295 with MINUSMA.
- defenceWeb: Ghana Air Force receives Z-9 helicopters (5 October 2015)Four Z-9EH commissioned 23 September 2015; China Development Bank loan; roles.
- defenceWeb: Ghana acquires third C295 (12 November 2015)C-295s delivered November 2011 and April 2012; third seen at Seville October 2015.
- defenceWeb: Additional aircraft for Ghana Air Force (7 January 2016)CAS Michael Samson-Oje: third C-295 due January 2016; Super Tucano plans; one Mi-35.
- defenceWeb: Ghana to acquire Super Tucanos, Z-9s, Mi-17s and C-295s (25 November 2014)Mahama at Air Force Base Accra on 20 November 2014; flying school planned at Tamale.
- defenceWeb: Ghana Air Force C295 supporting UN ops in Mali (9 January 2015)C-295 at Bamako-Sénou from late September 2014; UN air services in Côte d’Ivoire.
- defenceWeb: British arms broker sentenced over Ghana jets (6 February 2013)K-8 agreement June 2005, two delivered before February 2007; four Mi-17V-5 arrived December 2004.
- defenceWeb: Lom Praha overhauls Ghanaian Mi-171 (9 December 2021)Mi-171Sh GHF697 overhauled 2020; four Mi-171Sh acquired 2013; Mi-8MTV-5 GHF690 overhauled 2019.
- defenceWeb: Embraer and SNC demonstrate Super Tucano to Ghana Air Force (20 February 2024)Demonstration at Accra on 19 February 2024; CAS Bekoe and minister Nitiwul quoted.
- defenceWeb: Embraer ready to support possible Super Tucano sale to Ghana (23 June 2026)2015 contract never completed; Embraer still ready to sell.
- defenceWeb: Aero Vodochody promotes L-39 Skyfox to African air forces (13 January 2026)Skyfox shown at Accra on 17 December 2025; 2021 L-39NG plan stalled for lack of funding.
- defenceWeb: Ghana Air Force officers complete ATC training in South Africa (30 September 2024)Eight officers trained at ATNS; CAS Bekoe.
- defenceWeb: US Air Force advisors train Ghanaian Armed Forces in aeromedical evacuation (12 April 2022)C-295 and Mi-17 used; Ghana contributes nearly 3,000 personnel to nine UN missions.
- USAFE-AFAFRICA: Advancing aeromedical evacuation capabilities in Ghana (15 May 2024)UN aeromedical evacuation team training in Accra, May 2024, for Ghana’s South Sudan deployment.
- MyJoyOnline: Ghana Air Force pilots abandoning force due to lack of aircraft – report (18 December 2023)Defence and Interior Committee report; GH₵3.8 billion for the Ministry of Defence.
- MyJoyOnline: Ghana Air Force investigates cause of aircraft overrun (23 January 2020)C-295 GHF552, delivered February 2016, overran at Accra on 22 January 2020.
- MyJoyOnline: Ghana Air Force passes out 293 recruits (September 2026)Air Force Recruit Training School, Takoradi, 25 September 2026; Air Force Training Command.
- MyJoyOnline: Ghana Air Force takes over guard at the Presidency (September 2026)46th ceremonial changing of the guard, 14 September 2026.
- MyJoyOnline: Parliamentary Committee recommends €178m for five GAF aircraft (4 December 2025)Falcon 6X US$60.7 million; four helicopters €126 million; deliveries over four years from 2026.
- MyJoyOnline: Contract agreements for four helicopters and presidential jet laid in Parliament (3 December 2025)€125.97 million for four Airbus helicopters; US$60.68 million for a Falcon 6X.
- MyJoyOnline: Presidential jet returns to Ghana after eight-month overhaul in France (November 2025)Returned to Ghana Air Force custody on 10 November 2025.
- MyJoyOnline: "We’re reviewing the entire fleet" – Brogya Genfi (7 November 2025)Falcon 900EX grounded; "many of our helicopters and jets are down".
- Denis Richards, Royal Air Force 1939–1945, Volume I: The Fight at Odds (HMSO, 1953), chapter IX, via HyperWarOfficial history, pp. 247–248: the advance party of 14 July 1940, the route stages and the first convoy of September 1940.
- W. F. Craven and J. L. Cate (eds.), The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume I, chapter 9 (John D. Carter), via HyperWarOfficial US history, pp. 319–324: the Takoradi assembly base and Pan American Airways-Africa at Accra, 1941.
- Accra (Kotoka) International Airport — Ghana Airports Company LimitedAirport operator: reference coordinates, elevation 63.5 m, RAF origins, handover to civil authority in 1946.
- DGAA runways — OurAirportsRunway 03/21, 3,403 m by 61 m, asphalt; secondary data, used because the Ghana AIP could not be reached.
- Kotoka International Airport renamed Accra International Airport, MyJoyOnline, 23 February 2026Ministry of Transport reasons; ICAO and IATA codes unchanged; criticism.
- All 3 helicopter crew were from Takoradi Air Force Base, MyJoyOnline, 7 August 2025Crew posted at Takoradi; departure from Accra at 09:12 GMT; Western Regional Minister’s words.
- Vigil at Takoradi Air Force Base honours fallen helicopter crew, MyJoyOnline, August 2025Vigil of 8 August 2025; crew names.
- Takoradi Air Force Base faces growing land encroachment threat, MyJoyOnline, 20 February 2025More than 600 acres allocated, about 88 encroached; base commander’s words.
- Air Commodore Atiemo assumes command at Air Force Base Takoradi, MyJoyOnline, August 2024Change of command of 28 August 2024 after nine months without a commander; wings and Flying Group named.
- Ghana’s President commissions new surveillance aircraft, hangars, ships, defenceWeb, 29 October 2012Three DA42s and two hangars commissioned at Takoradi on 19 October 2012.
- Tamale International Airport — Ghana Airports Company LimitedAirport operator: wartime origin in December 1940, Air Force staffing, runway extension figures.
- DGLE runways — OurAirportsRunway 05/23 listed at 2,438 m by 45 m; secondary data.
- Ghanaian Z-9EH makes an emergency landing, defenceWeb, 29 June 2020Z-9EH GHF 630 from Air Force Base Tamale, 25 June 2020; Ghana Armed Forces statement.
- Ghana reinforces northern border as Sahel violence encroaches, defenceWeb (Africa Defense Forum), 29 December 2025Reports the Ghana Air Force’s announcement of a tactical air base at Jogboi.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
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