Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta
The Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta is one of the smallest military air arms in Europe — a regiment of seven aircraft at Luqa that has never flown a jet or fought a war, and whose real job, since a single donated Bell 47 in 1972, has been finding people in 250,000 square kilometres of the central Mediterranean.
The Air Wing story: an island of other people’s air forces, one helicopter in 1972 and a sea to search
Before the Air Wing: an island of other people’s air forces
Malta’s famous air war was not its own. Between June 1940 and November 1942 the island was besieged from Sicily, defended first by a handful of Sea Gladiators, then by Hurricanes and, from March 1942, by Spitfires flying from airfields such as Luqa, which had been built in 1940. After the war the British stayed. Independence in 1964 gave Malta a country but no military aviation: the Malta Land Force of 1965 was an army unit built on the Royal Malta Artillery, and Luqa remained an RAF station until 1979. That matters for everything that followed. When the last British forces left on 31 March 1979 and a Nimrod made the last RAF flight out of Luqa the next morning, Malta inherited runways, hangars and a search-and-rescue region, not an air force.
1972–1992: one helicopter, and a borrowed search-and-rescue service
The Maltese air arm started as a flight, not a service. The Armed Forces of Malta date the Helicopter Flight to 1972, a year after the Maritime Troop; its first aircraft, the Agusta-Bell 47G-2 AS7201, is now in the Malta Aviation Museum. Sources disagree on the start: a 2017 press guide says flying began in 1973, and some accounts say 1971. For lift and range Malta leaned on Italy. An Italian military mission worked in Malta from 1973 to 1979, again from 1981 to July 1988, and from July 1988 until 7 November 2016, and its Italian Air Force AB 204s and later two AB 212s gave Malta a SAR helicopter capability it could not yet afford itself. Wikipedia, citing the Times of Malta, credits them with more than 15,000 flying hours and over 270 lives saved. The good was obvious; the bad was that Malta’s own SAR cover depended on a foreign government’s budget.
1992–2013: Air Squadron to Air Wing, on second-hand aircraft
The late 1970s and 1980s were politically turbulent — Libya gave the maritime battery four patrol boats in 1975–1976, then threatened a Maltese-commissioned oil rig in 1980, the year Italy guaranteed Malta’s neutrality — and the air element was folded into a mixed 1 Regiment from 1980. The 1992 reorganisation created an Air Squadron, raised to regimental status as the Air Wing in 2006. The fleet was assembled from whatever could be had: five Cessna O-1E Bird Dogs from Italy in 1992, five ex-RAF Bulldog trainers in 2000, Alouette III helicopters (Wikipedia lists three ex-Libyan and two ex-Dutch), an AB 206, two NH-500s leased from the Guardia di Finanza, a Britten-Norman Islander, a C-212 leased for three months in 2009, and then the Beechcraft King Air B200s that became the backbone of maritime patrol. It was cheap and it worked, but it meant five or six types for a handful of crews.
2014–2016: the AW139 arrives and the Italians go home
The step change came with the AgustaWestland AW139. The first arrived in June 2014 and replaced the Alouette III in front-line rescue; it was the AFM’s first twin-engined helicopter, with a hoist, FLIR, search radar and the range to reach ships far out to sea. On 13 December 2013 President George Abela had already given the Air Wing the Midalja Għal Qadi tar-Repubblika, only the second AFM unit so honoured. The Italian mission wound down for budget reasons, and its last helicopter left Malta on 7 November 2016. For the first time the Air Wing carried the search-and-rescue region alone. The AFM has held national SAR responsibility since 1978, when the RAF’s 1151 Marine Craft Unit disbanded, and it describes the region as about 250,000 square kilometres — a very large area for a force of seven aircraft.
2024–2026: fifty million euros and a plan to standardise
The strain showed. The Alouette III made a coordinated emergency landing in a field at Qrendi on 7 March 2024, and in June 2025 a Times of Malta headline (cited by Wikipedia) reported only one of five AFM helicopters in use. The government’s answer has been money and standardisation. A fourth King Air B200 was announced on 17 December 2025 and a fourth AW139 signed on 22 December 2025; in April 2026 the AFM said the pair cost EUR 50 million and that its flying had grown by 40 per cent in six years. The new King Air was flight-tested at Wichita in July 2026 and both are due in 2027. In September 2026 an EU co-funded EUR 7.4 million package paid for a mid-life upgrade of the three King Airs and a flight simulator. The Air Wing will then fly two types, four of each: small, but for the first time coherent.
The Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta in numbers
Service
- Official name
- Air WingThe Armed Forces of Malta call the unit simply "Air Wing" (formally Air Wing, MQR, for the Midalja Għal Qadi tar-Repubblika). English is used on the official site; no separate Maltese unit name is given there. The English Wikipedia title is Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta
- Formed
- 1972 (Helicopter Flight)The AFM dates the Helicopter Flight to 1972; a 2017 press guide says flying began in 1973. Air Squadron from 1992, Air Wing with regimental status from 2006
- Part of
- Armed Forces of MaltaOne of five AFM units alongside 1, 3 and 4 Regiments and the Maritime Squadron. Malta is neutral and not in NATO
- Base
- Military Zone, Apron 7, Malta International Airport (Luqa)Six hangars on the former RAF Luqa
- Commanding officer
- Lt Col Nicholas GrechAppointment date not published
- Commander AFM
- Brigadier Clinton J. O’NeillAppointed June 2022
- Honour
- Midalja Għal Qadi tar-RepubblikaPresented by President George Abela on 13 December 2013; the second AFM unit so decorated
Strength
- Personnel
- The AFM as a whole has about 1,500 active personnel (roughly 1,950 in 2017); no official Air Wing figure was found
- Fixed-wing aircraft
-
- Beechcraft King Air B200 — 3
- Britten-Norman BN-2T Islander — 1
Maritime patrol and surveillance; the fourth King Air is due in 2027
- Helicopters
-
- AgustaWestland AW139 — 3
A fourth AW139 is due in 2027. The Alouette III is still on the official equipment page and flew in March 2024, but it is no longer counted in the in-service fleet by Janes or Wikipedia
- Combat aircraft
- NoneThe Air Wing has never operated jets or combat aircraft; the Alouette III is rated for limited aerial fire support only
- Drones
- None of its ownWikipedia lists one IAI Heron, but the Herons flying from Malta since 2021 are operated for the EU agency Frontex; no AFM source lists a drone
- AFM budget
- EUR 112.6 million (2023)About 0.52 per cent of GDP for the whole AFM; the Air Wing’s share is not published
Infrastructure
- Air bases
- OneThe Military Zone at Malta International Airport; the Air Wing terminal has six hangars
- Former military airfields
-
- Hal Far — last RAF squadron 1967, returned to Malta 1979, now industrial estate and drag strip
- Luqa — RAF station 1941–1979, now the civil airport the Air Wing shares
Neither was ever an AFM flying base in the sources checked
- Search and rescue region
- About 250,000 sq kmCoordinated by RCC Malta; the AFM has been responsible for SAR since 1978
- Readiness
- 24 hours a dayTasked by the AFM Joint Operations Centre or RCC Malta
- Jet-capable
- No jets operatedLuqa’s runways (13/31 of 3,544 m) could take any jet, but the Air Wing flies turboprops and helicopters
- Simulator
- Ground-based flight simulator funded 2026EUR 3.2 million of an EU co-funded EUR 7.4 million package
How the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta is organised
One regiment of the Armed Forces of Malta, not a separate service: a headquarters, an Operations Squadron and a Support Squadron, all in the Military Zone on Apron 7 of Malta International Airport. The Air Wing has never flown a fighter, a jet or any combat aircraft; its work is search and rescue, maritime patrol and border control over a search and rescue region of about 250,000 square kilometres. Malta is neutral and not in NATO.
Air Wing Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron
The Air Wing is a regiment-level unit of the Armed Forces of Malta, one of five with 1, 3 and 4 Regiments and the Maritime Squadron, commanded by Lt Col Nicholas Grech. Wing Headquarters exercises command and control; Headquarters Squadron provides logistics and support.
Operations Squadron
Every Maltese military aircraft: three King Air B200s and a BN-2T Islander for maritime surveillance and patrol, and three AW139 helicopters for search and rescue, medical evacuation and border control, on duty 24 hours a day. A fourth King Air and a fourth AW139 are due in 2027.
Support Squadron
Maintains the Air Wing’s aircraft. An EU co-funded EUR 7.4 million package announced on 25 September 2026 pays for a mid-life upgrade of the three King Airs and a ground-based flight simulator.
What the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft King Air B200In service | Maritime patrol and surveillance | 3 | Three in service (Janes, December 2025); a fourth, a B200GT, is due in 2027. Delivery years of the first three were not confirmed in an official source. | |||
| AgustaWestland (Leonardo) AW139In service | Search and rescue, border control helicopter | 3 | 2014 | Three in service; a fourth signed on 22 December 2025 and due in 2027. | ||
| Britten-Norman BN-2T IslanderIn service | Patrol and light transport | 1 | One, per Wikipedia’s fleet table; the official page lists the type without a number. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft King Air B200GTOn order | 1 | 2027 | Announced 17 December 2025 as the fourth King Air. Flight-tested at Textron Aviation, Wichita, by July 2026, then to Braunschweig for mission systems.
MoreWith the fourth AW139 it makes up a EUR 50 million package announced in April 2026; the funding source for that package was not stated. |
|
| AgustaWestland (Leonardo) AW139On order | 1 | 2027 | Signed 22 December 2025 as the fourth AW139, part of what the AFM calls the standardisation of the helicopter fleet. Due in 2027 according to the April 2026 announcement. |
Every type the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta has retired
8 types, from the Agusta-Bell 47G-2 to the Agusta-Bell AB 204 and AB 212 (Italian Air Force, Italian Military Mission). 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta-Bell AB 204 and AB 212 (Italian Air Force, Italian Military Mission) | Search and rescue (Italian-crewed) | 2 | 1973–2016 | AW139 | Two AB 212s at a time in the final period; Italian aircraft and crews, not AFM property. | |
| CASA C-212 Aviocar | Maritime patrol (leased) | 1 | 2009–2009 | One, leased for three months from CAE Aviation, Luxembourg. | ||
| Aérospatiale SA316B Alouette III | Utility and SAR helicopter | 5 | AW139 | Five in all according to Wikipedia (three ex-Libyan, two ex-Dutch); origins not corroborated by an official source. How many remain airworthy is unclear. | ||
| Agusta-Bell 47G-2 | Light helicopter | 1972– | Wikipedia gives three or four, ex-West German Army; German Wikipedia dates German helicopter gifts to the 1990s. AS7201 was the first AFM aircraft. | |||
| Agusta-Bell 206A JetRanger | Light helicopter | 1 | One, per Wikipedia. | |||
| Breda Nardi NH-500M (Hughes 500) | Light helicopter | 2 | Two, leased from the Italian Guardia di Finanza. | |||
| Cessna O-1E Bird Dog | Liaison and observation | 5 | 1992– | Five received from Italy in 1992. | ||
| Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 | Trainer | 5 | 2000– | Five ex-RAF aircraft sold to the AFM in 2000. |
Where the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta flies from
Black pins are active bases, hollow pins the airfields that have closed. Luqa is Malta’s only military air base: the Air Wing shares Malta International Airport, the former RAF Luqa, with the airlines. The wartime RAF fields at Ħal Far and Ta’ Qali closed in 1967 and 1968; no source reached shows the Air Wing flying from either, and they are not listed.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luqa (Malta International Airport) – AFM Air WingLuqa, island of Malta | LMML | Active | 13/313,544 masphalt concrete05/232,377 masphalt concrete |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta
Flying units by base, current units first. The Operations Squadron flies every Maltese military aircraft; the Italian military mission’s rescue helicopters, which left in 2016, and the RAF squadrons at Luqa until 1978 are listed too, each marked as not Maltese. Where a figure rests on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- Air Wing Headquarters and Headquarters SquadronCommand and support · active
- Operations SquadronFlying squadron (fixed-wing and rotary-wing) · active
- Beechcraft King Air B200, Britten-Norman BN-2T Islander, AgustaWestland AW139, Aérospatiale Alouette III
- Support SquadronAircraft maintenance · active
- Italian Military Mission helicopter detachment
- Agusta-Bell AB 212
- No. 13 Squadron RAF1965–1978
- English Electric Canberra
- No. 203 Squadron RAF
- Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.1
No unit matches that search.
Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta milestones, 1914 to today
Context, not the AFM: the siege of Malta, 11 June 1940 to 20 November 1942, fought by the RAF; Luqa was built in 1940.
Independence in 1964, with no military aviation. The Malta Land Force is formed in 1965; in 1970 the Royal Malta Artillery passes to it and to the Government of Malta.
The Maritime Troop is formed in 1971 and the Helicopter Flight in 1972; its first aircraft is the Agusta-Bell 47G-2 AS7201. A 2017 press guide dates the first flying to 1973.
The Armed Forces of Malta are established (the AFM’s own date; Wikipedia gives 1974). The Italian military mission begins its first period in Malta.
The AFM takes over search and rescue when the RAF’s 1151 Marine Craft Unit disbands.
31 March: the last British forces leave. 1 April: a Nimrod of 120 Squadron makes the last RAF flight out of Luqa. The first Italian mission period ends.
Italy guarantees Malta’s neutrality. A Libyan gunboat stops a Maltese-commissioned oil rig. 1 Regiment becomes a mixed unit with aircraft and maritime responsibilities.
The Italian mission returns for a second period, to July 1988, followed by a third from July 1988.
Reorganisation of the AFM creates the Air Squadron; five Cessna O-1E Bird Dogs arrive from Italy.
Five ex-RAF Bulldog T.1 trainers are sold to the AFM.
The Air Squadron is raised to regimental status as the Air Wing.
21 February: two Libyan Air Force Mirage F1s land at Luqa and their pilots seek asylum; the jets are returned to Libya on 21 February 2012.
13 December: President George Abela awards the Air Wing the Midalja Għal Qadi tar-Repubblika.
June: the first AgustaWestland AW139 arrives, replacing the Alouette III in front-line SAR.
7 November: the last Italian mission helicopter leaves Malta; the Air Wing covers the SAR region alone.
7 March: an Alouette III makes a coordinated emergency landing in a field at Qrendi; no one is hurt.
17 December: a fourth King Air B200 is announced. 22 December: a fourth AW139 is signed.
12 March: the last NH-500 goes to the Malta Aviation Museum. 20 April: the AFM puts the new aircraft at EUR 50 million. 25 September: EUR 7.4 million EU co-funded King Air upgrade and simulator.
Who built the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta 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
Former fleet
Agusta, Aérospatiale, Breda Nardi, CASA, Cessna, Scottish Aviation
Everything people ask about the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta
What aircraft does the Armed Forces of Malta Air Wing fly?
Did the Maltese Air Wing ever fight in a war?
What is the Air Wing called officially?
When was the Air Wing founded?
Why did Italian helicopters fly search and rescue from Malta?
Does Malta have fighter jets?
How big is Malta’s search and rescue region?
Does the Air Wing fly drones?
What is the EU paying for in Malta’s Air Wing?
Where is the Air Wing based?
Read the aircraft the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta 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
- Armed Forces of Malta: Air Wing, MQROfficial unit page: Military Zone (Apron 7) at Malta International Airport; CO Lt Col Nicholas Grech; four sub-units; roles; 24/7 readiness under the Joint Operations Centre or RCC Malta; MQR awarded 13 December 2013; lists AW139, Alouette III, BN-2T Islander and King Air B200.
- Armed Forces of Malta: Air Wing (former site page, archived 14 March 2024)Earlier version of the official unit page: same structure, roles and commanding officer.
- Armed Forces of Malta: Air OperationsMaritime Troop 1971 and Helicopter Flight 1972; SAR responsibility since 1978 when RAF 1151 Marine Craft Unit disbanded; two Italian Air Force AB212s forward deployed until mid-2016 under MIATM; Malta SRR of about 250,000 sq km.
- Armed Forces of Malta: EquipmentOfficial list of four aircraft types with crews, speeds and endurance.
- Armed Forces of Malta: King Air B200Crew of five, 200 kt cruise, 4 hr endurance, 500 nm range, search and weather radar, EO/IR; border patrol.
- Armed Forces of Malta: BN-2T IslanderTwo Rolls-Royce M250-B17C turboprops, 130 kt, 3 hr endurance, up to 10 on board.
- Armed Forces of Malta: Alouette IIIArtouste IIIB, 113 kt, SAR/medevac with two rescue swimmers, limited aerial fire support.
- Armed Forces of Malta: AgustaWestland AW139Two PT6C-67C, 150 kt, 4 hr endurance, crew of six, border control and SAR/medevac.
- Armed Forces of Malta: The CommanderBrigadier Clinton J. O’Neill promoted and appointed Commander AFM in June 2022.
- Armed Forces of Malta: Timeline of AFM’s LineageMalta Land Force 1965; Royal Malta Artillery transferred 1970; AFM established 1973; two separate units 1980–1988; re-amalgamated 1988 under a brigadier.
- Armed Forces of Malta: OrganisationFive units including the Air Wing at Malta International Airport; 1 Regiment at Lyster Barracks, Hal Far.
- Janes: Malta signs for additional AW139 helicopter, King Air B200 maritime patrol aircraft (Gareth Jennings, December 2025)Fourth AW139 signed 22 December and fourth King Air B200 announced 17 December; three of each in service; first AW139 received June 2014, replacing the Alouette III; no delivery dates disclosed.
- MaltaToday: AFM purchase new aircraft and helicopter as air operations workload increases by 40% (20 April 2026)EUR 50 million for a King Air and an AW139, due next year; flying up 40 per cent in six years; Brigadier O’Neill quoted on standardisation.
- Lovin Malta: AFM Expands Air Wing With New Aircraft And Helicopter In EUR 50 Million Boost (20 April 2026)Same announcement; second report of the EUR 50 million figure and 40 per cent growth.
- Lovin Malta: AFM To Add Fourth King Air Aircraft To Fleet By 2027 (17 July 2026)Fourth King Air assembled and flight-tested at Textron Aviation, Wichita; next to Braunschweig for mission systems; due in Malta in 2027.
- Lovin Malta: EUR 7.4 Million Investment To Upgrade Malta’s Armed Forces Aircraft And Training (25 September 2026)EU co-funded: EUR 4.28 million mid-life upgrade of the King Air fleet (third aircraft completed) and EUR 3.2 million ground-based flight simulator; ministers Glenn Bedingfield and Keith Azzopardi Tanti quoted.
- Lovin Malta: Last Armed Forces Of Malta NH500 Helicopter Finds New Home At Malta Aviation Museum (12 March 2026)Two NH500s served with the Air Wing, originally leased from the Italian Guardia di Finanza; one to the Malta Aviation Museum, the other at the Guardia di Finanza museum at Pratica di Mare.
- Lovin Malta: Armed Forces Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing In A Field In Qrendi (7 March 2024)Alouette III made a coordinated emergency landing; no injuries; statement by minister Byron Camilleri.
- Lovin Malta: A Complete Guide To The Armed Forces of Malta’s Air Assets (21 July 2017)Unit first flew in 1973; AW139 the first twin-engined helicopter; Alouette largely replaced by the AW139; Islander role taken over by the King Air.
- Lovin Malta: AFM Carry Out Medical Evacuation After Emergency At Sea North Of Malta (17 March 2026)Typical tasking: RCC Malta request, AFM helicopter medevac to Mater Dei Hospital.
- Armed Forces of Malta: official websiteHeadquarters AFM at Luqa Barracks, Luqa; Air Wing equipment menu (AW139, Alouette III, BN-2T Islander, King Air B200).
- Armed Forces of Malta: BN-2T IslanderSpecification page (23 September 2024).
- MaltaToday: AFM purchase new aircraft and helicopter as air operations workload increases by 40% (20 April 2026)One King Air and one AW139, EUR 50 million, arrival expected 2027; workload up 40% in six years; quote by Brigadier Clinton O’Neill.
- Janes (Gareth Jennings): Malta signs for additional AW139 helicopter, King Air B200 maritime patrol aircraftAFM announcements of 17 December (King Air from Aerodata AG) and 22 December (AW139 from Leonardo), each adding to three in service; first AW139 received June 2014. The year is not shown in the retrieved text; Wikipedia places the contract in late 2025.
Figures verified 2026-09-30. 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.
Photographs: Photo: Oren Rozen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo (AB 206 in Carabinieri markings shown): Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo (NH-500 in Italian markings shown): 0lorenzo0 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo (O-1E shown): André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Dwxn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)