Fuerza Aérea de Seychelles
The Seychelles Air Force began in 1978 as a fisheries patrol flight in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, has been renamed three times since, and in 2026 is a five-aircraft maritime patrol and transport arm — two Indian-built Dornier 228s, Chinese Y-12s and a Twin Otter — whose main task, as in 1978, is watching the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The Seychelles Air Force story: a fisheries patrol flight, three new names and aircraft from India and China
1978: a patrol flight in a fisheries ministry
The Seychelles became independent from Britain on 29 June 1976, and a year later the government of France-Albert René took power in the coup of 5 June 1977; the Presidential Security Unit dates from that year. The air arm came next. According to the defence force’s own history, the Air Wing was formed in 1978 as a department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and under Capt. David Plows its first task was to patrol the Seychelles exclusive economic zone. It also became the focal point for training Seychellois pilots. The fleet grew to include a Britten-Norman BN2A-21 Islander, two Rallye 235E light aircraft and two Chetak helicopters — the Indian-built Alouette III, from the first of many Indian gifts.
1985–1992: the People’s Air Force
In 1985 the Air Wing left the fisheries ministry and became part of the Seychelles People’s Defence Force as the Seychelles People’s Air Force (SPAF). The official history records the purchase of a Merlin IIIB in 1985 and a Cessna Citation V in 1989, transport types rather than patrol aircraft. The defence forces have celebrated Defence Forces Day on 25 November every year since 1982, and the Seychelles Defence Academy opened on 2 June 1990. No source checked records any combat use of the air arm.
1992–2011: an air wing inside the Coast Guard
In 1992, the official history says, the People’s Air Force was disbanded to form the SPDF Air Wing, part of the Seychelles Coast Guard. For nearly two decades the air arm was an element of the coast guard rather than a service in its own right, and the sources checked say little about its fleet in those years. From 2009, at Seychelles’ request, India sent naval ships to patrol the economic zone against Somali piracy, and the threat of piracy and illegal fishing shaped what the air arm was for.
2011–2018: the Seychelles Air Force, and gifts from China and India
In 2011 the SPDF Air Wing was dissolved once more and renamed the Seychelles Air Force. China gave Harbin Y-12 light transports in 2011, according to defenceWeb. India followed with a Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft, registered SY-010, delivered in April 2013. In August 2015 India said it would donate a second, and on 26 June 2018 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj handed over Dornier 228 SY-011, built by Hindustan Aeronautics, to President Danny Faure at Air Force Station Palam in Delhi. The handover came after Seychelles’ parliament had refused to ratify a January 2018 agreement on an Indian naval facility on Assumption Island, and India also offered a US$100 million defence credit.
2018–2026: two Dorniers and a small fleet at work
Today, the defence force says, the air force flies maritime reconnaissance, medical evacuation, coastal patrol, island services, transport and search and rescue. Its own page lists one DHC-6-320 Twin Otter, one Y-12 and two Dornier 228s; defenceWeb counts two Y-12s and 60–100 people, commanded since 2021 by Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Zarine. In July 2026 defenceWeb reported that Sylvie Tamboo had become the first Seychelloise woman to fly a Seychelles Air Force Dornier, ferrying SY-011 to India via Gan and Trivandrum for maintenance at Kanpur. No UAE-donated aircraft appears in any source checked. It is a small air force that does one job — watching a vast sea — and depends on friends for the aircraft to do it.
The Seychelles Air Force in numbers
Servicio
- Nombre oficial
- Fuerza Aérea de SeychellesThe name since 2011, as spelled on the defence force’s site. No official French or Seychellois Creole form was found; the parent force is Force de défense populaire des Seychelles in French and Lafors Defans Pepel Ses in Creole, per Wikipedia
- Fundado
- 1978As the Air Wing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; no exact date published
- Nombres anteriores
- Air Wing (1978); Seychelles People’s Air Force (1985); SPDF Air Wing (1992)Renamed Seychelles Air Force in 2011
- Parte de
- Seychelles defence forcesWith the infantry, coast guard and presidential protection unit; Wikipedia’s article is titled Seychelles People’s Defence Force
- Base
- Seychelles International Airport, MahéSegún defenseWeb
- Comandante
- Lt Col Rodney ZarineSince 2021, per defenceWeb
Fortaleza
- Personal
- About 60–100defenceWeb’s range; no official figure
- Patrulla marítima
-
- Dornier 228 — 2 (SY-010, SY-011)
Both from India, 2013 and 2018
- Transporte
-
- Harbin Y-12 — 1–2
- DHC-6-320 Twin Otter — 1
The defence force lists one Y-12; defenceWeb lists two
Infraestructura
- bases aéreas
- 1Seychelles International Airport on Mahé
- Area watched
- Exclusive economic zoneThe air arm’s first task in 1978 and still its main one
How the Seychelles Air Force is organised
A small arm of the Seychelles defence forces, with no published squadrons, flying from one base at Seychelles International Airport on Mahé. Its two Indian-donated Dornier 228s watch the exclusive economic zone, the task the air arm was formed for in 1978; one or two Chinese Y-12s and a Twin Otter fly transport, island services and medical evacuation. defenceWeb puts it at 60–100 people under Lt Col Rodney Zarine, commander since 2021.
Fuerza Aérea de Seychelles
One of the Seychelles defence forces, with the infantry, coast guard and presidential protection unit, and called the Seychelles Air Force since 2011, after the 1978 Air Wing, the 1985 Seychelles People’s Air Force and the 1992 SPDF Air Wing. defenceWeb names Lt Col Rodney Zarine as commander since 2021 and counts 60–100 people.
Dornier 228s
Two Dornier 228s donated by India and built by Hindustan Aeronautics: SY-010, delivered in April 2013, and SY-011, handed over at Palam on 26 June 2018. They watch the exclusive economic zone, the air arm’s first task in 1978; in July 2026 SY-011 was ferried to Kanpur for maintenance.
Y-12s and Twin Otter
Harbin Y-12s donated by China in 2011 — one on the defence force’s own page, two according to defenceWeb — and a DHC-6-320 Twin Otter, flying transport, island services, medical evacuation and search and rescue.
What the Seychelles Air Force flies today
Cada tipo está sujeto a cargos, vinculado a su página en el Libro de las Bestias, cuando existe. Las cifras corresponden a aeronaves registradas, no a aeronaves disponibles en un día determinado.
| Tipo | Role | En servicio | Desde | Unidades | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dornier 228-202K (HAL-built)En servicio | Patrullaje y vigilancia marítima | 2 | 2013 | SY-010 delivered April 2013; SY-011 delivered June 2018. | ||
| Harbin Y-12En servicio | Transporte ligero | 2011 | 1–2: the defence force’s page lists one; defenceWeb lists two (profile and July 2026 report). | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6-320 Twin OtterEn servicio | Transport and island services | 1 | Uno. |
Every type the Seychelles Air Force has retired
5 types, from the Merlin IIIB to the Britten-Norman BN2A-21 Islander. Las cifras máximas corresponden a las aeronaves puestas en servicio durante toda su vida útil, no al número total de efectivos de la flota en una fecha concreta.
| Tipo | Role | Cima | Servido | Reemplazado por | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britten-Norman BN2A-21 Islander | Patrullaje y transporte | 1 | Uno. | |||
| Socata Rallye 235E | Avión ligero | 2 | Dos. | |||
| HAL Chetak (Alouette III) | Helicóptero ligero | 2 | Dos. | |||
| Merlin IIIB | Transporte | 1 | 1985– | Uno. | ||
| Cessna Citation V | Fast transport | 1 | 1989– | Uno. |
Where the Seychelles Air Force flies from
Los marcadores negros indican bases activas; ninguno de los aeródromos que aparecen en la lista ha cerrado. Seychelles International Airport on Mahé, opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 March 1972, is the air force’s headquarters and only base; Wikipedia places the defence force base at the south-eastern end of runway 13. In 1981 Mike Hoare’s attempted mercenary coup turned into a gun battle at the airport. Coordinates and runway are from English Wikipedia, as the national AIP could not be reached.
| Base | OACI | Estado | Pista | Unidades y aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seychelles International AirportFuerza Aérea de SeychellesMahé (Pointe Larue district), near Victoria | FSIA | Activo | 13/312,997 mconcreto |
|
Ninguna base aérea coincide con esa búsqueda.
Who is stationed where in the Seychelles Air Force
Unidades voladoras por base, unidades actuales primero. No squadron numbers are published, so the Seychelles Air Force is listed as one unit at Mahé, with its Dornier 228s, Y-12s and Twin Otter. Where the defence force’s own page and defenceWeb disagree on a count, the entry says so.
- Fuerza Aérea de SeychellesMaritime patrol and transport · active
- Dornier 228, Harbin Y-12, de Havilland Canada DHC-6-320 Twin Otter
No se encontró ninguna unidad que coincida con esa búsqueda.
Seychelles Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
29 June: independence from Britain.
The Presidential Security Unit is created, the year France-Albert René takes power.
The Air Wing is formed in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries under Capt. David Plows to patrol the exclusive economic zone.
25 November is celebrated as Defence Forces Day from this year.
The Air Wing joins the defence force as the Seychelles People’s Air Force; a Merlin IIIB is bought.
A Cessna Citation V is bought.
2 June: the Seychelles Defence Academy is established.
The People’s Air Force is disbanded to form the SPDF Air Wing, part of the Coast Guard.
India sends naval ships, at Seychelles’ request, to patrol the economic zone against piracy.
The Air Wing is renamed the Seychelles Air Force; China donates Y-12 aircraft.
April: Dornier 228 SY-010 delivered from India.
August: India says it will donate a second Dornier 228.
26 June: Dornier 228 SY-011 handed over at Palam, Delhi; India offers a US$100 million defence credit.
Lt Col Rodney Zarine becomes commander, per defenceWeb.
Seychelles takes part in the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX).
July: Sylvie Tamboo becomes the first Seychelloise woman to fly an air force Dornier, ferrying SY-011 to India for maintenance.
Who built the Seychelles Air Force fleet
Cada empresa que fabrica los aviones que aparecen en esta página tiene su propia página: la historia, todos los tipos que ha fabricado, las cifras y las demás fuerzas aéreas que los utilizan.
Flota actual y pedidos
Antigua flota
Everything people ask about the Seychelles Air Force
Does Seychelles have an air force?
When was the Seychelles Air Force founded?
Does Seychelles have fighter jets?
Where did the Seychelles Air Force get its Dorniers?
Has the UAE given aircraft to the Seychelles Air Force?
What is the Seychelles Air Force called in French and Creole?
Who commands the Seychelles Air Force?
How many aircraft does the Seychelles Air Force have?
Who was the first Seychellois woman to fly an air force Dornier?
Todos los datos, verificados
- Seychelles Defence Forces: About the Air ForceOfficial history: 1978 Air Wing under Capt. David Plows; 1985 SPAF; 1992 SPDF Air Wing; 2011 SAF; former BN2A-21, Rallye 235E, Chetak, Merlin IIIB (1985), Citation V (1989); current Twin Otter, one Y-12, two Dornier 228.
- defenceWeb: African militaries – Seychelles (updated 1 June 2026)60–100 personnel; Twin Otter, two Do 228, two Y-12; Y-12 from China 2011; base at Seychelles International Airport; Lt Col Rodney Zarine since 2021; AFINDEX 2023; 2025 restructuring.
- defenceWeb: Chapman Freeborn supports historic Seychelles Air Force Dornier ferry flight (9 July 2026)SY-010 April 2013, SY-011 June 2018; ferry to Kanpur; Sylvie Tamboo first Seychelloise woman to fly an SAF Dornier.
- defenceWeb: India donates Do 228 to the Seychelles (28 June 2018)Handover 26 June 2018 at Palam by Sushma Swaraj to President Danny Faure; first Do 228 in 2013; US$100m credit; Assumption Island agreement not ratified.
- defenceWeb: Indian to donate Dornier aircraft, interceptor boat to Seychelles (28 August 2015)India to donate one more Do-228 maritime surveillance aircraft (headline and summary seen in defenceWeb search).
Cifras verificadas el 1 de octubre de 2026. Las páginas de Orden de Batalla se regeneran a partir de un único conjunto de datos; si algún número aquí no coincide con el de una página del Libro de las Bestias, esta página es la más reciente de las dos.
Photographs: Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Duch.seb / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Photographer: Mosbatho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)