1960–1972: from army air arm to air force

Gabon became independent from France in 1960, and its air arm, according to Wikipedia, traces its origins to the early years after independence; a training centre at Mouila was established in 1966. On 25 January 1972 a presidential decree signed by President Omar Bongo made the Gabonese Air Force an official branch of the armed forces, and in January 1980, Wikipedia says, it adopted a combat structure at Bongo’s initiative. Its early fleet was French and practical: Wikipedia lists among former types the Fouga CM.170 Magister jet trainer, Nord 262 and Embraer EMB 110 transports, a Fokker F28, Reims-built Cessna 337s, Alouette II helicopters and C-130H Hercules transports. Its headquarters is at Libreville, the capital.

1980–2008: the Mirage 5 years

Gabon’s first fighters were Dassault Mirage 5s. According to Wikipedia’s Mirage 5 article, Gabon initially ordered three Mirage 5G fighters, two Mirage 5RG reconnaissance aircraft and two Mirage 5DG two-seat trainers; deliveries were completed in 1978 and the aircraft arrived in Libreville in 1980. In 1982 Gabon placed a follow-on order for four Mirage 5G-IIs and two Mirage 5DG-IIs, delivered until 1984. The sources checked record no combat use of the Mirages, and Wikipedia says they were officially retired in 2006–2008, when the second-hand Mirage F1s began to replace them. How many Mirage 5s were airworthy in their last years is not documented in the sources checked.

2006–2013: Mirage F1AZs from South Africa

The replacement came from South Africa. When the South African Air Force retired its Mirage F1AZs, the Paramount Group bought the surplus fleet, refurbished aircraft with Aerosud and resold them in Africa. Gabon received two F1AZs in August 2006 and two more in November 2007, defenceWeb reported, and by August 2010 six had been delivered. On 17 August 2010, for the fiftieth anniversary of independence, five of them flew over the military parade on the Libreville seafront, all flown by Gabonese pilots, defenceWeb reported. In 2013 South Africa also supplied two MB-326 Impala jets for pilot training, according to defenceWeb. Congo-Brazzaville received two aircraft from the same stock in 2010.

2023: a new transport and a change of power

On 26 June 2023 President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s cabinet approved a loan of 31 billion CFA francs (52 million US dollars) from Spain’s Santander Bank for an Airbus C295 transport, defenceWeb reported. The aircraft, TR-KJF, left Spain on 8 August and landed in Libreville on 11 August 2023. At that point defenceWeb described the rest of the fleet: a CN-235M first flown in 1991 and recently overhauled by Airbus in Spain, several C-130 Hercules and L-100s in storage, the six F1AZs, the two Impalas, a Puma, three Gazelles, an ATR 42 and a Falcon 900 for VIP use; the Republican Guard flew its own EC135s, EC120s and an EC225 Super Puma. Nineteen days after the C295 landed, on 30 August 2023, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and the Republican Guard took power without encountering resistance, according to Wikipedia.

2024–2026: what is known, and what is not

Since then the public record on the air force is thin. Oligui Nguema was sworn in as transitional president on 4 September 2023, elected in April 2025 with nearly 95 per cent of the vote and inaugurated on 3 May 2025. Wikipedia in 2026 lists six Mirage F1s, an ATR 42, the CN-235, the C295, one C-130H and helicopters (five Pumas, three Gazelles, two Alouette IIIs, a Super Puma and EC135s and EC120s that defenceWeb attributes to the Republican Guard). Reports that the Mirage F1 has been retired could not be confirmed: no official statement or published report of a retirement was found in the sources checked, and the type is still listed as current. How many of the Mirages are airworthy is not published. French military facilities at Libreville are covered in the stations dataset.