Força Aérea das Forças de Defesa Popular de Uganda

Força Aérea das Forças de Defesa Popular de Uganda

Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces – Air Force (UPDF-AF)

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force traces its line to the Uganda Army Air Force that Israel helped found at Entebbe in 1964, which lost 11 MiGs on the ground to the Israeli raid of July 1976 and was wiped out in the 1978–79 war with Tanzania; rebuilt from almost nothing after 1986, it now flies Su-30MK2 fighters, Mi-24 and Mi-28 attack helicopters and L-39 trainers, and has used them over the Congo, Somalia and South Sudan.

0Aeronaves de combate
5Bases aéreas ativas
1964Fundada
7Tipos aposentados
PaísUgandaFundada1964StatusAtivoSedeEntebbeComandanteCharles Okidi
A história

The Uganda air force story: Israeli beginnings, the Entebbe raid, defeat by Tanzania and Sukhois over the Congo

1964–1971: an air force built with Israeli help

Uganda became independent in 1962 with an army but no air arm. According to the Wikipedia history of the Uganda Army, the Uganda Army Air Force was established in 1964 at Entebbe, after cooperation with Israel was stepped up in late July 1964 to create armoured forces and an air force. Israelis supplied and trained much of the army and upgraded Entebbe airport, and an Israeli company later built the air base at Nakasongola. As Uganda’s alignment shifted, aircraft and training also came from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Libya; the MiG-17s were ex-Czech. The arrangement ended abruptly: Idi Amin, who had taken power in 1971 and visited Israel that year, expelled all 470 Israelis by the end of March 1972. The detail of the first Israeli-supplied types and their numbers could not be confirmed in the sources reached and is left out here.

1971–1976: Amin’s air force and the first raids on Tanzania

Under Amin the air force grew in size but not in quality. Wikipedia’s operator list records up to 18 MiG-21MF fighters and three two-seat MiG-21Us delivered in the early 1970s, alongside MiG-17s and MiG-15UTI trainers. Its account of the service describes corruption, infighting and falling foreign aid, and a quick succession of commanders: Wilson Toko, who died in 1973, Smuts Guweddeko, Zeddy Maruru, and from 1975 Amin himself. The first combat came in September 1972, when Ugandan exiles invaded from Tanzania. After the invasion failed, the Uganda Army Air Force bombed the Tanzanian lakeside towns of Mwanza and Bukoba from 18 to 20 September; Wikipedia puts the Tanzanian civilian dead at between 9 and 20. Libya flew in 399 soldiers on five C-130s, a first sign of the alliance that would matter in 1979.

4 July 1976: the night at Entebbe

On 27 June 1976 an Air France airliner was hijacked and flown to Entebbe, where Amin’s government let the hijackers hold the hostages in the old terminal. On the night of 3–4 July Israeli transport aircraft landed a commando force that freed most of them. To stop any pursuit, the raiders destroyed the Ugandan fighters parked on the airfield: Britannica and Wikipedia both give 11 Soviet-supplied MiGs, MiG-17s and MiG-21s, and Wikipedia’s MiG-21 list says seven of them were MiG-21s. Other accounts range up to 30 aircraft. Wikipedia counts 45 Ugandan soldiers killed; Uganda’s own figures were not found. The aftermath was brutal on the ground: a hostage left in a Kampala hospital, Dora Bloch, was murdered, and according to Wikipedia 245 Kenyans in Uganda were killed in reprisal for Kenya’s help to Israel. The air force was rebuilt with Libyan and Soviet support.

1978–1986: wiped out by Tanzania, then no air force at all

By late 1978, according to the account summarised by Wikipedia, the air force had several dozen MiG-21MFs, MiG-21UMs, MiG-17s and MiG-15UTIs, many of them not combat-ready. When Uganda invaded the Kagera salient in October 1978, MiGs bombed Bukoba on 18 October with little effect, and later attempts to knock out Tanzania’s BM-21 rocket launchers failed against effective anti-aircraft fire. Wikipedia says losses in February 1979 effectively eliminated the air force as a fighting force. When Tanzanian troops took Entebbe on 7 April 1979, a dozen MiGs were disabled on the runway and either nine MiG-21s, or seven MiG-21s and two or three MiG-17s, were seized; between 200 and 365 air force personnel surrendered. Amin’s fall left an air arm that existed only on paper; the successor army ran a few helicopters during the bush war, and by 1994 the air force had about 100 people.

1986–2012: MiG-21s from Poland, helicopters against the LRA, Sukhois from Russia

The National Resistance Army that took power in 1986 had never had an air wing, as Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba recalled in December 2025. Rebuilding was slow. In 1998 Uganda bought six MiG-21bis and a MiG-21UM from Poland, which Israel Aerospace Industries upgraded from 1999; three were lost in crashes in 2003, 2006 and 2008. Attack helicopters mattered more: Lt Gen Charles Okidi said in 2023 that they "changed the tides of war" against the Lord’s Resistance Army, and helicopters led Operation Lightning Thunder against Joseph Kony in December 2008. The Defence Forces Act of 2005 gave the air force its present legal form. Its boldest purchase came next: six Su-30MK2s, ordered in 2010 for US$635 million according to SIPRI data quoted by Wikipedia and delivered from 2011, with L-39 jet trainers from Bulgaria and a flying school at Gulu from 2011.

2021–2026: strikes in the Congo, losses in Somalia and a new generation of aircraft

Since 30 November 2021 the air force has flown in Operation Shujaa, the joint campaign with the Congolese army against the Allied Democratic Forces, opening it with air strikes on ADF camps. President Museveni reported in October 2023 that "fighter-bombers" had hit targets up to 200 km inside the Congo; Ugandan media say the Su-30s flew such strikes. Russia delivered Mi-28NE attack helicopters from June 2022, and a Russian joint venture began overhauling Mi-24s at Nakasongola. The cost has been visible: two pilots died in a helicopter crash at Ntoroko on 2 January 2024, and a Mi-24 crashed at Mogadishu on 2 July 2025, killing five. In March 2025 the UPDF deployed to South Sudan, where air strikes have been attributed to Ugandan forces as well as to the South Sudanese government. The MiG-21s were retired in 2023–24, a Let 410 transport fleet arrived in July 2026, and the L-39 Skyfox has been demonstrated. No official fleet count is published.

Under Amin the air force grew in size but not in quality. Wikipedia’s operator list records up to 18 MiG-21MF fighters and three two-seat MiG-21Us delivered in the early 1970s, alongside MiG-17s and MiG-15UTI trainers.Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force · verified 2026-10-01

À primeira vista

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force in numbers

Serviço

Nome oficial
Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces – Air Force (UPDF-AF)The spelling on the UPDF’s own site, with the apostrophe after "Peoples". English Wikipedia titles its article "Uganda Air Force". No official Swahili name was found
Fundada
1964As the Uganda Army Air Force, at Entebbe, with Israeli help. An exact founding date was not found. The present service was established in law by the Defence Forces Act, 2005
Parte de
Uganda Peoples’ Defence ForcesOne of the UPDF’s services. The Chief of Defence Forces is Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba; the Commander-in-Chief is President Yoweri Museveni
Sede
EntebbeAir Force Headquarters is at Entebbe, which uses the old Entebbe airport. Moving it to Nakasongola has been planned for years but was reported incomplete in 2024
Comandante
Lt Gen Charles OkidiCommander Air Force since November 2022; previously Chief of Staff Air Force from December 2019. Deputy: Maj Gen David Biheimaiso Isimbwa
Chefe de Gabinete
Brig Gen James R. ItungoAs listed on the UPDF Air Force page in 2026

Força

Pessoal
About 1,200 (estimate)IISS-based figure quoted by defenceWeb and Wikipedia; the UPDF does not publish an air force headcount. Wikipedia says the air force had about 100 people in 1994
Aeronaves de combate
  • Sukhoi Su-30MK2 — 5–6

Six were ordered and delivered; defenceWeb counted five in 2019, Wikipedia six in 2024. The MiG-21s were retired between late 2023 and late 2024. IISS-based lists also showed five MiG-23BNs whose status is unknown

Helicópteros de ataque
  • Mil Mi-24 / Mi-35 — about 5–6 (estimates range to 11)
  • Mil Mi-28NE — 3–4

One Mi-24 was lost at Mogadishu on 2 July 2025. Mi-28 figures: three seen in June 2022, four in service with two on order according to Wikipedia

helicópteros de transporte
  • Mil Mi-17 / Mi-8 — 4–10
  • Bell 206 / AB 206 — 3–5
  • Bell UH-1H / 205 — 5
  • Bell 212 — 2 (2019)

Wikipedia and the 2019 IISS-based defenceWeb list differ; the higher figures are Wikipedia’s

Treinadores
  • Aero L-39ZA/ZO — 3–12
  • Cessna 172 — number not published

defenceWeb’s 2019 list gives 3 L-39ZA, Wikipedia’s UPDF article 8 and its air force article 12; at least six were flown at Gulu in November 2019

Aeronave de transporte
  • Let 410 — commissioned July 2026, number not stated
  • Cessna 208 Caravan — 2
  • Beechcraft King Air 350 — 1

Let 410 per the UPDF; the others per Wikipedia

Orçamento de defesa
About US$1.1 billion (2024)Whole UPDF, about 1.8 per cent of GDP according to Wikipedia; Military Africa gives about US$1.066 billion for 2021. No separate air force budget is published

Infraestrutura

bases aéreas
  • Entebbe — Air Force Headquarters and main operating base
  • Nakasongola — Air Force College and helicopter MRO plant
  • Gulu — jet and pilot training
  • Soroti — Air Force wing, Mi-28NE training

Compiled from UPDF news and defenceWeb; no official list of air bases is published

Nakasongola runway
3,000–3,600 mWikipedia gives a 3,000 m runway (02/20); The Observer reported 3.6 km in 2024. Built by an Israeli company in the 1970s
Helicopter overhaul
Proheli plant, NakasongolaCommissioned on 23 January 2022; the first overhauled Mi-24 was handed over on 18 April 2023. A joint venture of Uganda’s National Enterprise Corporation and a Russian partner
Treinamento
Uganda Air Force College, NakasongolaGraduated pilots, aviation security, Raven drone and ground-based air defence personnel on 19 September 2026. Flying training at Gulu since 2011
Regional standby force
Air rescue pledged to the Eastern Africa Standby ForceAnnounced in August 2026; aircraft and numbers not stated
Fighter support
HAL (India) for the Su-30Memorandum of understanding signed in Kampala in March 2022 for maintenance and technical support

Estrutura

How the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force is organised

One of the services of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, commanded from Entebbe by Lt Gen Charles Okidi since November 2022, with an Air Force College at Nakasongola, jet training at Gulu and a helicopter wing at Soroti. The Su-30MK2, five or six of the six delivered by 2012, has been Uganda’s only fighter since the MiG-21s were retired in 2023–24, beside Mi-24/35 and Mi-28NE attack helicopters. The UPDF does not publish squadron designations or which aircraft fly from which base.

CO

Tenente-GeneralCharles OkidiCommander Air Force (CAF) · in office since 2022
Força Aérea das Forças de Defesa Popular de Uganda
Sede

Quartel-General da Força Aérea

Entebbe

One of the services of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, with its headquarters on the old airport side of Entebbe International Airport. Lt Gen Charles Okidi, a long-serving presidential pilot, has been Commander Air Force since November 2022; the UPDF lists Maj Gen David Biheimaiso Isimbwa as his deputy and Brig Gen James R. Itungo as Chief of Staff. A move of the headquarters to Nakasongola has long been planned, but The Observer reported in January 2024 that it had not happened.

linha de frente

Su-30MK2 fighters

Six Su-30MK2s were ordered in 2010 for US$635 million, according to SIPRI data quoted by Wikipedia, and delivered by 2012; five or six are reported in service. They have been Uganda’s only fighters since the MiG-21s were retired between late 2023 and late 2024. The unit that flies them and its base are not published; Ugandan media report strikes on ADF positions in the Congo.

Helicópteros

Soroti Air Force Wing

Soroti

The helicopter wing at Soroti, where 12 pilots and 52 engineers passed out from an eight-month Mi-28NE course on 22 March 2023 under Lt Col Collins Nkwasibwe; the UPDF said the wing would be elevated to manage an eastern-sector aviation deployment centre. The first three Mi-28NEs were seen at Entebbe in June 2022. Mi-24/35s, about five or six by Wikipedia’s count, are not tied to a base in the sources.

Helicópteros

UPDF helicopter detachment, Somalia

Mogadishu (Somalia)

Mi-24s supporting the Ugandan contingent of the African Union mission, known from the UPDF’s statement on the loss of Mi-24 AUO-015 at Mogadishu on 2 July 2025, which killed five of the eight aboard. The detachment’s size and start date are not published.

Treinamento

Uganda Air Force College

Nakasongola

Commanded by Brig Gen Allan Kalanzi; on 19 September 2026 it graduated pilots and aviation security, Raven drone and ground-based air defence personnel.

Treinamento

Flying training at Gulu

Gulu

Jet and pilot training since 2011, with L-39s from Bulgaria, Cessna 172s and a simulator and training centre from Bulgaria’s Jotov & Son; defenceWeb saw about six L-39s at the November 2019 graduation. The unit designation is not published.

Apoiar

Proheli helicopter MRO plant

Nakasongola

A joint venture of the UPDF’s National Enterprise Corporation and Russia’s Pro Heli International Services, unveiled in January 2022; the first Mi-24 overhauled there was handed over on 18 April 2023.

Transporte

Aeronaves de transporte de asa fixa

Let 410s, supplied through OMNIPOL and commissioned on 10 July 2026 for transport, air ambulance, VIP and paratroop roles, in a number the UPDF did not state; Wikipedia adds two Cessna 208 Caravans and a King Air 350. Their unit and base are not published.


Em serviço

What the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force flies today

Cada tipo de cobrança, com link para sua página no Livro das Feras, quando houver. Os números indicam as aeronaves registradas, não as aeronaves disponíveis em um determinado dia.

Tipo Papel Em serviço Desde Unidades Notas
Sukhoi Su-30MK2Em serviço Caça multifuncional 2011 5–6. Six ordered in 2010 and delivered by 2012 (SIPRI data quoted by Wikipedia), six in service in 2024 per Wikipedia; defenceWeb counted five in November 2019.

Mais

No loss was found in the sources checked.

Mil Mi-24 / Mi-35Em serviço Helicóptero de ataque About 5–11.

Mais

Wikipedia: 5 (after a loss in July 2025) or 6 Mi-35 in 2024; defenceWeb’s 2019 IISS-based list: 4 Mi-24P/Mi-35P, 6 Mi-24PN and 1 Mi-24V/Mi-35 (11); GlobalSecurity said five of six were non-operational at one point. Serviceability, not ownership, explains much of the spread.

Mil Mi-28NE Night HunterEm serviço Helicóptero de ataque 2022 3–4 in service, 2 more on order according to Wikipedia. Three were photographed at Entebbe on 15 June 2022, with three more reported en route.
Mil Mi-17 and Mi-8Em serviço helicóptero de transporte 4–10. Wikipedia: 10 Mi-17; defenceWeb’s 2019 list: 1 Mi-8MT/Mi-17 and 3 Mi-8T.
Bell UH-1H / Bell 205Em serviço helicóptero utilitário 5 Five per Wikipedia (UH-1H) and defenceWeb (Bell 205).
Bell 206 JetRanger (AB 206)Em serviço Helicóptero leve 3–5. Wikipedia: 5; defenceWeb 2019: 3 AB 206.
Sino 212Em serviço helicóptero utilitário 2 Two in the 2019 IISS-based defenceWeb list; not in Wikipedia’s table, so current status is uncertain.
Aero L-39ZA/ZO AlbatrosEm serviço Jato de treinamento e ataque leve 2010 3–12. defenceWeb 2019: 3 L-39ZA; Wikipedia’s UPDF article: 8 L-39ZO; its air force article: 12 L-39ZA. At least six were flying at Gulu in November 2019.
Cessna 172Em serviço Treinador principal
FFA AS 202 BravoEm serviço Treinador principal 1 One in the 2019 IISS-based defenceWeb list; current status uncertain.
Seja L-410Em serviço Transporte leve 2026 Number not stated by the UPDF.
Cessna 208 CaravanEm serviço Transporte utilitário 2 Duas, segundo a Wikipédia.
Beechcraft King Air 350Em serviço Utility and VIP transport 1 Uma por Wikipédia.
SC.7 Skyvan curtoEm serviço Transporte leve 1 One in Wikipedia’s UPDF article; not in its air force article, so current status is uncertain.
UH-1H5
Sino 2122
C2082
AS 2021
King Air1
Skyvan1

Sob encomenda

Tipo Encomendado Primeira entrega Notas
Mil Mi-28NE Night HunterSob encomenda 2 Two on order according to Wikipedia; not confirmed by the UPDF. Delivery dates were not found.

Mais

The L-39 Skyfox shown at Entebbe in December 2025 has not been ordered as far as the UPDF has announced.


Anteriormente operado

Every type the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force has retired

7 types, from the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM (MiG-21-2000) to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM (MiG-21-2000). Os números máximos representam as aeronaves incorporadas à frota ao longo de toda a sua vida útil, e não a força total da frota em uma data específica.

Tipo Papel Pico Servido Substituído por Notas
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis and MiG-21UM (MiG-21-2000) Lutador 7 1998–2024 Su-30MK2 Six MiG-21bis and one MiG-21UM bought from Poland in 1998 (GlobalSecurity: seven in 1999). Five recorded in service in December 2021.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF and MiG-21U/UM Lutador Up to 18 MiG-21MF and three MiG-21U in the early 1970s, with replacements after 1976; Wikipedia’s service history speaks of "several dozen" MiG-21MF, MiG-21UM, MiG-17 and MiG-15UTI together by late 1978.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Caça-bombardeiro Number not established; "some ex-Czech".
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI Treinador a jato Number not established.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN Caça-bombardeiro 5 Five in IISS-based lists of 2012 and 2019, believed ex-Libyan; not in Wikipedia’s inventory. Whether they ever flew in Ugandan service, and when they left, was not established.
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260W Treinador básico e ataque leve 4 Four in the 2019 IISS-based defenceWeb list; Wikipedia’s air force article now lists the type as retired. Retirement date not found.
Bell 214ST helicóptero de transporte médio Número não encontrado.

bases aéreas

Where the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force flies from

Os pinos pretos indicam bases ativas; nenhum dos aeródromos listados foi fechado. Entebbe, where the air force was founded in 1964 and lost 11 MiGs to the Israeli raid of July 1976, is still its headquarters, on the old airport side of Entebbe International Airport. Nakasongola, built by Israelis in the 1970s, has the longest runway and has long been named as the next headquarters; Gulu and Soroti share their runways with civil flying. Mogadishu is listed as the foreign base of the helicopters serving with the African Union mission. Coordinates are from English Wikipedia because the Uganda AIP could not be reached.

Base aérea ativa Fechado ou reservadoClique em um marcador para abrir a página inicial.

Uganda

One of the 5 bases above sits outside Uganda, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas base.

Base OACI Status Pista Unidades e aeronaves
Aden Adde International AirportMogadishuBanaadir (Mogadishu), Somalia HCMM Ativo 05/233,590 m
  • UPDF helicopter detachment, Somalia: Mil Mi-24
EntebbeDistrito de Wakiso, Região Central HUEN Ativo 17/353.658 m12/302.408 m
GuluGulu District, Northern Region HUGU Ativo 17/353,135 m
NakasongolaNakasongola District, Central Region HUNK Ativo 02/203.000 m
Soroti Air Force WingSoroti District, Eastern Region HUSO Ativo 05/231,860 m09/27750 mlaterite
  • Soroti Air Force Wing: Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter

Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.


Ordem de batalha

Who is stationed where in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force

Unidades voadoras por base, unidades atuais primeiro. The UPDF does not publish squadron numbers, so units are listed by what they do: the headquarters at Entebbe, the Air Force College and the Proheli overhaul plant at Nakasongola, flying training at Gulu since 2011 and the helicopter wing at Soroti. The Uganda Army Air Force of 1964–1979 is listed at Entebbe and marked as former. Where only one source ties an aircraft type to a base, the entry says so.

Entebbe Air Base · HUENAir Force Headquarters, Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force
Quartel-General da Força AéreaSede do serviço · ativa
UPDF Air Force aircraft at EntebbeUnidades voadoras · ativas
Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter
Exército e Força Aérea de Uganda1964–1979
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
Nakasongola · HUNKForça Aérea das Forças de Defesa Popular de Uganda
Uganda Air Force CollegeTraining college · active
Proheli helicopter MRO plantHelicopter overhaul plant (joint venture) · active
Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-8 / Mi-17
Gulu · HUGUForça Aérea das Forças de Defesa Popular de Uganda
Air force flying training at GuluTreinamento de voo · ativo
Aero L-39 Albatros, Cessna 172
Soroti Air Force Wing · HUSOSoroti Air Force Wing, Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force
Soroti Air Force WingAsa de helicóptero · ativa
Mil Mi-28NE Night Hunter
Aden Adde International Airport (Mogadishu) · HCMMAfrican Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia
UPDF helicopter detachment, SomaliaDeployed helicopter detachment · active
Mil Mi-24

Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.


Linha do tempo

Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1964

The Uganda Army Air Force is established at Entebbe; in late July cooperation with Israel is increased to set up an air force.

1972

By the end of March all 470 Israelis are expelled. 18–20 September: the air force bombs Mwanza and Bukoba after an exile invasion from Tanzania.

1976

3–4 July: Israeli commandos free the hostages at Entebbe and destroy 11 MiG-17s and MiG-21s on the ground.

1978

18 October: Ugandan MiGs bomb Bukoba in the opening weeks of the Uganda–Tanzania War.

1979

February: heavy losses leave the air force effectively eliminated. 7 April: Tanzanian troops take Entebbe and seize the remaining MiGs; up to 365 air force personnel surrender.

1986

The National Resistance Army, which had no air wing, takes power; rebuilding starts from almost nothing.

1998

Six MiG-21bis and one MiG-21UM are bought from Poland; IAI upgrades them from October 1999.

2005

The Defence Forces Act gives the air force its present legal form. 30 July: the presidential Mi-172 crashes in southern Sudan, killing John Garang and seven Ugandan crew.

2008

14 December: Operation Lightning Thunder opens with an air strike on Joseph Kony’s camp in Garamba.

2011

The first Su-30MK2s arrive; six are delivered by 2012. Jet pilot training starts at Gulu with L-39s from Bulgaria.

2012

12 August: two Mi-24s heading for Somalia crash in Kenya, with ten servicemen aboard; a third helicopter comes down on Mount Kenya and its seven crew are rescued.

2021

30 November: air strikes on ADF camps in the Congo open Operation Shujaa.

2022

23 January: the Nakasongola helicopter overhaul plant opens. June: the first Mi-28NEs arrive. November: Lt Gen Charles Okidi becomes Commander Air Force.

2024

2 January: two pilots die in a helicopter crash at Ntoroko. The last MiG-21s are retired by late 2024.

2025

March: the UPDF deploys to South Sudan. 2 July: Mi-24 AUO-015 crashes at Mogadishu, killing five. 1 December: an L-39 Skyfox is demonstrated at Entebbe.

2026

10 July: Let 410 transports are commissioned. 19 September: the Air Force College at Nakasongola graduates pilots and air defence personnel.


Histórico de combate

Todas as guerras em que a Força Aérea das Forças de Defesa do Povo de Uganda lutou.

Missões e perdas onde constam nos registros, e um espaço em branco honesto onde não constam.

7conflitos
1972Primeiro
15Aeronave perdida
47Morto
  • A invasão de Uganda em 1972 1972 Bombed Tanzanian border towns in retaliation for the exile invasion
  • Operação Entebbe 1976 Did not fight in the air; its fighters were destroyed on the ground by the Israeli raiders
  • A Guerra Uganda-Tanzânia 1978–1979 Bombed Tanzanian towns and troops, and tried to destroy Tanzanian rocket launchers
  • A guerra contra o Exército de Resistência do Senhor 2002–2009 Attack helicopters supported ground forces against the LRA; aircraft opened Operation Lightning Thunder in Garamba in December 2008
  • Missões da União Africana na Somália 2012– Helicopter support, including combat escort, for the Ugandan contingent of the African Union mission

Abra o registro completo do combate


Os fabricantes

Who built the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force fleet

Cada empresa responsável pelas aeronaves desta página tem sua própria página: a história, cada tipo que construiu, os números e as outras forças aéreas que as operam.


Perguntas e Respostas

Everything people ask about the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force

What is Uganda’s air force called?
Officially the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces – Air Force (UPDF-AF), as the UPDF spells it on its own site; English Wikipedia calls it the Uganda Air Force. Under Idi Amin it was the Uganda Army Air Force. It is one of the services of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, established in law by the Defence Forces Act, 2005.
What fighter jets does Uganda have?
Seu único caça é o Sukhoi Su-30MK2: six were ordered in 2010 and delivered by 2012, and five or six are reported in service. The MiG-21bis fleet bought from Poland in 1998 was retired between late 2023 and late 2024. Pilots train on the L-39 at Gulu.
How much did Uganda pay for its Su-30s?
US$635 million for six, according to SIPRI data quoted by Wikipedia. Wikipedia records that President Museveni went ahead against technical advice not to spend scarce foreign exchange reserves on it. Higher figures have been reported in the Ugandan press but were not confirmed for this page.
When was the Uganda Air Force founded?
In 1964, as the Uganda Army Air Force at Entebbe, with Israeli help. It was destroyed in the 1978–79 war with Tanzania and rebuilt after 1986; the present service was established by the Defence Forces Act of 2005.
How many Ugandan aircraft were destroyed in the Entebbe raid?
Eleven MiG fighters, according to Britannica and Wikipedia: MiG-17s and MiG-21s destroyed on the ground by Israeli commandos on the night of 3–4 July 1976, seven of them MiG-21s per Wikipedia’s operator list. Some accounts give up to 30. Wikipedia counts 45 Ugandan soldiers killed.
What happened to Uganda’s air force in the war with Tanzania?
It was wiped out. Ugandan MiGs bombed Bukoba in October 1978, but Tanzanian air defences took a heavy toll, and Wikipedia says the air force was effectively eliminated by February 1979. When Tanzanian troops took Entebbe on 7 April 1979 they seized the remaining MiGs and between 200 and 365 air force personnel surrendered.
Does Uganda use its air force in the Congo?
Yes. Operation Shujaa against the ADF began with Ugandan air strikes on 30 November 2021, and President Museveni said "fighter-bombers" struck targets up to 200 km inside the Congo on 4 October 2023. Ugandan media report the Su-30s have flown such strikes. Results are the government’s claims.
What attack helicopters does Uganda fly?
O Mi-24/Mi-35, of which about five or six are reported, and the Mi-28NE Night Hunter, delivered from June 2022, with three or four in service and two more on order according to Wikipedia. A Mi-24 crashed at Mogadishu on 2 July 2025, killing five; Mi-24s are overhauled at Nakasongola.
Who commands the Uganda Air Force?
Lieutenant General Charles Okidi, Commander Air Force since November 2022 and a long-serving presidential pilot. His deputy is Maj Gen David Biheimaiso Isimbwa and the Chief of Staff Brig Gen James R. Itungo. Headquarters is at Entebbe.
Where are Uganda’s air bases?
Entebbe is the headquarters and main base, using the old Entebbe airport. Nakasongola, built by an Israeli company in the 1970s, houses the Air Force College and the helicopter overhaul plant; Gulu trains pilots and Soroti has an air force wing. No official list of air bases is published.



Fontes e Leitura Complementar

Todos os fatos foram verificados.

Dados verificados em 01/10/2026. As páginas da Ordem de Batalha são geradas a partir de um único conjunto de dados; se algum número aqui divergir de uma página do Livro das Feras, esta página será considerada a mais recente.

Photographs: Photo: Indonesian Air Force Information Service (Dispenau) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr., U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Oleg V. Belyakov – AirTeamImages / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Mfield – Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5) · Photo: Hans Hillewaert / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Articseahorse / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Md Shaifuzzaman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Srđan Popović / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Capt. R. L. Pearce / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Shadman Samee from Dhaka, Bangladesh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Balon Greyjoy / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)