The
Kuwait Air Force (
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya) is the air arm of the
State of KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km and from east to west 170 km . The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a...
. The Air Force headquarters is located at Al Mubarak Air Base, with the remaining forces stationed at Air Defence Brigade,
Ali Al Salem Air BaseAli Al Salem Air Base is a military airbase situated in Kuwait, approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Southern Watch and Operation Telic / Operation Iraqi Freedom hosted Royal Air Force , United States Air Force and...
and
Ahmed Al Jaber Air BaseAhmed Al Jaber Air Base is a Kuwait Air Force installation with part designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies.Sitting 75 miles south of the Iraqi border, the base has supported active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 and F-16 fighter units, along...
. The Kuwait Air Force numbers approximately 2,500 officer and enlisted personnel.
The Kuwait Air Force was formed with
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
assistance in the early 1950s. It was initially equipped with British aircraft including the
Hawker HunterThe Hawker Hunter was a UK jet fighter aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. The Hunter served for many years with the Royal Air Force and was widely exported, serving with 19 air forces. A total of 1,972 Hunters were produced by Hawker Siddeley and under licence....
fighter and BAC Lightning interceptor.
In the 1970s replacement interceptor aircraft were supplied by
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
(
Dassault Mirage F1The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French single-seat air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation as a successor of the Mirage III family. The Mirage F1 entered service in the French Air Force in the early seventies...
), and ground attack aircraft were acquired from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(
Douglas A-4 SkyhawksThe Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...
).
In the 1980s the need for training aircraft was filled by the BAe Hawk and the Shorts Tucano.
The
Kuwait Air Force (
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
:
al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya) is the air arm of the
State of KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km and from east to west 170 km . The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a...
. The Air Force headquarters is located at Al Mubarak Air Base, with the remaining forces stationed at Air Defence Brigade,
Ali Al Salem Air BaseAli Al Salem Air Base is a military airbase situated in Kuwait, approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Southern Watch and Operation Telic / Operation Iraqi Freedom hosted Royal Air Force , United States Air Force and...
and
Ahmed Al Jaber Air BaseAhmed Al Jaber Air Base is a Kuwait Air Force installation with part designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies.Sitting 75 miles south of the Iraqi border, the base has supported active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 and F-16 fighter units, along...
. The Kuwait Air Force numbers approximately 2,500 officer and enlisted personnel.
History
The Kuwait Air Force was formed with
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
assistance in the early 1950s. It was initially equipped with British aircraft including the
Hawker HunterThe Hawker Hunter was a UK jet fighter aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s. The Hunter served for many years with the Royal Air Force and was widely exported, serving with 19 air forces. A total of 1,972 Hunters were produced by Hawker Siddeley and under licence....
fighter and BAC Lightning interceptor.
In the 1970s replacement interceptor aircraft were supplied by
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
(
Dassault Mirage F1The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French single-seat air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation as a successor of the Mirage III family. The Mirage F1 entered service in the French Air Force in the early seventies...
), and ground attack aircraft were acquired from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(
Douglas A-4 SkyhawksThe Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...
).
In the 1980s the need for training aircraft was filled by the BAe Hawk and the Shorts Tucano. The delivery of the Tucano was delayed by the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
During the
Invasion of KuwaitThe Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, and perhaps more appropriately as Iraqi abolition of Kuwait was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait which subsequently led to direct...
, the Kuwait Air Force attempted to defend Kuwait before most of its aircraft, including
Lockheed HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. Capable of takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft...
transport aircraft were evacuated to
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south...
.
After the first Persian Gulf War the air force was re-organised and the
McDonnell-Douglas F-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. The F/A-18 was derived from the YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of...
replaced the Mirages and Skyhawks.
Aircraft inventory
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
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|
Aerospatale SA-330 PumaThe Aérospatiale Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France under the designation SA.330.-Development:...
|| || Transport helicopter || SA-330H || 4
|-----
|
Aerospatiale SA-342 GazelleThe Gazelle is a French-designed helicopter, created by the company Sud Aviation, which later became Aérospatiale.-Design and development:The Aérospatiale Gazelle originated in a French Army requirement for a lightweight utility helicopter...
|| || Attack helicopter || SA-342K || 13
|-----
| BAE Hawk || || Advanced Trainer || Mk.64 || 10
|-----
|
McDonnell Douglas AH-64D Longbow ApacheThe AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with reverse-tricycle landing gear, and tandem cockpit for a crew of two. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra...
|| || Attack helicopter || - || 16
|-----
|
Lockheed L-100 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. Capable of takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft...
|| || Transport || - || 3
|-----
|
Eurocopter AS-332 Super PumaThe Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter marketed for both civil and military use. Originally designed and built by Aérospatiale, it is an enlarged and re-engined version of the original Aérospatiale Puma...
|| || Transport helicopter || AS-332M || 5
|-----
| McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet || || Multi role || C\D || 39
|-----
| Shorts Tucano || || Lead-in trainer || Mk.52 || 8
|-----
| Sikorsky S-92 Helicopter || || Transport Helicopter|| S-92A || 2
|-----
|}