Angola taking delivery of Ilyushin Il-76s

The Força Aérea Nacional de Angola (FANA, Angola Air Force) has taken delivery of another Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft, most likely from ex-Belarussian stocks.

Some of the FANA Il-76 transporters were refurbished at the Belotserkovsky Cargo Aircraft Complex (BVAK) in Bila Tserkva, central Ukraine, to extend their operational life in December 2017.

This latest Il-76TD delivery with registration T-914 was seen in Minsk (Belarus) in June 2022, wearing FANA markings. Three Il-76s are believed to being acquired. On 9 June, the aircraft was tracked by FlightRadar24 over Egypt after departing Belarus on what was presumably its delivery flight.

It appears Angola may be acquiring several additional Il-76s. Il-76 registration T-912 was seen over Belarus in April and was first observed in February this year, indicating the first of a new batch. Other Il-76TDs in Angolan service are T-908, T-909, T-910, and T-911, so based on the registrations, this indicates three additional aircraft are being delivered.

The FANA has been flying Il-76s for some 20 years, and with only seven are currently operational, eight have been scrapped, and one is in storage. The aircraft are flown by the Esquadra de Transportes which is based at Base Aérea No 1 (Luanda/4 de Fevereiro).

The air force relies on An-12, An-24, An-72, C212 and Il-76 aircraft for transport duties. It recently acquired a couple of Xian MA60s from China. Just recently, Angola confirmed an order from 2018 for three Airbus C295 multi-mission aircraft. Two aircraft will be specifically equipped for maritime surveillance and one for transport missions.

Photo by Maxim Litvinko (via Russianplanes.net)