On 24 April 1951, following the end of the Second World War, Albania re-established its air force. An academy was founded in Vlorë in 1962. Albania cut diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1962, leading to a shift to China for the supply of necessary parts to maintain its MiGs. After World War II, the Albanian Air Force finally came into existence when Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first squadron was equipped with Yakovlev Yak-9s. The first jet fighter to enter service was the MiG-15, dating officially 15 May 1955, followed by the MiG-17. Some of the MiG-15s were Soviet fighters used and then withdrawn from the North Korean Air Force. The backbone of the Albanian Air Force jet fighters became MiG-19. 12 MiG-19PM were delivered by the USSR in October 1959 and on the same year pilots and specialists were sent in USSR to train with the all-weather interceptor MiG-19 PM. After the collapse of USSR-Albanian relations, significant numbers of Shenyang J-6 fighters, were acquired from China. In the early 1970s, Albania exchanged its lot of Soviet-made MiG-19PM fighters equipped for beam-ridingmissiles, with 12, more advanced, Chengdu J-7A fighters. Two of them were lost in incidents in the early 1970s, eight had problems with lack of batteries in the early 1980s. In total, during the 70s and early 80s, the Albanian Air Force was able to deploy 142 aircraft, between Shenyang J-6Cs, 12 Chengdu J-7As, a fighter squadron equipped with MiG-17s, a considerable number of MiG-15, and 4 Soviet-made Il-14 transport aircraft. A squadron of Shijiazhuang Y-5 was deployed in Tirana and the Air Force Academy in Vlora had 2 squadrons of Yak-18 for basic pilot training purposes. The helicopter component consisted in 18 Harbin Z-5 helicopters based in Farka Tirana, meanwhile there was a single prototype of a light H-5 bomber based in Rinas. Due to the collapse of relations between Albania and the Chinese, maintenance became extremely difficult and the number of deadly incidents involving Mikoyan fighters increased. Despite Albanian efforts and some initial success in repairing the engines of the MiGs, the lack of specific jet fuel forced authorities to start production locally, resulting in low-quality production. The fuel shortened the lifespan of the jet engines and was often blamed as the main reason for several deadly incidents. 35 Albanian pilots lost their lives from 1955 to 2005, mainly due to MiG mechanical failures.
Recent history
Following the fall of communism in Albania in 1990, the air force had 200 jets and 40 helicopters, and four Il-14 transport planes. During the 1997 uprising in Albania, seven MiGs were destroyed and their parts were stolen. In the early 90s, in an effort to keep the MiGs flying, the Albanian Air Force received spare parts from Bulgaria and engines from the ex-GDR. By 2004, Albania still had 117 J-6C aircraft, although mostly were not operational and only 12 Chengdu J-7A. The Albanian fighter jets were finally withdrawn from active service in late 2004 after the last deadly incident involving a J-6C during take-off from the military area at Mother Teresa Airport in Tirana. By 2006, Albania had scrapped over half of its Z-5s and had signed a contract for the delivery of six Bolkow 105s over three years. This acquisition allowed air force to operate with 4 Y-5s, 7 B206s, 3 B205s, 6 Bolkow 105s. Currently, the Albanian Air Brigade does not operate any Soviet-era aircraft. Since 2011, 9 Shijiazhuang Y-5 have been retired from service. In 2011, the air force sold four Il-14 transport planes for scrap. In 2016, 40 retired Albanian military aircraft were prepared for auction at a future date. The aircraft for sale include a military trainer aircraft, the Yak-18, and four types of military jets – MiG-15s, MiG-17s, MiG-19s, and MiG-21s – and four Mi-4 transport helicopters. The government said there has been interest from collectors and museums, and that it will sell another 100 jets if the auction is successful. The funds generated will be used to further modernise the Air Force.
The Albanian Air Force has retired all its fixed wing aircraft and now operates several types of helicopters. Also, close NATO Integration Air defense is no longer a priority for the Abanian military.
Retired aircraft
All Albanian fixed-wing aircraft were withdrawn from active service in 2005.
