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The Air Force is the Aerial Branch of a country's military. Its role is to conduct air warfare, wrestle control of the skies and achieve air supremacy in a bid to win a military engagement. The Air Force conducts aerial warfare which includes air interception, bombing raids, aerial interdiction, patroling the borders, attacking enemy air and ground troops etc.

Furthermore, the bulk of the Air Forces duties involves mostly un-glamorous but highly essential duties like Transportation of troops and materials, aerial refueling, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, Drones) operations, Spying on the enemy, rescuing downed airmen and crews, artillery observations, early warning flights and many more.

The term "Air Force" may refer to a combination of various aircrafts and rotorcrafts like bombers, fighter jets, helicopters, Trainers, Transport aircraft and others.

Although, most African Air Forces possess their own Surface to Air (SAM) missile defence or Anti-Ballistic missies and Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) such as Egypt. However, those are not considered a factor in ranking since accurate data on such assets are usually difficult to access.

The aim of the Air Force is to protect and defend the Nations territorial integrity against threats both 'FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC'. Unlike few African countries like Egypt, Algeria, South Africa e.t.c the Air Force is usually relegated to support roles: assisting the Army and Navy. The general role of most African Air Force are listed below:
 Ground support operations
 Close Air Support
 Reconnaissance
 Intelligence and Surveillance (ISR) flights
 Maritime & Border Patrol
 Training and Indoctrination
 Air Defense
 Military Transport
 Civil support
 Search and Rescue

Air -to-Air battle
Air to Air battles also known as Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM or Dogfighting) is the process of moving and turning tactically in the air to achieve a decisive advantage over an opponent. There have been few air to air battle incidents in Africa. Most African countries lack the combat experience in Dog-fighting.
Few actual air battles that has taken place in Africa includes:
 Itallian Invasion of Egypt (Egypt vs Italy)
 Second Battle of El Alamein (South Africa Vs Germany)
 Operation Ironclad in Madagasca (SAAF VS Germany)
 Border War (South Africa Vs Angola)
 Toyota War (Libya vs Chad)
 Boko Haram War (Nigeria Vs Chad)
 Ethiopian-Somali War
 Ethiopian-Eritrean War

 South African Air Force has the notable distinction of dropping the first and last bomb in Africa during World War II. 

Manpower
The personnel involved in the smooth running of an Air Force are not just pilots and airmen, there are also a significant number of people involved which supports the Air Force and are relied upon. Such personnels include Maintenance, weapons loaders, base defence, security, logistics, intelligence, Special Operations,Cyber Space support, medicals and others.

What makes a good Air Force?
There are neccesary factors that an Air Force must possess to enable it fulfil its role, this factors would be used to rank the contenders. The criterias used for ranking includes:
. Combat experience
. Equipment
. Training

Please note that all other aerial branches of the military which poseses aerial platforms such as Army Air Corps, Naval Aviation, Civil Aviation, Coast Guard Air Search and Rescue, Health Service, Fire Service are not listed UNLESS THEY PARTAKE IN ACTUAL COMBAT.

Combat Experience:
This is the amount of time the Air Force has undertaking aerial actions against other enemy air units. Combat experience is highly important for any military branch since military dexterity is usually measured through previous battle achievements. Most professional airmen would tell you that real combat breeds confidence. Combat experience which some call 'babtism of fire' builds trust among airmen.

The lessons learnt during actual aerial warfare (against foreign opponents) is invaluable in combat operations.--- African Military Blog

Equipment:
As the saying goes, 'you are only as good as your weapon'. The primary equipment of an Air Force is its fighter jets and Helicopters. Although, having superior fighter jets does not necessarily means superior Air Force rating, since other factors determine victory in aerial warfare such as:

 Presense of ground support systems like (Radar, Air Defense systems -ADS).
 Electronic Warfare
 Airbourne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C)

 Training:
If you train hard, you fight Easy. -- Nigerian Army 72nd Army Special force Infantry. 

Training: is very important in a military. You cannot really fight without training properly. Training enhances synergy between various units of Air Force. It helps build troops moral and confidence. There are various type of training such as Ab Initio, Basic, Advanced and Fast Jet training.
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No 10) Ethiopian Air Force
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The 1998 war with Eritrea provided enough combat experience to learn from for many years. However, Equipment serviceability is questionable and it's troops loyalty is usually in doubt.

Engagements:
Gugsa Wale's Rebellion
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Ethiopian Civil War
Ethiopian-Somali War
Ethiopian-Eritrean War

Aircraft: 80 aircraft
Fighter/Attack 48 units:
Su-25 FrogFoot, MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-27
Helicopter(s) 33 units:
Mil Mi-24 Hind, Mil Mi-8, Mil-Mi-6
Transport Aircraft: 34 units
Trainer aircraft: 14 units
Personnel: 3,000
Defense Budget (2012): $340,000,000 (0.8% GDP)

No 9) Tunisian Air Force

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A very proud force but quite small force in North African standard. However, it's aircraft fleet is focused more on air-defense.

Engagements:
War on Terror
Aircraft: 148 aircraft
Fighter/Attack 24 units:
Su-25 FrogFoot, MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-27
Helicopter(s) 83 units:
Mil Mi-24 Hind, Mil Mi-8, Mil-Mi-6
Transport Aircraft: 89 units
Trainer aircraft: 40 units
Personnel: 3,000
Defense Budget (2012): $746,000,000 (3.% GDP)
SIPRI.org

No 8.) Nigerian Air Force (NAF)
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The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is at its lowest posture in terms of air combat capability. Although, it does possesses
certain critical skills in other tactical areas like Ground Attack. The Dassault Alpha jet trainers configured for combat are currently it's workhorse. Some new aircraft are expected to arrive soon.

STRENGTHS
 High troops moral
 Excellent ground attack experience
 Airmen welfare

WEAKNESSES
 Lack of capable modern fighters
 Little or no sound policy making
 In sufficient attack helicopter fleet

Engagements:
Nigerian Civil War
Liberian Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
Niger Delta conflict
Invasion of the Gambia
Northern Mali War
Boko Haram War

Total Aircraft: 110 aircraft
Fighter/Attack 31 units:
Dassault Alpha Jet, Aero L-39, CH-3 UCAV, Chengdu F-7
Helicopter(s) 39 units:
Mil Mi-24/35 Hind, Mil Mi-17sh, Agusta Westland AS 332, AW 101, AW 139, AW 109
Transport Aircraft: 53 units
Trainer aircraft: 40 units
Personnel: 25,000
Defense Budget (2012): $2,100,000,000 (1% GDP)
SIPRI.org


Source: African Military Blog
https://www.africanmilitaryblog.com/2017/12/best-and-most-powerful-air-force-in-africa.html?m=1

Op the ranking is incomplete oo.. I dey wait to read the rest

Subscribed. I think SA might have the best Airforce though.

lionel4power:




No 9) Tunisian Air Force


A very proud force but quite small force in North African standard. However, it's aircraft fleet is focused more on air-defense.

Engagements:
War on Terror
Aircraft: 148 aircraft
Fighter/Attack 24 units:
Su-25 FrogFoot, MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-27
Helicopter(s) 83 units:
Mil Mi-24 Hind, Mil Mi-8, Mil-Mi-6
Transport Aircraft: 89 units
Trainer aircraft: 40 units
Personnel: 3,000
Defense Budget (2012): $746,000,000 (3.% GDP)
SIPRI.org

tunisian air force dont have any russian jet or helicopter su 25 , mig 21, 23 , su 27 , mi 24 , mi 8 , mi 6 ..)

here the tunisian air force current inventory

Fighters :

- Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II : 18
- Aero L-59T Super Albatros : 12

traning :

Aermacchi SF-260W/C 10
Aermacchi MB-326KT/LT 10
SIAI-Marchetti S208 + 2

transport :

- Lockheed C-130B/H 8
- Lockheed C-130J-30 2
- Let L-410UVP Turbolet 2
- Aeritalia G222 5
- Dassault Falcon 20 1



Helicopters :

- SA-341 10
- HH-3 10
- Agusta-Bell AB-205A 15
- AS-350B 6
- AS-365 1
- SA-313 6
- SA-316 3
- UH-1H 29
- UH-1N 2
- Agusta-Bell AB-412 4

Algerian1:


tunisian air force dont have any russian jet or helicopter su 25 , mig 21, 23 , su 27 , mi 24 , mi 8 , mi 6 ..)

here the tunisian air force current inventory

Fighters :

- Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II : 18
- Aero L-59T Super Albatros : 12

traning :

Aermacchi SF-260W/C 10
Aermacchi MB-326KT/LT 10
SIAI-Marchetti S208 + 2

transport :

- Lockheed C-130B/H 8
- Lockheed C-130J-30 2
- Let L-410UVP Turbolet 2
- Aeritalia G222 5
- Dassault Falcon 20 1



Helicopters :

- SA-341 10
- HH-3 10
- Agusta-Bell AB-205A 15
- AS-350B 6
- AS-365 1
- SA-313 6
- SA-316 3
- UH-1H 29
- UH-1N 2
- Agusta-Bell AB-412 4

correction have been made. thanks for your observations