Djibouti Air Force
Force Aerienne Djiboutienne, FAD

The primary role of the Air Force is to transport men and supplies. The Air Force may perform some aerial reconnaissance, but it has no combat capability. Djibouti has two air force bases, in Djibouti City and Tadjoura. The armed forces have approximately 8,400 personnel. The Djiboutian Air Force has 200 personnel, the army has about 8,000 personnel; and the navy, 120. Djibouti has no air defense systems. The French train squadrons in Djibouti, but advance flying and helicopter work is performed in France.

About 80 Airmen from Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the United States stood together for African Partnership Flight opening ceremonies on Djibouti Air Base Feb. 7, 2015. This formation embodied the spirit of APF-Djibouti -- Airmen from partner nations working together for a common cause. Participants are discussing best practices throughout the five-day event, which is the first in East Africa, to learn from each other and strengthen relationships between neighboring air forces. The first African Partnership Flight was hosted in Ghana in March 2012 and has since become the premier program for the U.S. Air Force to deliver aviation security and cooperation in Africa. In 2014 USAFE-AFAFRICA facilitated events in Angola, Mauritania and Senegal.

There are 12 airports in country but only 2 have permanent surface runways. Ambouli Airport is the only international airport in Djibouti. It is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of the center of the capital city. Three of Djibouti’s airfields could be used in a humanitarian effort. Of these, one is a minor civil airport in a remote part of the country and another is an emergency airfield for use only when Djibouti-Ambouli International is closed or unusable. Djibouti-Ambouli is the only airfield suitable for all strategic-lift (strat-lift) aircraft.

Djibouti in June 2014 received a single Xian Aircraft Corporation (XAC) MA60 transport aircraft for supporting its peacekeepers in Somalia and for VIP transport. Djibouti’s military has recently received substantial amounts of new hardware, including two second hand C-23B transport aircraft from the United States.

Djibouti’s Air Force has taken delivery of two Y-12 transport aircraft from China, joining an MA60 that was delivered two years ago, and is operating Dauphin helicopters. The two Harbin Y-12Es were delivered in a ceremony on 13 July 2016. According to Djibouti’s La Nation, President Ismail Omar Guelleh presided over the delivery. After the Y-12E delivery ceremony, President Guelleh then viewed a static display of four Dauphin helicopters acquired with the assistance of Saudi Arabia. It is not clear when the helicopters were acquired but until now Djibouti has not been known to operate the type.