Budget constraints as Africa misses out on top trainers

A single fixed-wing training aircraft is available to 17 African air forces, and for the remaining 10 air forces, there are only a few training aircraft available.

However, some air arms are working to strengthen their domestic training, sometimes by recapitalizing their training ships. Many air arms rely on sending pilots overseas for training, primarily to China and Russia.

Sadly, due mostly to financial limitations, the top aircraft in the world’s training industry are largely conspicuous by their absence in Africa. As a result, African air forces do not currently operate any Leonardo M346s, KAI T-50s, or Pilatus PC-21s.

Instead, the SIAI Marchetti SF260 (approximately 114 in operation), Pilatus PC-7 (80), Embraer EMB312 Tucano (82), Aero L-39 Albatros (119), and Hongdu K-8 (182) are some of the most common training aircraft.

There are also several (sometimes much older) aircraft types that are used in considerably smaller numbers, including BAE Systems Hawks in South Africa and Zimbabwe, Dassault Alpha Jets in Cameroon, Togo, and Egypt, Soko G-2 Galebs in Libya, and a few MB326s and MB339s in Togo and Eritrea.

Even so, only a very small number of SOCATA TB30 Epsilons are in service in Senegal and Togo. Even where the individual airframes still have time remaining “on the clock,” the majority of aircraft types are nearing the end of their useful lifespan and are getting harder to support and sustain.

A surprising number of carbon fiber composite Grobs are in service considering the climate, including 74 G115s in Egypt, six G120TPs in Ethiopia, five G120As, and nine G120TPs in Kenya, with two more G120TPs on order.

The SF260 gained popularity because of its performance (it was dubbed “the fastest normally aspirated piston single in production”), its ability to take off and land on short and partially prepared runways, and its straightforward but durable all-metal airframe. The kind won’t be simple to replace, and it won’t be cheap either.

The fact that so many poor countries received L-39s as part of military aid packages, either for free or at heavily discounted costs, is due to the type’s reputation as the standard Soviet/Warsaw Pact trainer.

Due to its extremely low price, the K-8 has also occasionally been included in Chinese air packages but has also found a niche in direct commercial sales.

Not all of the aircraft in service in Africa are used for advanced training, and both the L-39 and the K-8 have offered a useful light attack capability.
For instance, in Nigeria, combat operations against Boko Haram and other insurgents have largely been carried out using armed jet trainers like the L-39 and Alpha Jet.

The Guizhou JL-9, also known as the FTC-2000 Mountain Eagle, is a weapon and advanced training option that is now in use in Sudan. It was created from the Chengdu J-7, a Chinese MiG-21 clone, and its two-seat trainer variant, the JJ-7/FT-7. The JJ-7/FT-7’s engine, empennage, and controls are combined with a redesigned wing, forward fuselage, glass cockpit, and air intakes on the FTC-2000.

The Embraer EMB314 Super Tucano, one of the more recent trainer aircraft, has had some sales success in Africa, especially as an operational close air support and light attack aircraft, while the armed version of Turkey’s Hürkuş has also been marketed in Africa.