# Ivory Coast Air Force takes delivery of Two Antonov An-26B tactical transport aircraft

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2018/08/ivory-coast-air-force-takes-delivery-of-two-antonov-an-26b-tactical-transport-aircraft/
- Published: 2018-08-03T06:06:05+01:00
- Author: Ekene Lionel

The Ivory Coast Air Force just recently took delivery of two Antonov An-26Bs tactical
transport aircraft.

Scramble Magazine [reports](https://www.military.africa/2018/08/ivory-coast-air-force-takes-delivery-of-two-antonov-an-26b-tactical-transport-aircraft/military.africa/2018/08/ivory-coast-air-force-takes-delivery-of-two-antonov-an-26b-tactical-transport-aircraft)
through Twitter that two former Bulgarian An-26s (TU-VMA and TU-VMB) were delivered
to Abidjan-Port Bouet Groupe Aerien du Transport via Tunisia on 19 and 23 July.

The **Antonov An-26** (NATO reporting name: **Curl**) is a twin-engined turboprop
civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union
from 1969 to 1986.

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The An-26 has a secondary bomber role with underwing bomb racks. The racks are attached
to the fuselage in front of and behind the rear landing gear. In the bombing role
it was extensively used by the Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil
War and the War in Darfur.

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**Current State of the Ivory Coast Air Force **

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Historically, on 6th of November 2004 a lone Air Force of Ivory Coast [Sukhoi Su-25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-25)
bomber attacked a French peacekeeping position in the rebel town of [Bouaké](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouak%C3%A9)
at 1 pm, killing nine French soldiers and wounding 31, Ivorian authorities claimed
the attack was unintentional but French forces insisted otherwise. Few hours after
the attack, the then French President Jacques Chirac ordered the destruction of 
the Ivorian air force and the seizure of Yamoussoukro airport, the country’s main
airport.

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The French military attack destroyed two Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft, three
Mi-24 helicopter gunships and three undisclosed helicopters.

However in 2007, in a bid to rebuild its Air Force fleet, the country acquired six
aircraft vis:

 * 1x Antonov An-32 tactical transport
 * 1x Cessna 421 Golden Eagle utility aircraft
 * 2x Eurocopter SA 365 Dauphin helicopters
 * 1x Gulfstream IV VIP aircraft
 * 1x Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter
 * 2x Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 attack aircraft (Deagel.com)

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