Royal Cambodian Air Force
Air warfare branch of Cambodia's armed forces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Cambodian Air Force (Khmer: កងទ័ពជើងអាកាស, romanized: Kâng Toăp Cheung Akas [kɑːŋtɔəp cəːŋ ʔaːkaːh]; lit. 'Air Force') is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia.
| Royal Cambodian Air Force | |
|---|---|
| កងទ័ពជើងអាកាស | |
Badge of the Royal Cambodian Air Force | |
| Founded | 9 November 1953 |
| Country |  Cambodia |
| Allegiance | HM The King |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Size | 1,500 personnel 31 aircraft [1] |
| Part of |  Royal Cambodian Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Mottos | "ការពារព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា" (Khmer) ("Defend the Kingdom of Cambodia") |
| Mascot | Aafra Zarnaz Auhona |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | General Soeung Samnang |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Fin flash |  |
| Flag |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Helicopter | Mi-8, Mi-17, Z-9, AW109, AS355 |
| Transport | A320, MA60, Y-12, BN-2 |
Organisation
The Royal Cambodian Air Force is commanded by General Soeung Samnang, who has four deputy commanders beneath him. The Air Force itself is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defence.
The Air Force headquarters are located at Phnom Penh International Airport and is still sign posted Pochentong Air Base. The only operational aircraft at Pochentong Air Base are from the VIP squadron. Maintenance of aircraft and helicopters is also at Pochentong. as the Z-9 and Mi-17 helicopters from the helicopter squadron are based at Phnom Penh International Airport and Siem Reap International Airport.
In 2020, reports came out that the Royal Cambodian Air Force was the mystery buyer of China’s Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation (GAIC) FTC-2000G Light trainer and attack aircraft, but these reports were later disproven as further articles identified the Mystery buyer to be Myanmar. https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2020/04/30/speculations-centre-on-cambodia-as-first-customer-of-chinese-ftc-2000g-jet/amp/
The Royal Cambodian Air Force is also in talks with the Russian Federation to acquire Su-25 Attack aircraft and Su-27 Aerial superiority jets and a variety of Transport/Attack helicopters in a multi-billion dollar deal.
Inventory
Previous inventory
In the past some MiG-21bis, L-39C Albatros, J-6C, MiG-17F, J-5, MiG-15UTI and CM.170R Magister were operational. These aircraft in 2023 could be seen on the ground at Phnom Penh International Airport. All fighter planes are no longer operational.
| Transport | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Image | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
| Airbus A320 |  |
France | VIP transport | 1[3] | ||
| Xian MA60 | .jpg) |
China | Transport | 2[4] | ||
| Harbin Y-12 |  |
China | Transport / Utility | 1[4] | ||
| Britten-Norman BN-2 | .jpg) |
United Kingdom | Transport | 1[4] | ||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Aircraft | Image | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
| Mil Mi-8 | .jpg) |
Soviet Union | Utility | 9[5] | ||
| Mil Mi-17 | Soviet Union | Utility | 6[5] | |||
| Harbin Z-9 | China | Utility | 9[4] | |||
| Eurocopter AS355 | France | Utility | 1[5] | Stored[6] | ||
| AgustaWestland AW109 | Italy | Utility | 1[4][7] | |||
Sport
The force maintains a professional association football team as one of its branches, which formerly played in the C-League.
Ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Royal Cambodian Air Force |
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| នាយឧត្ដមសេនីយ៍ Neay utdamsenei |
ឧត្ដមសេនីយ៍ឯក Utdamsenei ek |
ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ទោ Utdamsenei tou |
ឧត្តមសេនីយ៍ត្រី Utdamsenei trei |
វរសេនីយ៍ឯក Veareasenei ek |
វរសេនីយ៍ទោ Veareasenei tou |
វរសេនីយ៍ត្រី Veareasenei trei |
អនុសេនីយ៍ឯក Anusenei ek |
អនុសេនីយ៍ទោ Anusenei tou |
អនុសេនីយ៍ត្រី Anusenei trei | |||||||||||||||
Other ranks
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Royal Cambodian Air Force |
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| ព្រឹន្ទបាលឯក Pruentobal ek |
ព្រឹន្ទបាលទោ Pruentobal tou |
ពលបាលឯក Polobal ek |
ពលបាលទោ Polobal tou |
ពលបាលត្រី Polobal trei |
នាយឯក Neay ek |
នាយទោ Neay tou |
ពលឯក Pol ek |
ពលទោ Pol tou | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
