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East Germany Air Force/Air Defense Force
The air force of the NVA, known as the Air Force/Air Defense
Force (Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung), maintained
headquarters at Strausberg. The main mission of the air force was
to prevent penetration of East German airspace by hostile
missiles or aircraft. To perform this mission, both aircraft and
antiaircraft units were made organic to the air force. The
antiaircraft assets assigned to the ground forces were to defend
NVA ground formations from attack by hostile aircraft and were
not part of the national air defense.
The operations of the NVA's air force were closely linked
with those of the GSFG, and the air defense component was fully
integrated into the Soviet and Warsaw Pact air defense system.
Both interceptor aircraft and missile units were fundamental
parts of the Duty System, in which Soviet, Polish, Czechoslovak,
and East German air defenses were maintained in a continuous high
state of alert.
In 1987, the Air Force numbered approximately 39,000
personnel, of whom 38 percent were conscripts. The latter figure,
which was substantially lower than the 60 percent for the ground
forces and the 50 percent for the People's Navy, reflected the
higher proportion of officers and NCOs in the air force. Officer
candidates were trained at the Franz Mehring Officer School in
Kamenz. Much of the pilot training was conducted in Bautzen, not
far from Kamenz, and in Rothenburg. Many East Germans received
flight training as teenagers, through participation in the GST,
and were licensed pilots when they entered military service.
Essential in the training of air force officers was a good
knowledge of Russian, the language of the Warsaw Pact's Duty
System of air defense.
Except for a few Czechoslovak trainers, the approximately 380
aircraft, 70 armed helicopters, and other equipment of the air
force were of Soviet design and manufacture. In the mid-1980s,
there were two regiments of fighter aircraft, probably composed
of six squadrons--three with thirty-five MiG-17s and two with
twenty-four MiG-23Fs. There were some Su-22s as well. The NVA's
single reconnaissance squadron had eighteen MiG-21s. The
transport regiment was made up of three squadrons equipped with
eighteen An-26s, fifteen Tu-134s, An-2s, An-14s, An-26Bs, and
some six L-410UVPs. This regiment provided the airlift for the
airborne battalions of the ground forces. The three helicopter
regiments included nine squadrons: three attack squadrons with
thirty Mi-24s; three assault/transport squadrons with thirty-six
armed Mi-8s; and three transport squadrons with some forty-five
Mi-8s.
The Air Defense Command, with 26,000 troops--almost 67
percent of the manpower total for the Air Force/Air Defense
Force--was organized in two air defense districts. The 6 air
regiments included 6 squadrons with 100 MiG-21Fs, MiG-21MFs,
MiG-21PFs, and MiG-21Us, and 12 squadrons with 200 MiG-23s. The
seven surface-to-air missile (SAM) regiments had SA-2 and SA-3
missiles at some thirty sites. The missile inventory included 205
strategic SAMs and 270 tactical SAMs. Two radar regiments were
available as well.
Other assets of the Air Force/Air Defense Force included an
inventory of some sixty Yak-11, L-39, Zlin 226, MiG-15UTI,
MiG-21U, and other small aircraft controlled by the chief of
flight training. The available liaison aircraft included Zlin
Z-43s. In addition, the NVA had AA-2/ATOLL air-to-air missiles
and AT-3/SAGGER guided weapons for antitank warfare.
The air force could provide limited ground attack support for
the ground forces and defense of the country's airspace.
Acquisition of heavily armed assault helicopters suggested an
increased emphasis on developing the capability for close air
support. The air transport capability was adequate for the
logistic and airlift needs of the NVA. Its helicopter component
provided a degree of air mobility for NVA ground forces. The air
arm of the NVA was, however, basically a tactical air force that
was totally reliant upon the Soviet Union for strategic or
long-range operations.
Data as of July 1987
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