After the World War II, Albania was equipped with Soviet aircraft. The first jet fighters used were MiG-15, and then MiG-17. The basic jet fighter became the MiG-19. 12 MiG-19PM were bought from the USSR, and after a collapse of the Soviet-Albanian relations, a big party of Shenyang F-6 (the Chinese copy of MiG-19S) were bought from China. As of 2004, Albania still had 65 MiG-19 and F-6, although most were not operationally used. In the early 1970s, Albania bought 12 Shenyang F-7A fighters (the Chinese copy of the MiG-21F-13). From 1974 they operated from a base in Gjadėr. Although obsolete by modern standards, they still remain the most modern Albanian fighters.
See also