Every war the Bangladesh Air Force has fought
The Bangladesh Air Force has fought one war, the Liberation War of 1971, in which Kilo Flight flew alongside the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Air Force; ISPR credits it with more than 50 bombing missions, while Wikipedia counts about 40 combat missions and 90 sorties. Since then its operational flying has been for United Nations missions. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From Kilo Flight’s night raids of 1971 to UN peacekeeping in Africa today.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| Bangladesh Liberation WarKilo FlightBangladesh Air Force (Kilo Flight) | 1971 | Pakistan | DHC-3 Otter, Alouette III, DC-3 Dakota | |||
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Night raids on fuel depots and Pakistani positions with a converted Otter and an armed Alouette helicopter, alongside the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Air Force. Kilo Flight was formed at Dimapur in Nagaland on 28 September 1971 with Indian help: an Otter from the Indian Air Force, a DC-3 Dakota given by the Maharaja of Jodhpur and an Alouette III, with 57 personnel according to ISPR. Its nine pilots were three former Pakistan Air Force officers — Squadron Leader Sultan Mahmud, who commanded, and Flight Lieutenants Shamsul Alam and Badrul Alam — and six airline pilots, under the overall direction of Group Captain A. K. Khandker. The Otter was rigged with rockets under the wings and bombs pushed out by hand; the Alouette carried rockets, machine guns and a steel plate for protection. On the night of 3–4 December, as the Indo-Pakistani war opened, Shamsul Alam and Captain Akram Ahmed attacked fuel tanks at Chittagong and Sultan Mahmud and Badrul Alam hit the Godnail depot near Narayanganj; later sorties covered Sylhet, Comilla, Daudkandi and Narsingdi. The big air war in the east was fought by the Indian Air Force: by its account Tejgaon was put out of action by 7 December, grounding the Pakistan Air Force’s Sabres. Wikipedia gives the Indian claim of 19 IAF aircraft lost in the east and five Sabres shot down, and the Pakistani claim of 22–24 IAF aircraft destroyed between 4 and 15 December. Outcome Pakistan’s forces in the east surrendered on 16 December 1971; Kilo Flight became the core of the new air force. The Bangladesh Air Force’s own history could not be reached (baf.mil.bd timed out); mission counts differ between ISPR and Wikipedia, and Wikipedia’s two articles disagree on whether the aircraft was a DHC-3 Otter or a Twin Otter. Loss figures for the wider air war are each side’s claim.
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| United Nations peacekeepingMONUSCO and MINUSCA aviation unitsBangladesh Air Force | ongoing | C-130B, Mi-171Sh, Mi-17and 1 more | ||||
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Provides UN aviation units: a C-130B transport unit for MONUSCO and a medium armed helicopter unit with Mi-171Sh for MINUSCA. Bangladesh is one of the UN’s biggest troop contributors, and the air force supplies the aviation that most contributors cannot. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo the Bangladesh Aviation Transport Unit (BANATU) flies a C-130B for MONUSCO: ISPR says the 15th contingent, 62 people under Group Captain Mohammad Selim Javed, left Dhaka on 25 January and 2 February 2026 to replace BANATU-14, after a briefing by the Chief of Air Staff. In the Central African Republic the air force runs the Bangladesh medium armed military helicopter unit of MINUSCA: on 20 June 2020 three armed Mi-171Sh helicopters with night-vision equipment, the first of their kind Bangladesh had deployed, left for Bangui in a chartered An-124, after a 123-strong contingent had deployed on 29 May. ISPR says Bangladesh was the first member state to deploy under the UN’s rapid deployment level within the shortest time. The air force’s own figure, as quoted by Wikipedia, is more than 600 personnel and 10 helicopters on UN missions, with a C-130 supporting a mission in Africa. Outcome Continuing in 2026. The year of the first air force deployment and a full list of past missions could not be confirmed because baf.mil.bd was unreachable; the start year is therefore left open. |
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- ISPR: Bangladesh Air Force 55th founding anniversary (28 September 2026, in Bengali)Official Bengali name; founding with an Otter, a Dakota, an Alouette and 57 personnel; over 50 bombing missions; Chief of Air Staff.
- ISPR: Chief of Air Staff briefs BANATU-15 for MONUSCO (20 January 2026, in Bengali)62 personnel, one C-130B, departures 25 January and 2 February 2026.
- ISPR: Mi-171Sh helicopters deployed to the Central African Republic (20 June 2020, in Bengali)Three armed night-vision Mi-171Sh; 123-strong contingent; RDL deployment.
- The Financial Express: Former Chief of Air Staff Bir Uttam Sultan Mahmud passes away (August 2023)Led the Kilo Flight operation; Independence Award 2018.
Figures verified 2026-09-30. Back to the Bangladesh Air Force.