Every war the Yemeni Air Force has fought
The record includes the air forces of the two Yemens before 1990 and both sides of the war since 2015. Shoot-down claims are given with the side that makes them: in 1994 the North and the South each claimed jets on the first day, and the losses of 2009 are blamed on technical faults by the government and claimed by the Houthis. The Houthi missile and drone campaign is listed as the work of Houthi forces, not of the air force as an institution, with the Houthis’ own justification and that of their opponents both given. 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 the siege of Sanaa in 1967 to the government air strikes of 2026.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| North Yemen Civil War and the siege of Sanaathe 70-day siege of 1967–1968Yemen Arab Republic Air Force (from 20 November 1967) | 1962–1970 | Royalist forces backed by Saudi Arabia | MiG-17, Yak-11 | 3 | ||
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Most of the republican air war was flown by Egypt; the new Yemeni air force flew in the siege of Sanaa with Soviet and Syrian pilots helping. The war began with the revolution of 26 September 1962. Egypt sent about 70,000 troops and, according to Wikipedia, used chemical weapons from 1967, including an attack on Kitaf on 5 January 1967 that caused 270 casualties. Royalists were backed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan and covert British operations. The Yemen Arab Republic Air Force was established on 20 November 1967 as the Egyptians withdrew, and its first fight was the defence of Sanaa against the royalist siege; republican aircraft, some flown by Soviet and Syrian pilots, supported the defenders until the siege failed. Outcome The republic survived; Saudi Arabia recognised it in 1970. Egyptian official figures give 15,194 military deaths for Egypt; Yemeni casualty totals are not reliably known.
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| First inter-Yemeni warthe 1972 border warPeople’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force | 1972 | Yemen Arab Republic | MiG-17 | 1 | ||
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Southern MiG-17s flew ground-attack and supply missions. Fighting ran from 26 September to 19 October 1972. Wikipedia says Cuban pilots flew combat missions in Soviet-built MiGs for the South and judges the southern air operations effective; the South recovered the ground it had lost. No northern air activity is described in the sources checked. Outcome Ceasefire 19 October; Cairo Agreement on unification 28 October 1972. Single-source detail. |
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| Ogaden War deploymentSouth Yemeni support for EthiopiaPeople’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force | 1977–1978 | Somalia | ||||
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Wikipedia says South Yemen deployed forces to Ethiopia during the war. Wikipedia’s article on the Yemeni Air Force records that South Yemen sent forces to Ethiopia in the 1977–1978 Ogaden War. What the air force itself contributed is not described in the sources checked. Outcome Ethiopia won in March 1978. The air force’s role could not be confirmed beyond one sentence in Wikipedia.
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| Second inter-Yemeni warthe 1979 warBoth Yemeni air forces | 1979 | Su-22, Su-7, MiG-21and 1 more | ||||
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The southern air force gained air superiority within days and bombed Sanaa and the Hodeidah area. The war ran from 24 February to 19 March 1979. On 8 March, according to Wikipedia, three Su-22s, three Su-7s and five MiG-21s from the South bombed military and civilian targets in Sanaa; on 10 March they hit airfields and ports near Hodeidah. Wikipedia says Taiz airfield was bombed on 28 February. The North flew MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The defeat led the United States, from 13 March, to ship F-5Es to the North; with no trained Yemeni pilots, about 80 Taiwanese air force personnel were sent to fly them. Outcome Arab League-mediated Kuwait Agreement, ceasefire 20 March 1979. Wikipedia gives 18 F-5Es in its 1979 war article but 12 F-5Es plus 4 F-5Bs in its F-5 article. |
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| South Yemen crisis"the Events" of January 1986People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force | 1986 | |||||
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Split between the factions of Ali Nasir Muhammad and his opponents; the air force was largely destroyed. Fighting began on 13 January 1986 and lasted about 12 days. Wikipedia gives 4,000–6,000 deaths, without attributing the estimate to an organisation. For the air force it was a catastrophe: about three-quarters of its aircraft were destroyed and some 40 pilots took refuge in the North. Outcome Ali Nasir Muhammad was defeated; about 60,000 people fled to North Yemen with him (Wikipedia). Casualty figures are unattributed estimates. |
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| 1994 civil warthe war of secessionAir forces of the former North and South | 1994 | MiG-21, Su-22, MiG-29and 1 more | ||||
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The southern air force opened the war with raids on Sanaa, Hodeidah and Taiz; the northern air force bombed Aden and Al Anad. On 4 May 1994 about 40 southern MiG-21s and Su-22s attacked northern targets including the presidential palace in Sanaa and air bases, according to Wikipedia; the North replied against Aden, Al Anad, the al-Haswa power station and Aden’s refineries and broadcasters. The South bought MiG-29s from Moldova, flown by Eastern European mercenaries; the only recorded MiG-29 air combat, against two F-5Es on 29 June, ended with neither side firing. Wikipedia’s F-5 article says northern F-5s claimed several MiG-21s. The South also fired Scud missiles at Sanaa, killing dozens of civilians. Overall deaths are estimated at 7,000–10,000. Outcome Northern forces took Aden; the war ended on 7 July 1994. Shoot-down claims by both sides are unconfirmed; the death toll is a general estimate, not a counted figure.
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| Saada wars against the Houthisincluding Operation Scorched Earth, 2009–2010Yemeni Air Force | 2004–2010 | Houthi movement | MiG-21, Su-22 | 3 | ||
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Bombing of Houthi positions with MiG-21s and Su-22s; also strikes against al-Qaeda. Wikipedia says the air force fought the Houthi insurgency from 2006 onward. In Operation Scorched Earth (11 August 2009 – 12 February 2010) MiG-21s and Su-22s bombed Houthi positions in Saada. The government said the MiG-21 lost on 2 October 2009 ran into a mountain peak because of a technical fault; the Houthis said they shot it down. Saudi Arabia entered the fighting in November 2009 with F-15s and Tornados after a cross-border attack. Outcome Houthis accepted the government’s ceasefire proposal on 12 February 2010. Causes of the three losses remain disputed.
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| 2011 uprisingthe fall of SalehYemeni Air Force | 2011 | Uprising forces and defecting tribal units | Su-22, MiG-29 | |||
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Air force used during the uprising against President Saleh. Wikipedia records two losses in the 2011 uprising: a Su-22 brought down on 28 September north of Sanaa, and an attack on al-Dailami air base on 30 October that destroyed two or three aircraft. It adds that maintenance was largely halted after Saleh was ousted in 2012. Outcome Saleh handed over power in 2012; maintenance largely stopped afterwards. Number of aircraft destroyed on 30 October varies between two and three in the sources cited by Wikipedia.
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| Houthi takeover and the Saudi-led interventionthe collapse of the air forceYemeni Air Force (split) | 2015 | Saudi-led coalition | Su-22, MiG-29, F-5E | |||
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Elements of the air force sided with the Houthis and Saleh loyalists and struck Aden; the coalition then destroyed much of the remaining fleet on the ground. On 19 March 2015 air raids on Aden showed that parts of the air force had sided with the Houthis. On 25 March two Su-22s, covered by a MiG-29, attacked the presidential compound in Aden from Houthi-controlled al-Dailami, while MiG-29s loyal to President Hadi scrambled from Al Anad. Al Anad itself fell to the Houthis and the 201st Armoured Brigade the same day, after US special forces withdrew. The Saudi-led coalition intervened on 26 March; its spokesman Ahmed Asiri said strikes destroyed weapons, aircraft and air defences, and King Salman said the Royal Saudi Air Force was in full control of the zone. Outcome Wikipedia says the air force was inoperable by 2017. Loss figures come from coalition statements and press imagery collated by Wikipedia; there is no full count.
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| Houthi missile and drone campaignattacks on shipping and IsraelHouthi (Ansar Allah) forces — not the air force as an institution | 2023– | United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Saudi-led coalition (2026) | Burkan ballistic missiles, Qasef and Sammad drones | |||
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Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against ships and Israel; surface-to-air fire against US drones. The Houthis began attacking Israel on 31 October 2023 and shipping in November 2023. ACLED counts 178 vessels attacked, four sunk and nine sailors killed. The US and UK began strikes on 12 January 2024; a US campaign from 15 March to 6 May 2025 hit more than 1,000 targets and ended in a US–Houthi ceasefire. The Yemen Data Project, quoted by Human Rights Watch, says those US strikes killed at least 238 civilians; Airwars counts 445–643 civilian deaths from all US action in Yemen since 2002, against 166 acknowledged by the US military. Israel struck Hodeidah and Sanaa airport, where Wikipedia says four Yemenia airliners were destroyed in May 2025. The Houthis say they act in support of Gaza; Israel and the US call the attacks terrorism and piracy. Outcome Paused after the Gaza ceasefire of 10 October 2025; resumed against Israel on 28 March 2026 and against Saudi Arabia from July 2026. Western governments attribute much of the missile and drone arsenal to Iranian supply (as collated by Wikipedia); a US National Security Council statement of April 2015 said Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis. The UN Panel of Experts reports could not be retrieved and are not quoted. Shoot-down figures for US drones differ between US sources and Houthi claims.
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| Government air strikes on the Houthisthe 2026 fightingAir arm of the internationally recognised government | 2026– | Houthis (Ansar Allah) | ||||
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Air strikes on Houthi airfields, missile and drone sites, depots and front-line positions. According to Al Jazeera, government aircraft struck the runway at Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport on 13 July 2026, hit Houthi missile and drone launch sites and weapons depots in Marib and al-Jawf on 25 July, and carried out at least 15 strikes on Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles in Taiz and Hodeidah on 5 September. Wikipedia says the strikes are flown with repaired F-5s, but the Al Jazeera report it cites does not name the aircraft. The Houthis, who had declared a naval blockade in July, seized the whole western coast in September; the coalition said on 24 September it intercepted six ballistic missiles fired at Taif and Yanbu. Outcome Ongoing; in September 2026 the Houthis took the Red Sea coast, including Mocha. Aircraft types and numbers on the government side are not confirmed by a primary source.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Al Jazeera: Yemen government launches own air attacks on Houthis: What that means (5 September 2026)Government strikes of 13 July, 25 July and 5 September 2026; aircraft type not named.
- UN Security Council: Panel of Experts on Yemen – reportsLists final reports S/2015/125, S/2024/731 and S/2025/650; the report texts could not be retrieved and are not quoted.
- Airwars: U.S. Forces in Yemen445–643 civilian deaths from 153 incidents; 166 acknowledged by the US military.
- Al Jazeera: Yemen’s war disrupts roads and ports, deepening humanitarian crisis (29 September 2026)Houthi advance over the Red Sea coast and Mocha, September 2026; UN displacement figures.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026 – YemenHouthi attacks on Israel and shipping; US strikes (Yemen Data Project: at least 238 civilians killed 15 March – 6 May 2025); Israeli strikes 2025.
- Security Council Report: YemenEmergency briefing of 10 September 2026; Red Sea reporting renewals.
- Al Jazeera: Saudi-led coalition says shot down 6 ballistic missiles launched by Houthis (24 September 2026)Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki; Houthi claims; Houthi naval blockade declared July 2026.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Yemeni Air Force.