Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force, which began flying in 1929 and dates its founding to 28 November 1935, is one of Africa’s oldest air arms: trained by Swedes, equipped by Americans and then by Moscow, it won the air war of the Ogaden in 1977, claimed Eritrean MiG-29s with Su-27s in 1999, and since 2021 has turned to armed drones, whose strikes in Tigray and Amhara UN bodies and rights groups have linked to heavy civilian deaths.
The Ethiopian Air Force story: a Swedish school, the Ogaden air war and armed drones over Tigray
1929–1941: a Potez, an American commander and a war without guns
Ethiopian military flying began with one aircraft. A Potez 25-A2 reached Addis Ababa on 18 August 1929 and a Junkers W 33 followed on 5 September, according to Wikipedia’s history, which dates the air arm to 19 August 1929; the state news agency ENA instead gives 28 November 1935 as the day the air force was officially established as a national institution, and that is the date the service now celebrates. When Italy invaded on 3 October 1935 the emperor had roughly two dozen aircraft, none of them armed. The American aviator John Robinson, made commander of the air arm in 1935, flew reconnaissance and liaison sorties and escaped six Italian fighters; the Swede Carl Gustaf von Rosen flew Red Cross ambulance missions and suffered mustard-gas burns. Against the Regia Aeronautica, which used gas from the air, the little force could do little, and Italy occupied the country in 1936.
1944–1960: the Swedish school and the Saab bombers
Rebuilding after liberation leaned on two foreigners. Robinson came back in 1944 to set up a pilot school, and von Rosen served as chief instructor of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force from 1945 to 1956, with a Swedish mission behind him. Sweden supplied the hardware too: Wikipedia, citing the historian Tom Cooper, says Ethiopia bought 47 Saab B 17A dive-bombers, which served from 1947 until 1977, alongside Saab Safir trainers and C-47 transports; Fairey Fireflies arrived in 1951. A US Military Assistance Advisory Group took over from 1953, bringing T-33 jet trainers in 1957 and 14 F-86F Sabres in 1960. That December the air force sided with the emperor against the coup attempt of 13–17 December 1960, and Ethiopian Sabres also served with the UN operation in the Congo, although the size and dates of that detachment were not confirmed in the sources reached.
1960–1978: Sabres, F-5s and the Ogaden air war
The American years made the air force the strongest in the Horn of Africa. In the border war of February–April 1964 F-86s and T-33s struck Somali positions and towns including Feerfeer, Galkayo and Hargeisa while Somalia had only Vampire trainers. Ten F-5As and two F-5Bs followed from 1966, but of 14 F-5Es agreed in 1975 only eight were delivered before Washington embargoed the rest. Those eight mattered. When Somalia invaded the Ogaden in July 1977, F-5Es flew air superiority and F-5As, Canberras and Sabres struck ground targets. Wikipedia quotes the 9th Fighter Squadron’s record as 13 MiG-17s and 12 MiG-21s shot down with Sidewinders between 20 July and 1 September 1977, and credits the pilot Legesse Tefera with six or seven; these are Ethiopian claims. The same article puts losses for the whole war at 23 Ethiopian and 34 Somali aircraft.
1977–1991: Soviet MiGs and the bombing of the north
The Ogaden also changed the air force’s patron. After the revolution of 1974 the Derg turned to Moscow, and during the war the Soviet Union mounted a huge airlift: 48 MiG-21MF and MiG-21UM fighters arrived in 1977–78, MiG-23s and Mi-24 gunships followed, and Cuban and Soviet pilots flew some of the first missions. The new fleet was then turned on the insurgencies in the north. From May 1978 the air force flew saturation bombing in Eritrea from a new airfield at Mekelle, hitting towns, villages and herds as well as rebel positions; on 22 June 1988 MiGs and gunships attacked the market at Hawzen in Tigray, killing 1,800–2,500 people according to the historian Gebru Tareke and Human Rights Watch, and in February 1990 cluster bombs killed hundreds of civilians in Massawa. In 2008 an Ethiopian court sentenced Derg commanders to death for Hawzen; the sentences were commuted in 2011.
1998–2022: Su-27s over Eritrea, drones over Tigray
The regime fell in 1991, and the air force had to be rebuilt again when war with Eritrea broke out in May 1998. Ethiopia bought eight surplus Su-27s, including two two-seaters, for a reported 150 million dollars; the first arrived in December 1998. Wikipedia records Su-27s shooting down Eritrean MiG-29s on 25 and 26 February 1999, with two more claimed in May 2000 that Eritrea denies; Ethiopia claimed seven in all, of which two to four are confirmable. Ethiopia lost MiG-21s, MiG-23s, a Su-25 and Mi-24/35s. From 2006 to 2009 the air force supported the intervention in Somalia. In the Tigray war of November 2020 to November 2022 it bombed TPLF targets and, from 2021, flew armed drones. Human Rights Watch called the drone strike on the Dedebit displaced persons’ camp on 7 January 2022, which killed at least 57 people, an apparent war crime; the government denied targeting civilians.
2023–2026: Su-30s, Yak-130s, a ninetieth birthday and war again
Since 2023 the air force has been fighting at home again, now against the Fano militias in Amhara. The UN human rights office said in 2024 that government forces had used drones against civilians there, and the UN counted more than 300 civilians killed by drone strikes that year, as cited by Wikipedia; the government denies targeting civilians. Modernisation continued at the same time: six ex-Indian Su-30Ks were shown on 16 January 2024 according to defenceWeb (the IISS counts two), Akinci drones had been seen since November 2023, and Yak-130 trainers arrived by January 2026. Abiy Ahmed presided over the ninetieth anniversary on 24 January 2026. Two days later fighting resumed with Tigrayan forces, and on 25 September 2026 the UN High Commissioner, Volker Türk, said ENDF air strikes, some by drone, had reportedly hit five schools in Tigray. Whether that becomes a second Tigray war was not clear at the time of writing.
The Ethiopian Air Force in numbers
Service
- Native name
- የኢትዮጵያ አየር ኃይልAmharic, the federal working language; spelled this way by the state news agency ENA. Romanised Ye-Ityōṗṗyā āyer ḫayil (Wikipedia). No official air force website was found
- Founded
- 28 November 1935 (official); flying from 1929ENA dates the official establishment to 28 November 1935 (Hidar 20, 1928 in the Ethiopian calendar), and the service celebrated its 88th, 89th and 90th anniversaries on that count. Wikipedia gives 19 August 1929, the day after the first aircraft, a Potez 25-A2, reached Addis Ababa
- Part of
- Ethiopian National Defense ForceUnder the Chief of the General Staff, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula; Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is commander-in-chief
- Headquarters
- Bishoftu (Debre Zeyit), Harar MedaWikipedia names Harar Meda at Bishoftu as the main base; the 90th anniversary events were held in Bishoftu
- Commander
- Lt. Gen. Yilma MerdasaAppointed by Abiy Ahmed on 21 June 2018; still in post in August 2025 according to ENA
- Commander-in-chief
- Prime Minister Abiy AhmedPresided over the 90th anniversary ceremony on 24 January 2026 and opened the Aviation Expo the day before
Strength
- Personnel
- 10,000+ (unverified)Figure given by Wikipedia without an official source; the government does not publish one
- Combat aircraft
-
- Su-27 — 16 fighters plus 6 listed as trainers (FlightGlobal 2025)
- Su-30K — 2 (IISS) to 6 (defenceWeb)
- MiG-23 — 9
- Su-25 — 1 (FlightGlobal) to 3 (Wikipedia)
Sources disagree, and how many are airworthy is not published. FlightGlobal’s 2025 list does not yet include the Su-30Ks
- Transport
-
- An-12 — 4
- An-32 — 1
- C-130B/E — 2
- DHC-5 — 1
- DHC-6 — 1
FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2025; Wikipedia also lists three King Airs
- Helicopters
-
- Mi-8/17 — 15
- Mi-24/35 — 7
- SA316 Alouette III — 3
FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2025; Wikipedia gives 14, 6 and 3. The army flies eight UH-1Hs of its own
- Trainers
-
- L-39 — 15
- G 120TP — 12
- Yak-130 — 6 reported, 4 more on order
L-39 and G 120TP from FlightGlobal 2025 (Wikipedia: 10 and 6); Yak-130 figure from Russian sources quoted by Wikipedia
- Armed drones
-
- Bayraktar TB2 — 4 delivered 2021
- Bayraktar Akinci — number not published
- Wing Loong (China) — number not published
- Mohajer-6 (Iran) — reported
None of these numbers has been published by the government; they come from defenceWeb, Janes and open-source imagery as summarised by Wikipedia
Infrastructure
- Main air base
- Harar Meda, BishoftuAbout 45 km south-east of Addis Ababa; home of the headquarters and, according to satellite imagery cited by Wikipedia, of TB2 drones
- Other bases named in sources
-
- Dire Dawa — MiG-21 regiment until the 2000s
- Bahir Dar — TB2 drones (defenceWeb)
- Mekelle — airfield built 1978
Wikipedia says there are four smaller bases besides Harar Meda without naming them all; current dispositions are not published
- Air divisions
- At least twoENA names Brig. Gen. Brook Seifu as commander of the First Air Division in December 2025; the wider structure is not published
- Local aircraft work
- Tsehay 2 shown in 2024ENA showed the locally made Tsehay 2 ready to fly at the 89th anniversary; Wikipedia describes the Tsehay as a surveillance aircraft
- Foreign use of Ethiopian bases
- US AC-130s from Dire Dawa, 2006–2007Flew in support of the Ethiopian intervention in Somalia until Ethiopia stopped them after the operations became public
How the Ethiopian Air Force is organised
One of the services of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, with its headquarters and main base at Harar Meda in Bishoftu and air divisions of which ENA names the First. The Su-27, 16 fighters plus six in FlightGlobal’s trainer list, is the front-line fighter, joined in 2024 by ex-Indian Su-30Ks, two according to the IISS and six according to defenceWeb, and since 2021 by Turkish, Chinese and Iranian armed drones. The government does not publish its order of battle or which units are based where.
Ethiopian Air Force
One of the services of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, with its headquarters and main base at Harar Meda in Bishoftu, formerly Debre Zeyit. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed Yilma Merdasa, then a brigadier general, as commander on 21 June 2018, and ENA still named him, now a lieutenant general, in August 2025. The Prime Minister is commander-in-chief and Field Marshal Birhanu Jula Chief of the General Staff.
First Air Division
ENA named Brig. Gen. Brook Seifu as commander of the First Air Division in December 2025, which implies at least two air divisions. The wider structure, the divisions’ units and their bases are not published.
Fighter and attack aircraft
The Su-27 is the main fighter: FlightGlobal lists 16 plus six in its trainer list, bought second-hand from 1998. Ex-Indian Su-30Ks were shown on 16 January 2024, two according to the IISS and six according to defenceWeb, beside nine MiG-23BN fighter-bombers and one to three Su-25s. The squadrons that fly them and how many aircraft are airworthy are not published.
Drone force
Four Bayraktar TB2s were delivered in November 2021, and defenceWeb reported at least four deployed at Bahir Dar and Harar Meda; it also reports Akinci drones since November 2023 and Wing Loong and Mohajer-6 drones since 2021. Unit designations and numbers are not published. UN bodies and rights groups have linked drone strikes in Tigray and Amhara to heavy civilian deaths; the government denies targeting civilians.
Ethiopian Air Force Academy
ENA reported a graduation of pilots in training, transport and helicopter streams at the Bishoftu headquarters on 25 June 2022. FlightGlobal lists 15 L-39s and 12 G 120TPs; Yak-130s, six according to Russian sources quoted by Wikipedia, arrived by January 2026 to replace the L-39.
Transport fleet
FlightGlobal’s 2025 list gives four An-12s, two C-130B/E Hercules, one An-32, one DHC-5 Buffalo and one DHC-6 Twin Otter; Wikipedia adds three King Airs, one used for VIP flights. The units that fly them are not published.
Helicopter fleet
FlightGlobal lists 15 Mi-8/17 transports, seven Mi-24/35 gunships and three Alouette IIIs (Wikipedia: 14, 6 and 3). The army flies eight UH-1Hs of its own. Units and bases are not published.
What the Ethiopian Air Force flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhoi Su-27S/P and Su-27UBIn service | Air superiority fighter | 22 | 1998 | FlightGlobal 2025: 16 in the combat list plus 6 in the trainer list; Wikipedia gives up to 17 bought second-hand in two batches. The figures overlap and how many fly is not published. | ||
| Sukhoi Su-30KIn service | Multirole fighter | 2 | 2024 | IISS Military Balance 2025 counts 2 (via Wikipedia); defenceWeb reported six handed over in January 2024. The published range is 2–6. | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BNIn service | Fighter-bomber | 9 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia both give 9; serviceability not published. | |||
| Sukhoi Su-25TK and Su-25UBKIn service | Close air support | 1 | 2000 | FlightGlobal 2025 lists 1 (in its trainer list); Wikipedia gives 3 Su-25TK including one trainer. Range 1–3. | ||
| Yakovlev Yak-130In service | Advanced jet trainer and light attack | 6 | 2026 | Six in service and four on order according to Russian sources quoted by Wikipedia; not confirmed by the Ethiopian government. | ||
| Aero L-39C AlbatrosIn service | Jet trainer | 15 | FlightGlobal 2025: 15; Wikipedia: 10. | |||
| Grob G 120TPIn service | Basic trainer | 12 | FlightGlobal 2025: 12; Wikipedia: 6. | |||
| SIAI-Marchetti SF.260TPIn service | Basic trainer | 4 | Wikipedia lists 4; FlightGlobal 2025 does not list the type, so it may have been retired. | |||
| Antonov An-12In service | Transport | 4 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia. | |||
| Antonov An-32In service | Transport | 1 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia. | |||
| Lockheed C-130B/E HerculesIn service | Tactical transport | 2 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia. | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-5 BuffaloIn service | Transport | 1 | FlightGlobal 2025 only. | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterIn service | Light transport | 1 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia: 1 with the air force; the army has 3. | |||
| Beechcraft King AirIn service | Liaison and VIP transport | 3 | Wikipedia only; not in FlightGlobal 2025. | |||
| Mil Mi-8 and Mi-17In service | Transport helicopter | 15 | FlightGlobal 2025: 15; Wikipedia: 14. | |||
| Mil Mi-24 and Mi-35In service | Attack helicopter | 7 | 1977 | FlightGlobal 2025: 7; Wikipedia: 6 Mi-35. | ||
| Aérospatiale SA316 Alouette IIIIn service | Light helicopter | 3 | FlightGlobal 2025 and Wikipedia. | |||
| Baykar Bayraktar TB2In service | Armed drone | 4 | 2021 | Four ordered in August 2021 and delivered in November 2021 (Wikipedia); defenceWeb reported at least four at Bahir Dar and Harar Meda. Later numbers not published. | ||
| Baykar Bayraktar AkinciIn service | Armed long-endurance drone | 2023 | ||||
| AVIC Wing LoongIn service | Armed drone | 2021 | Wikipedia lists 2 Wing Loong II; defenceWeb confirms Wing Loong use since 2021 without a number. | |||
| Qods Mohajer-6In service | Armed drone | 2021 | ||||
| Tsehay 2In service | Light aircraft (locally made) | 2 | 2024 | Wikipedia lists 2 with more planned; ENA does not give a number. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yakovlev Yak-130On order | 4 | 2026 | Four more after six delivered by January 2026, according to Russian sources quoted by Wikipedia; not confirmed by Ethiopia. | |
| Sukhoi Su-30KOn order | 2024 | Wikipedia lists six on order beyond the two counted by the IISS; defenceWeb reported six already handed over in January 2024. Whether any remain to be delivered is unclear.
MoreWikipedia also lists a Su-35 order, which was not corroborated and is left out here. |
Every type the Ethiopian Air Force has retired
18 types, from the Potez 25-A2 to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF, MiG-21UM and MiG-21bis. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF, MiG-21UM and MiG-21bis | Fighter | 1977–2014 | Su-27 | 48 MiG-21MF/UM in 1977–78, more in 1982–83 (reports range from 50 to 150) and 30 MiG-21bis in 1986–88. The total is uncertain. | ||
| Saab B 17A | Dive-bomber and reconnaissance | 47 | 1947–1977 | 47 bought (Cooper, cited by Wikipedia). | ||
| Potez 25-A2 | First military aircraft | 4 | 1929–1936 | Four Potez 25s were among the roughly two dozen aircraft of 1935 (Wikipedia). | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F | Fighter-bomber | |||||
| Northrop F-5E Tiger II | Fighter | 8 | 1976– | MiG-21 | 14 F-5Es and 3 F-5Fs agreed in 1975; only 8 F-5Es delivered, the rest embargoed and passed to a USAF aggressor squadron. | |
| Northrop F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter | Fighter-bomber | 12 | 1966– | 10 F-5As and 2 F-5Bs. | ||
| North American F-86F Sabre | Fighter | 14 | 1960– | F-5 | 14 acquired in 1960. | |
| Lockheed T-33A | Jet trainer | 1957– | ||||
| North American T-28 Trojan | Trainer and light attack | 8 | 1961– | Eight in service in 1977 according to Wikipedia. | ||
| English Electric Canberra B.52 | Bomber | 2 | Two in service in 1977 according to Wikipedia; the number bought was not confirmed. | |||
| Saab 91 Safir | Trainer | |||||
| Fairey Firefly | Fighter | 1951– | ||||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | Transport | |||||
| Douglas C-54, Fairchild C-119 and de Havilland Dove | Transport | |||||
| Antonov An-26 | Transport | |||||
| Mil Mi-6 and Mi-14 | Heavy-lift and amphibious helicopters | |||||
| Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma | Transport helicopter | |||||
| Junkers W 33c | Transport | 1929– |
Where the Ethiopian Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases, hollow pins the airfields that have closed. Harar Meda at Bishoftu has been the main base since 1946, when the air arm left Lideta in Addis Ababa to the new Ethiopian Airlines; Dire Dawa, the second air base, was reached by Somali tanks on 17 August 1977 but did not fall. defenceWeb names Bahir Dar as a TB2 drone base; Gode, Jijiga, Kebri Dahar, Mekelle and Arba Minch are listed for their history, and Arba Minch’s only military residents were American Reaper drones. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
Ethiopia
One of the 9 bases above sits outside Ethiopia, so the world map has to pull back until the home airfields cannot be told apart. The same pins again, without the overseas base.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahir Dar Airportair force useAmhara Region | HABD | Active |
|
|
| Dire DawaDire Dawa (chartered city) | HADR | Active | 15/332,679 m |
|
| Harar MedaOromia Region (Bishoftu, formerly Debre Zeyit) | HAHM | Active | 16/341,811 m |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Ethiopian Air Force
Flying units by base, current units first. The government publishes no order of battle: the last numbered units in the sources are the 3rd Squadron, whose Saab B 17s were stood down at Dire Dawa in 1977, and the MiG-21 regiments a 2007 order of battle lists at Dire Dawa and Debre Zeyit. The American gunship and Reaper detachments that flew from Ethiopian airfields are listed and marked as not Ethiopian. Where a unit’s designation or base is not published, the entry says so.
- Ethiopian Air Force AcademyFlying training · active
- Training aircraft, transports and helicopters
- Bayraktar TB2 drone elementArmed drone unit · active
- Baykar Bayraktar TB2
- Imperial Ethiopian Air Force flying school (Swedish mission)1946–1956
- Saab 91 Safir, Saab B 17A
- MiG-21 air regiment at Debre Zeyit (number not published)
- MiG-21MF/UM/bis
- 3rd Squadron
- Saab B 17A
- 3rd Air Regiment
- MiG-21
- US gunship detachment (foreign)2006–2007
- Lockheed AC-130 and US helicopters
- Bayraktar TB2 drone elementArmed drone unit · active
- Baykar Bayraktar TB2
No unit matches that search.
Ethiopian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
18 August: the first aircraft, a Potez 25-A2, reaches Addis Ababa; a Junkers W 33 follows on 5 September.
John Robinson is made commander of the air arm. 3 October: Italy invades. 28 November: the date the air force now marks as its official founding.
Robinson returns to set up a pilot school; from 1945 Carl Gustaf von Rosen is chief instructor of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (to 1956).
The first of 47 Saab B 17A bombers enter service; Fairey Fireflies follow in 1951.
First jets: T-33A trainers under US military aid. Fourteen F-86F Sabres follow in 1960.
13–17 December: the air force sides with the emperor against the coup attempt.
8 February–2 April: border war with Somalia; Sabres and T-33s strike Somali towns including Hargeisa.
First of 10 F-5As and 2 F-5Bs delivered; eight F-5E Tiger IIs follow in 1976, the rest of the 1975 order embargoed.
13 July: Somalia invades the Ogaden and von Rosen is killed at Gode. F-5Es claim Somali MiGs; the Soviet airlift brings MiG-21s.
March: the Ogaden war ends. From May the air force bombs Eritrea from a new airfield at Mekelle.
22 June: MiGs and gunships attack the market at Hawzen in Tigray; 1,800–2,500 killed according to historians and HRW.
May: war with Eritrea; Ethiopian jets raid Asmara airport on 5–6 June. December: the first Su-27 arrives.
25 and 26 February: Su-27s shoot down Eritrean MiG-29s, according to Ethiopian claims recorded by Wikipedia.
24 December: air strikes open the intervention in Somalia, including on Mogadishu airport.
4 November: air strikes begin in the Tigray war; 29 November: a MiG-23 is lost near Abiy Addi.
7 January: a TB2 strike on the Dedebit displaced persons’ camp kills at least 57 (HRW). 2 November: Pretoria cessation of hostilities.
16 January: Su-30Ks shown at a ceremony; Akinci drones in service. Drone strikes in Amhara draw UN criticism.
January: Yak-130s reported delivered; 24 January: 90th anniversary. From 26 January fighting with Tigrayan forces; 25 September: OHCHR reports ENDF drone strikes on schools in Tigray.
Every war the Ethiopian Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–1936 Unarmed reconnaissance, liaison and courier flights for the emperor; Red Cross ambulance flights by foreign volunteers
- UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC) 1960s Contributed F-86F Sabres to the UN air component
- Ethiopian–Somali Border War 1964 Struck Somali border posts, positions and towns and held air superiority
- Eritrean War of Independence and Ethiopian Civil War 1961–1991 Bombing of rebel-held areas, close air support and gunship operations against the ELF, EPLF and TPLF
- Ogaden War 1977–1978 Won air superiority with F-5Es, struck Somali forces and airfields, and later supported the Soviet- and Cuban-backed counter-offensive
Who built the Ethiopian Air Force fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Sukhoi, Antonov, Baykar, Mil, Yakovlev, de Havilland Canada, Aérospatiale, Aero Vodochody, Beechcraft, Chengdu, Grob Aircraft, Lockheed, Mikoyan, Qods Aviation Industries, SIAI-Marchetti
Former fleet
Douglas, North American Aviation, Northrop, Saab, English Electric, Fairchild, Fairey, Junkers, Potez, de Havilland
Everything people ask about the Ethiopian Air Force
What is the Ethiopian Air Force called in Amharic?
When was the Ethiopian Air Force founded?
What fighter jets does the Ethiopian Air Force fly?
Did Ethiopian Su-27s shoot down Eritrean MiG-29s?
How did Ethiopia win the air war in the Ogaden in 1977?
Did Sweden build the Ethiopian Air Force?
Does the Ethiopian Air Force use armed drones?
Has the Ethiopian Air Force been accused of killing civilians?
Who commands the Ethiopian Air Force?
Where is the Ethiopian Air Force based?
Read the aircraft the Ethiopian Air Force flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- ENA: Ethiopian Air Force to Commemorate 90 Years with Spectacular National and International Events (25 December 2025)Officials: the air force was officially established as a national institution on 28 November 1935; aviation first introduced on "12 August 1928"; events 23–27 January 2026; Brig. Gen. Brook Seifu, commander of the First Air Division.
- ENA (Amharic): Ethiopian Air Force celebrates its 89th founding anniversary (29 November 2024)Founding dated Hidar 20, 1928 in the Ethiopian calendar (late November 1935); the locally assembled Tsehay 2 aircraft shown ready to fly; Field Marshal Birhanu Jula present.
- ENA: PM Abiy Vows to Modernize Ethiopian Air Force (16 December 2023)88th founding anniversary and graduation; Abiy Ahmed quoted; Field Marshal Birhanu Jula and Lt. Gen. Yilma Merdasa present.
- ENA: "Eagle of the Skies" Marking 90 Years of Commitment to Regional Peace (24 January 2026)90th anniversary ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as commander-in-chief.
- ENA: Ethiopian Air Force Emerges as Continental Model for Military Excellence (23 January 2026)Aviation Expo 2026 opened by Abiy Ahmed as part of ETAF90, 23–27 January 2026; foreign defence attachés quoted.
- ENA: Premier Appoints New Air Force Commander (21 June 2018)Abiy Ahmed appoints Brig. Gen. Yilma Merdasa air force commander in place of Gen. Adem Mohamed, who moved to the intelligence service.
- ENA: Ethiopian, Pakistani Air Force Chiefs Vow to Cement Bilateral Military Cooperation (28 August 2025)Lt. Gen. Yilma Merdasa still commander in August 2025; meeting with Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.
- ENA (Amharic) headline search for the air force’s Amharic nameThe state news agency spells the name የኢትዮጵያ አየር ኃይል in its Amharic headlines (2023–2025).
- FlightGlobal: World Air Forces 2025Ethiopia: MiG-23 9, Su-27 16 plus 6 in the trainer list, Su-25 1 (trainer list), An-12 4, An-32 1, C-130B/E 2, DHC-5 1, DHC-6 1, Mi-8/17 15, Mi-24/35 7, SA316 3, G120TP 12, L-39 15; nothing on order. Army: DHC-6 3, UH-1H 8. No Su-30 or Yak-130 listed.
- defenceWeb: Ethiopia acquires Akinci UAVs, Su-30 fighters (Guy Martin, 17 January 2024)Six Su-30Ks from the ex-Indian batch shown at a ceremony on 16 January 2024; Akinci first seen November 2023; TB2s at Bahir Dar and Harar Meda; Wing Loong and Mohajer-6 in use since 2021; Birhanu Jula and Yilma Merdasa quoted.
- defenceWeb / Africa Defense Forum: African air forces update their fleets (10 April 2026)Photograph of Ethiopian Yak-130s; analysis that Ethiopia’s neighbours have limited, ageing air assets.
- Human Rights Watch: Ethiopia: Airstrike on Camp for Displaced Likely War Crime (24 March 2022)At least 57 killed and more than 42 wounded at Dedebit on 7 January 2022 by MAM-L bombs from a TB2; HRW found no military target and called it an apparent war crime.
- OHCHR: International Commission of Human Rights Experts on EthiopiaSet up by Human Rights Council resolution S-33/1 on 17 December 2021 to investigate violations by all parties since 3 November 2020; reports A/HRC/51/46 (2022) and A/HRC/54/55 (2023); mandate ended October 2023.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025 – EthiopiaApparent drone strike on a truck carrying civilians in Amhara on 19 February 2024, at least 30 killed (media reports); OHCHR said government forces used drones against civilians.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026 – Ethiopia2025 strikes in North Shewa (early February, three killed, per Addis Standard) and East Gojjam (20 February, 16 killed, per BBC Amharic); reports of drone strikes harming civilians in Amhara.
- OHCHR: Ethiopia: Türk urges restraint and steps towards de-escalation amid volatility in Tigray (10 February 2026)Fighting between the ENDF and Tigray Security Forces from 26 January 2026 around Tselemti; both sides reportedly used drones and artillery.
- OHCHR: Ethiopia: Türk alarmed by civilian impact of hostilities, urges de-escalation (25 September 2026)ENDF air strikes, some by drone, reportedly hit five schools in Tigray on 22 September 2026, causing deaths and injuries; hostilities with the TPLF and allies in Tigray, Amhara and Afar.
- OurAirports: Harar Meda Airport (HAHM)Open data; same position and elevation as Wikipedia (8.7163, 39.0059; 6,201 ft). No runway data on the page.
- ENA: Ethiopian Air Force Academy Graduates Junior, Senior Pilots (25 June 2022)Graduation at the air force headquarters in Bishoftu; training, transport, helicopter and VIP helicopter streams; slogan "Tigers 2022".
- ENA: African Air Force Chiefs Visit Ethiopian Air Force (14 December 2023)88th anniversary and first African Air Force Forum in Bishoftu; chiefs toured modernisation and infrastructure works under way since 2018.
- ENA: Black Lion Airshow Graces Closing Ceremony of 88th Anniversary of Ethiopian Air Force in Bishoftu (16 December 2023)Joint Ethiopian and UAE Air Force "Black Lion" display; attended by Abiy Ahmed, Birhanu Jula and Yilma Merdasa.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Kristen Kincade / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: US Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Julian Herzog / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: BoomerTheDoomer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: MaxSpeed / Grob Aircraft AG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Museum Pusat TNI AU Dirgantara Mandala, Yogyakarta, Indonesia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Nik Deblauwe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: SGT. Kimberly Yearyean / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr., U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Syced / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Bayhaluk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Landolso / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: SDASM Archives / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Gary Todd / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Photographer: Mosbatho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Motokoka / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Daniel Z97 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Stefan Krause, Germany / Wikimedia Commons (FAL) · Photo: RuthAS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Tucceri / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: H. Zell / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Duch.seb / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)