Every war the Benin Air Force has fought
Benin’s air arm has no recorded combat before Operation Mirador, launched in January 2022 against jihadist groups on the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The government publishes no air operations data, and casualty figures for the attack in W National Park in April 2025 differ between the Africa Center (at least 54) and defenceWeb (about 50–70). No role for Benin’s own air force was reported in the mercenary attack on Cotonou in 1977 or the failed coup attempt of December 2025. 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.
Operation Mirador on the northern borders since 2022.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation Miradorcounter-insurgency in northern BeninBenin Air Force | 2022– | Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) | H215 Super Puma, H125M, AS550 Fennecand 1 more | |||
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Helicopter transport, reconnaissance and casualty evacuation in support of ground forces; surveillance. Operation Mirador began in January 2022 and placed nearly 3,000 troops along Benin’s northern borders under one field command, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies; Africa Defense Forum describes the same deployment in the north-west. The air force’s contribution has been helicopters: two H125Ms with long-range electro-optical cameras delivered in February 2023 for counter-terrorism in the north, and three Super Pumas supplied by France in July 2023, which Military Africa reported were intended for troop transport, search and rescue and medical evacuation there. JNIM’s attacks grew in scale: on 8 January 2025 about a hundred militants on motorcycles killed 28 soldiers at a base in Alibori, and on 17 April 2025 at least 54 soldiers were killed in W National Park, the deadliest day for Benin’s military since militants entered the country in 2019 (Africa Center). The same analysis estimates 575 deaths in all in 2025 and describes Benin’s air effort as hampered by "aerial blindness": drones, surveillance aircraft and light planes that are too few and underused. Outcome Continuing. The government publishes no air operations data. Casualty figures for April 2025 differ between the Africa Center (at least 54) and defenceWeb (about 50–70).
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Every figure, checked
- defenceWeb: Benin (African militaries profile, Armand Liebenberg, 26 May 2026)Chief of staff, about 250 personnel, aircraft inventory, bases, defence minister and 2025 budget, April 2025 losses, December 2025 coup attempt.
- Military Africa: Benin’s Air Force boosts counterterrorism efforts with new H125M helicopters (June 2023)Two H125Ms delivered 3 February 2023 by Il-76, Trakka systems; PMR-50 drones donated by China.
- Military Africa: Benin receives Puma helicopters from France to enhance counter-terrorism fight (July 2023)Three Pumas from France for the north; Mi-171 purchase delayed.
- Africa Defense Forum: Super Pumas join Benin’s air force (September 2023)Three H215s and two H125Ms; two AS550s in 2020; Operation Mirador; other fleet.
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies, via defenceWeb: Adapting Benin’s battle with violent militant groups (Anouar Boukhars, 11 February 2026)Operation Mirador, the January and April 2025 attacks, 2025 death estimate, "aerial blindness".
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Benin Air Force.