Tunisian Air Force
The Tunisian Air Force (جيش الطيران, Armée de l’Air) was founded in 1959, three years after independence, flew Swedish, Italian and American trainers and Sabres through the Bourguiba years, made the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II its only supersonic fighter in 1984–85, and since 2012 has been rebuilt with American help into a counter-insurgency and border-surveillance force of Black Hawks, Kiowa Warriors, surveillance Caravans and Turkish Anka-S drones — while the same small F-5 fleet still guards the airspace.
The Tunisian Air Force story: born beside Bizerte, an F-5 force four decades old and an air arm rebuilt for the Chaambi and the Libyan border
1959–1963: an air force born in the shadow of Bizerte
Tunisia became independent in 1956, and its air force followed in 1959; French Wikipedia credits Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi with creating it. What it inherited was mostly unfinished business. France still held the naval base at Bizerte, with its airfield at Sidi Ahmed, and in May 1961 the French admiral there announced work to lengthen the runway — work which, by the French Wikipedia account, crossed 1.5 metres into Tunisian territory. Tunisia blockaded the base, and between 19 and 23 July 1961 French paratroops, warships and jets broke the blockade and took the town. The young Tunisian air force played no recorded part in the fighting; it had only light trainers. The cost was counted on the ground: France gave its own dead as 20–27, Tunisia’s official communiqué gave 630 Tunisians killed and 1,555 wounded, and later estimates run far higher. France handed Bizerte back on 15 October 1963 — and Sidi Ahmed became the Tunisian Air Force’s own main base.
1960–1980: Safirs, Macchis and second-hand Sabres
The equipment of the first two decades says a good deal about Tunisian foreign policy: small, Western, and bought from several suppliers so as to depend on none. The first aircraft, in 1960, were Swedish Saab 91 Safir trainers — 15 in all, by Wikipedia’s count. Jets came from Italy in 1965 with eight Aermacchi MB-326B trainers, which could also carry weapons, and a handful of MB-326LT. In 1969 the United States supplied 15 second-hand F-86F Sabres, Tunisia’s first true fighters. The 1970s brought SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers and, in 1977–78, eight single-seat MB-326KT light attack aircraft. None of this amounted to an air force that could fight a neighbour, and nobody pretended it did. As the Carnegie Middle East Center later put it, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali kept the military purposely weak for decades to avoid the coups seen elsewhere in the region.
1981–2010: the F-5 era and a deliberately small military
The fighter that defines the service arrived in the 1980s. Tunisia ordered 12 Northrop F-5s — eight single-seat F-5E and four two-seat F-5F — in 1981, received them in 1984–85, and added five ex-US Air Force F-5Es in 1989. defenceWeb describes the F-5 as the country’s main air defence aircraft, flown by 15 Squadron at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed; several have been lost in crashes over four decades. Two C-130H Hercules arrived in 1985, five surplus C-130Bs in 1997, and the Czech Aero L-59T jet trainer and Let L-410 transport in 1995–96. The limits of this force were exposed on 1 October 1985, when Israeli F-15s flew some 2,060 km to bomb the PLO headquarters at Hammam Chott near Tunis; Israel’s air commander expected no resistance and met none. The UN Security Council condemned the raid in Resolution 573.
2011–2016: revolution, a burning border and the Chaambi mountains
The revolution of 2011 ended Ben Ali’s rule and, within weeks, put war on Tunisia’s south-eastern border as Libya collapsed. In June 2011 Reuters reported an F-5 and a helicopter patrolling the frontier after Libyan rockets landed near Mrabeh, and Wikipedia records armed L-59 patrols along the border that year. From December 2012 the army was fighting al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Chaambi mountains near Algeria. After eight soldiers were ambushed and killed in July 2013, Tunisian warplanes bombed militant hideouts in August, according to an army source quoted by Reuters; in April 2014 L-59s flew reconnaissance and strike missions there. On 16 July 2014 an attack in the Chaambi killed at least 14 soldiers, by the Defence Ministry’s count — according to the Carnegie Middle East Center, the worst military loss since Bizerte. In March 2016 an Islamic State assault on Ben Guerdane, near Libya, was defeated; defenceWeb reported at least 53 dead.
2014–2023: the American re-equipment and the first UN mission
The answer was a rebuilt air arm, paid for largely by the United States, which reports more than one billion dollars of security cooperation since 2011. Eight UH-60M Black Hawks, ordered in December 2014, were delivered in 2017–18. Twenty-four ex-US Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors followed, the first six handed over at Gabès in early 2017. Twelve Maule MX-7 light aircraft with sensor turrets, a 20-million-dollar US package, were handed over at El Aouina in May 2016 for surveillance. Two C-130J-30 Super Hercules, ordered in March 2010 — the first J-model Hercules in Africa — arrived in 2013 and 2014–15. Twelve F-5s received a Northrop Grumman avionics upgrade worth 32.5 million dollars, and eight Beechcraft T-6C trainers had joined 13 Squadron at Sfax by August 2023. Tunisia also looked elsewhere: in 2020 it bought Turkish Anka-S drones, and in February 2019 a C-130J and 75 personnel went to Bamako, the air force’s first United Nations mission.
2024–2026: Hercules, Caravans and an ageing fighter force
Since 2024 the pattern has continued rather than changed. Four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft arrived at El Aouina in September 2024 in a 54-million-dollar deal. Surplus American C-130Hs have kept coming — one in May 2024, a third on 18 November 2024 and a fourth on 13 January 2026 — and in June 2025 the air force ordered 12 Subaru Bell 412EPX helicopters at the Paris Air Show. The F-5 remains the only fighter: no replacement order, and no change to the fleet, was reported in the sources checked for 2024–2026, and the four AT-6C light attack aircraft the US approved in 2020 have not been reported as ordered. The weakness is plain: a fighter force of around a dozen jets that first flew in Tunisia four decades ago. The strength is equally plain: a service that, with modest money, has turned itself into an effective counter-insurgency and border-surveillance force.
The Tunisian Air Force in numbers
Service
- Native name
- جيش الطيران / Armée de l’AirArabic as written by the Ministry of National Defence on defense.tn (Jaysh al-Tayaran, literally "the army of aviation"); French as given by English Wikipedia. French Wikipedia titles its article Armée de l’air tunisienne
- Founded
- 1959Three years after independence in 1956. French Wikipedia names Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi as founder; no exact day was found
- Part of
- Tunisian Armed ForcesOne of three services with the army and navy, under the Ministry of National Defence; the President is supreme commander
- Headquarters
- BizerteGiven by English Wikipedia; not confirmed on an official page. Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed is the fighter base and the scene of official handovers
- Chief of Staff of the Air Force
- Gen. Mohamed HajjemIn post by October 2019; last named at the November 2024 Hercules handover. Spelling varies (Hajem, El Hajjam)
- Minister of National Defence
- Khaled SehiliAlso spelled Shili. Presided at the Caravan, C-130H and Africom events of 2024–2026
Strength
- Personnel
- About 4,500English Wikipedia and defenceWeb (2024) give about 4,500; defenceWeb’s 2019 country profile gave 3,500
- Combat aircraft
-
- F-5E/F Tiger II — 12–15 (10 F-5E and 3 F-5F per Wikipedia; 12 E and 3 F per defenceWeb 2019)
- Aero L-59T (armed trainer) — 6–12
17 F-5s were delivered (1984–85 and 1989); several have been lost. No fighter replacement had been ordered by October 2026
- Transport and surveillance
-
- C-130H — 5, C-130B — 1, C-130J-30 — 2 (defenceWeb, January 2026)
- C-208B Grand Caravan EX (ISR) — 4
- Maule MX-7 (ISR) — 12 delivered
- Let L-410 — 5
defenceWeb counts a further ten Hercules in storage or preservation
- Helicopters
-
- UH-60M Black Hawk — 8
- OH-58D Kiowa Warrior — 24 delivered (18 in service per Wikipedia)
- Bell 205/AB 205 and UH-1N — about 37 (Wikipedia)
- Gazelle, Alouette II/III, AS350, Bell 412, HH-3 — older types
- Bell 412EPX — 12 on order
defenceWeb counts 39 Bell-family helicopters before the 412EPX order. Counts for the older types come from Wikipedia’s table and are not confirmed officially
- Trainers
-
- Beechcraft T-6C Texan II — 8
- SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 — 17–20
- Aero L-59T — see combat aircraft
T-6Cs with 13 Squadron at Sfax; pilot and technical schooling at Borj El Amri
- Drones
- TAI Anka-S — 3–6defenceWeb reported six aircraft in three systems (2020); English Wikipedia says three were contracted and five delivered, the first on 13 November 2021. The navy, not the air force, flies ScanEagle
- Defence spending
- $824 million (2018)Carnegie: up from $572 million in 2010, peaking at nearly $1 billion in 2016. No later official figure was checked
Infrastructure
- Main air bases
-
- Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed — F-5s, Hercules handovers
- Tunis-El Aouina — Caravans, Maules
- Sfax — T-6C training
- Gabès — Kiowa Warrior handover
- Gafsa, Bizerte-La Karouba
Wikipedia lists Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, Gafsa, Bizerte-La Karouba and Sfax; French Wikipedia adds El Aouina, Borj El Amri and Gabès. Unit locations given here are those already published in the press
- Flying school
- Borj El AmriÉcole de l’aviation de Borj El Amri: formed in 1994 by merging the civil aviation school (1968) with the Air Academy founded at Sfax in 1984
- Fighter squadron
- 15 Squadron, Bizerte-Sidi AhmedF-5E/F, as reported by defenceWeb in 2015
- UN air deployments
- MINUSMA, Mali, from 2019One C-130J and 75 personnel to Bamako from 1 February 2019: the air force’s first UN mission
- Foreign aircraft
- US surveillance drones, 2016President Essebsi confirmed in November 2016 that unarmed US drones flew over the Libyan border at Tunisia’s request, while denying there was a US base; the air base was not named
- Border security
- Libya border systemUS-German-Tunisian programme since 2016; Phase III ($95 million) approved by the US on 27 April 2026
How the Tunisian Air Force is organised
One of the three services of the Tunisian Armed Forces, about 4,500 strong, with its headquarters at Bizerte according to Wikipedia and its flying school at Borj El Amri. The only fighters are 12 to 15 Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs of 15 Squadron at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, delivered in 1984–85 and 1989; since 2011 the rest of the fleet has been rebuilt, largely with American help, around Black Hawks, Kiowa Warriors, surveillance aircraft and Hercules. The Ministry of National Defence does not publish a full list of units by base, so only the squadrons named in the press are placed.
Tunisian Air Force
One of the three services of the Tunisian Armed Forces, with the army and navy, under the Ministry of National Defence; the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, is supreme commander. defenceWeb already named Gen Mohamed Hajjem chief of staff of the air force, as a brigadier general, in October 2019, and he was last named at the Hercules handover of November 2024; the date of his appointment was not found, and the spelling of his name varies. The Minister of National Defence is Khaled Sehili. The headquarters is at Bizerte according to English Wikipedia, which no official page confirms.
15 Squadron
Flies the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, the only fighter and, in defenceWeb’s words, the country’s main air defence aircraft: 17 were delivered in 1984–85 and 1989, and 12 to 15 remain after crash losses. Twelve received a Northrop Grumman avionics upgrade under a 32.5-million-dollar contract of 2015. No replacement had been ordered by 2026.
L-59T and Anka-S
Six to 12 Aero L-59T armed jet trainers, which patrolled the Libyan border in 2011 and flew reconnaissance and strike missions over the Chaambi mountains in April 2014, according to Wikipedia; and Turkish TAI Anka-S drones, three to six by different counts, the first officially received on 13 November 2021. Their bases are not published.
Hercules transport fleet
Five C-130H, one C-130B and two C-130J-30 Super Hercules in service, with about ten more stored, according to defenceWeb in January 2026; the C-130Js, the first J models in Africa, flew the air force’s first UN mission, to Mali, from 2019. Surplus US C-130Hs were handed over at Sidi Ahmed in November 2024 and January 2026; where the C-130Js are based is not stated. Five Let L-410s complete the transport fleet.
Maule MX-7 and C-208B Grand Caravan EX
Twelve sensor-equipped Maule MX-7s, handed over at El Aouina in May 2016, and four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft delivered there on 9 September 2024 in a 54-million-dollar US package, bought for the Libyan border and counter-insurgency. The squadron is not named in the sources.
32 Squadron and the helicopter fleet
32 Squadron at Sidi Ahmed sent three armed AB205As to the UN mission in the Central African Republic in 2021, according to defenceWeb. The fleet also counts eight UH-60M Black Hawks, 24 ex-US Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, the first six handed over at Gabès in 2017, and about 37 Bell 205s and UH-1Ns by Wikipedia’s count; 12 Subaru Bell 412EPX were ordered in June 2025.
13 Squadron and the Aviation School of Borj El Amri
13 Squadron at Sfax flies eight Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs, the last delivered in August 2023, alongside 17 to 20 SF.260s. The Ministry’s Aviation School at Borj El Amri was formed in 1994 by merging the civil aviation school of 1968 with the Air Academy founded at Sfax in 1984.
What the Tunisian 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIIn service | Light fighter | 1984 | 12–15. English Wikipedia: 10 F-5E and 3 F-5F. defenceWeb (2019): 12 F-5E and 3 F-5F. 17 delivered: 8 F-5E and 4 F-5F in 1984–85 and 5 ex-USAF F-5E in 1989; several lost in crashes. | |||
| Aero L-59T Super AlbatrosIn service | Armed jet trainer | 1995 | 6–12. 12 delivered in 1995–96; Wikipedia’s inventory gives 6–9 in service, defenceWeb (2019) 9. | |||
| Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIIn service | Basic trainer | 8 | 2022 | Eight bought through US Foreign Military Sales (a 12-aircraft request was notified in 2019). | ||
| SIAI-Marchetti SF.260W/CIn service | Primary trainer and light attack | 1974 | 17–20. Wikipedia: 17. defenceWeb (2019): 12 SF.260WT and 8 SF.260CT. Bought as 12 SF.260W Warrior and 9 SF.260C from 1974. | |||
| Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super HerculesIn service | Tactical transport | 2 | 2013 | Two. | ||
| Lockheed C-130B and C-130H HerculesIn service | Tactical transport | 6 | 1985 | Five C-130H and one C-130B active, plus about ten Hercules in storage or preservation (defenceWeb, January 2026). English Wikipedia gives 4 C-130B/H. | ||
| Textron Aviation C-208B Grand Caravan EXIn service | ISR and light transport | 4 | 2024 | Four, delivered 9 September 2024. | ||
| Maule MX-7In service | Surveillance | 12 | 2016 | Twelve. | ||
| Let L-410UVP TurboletIn service | Light transport | 5 | 1995 | Five per Wikipedia; defenceWeb (2019) lists 2 L-410UVP-E20 and 3 L-410UVP-E20G. | ||
| Sikorsky UH-60M Black HawkIn service | Utility and armed helicopter | 8 | 2017 | Eight delivered. Contracts for up to 16 were reported in 2015–16, but only eight deliveries were confirmed. | ||
| Bell OH-58D Kiowa WarriorIn service | Armed reconnaissance helicopter | 2017 | 18–24. 24 ex-US Army helicopters delivered in 2017; Wikipedia gives 18 in service. | |||
| Bell 205 / Agusta-Bell AB 205 and Bell UH-1NIn service | Utility helicopter | About 37 per Wikipedia (21 Bell 205, 16 UH-1N). defenceWeb counted 39 Bell-family helicopters in all in 2025. | ||||
| Bell 412In service | Utility helicopter | 2 | Two per Wikipedia. | |||
| Aérospatiale SA341/SA342 GazelleIn service | Armed scout helicopter | 15 | 15 per Wikipedia. | |||
| Aérospatiale Alouette II and Alouette IIIIn service | Light utility helicopter | 15 | Wikipedia: 8 Alouette II and 7 Alouette III. | |||
| Eurocopter AS350 ÉcureuilIn service | Light utility helicopter | 6 | 6 per Wikipedia. | |||
| Sikorsky HH-3In service | Search and rescue and transport helicopter | Wikipedia lists 15; not confirmed by any other source checked, and the number in flying condition is unknown. | ||||
| TAI Anka-SIn service | Medium-altitude long-endurance drone | 2021 | 3–6. defenceWeb (2020): six aircraft in three systems. Wikipedia: three contracted, five delivered; its Tunisian Air Force inventory gives 6. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru Bell 412EPXOn order | 12 | Ordered at the Paris Air Show in June 2025, beating Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo; the first order for this variant in the region. Built by Subaru in Japan with Bell.
MoreNo delivery schedule was published. |
Every type the Tunisian Air Force has retired
3 types, from the Saab 91 Safir to the Aermacchi MB-326B, MB-326KT and MB-326LT. 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aermacchi MB-326B, MB-326KT and MB-326LT | Jet trainer and light attack | 1965– | About 20 bought: 8 MB-326B (1965), 4–5 MB-326LT and 7–8 MB-326KT (1977–78). defenceWeb still listed 16 in 2019; English Wikipedia’s current inventory no longer includes the type. | |||
| North American F-86F Sabre | Fighter | 15 | 1969– | 15 second-hand from the USAF. | ||
| Saab 91 Safir | Primary trainer | 15 | 1960– | One 91B-D and 14 91D (Wikipedia); French Wikipedia: 8 in 1960 and 7 more. |
Where the Tunisian Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases; no closed base is listed. The principal base, Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, was a French military airfield until 15 October 1963, and Sidi Ahmed, El Aouina, Sfax and Borj El Amri, then Massicault, all served American air units in 1943. El Aouina is the military side of Tunis-Carthage airport; no based units are published for Gafsa, Remada or La Karouba. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bizerte-La KaroubaBizerte Governorate | Active |
|
||
| Bizerte-Sidi AhmedBizerte Governorate | DTTB | Active | 08/263,001 mpaved11/291,212 mconcrete |
|
| Borj El AmriManouba Governorate | DTTI | Active | 13/311,050 m |
|
| El AouinaTunis-CarthageTunis Governorate | DTTA | Active | 01/193,200 m11/292,840 m |
|
| GabèsGabès-MatmataGabès Governorate | DTTG | Active | 06/242,998 m |
|
| GafsaGafsa-KsarGafsa Governorate | DTTF | Active | 05/232,900 m | |
| RemadaTataouine Governorate | DTTD | Active | 02/202,400 m | |
| SfaxSfax-ThynaSfax Governorate | DTTX | Active | 15/333,000 mconcrete |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Tunisian Air Force
Flying units by base, current units first. Only three Tunisian squadrons are named in the published sources: 15 Squadron with F-5s and 32 Squadron with AB205 helicopters at Sidi Ahmed, and 13 Squadron with T-6Cs at Sfax. Where the press names only a handover site, as for the surveillance aircraft at El Aouina and the Kiowa Warriors at Gabès, the entry says so. US Army Air Forces groups of 1943 and the French naval flottilles at La Karouba are listed and marked as not Tunisian.
- 15 SquadronFighter squadron · active
- Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II
- 32 SquadronHelicopter squadron · active
- Agusta-Bell AB 205A
- Hercules transport fleetTransport · active
- Lockheed C-130H / C-130B Hercules
- US Army Air Forces (Twelfth Air Force)1943–1943
- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
- Surveillance aircraft (squadron not named in sources)ISR / light transport · active
- Maule MX-7, Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX
- 13 SquadronTraining squadron · active
- Beechcraft T-6C Texan II
- Air Academy (Académie de l’air)1984–1994
- Kiowa Warrior helicopters (squadron not named in sources)Armed reconnaissance helicopters · active
- Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
- Aviation School of Borj El AmriFlying and technical school · active
- US Army Air Forces (Twelfth Air Force), Massicault Airfield1943–1943
- B-17 Flying Fortress, B-26 Marauder, F-4/F-5 Lightning
- French naval aviation flottilles1952–1963
- Vought F4U-7 Corsair, Grumman TBM Avenger
No unit matches that search.
Tunisian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
The Tunisian Air Force is founded, three years after independence; French Wikipedia credits Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi.
First aircraft: Saab 91 Safir trainers from Sweden, 15 in all.
19–23 July: the Bizerte crisis. French forces break the Tunisian blockade of the Bizerte base and its Sidi Ahmed airfield; Tunisia’s official count is 630 killed.
15 October: France hands Bizerte back; Sidi Ahmed becomes a Tunisian air base.
15 second-hand F-86F Sabres from the United States.
Deliveries of 8 F-5E and 4 F-5F (ordered 1981) begin, completed in 1985; two C-130H follow in 1985.
1 October: Israeli F-15s bomb the PLO headquarters at Hammam Chott; no Tunisian air defence response is recorded. UN Security Council Resolution 573 condemns the raid on 4 October.
12 Aero L-59T and 3 Let L-410 ordered from the Czech Republic; L-59 deliveries run to 1996.
Revolution; as Libya collapses, F-5s, L-59s and helicopters patrol the south-eastern border.
April: first C-130J-30 delivered, the first J-model Hercules in Africa. August: warplanes bomb militants in the Chaambi mountains.
16 July: at least 14 soldiers killed in the Chaambi mountains (Defence Ministry). December: eight UH-60M Black Hawks ordered.
May: 12 Maule MX-7 surveillance aircraft handed over at El Aouina. November: President Essebsi confirms US drones fly over the Libyan border at Tunisia’s request.
First of 24 OH-58D Kiowa Warriors handed over at Gabès; first four UH-60Ms delivered in June (the last in June 2018).
1 February: a C-130J and 75 personnel deploy to Bamako for MINUSMA, the air force’s first UN mission.
13 November: first TAI Anka-S drone officially received; the first surplus US C-130H of a new batch also arrives this year.
August: eighth and last T-6C Texan II delivered to 13 Squadron at Sfax.
9 September: four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft delivered. 18 November: third surplus C-130H handed over at Sidi Ahmed.
13 January: fourth surplus C-130H received at Sidi Ahmed.
Every war the Tunisian Air Force has fought
Sorties and losses where the record gives them, and an honest blank where it does not.
- The Bizerte crisis 1961 No recorded combat flying
- Israeli raid on Hammam Chott (Operation Wooden Leg) 1985 Did not engage
- The Libyan civil war on Tunisia’s border 2011 Border surveillance and armed patrols by F-5s, L-59s and helicopters after Libyan fire landed on Tunisian territory
- Counter-insurgency in the Chaambi mountains 2012–present Air strikes, armed reconnaissance and helicopter support for army operations against al-Qaeda-linked militant groups
- Islamic State and the Libyan border 2015–present Surveillance of the Libyan border with manned ISR aircraft and, from 2021, Anka-S drones; Tunisia also allowed unarmed US surveillance drones to fly over the border
Who built the Tunisian 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
Bell, Aérospatiale, Sikorsky, Aero Vodochody, Agusta, Beechcraft, Cessna, Eurocopter, Let Kunovice, Lockheed, Lockheed Martin, Maule, Northrop, SIAI-Marchetti, Subaru, Turkish Aerospace (TAI / TUSAŞ)
Former fleet
Everything people ask about the Tunisian Air Force
What is the Tunisian Air Force called in Arabic and French?
Which fighter jets does the Tunisian Air Force fly?
When was the Tunisian Air Force founded?
Did the Tunisian Air Force fight in the 1961 Bizerte crisis?
What does the Tunisian Air Force do in the Chaambi mountains?
Does the Tunisian Air Force have drones?
Are there American aircraft or bases in Tunisia?
What transport aircraft does the Tunisian Air Force have?
What new aircraft is Tunisia getting?
Has the Tunisian Air Force served with the United Nations?
Read the aircraft the Tunisian 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
- Ministère de la Défense nationale: defense.tnOfficial Arabic name of the air force; schools.
- Ministry of National Defence: air force page, C-130 handover of 13 January 2026Fourth C-130 received at Sidi Ahmed, Minister Khaled Shili, US officials.
- Ministry of National Defence: Borj El Amri aviation schoolHistory 1958–1994: El Aouina centre, 1968 school, 1984 Air Academy at Sfax, 1994 merger.
- Airforce Technology: Beechcraft T-6C Texan II training system delivered to Tunisian Air Force (16 August 2023)Eight T-6C; first November 2022; 13 Squadron, Sfax.
- Armada International: Tunisian Maule ISR package revealed (14 February 2017)12 Maules, $20 million, handed over May 2016 at El Aouina.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia receives another surplus C-130 from the US (27 January 2026)13 January 2026 C-130H; Hercules fleet; US assistance.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia receives another C-130 Hercules from the US (28 November 2024)18 November 2024 handover; General Mohammed Hajem; fleet; T-6C order 2020.
- defenceWeb: Niger, Tunisia, Morocco to receive ex-US C-130Hs (20 October 2020)Two EDA C-130H; first African C-130J operator, contract March 2010.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia receives Caravan aircraft (17 September 2024)Four C-208B Grand Caravan EX, $54 million, El Aouina; 4,500 personnel.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia orders a dozen Bell 412EPX helicopters (19 June 2025)12 Subaru Bell 412EPX; 39 Bell-family helicopters.
- defenceWeb: US approves $95 million next phase of Tunisian border security project (29 April 2026)Phase III approved 27 April 2026; programme since 2016.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia orders Anka-S UAVs from Turkey (12 March 2020)Six aircraft in three systems, about $80 million.
- defenceWeb: Tunisian Armed Forces (10 October 2019)Inventory, 3,500 air force personnel, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Hajjem chief of staff.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia getting more Black Hawks, ScanEagle support (3 October 2016)UH-60M contracts; navy ScanEagles; counter-terrorism purpose.
- defenceWeb: Tunisian Black Hawk deliveries completed (23 November 2018)Eight UH-60M delivered June 2017–June 2018; 24 OH-58D.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia receives first Kiowa Warriors (6 February 2017)First six of 24 OH-58D at Gabès.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia to upgrade its F-5 fleet (21 September 2015)Northrop Grumman upgrade of 12 F-5s; delivery history; 15 Squadron, Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed.
- defenceWeb: Tunisian AT-6C aircraft purchase approved (2 March 2020)Four AT-6C approved 25 February 2020, $325 million; 12 T-6C requested 2019.
- defenceWeb: Tunisia to send aircraft to support Minusma (24 January 2019)C-130J and 75 personnel to Bamako from 1 February 2019; first UN mission.
- defenceWeb/Reuters: Tunisia aircraft survey border after attack (15 June 2011)F-5 and helicopter patrol after Libyan rockets hit Mrabeh.
- defenceWeb/Reuters: Tunisia bombs Islamist militants in mountain hideouts (13 August 2013)Air strikes on Chaambi; July 2013 ambush.
- defenceWeb/Reuters: At least 14 Tunisian troops killed in mountain ambushes (17 July 2014)Defence Ministry casualty figures, 16 July 2014.
- defenceWeb/Carnegie Middle East Center: The evolution of Tunisia’s military and the role of foreign security sector assistance (12 May 2020)Budget figures; 2014 Chaambi toll; Ben Guerdane; border fence; US assistance.
- defenceWeb/Reuters: Tunisia confirms U.S. drones over Libyan border (23 November 2016)President Essebsi on unarmed US drones; Ben Guerdane toll.
- defenceWeb: Africom’s Anderson talks regional security in Tunisia (27 November 2025)Africom commander meets Defence Minister; deliveries 2024.
- defenceWeb: African Lion, Africom’s largest annual exercise, kicks off in Tunisia (2 May 2024)African Lion 2024 in Tunisia, 29 April–10 May.
- defenceWeb: Tunisian helicopters operational in Central African Republic (19 November 2021)Three AB205A of 32 Squadron from Bizerte/Sidi Ahmed; send-off at El Aouina end of August 2021; Bangui 13 October; fully operational 10 November 2021; 130-strong aviation unit for MINUSCA.
- defenceWeb (Reuters): Military helicopter crashes in Tunisia, killing 3 soldiers (6 October 2021)Night exercise crash in Gabès; three killed; state news agency citing a Defence Ministry spokesperson.
- defenceWeb (TAP): Two dead in Tunisian aircraft crash (24 April 2018)Two military personnel killed in a crash next to the air base in Sfax state during a night training exercise, per the governor; type not given.
- Kapitalis: Crash d’un avion militaire à Bizerte, le pilote se porte bien (17 October 2018)F-5 lost off Bizerte during an exercise; pilot ejected, found in a life raft and taken to Sidi Ahmed air base; Italian help with the search; Defence Ministry statement.
- OurAirports: Bizerte Sidi Ahmed Air Base (DTTB) and runwaysCommunity-maintained data, not the AIP: coordinates, 6 m elevation, runways 08/26 (3,001 m) and 11/29 (1,212 m).
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: USAF / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: United States Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: MarcelX42 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: ZLEA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Ivekbeg5 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Guilherme Borges dos Santos / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Anidaat / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Photographer: Mosbatho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Stefan Krause, Germany / Wikimedia Commons (FAL)