اختر صفحة

القوات الجوية الإريترية

القوات الجوية الإريترية

القوات الجوية الإريترية

The Eritrean Air Force, formed in 1994 from aircraft the Ethiopian army left behind, fought Ethiopia’s air force with MB-339s and MiG-29s in the 1998–2000 border war, then spent nine years under a UN arms embargo that cut off its maintenance; by 2025 FlightGlobal counted just two Su-27s, six Mi-24s, six Mi-17s and a handful of transports.

0طائرات حربية
4قواعد جوية نشطة
1994تأسست
2الأنواع المتقاعدة
Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Kristen Kincade / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
دولةإريترياتأسست1994حالةنشيطالمقر الرئيسيAsmaraقائدTeklai Habteselassie
القصة

The Eritrean Air Force story: aircraft the Derg left behind, MiG-29s against Su-27s and a UN arms embargo

1994: an air force from what the Derg left behind

Eritrea won its independence war without an air force. The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front fought on the ground against an Ethiopian air force that bombed it for three decades, and when it won, Ethiopian aircraft were left behind at Asmara. Wikipedia dates the Eritrean Air Force to 1994 and says it began with abandoned Ethiopian aircraft, including MiG-21s; no second source we could reach confirms that those jets flew in Eritrean colours, so they are not in the fleet list below. The founder was Habtezion Hadgu, a former Ethiopian Air Force pilot who, according to Wikipedia, had defected to the EPLF in the late 1980s and recruited other ex-Ethiopian officers. Asmara airport, opened by the Italians in 1922 as the military field of Gura, became the air force’s home and still is. Eritrea has no official language; Tigrinya, Arabic and English are its working languages, and government English uses the name Eritrean Air Force.

1996–1998: trainers, MiGs and the first raids

The first real combat equipment was Italian. Eritrea ordered six Aermacchi MB-339CE jet trainers in 1996, a version of the MB-339C built for it with the Viper 680-43 engine, and Wikipedia’s MB-339 article dates the first combat unit to 1997. When the border dispute over Badme turned into war in May 1998 the air force was tiny. Its first missions came on 5 June 1998, the day Ethiopian jets bombed Asmara airport with bombs and napalm. One Ethiopian aircraft was shot down over Asmara and its pilot, Bezabeh Petros, captured; Wikipedia notes he had already been a prisoner of the EPLF once before. In the same year Eritrea bought eight MiG-29s, in what Wikipedia calls a sort of arms race with Ethiopia’s purchase of Su-27s. On 26 June 1998 the UN Security Council noted both governments’ pledges to stop air strikes.

Mekele, 5 June 1998: what the Claims Commission found

The Eritrean raid of 5 June 1998 on Mekele is the best-documented air action of the war, because an international tribunal examined it. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission found that four MB-339 sorties attacked Mekele that afternoon: the first strafed, the second dropped cluster bombs on the airport runway, and the third and fourth, at about five and six o’clock, dropped cluster bombs on the Ayder School neighbourhood some seven kilometres away. It found that 53 civilians were killed, including 12 schoolchildren, and 185 wounded. Eritrea argued that the bombing was an accident incidental to legitimate military operations. The Commission, noting the long odds against two consecutive sorties making the same error and drawing adverse inferences from Eritrea’s refusal to provide pilot testimony, held in April 2004 that Eritrea was liable for the deaths and damage caused by the third and fourth sorties. In a separate award in 2005 it held Ethiopia liable for bombing the Harsile water reservoir that supplied Assab.

1999–2000: MiG-29 against Su-27, claim against claim

The air war of 1999 and 2000 is told almost entirely through Ethiopian claims. Wikipedia records Ethiopian Su-27s damaging an Eritrean MiG-29 on 21 February 1999 and shooting down MiG-29s on 25 and 26 February 1999. Ethiopia claimed seven MiG-29s in all; Wikipedia says only two to four can be confirmed, and Eritrea disputes the claims of May 2000. Claims run the other way too: Wikipedia’s Su-25 article says an Eritrean MiG-29 shot down an Ethiopian Su-25 on 15 May 2000, killing its pilot, and its MiG-23 article credits Eritrean MiG-29s with three Ethiopian MiG-23BNs. Wikipedia’s war article lists Eritrean losses as four MiG-29As and one MB-339CE. Eritrea has published no figures of its own. The Algiers Agreement ended the war on 12 December 2000; total deaths are estimated at between 70,000 and 300,000.

2003–2018: the Flankers arrive, the embargo bites

After the war the air force bought Flankers of its own. Milavia records the first Su-27s arriving in summer 2003, with at least one single-seater and one Su-27UB two-seater; Wikipedia’s Su-27 article says two came from Ukraine in 2002–2003. Habtezion Hadgu, suspended after the war according to Wikipedia, left command in January 2003; Major General Teklai Habteselassie has led the service since. Then the money and the spare parts ran out. On 23 December 2009 the Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea over alleged support for al-Shabaab and the border dispute with Djibouti, and Wikipedia says the Russian maintenance contract ended because it breached the ban, leaving the fighters rarely flown. In 2012, Wikipedia records, two officers flew a government jet to Saudi Arabia and sought asylum. From September 2015 the UAE turned Assab airport into a base for its war in Yemen, which UN monitors said in 2016 could itself breach the embargo.

2018–2026: a small fleet, a training role and a tense border

The embargo was lifted by resolution 2444 in 2018, the year Eritrea and Ethiopia made peace, but there is no published sign of a re-equipment programme. FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory counts one Su-27 fighter and one Su-27 trainer, six Mi-24s, six Mi-17/171s, one Bell 412, four Harbin Y-12s and a King Air 200, and no MiG-29s; Wikipedia’s MiG-29 list says none were operational by 2026, against seven counted in 2023. What the government publishes instead is training: 250 cadets graduated in Asmara in May 2019, the College of Aviation held its first commencement in 2022, and from 2022 Somali soldiers trained at the air force headquarters. In the Tigray war of 2020–2022 Eritrean ground forces fought on Ethiopia’s side; what the air force did is largely unreported. Since 2024 Ethiopia’s talk of access to the sea has brought the two countries back to the edge of conflict.

The first real combat equipment was Italian. Eritrea ordered six Aermacchi MB-339CE jet trainers in 1996, a version of the MB-339C built for it with the Viper 680-43 engine, and Wikipedia’s MB-339 article dates the first combat unit to 1997.Eritrean Air Force · verified 2026-10-01

لمحة سريعة

The Eritrean Air Force in numbers

خدمة

الاسم الأصلي
القوات الجوية الإريتريةEritrea has no official language; Tigrinya, Arabic and English are the working languages. The Ministry of Information uses Eritrean Air Force in English. We could not reach a government page giving the Tigrinya or Arabic form, so none is published here
تأسست
1994Formed after independence, according to Wikipedia; no official founding date has been published
جزء من
قوات الدفاع الإريتريةOne of three branches with the army and navy; President Isaias Afwerki is commander-in-chief
المقر الرئيسي
AsmaraAsmara International Airport is a joint civil and military airfield; Somalia’s state news agency calls the site the Eritrean Air Force headquarters
قائد
Maj. Gen. Teklai HabteselassieNamed as commander by the Ministry of Information in 2019 and in August 2026; in post since about 2003 according to Wikipedia
UN arms embargo
2009–2018Imposed by resolution 1907 on 23 December 2009 over alleged support for al-Shabaab and the Djibouti border dispute; the Eritrea regime was terminated by resolution 2444 in 2018
Chief of Staff, Defence Forces
Gen. Filipos WoldeyohannesAs listed by Wikipedia; Eritrea publishes little on its command structure

قوة

الأفراد
Neither the government nor the sources we reached give a figure
طائرات حربية
  • Su-27SK and Su-27UB — 2 (FlightGlobal); 2–8 delivered by other accounts

FlightGlobal lists one Su-27 as a combat aircraft and one as a trainer. The MiG-29s no longer appear

طائرات الهليكوبتر
  • Mi-24/35 — 6
  • Mi-17/171 — 6
  • Bell 412 — 1

FlightGlobal groups all three under combat helicopters

ينقل
  • Harbin Y-12 — 4
  • Beechcraft King Air 200 — 1

فلايت جلوبال 2025

إجمالي الطائرات
20Sum of the FlightGlobal 2025 entries; how many are airworthy is not published. Wikipedia says the Russian-built fighters are rarely flown for lack of maintenance
عند الطلب
Nothing publishedFlightGlobal lists no orders

بنية تحتية

القواعد الجوية
  • Asmara International Airport — headquarters
  • Assab International Airport — joint civil and military
  • Massawa — Fenkil Air Force Camp
  • Sawa — airstrip at the national training centre

Wikipedia lists Asmara, Assab, Sawa and Massawa; the Ministry of Information names the Fenkil Air Force Camp at Massawa

تمرين
College of Aviation of EritreaFirst commencement in 2022; a three-year pilot course. 250 cadets graduated in May 2019 in technical, air defence and pilot courses
الدفاع الجوي
Part of the air forceGraduates in 2019 were trained on air defence missile and radar systems; the UN monitors reported Ukrainian air traffic control and radar technicians in Asmara from July 2016
الوجود الأجنبي
UAE at Assab, 2015–2021The UAE upgraded Assab airport from September 2015 for its Yemen intervention and began a partial withdrawal in 2021

بناء

How the Eritrean Air Force is organised

One of the three branches of the Eritrean Defence Forces, beside the army and navy, with its headquarters and main base at Asmara International Airport. FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory counts 20 aircraft: two Su-27s, one of them a trainer, six Mi-24s, six Mi-17/171s, a Bell 412, four Y-12s and a King Air 200, and no MiG-29s. The air force includes the air defence and trains its pilots at the College of Aviation of Eritrea; the government publishes no units or base dispositions.

ذ

لواءTeklai HabteselassieCommander of the Eritrean Air Force · in office since 2003
القوات الجوية الإريترية
المقر الرئيسي

القوات الجوية الإريترية

Asmara

One of the three branches of the Eritrean Defence Forces, with the army and navy, headquartered at Asmara International Airport. The Ministry of Information named Maj. Gen. Teklai Habteselassie as commander in 2019 and again in August 2026; Wikipedia dates his appointment to about 2003, after the founder, Brig. Gen. Habtezion Hadgu, left in January 2003. President Isaias Afwerki is commander-in-chief.

خط المواجهة

Su-27 fighters

FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory lists two Su-27s, one as a combat aircraft and one as a trainer; Milavia dates the first delivery to summer 2003, and delivered figures range from two to about eight. Wikipedia says Russian maintenance ended under the 2009 UN arms embargo and that the fighters are rarely flown. The MiG-29s bought in 1998 no longer appear, and the unit that flies the Su-27s is not published.

طائرات الهليكوبتر

أسطول طائرات الهليكوبتر

FlightGlobal lists six Mi-24/35 attack helicopters, six Mi-17/171 transports and a Bell 412. In 2016 the UN Monitoring Group reported an air force delegation in Italy, allegedly seeking helicopter spare parts; two of its helicopter pilots did not return. Units and bases are not published.

ينقل

أسطول النقل

Four Harbin Y-12 light transports and a King Air 200, according to FlightGlobal 2025, which lists nothing on order. Delivery dates and the units that fly them are not published.

تمرين

College of Aviation of Eritrea

Asmara (2019 graduation)

Held its first commencement in 2022, with a three-year pilot course. On 31 May 2019, 250 cadets graduated at the air force base in Asmara in aircraft technology, air defence missile and radar, aviation theory and fighter pilot courses, and in July 2024 Somali troops were training at the air force headquarters. Wikipedia says the air force commander also commands the Sawa training camp.

الدفاع الجوي

الدفاع الجوي

Part of the air force: the 2019 graduates included air defence missile and radar courses, and UN monitors reported 16 Ukrainian air traffic control and radar technicians arriving in Asmara on 18 July 2016 on a two-year contract, while the UN embargo was in force. Systems and units are not published.


في الخدمة

What the Eritrean Air Force flies today

كل نوع متاح برسوم، ويرتبط بصفحته في كتاب الوحوش إن وجدت. تشير الأرقام إلى الطائرات المسجلة، وليس الطائرات المتاحة في يوم معين.

يكتب دور في الخدمة منذ الوحدات ملحوظات
Sukhoi Su-27SK and Su-27UBفي الخدمة Fighter and two-seat trainer 2 2003 FlightGlobal 2025 lists one in the combat list and one in the trainer list.

أكثر

Milavia counts about eight Su-27SK/UB delivered but confirms only one single-seater and one two-seater; Wikipedia’s Su-27 article says two were bought. Delivered figures therefore range from 2 to about 8.

ميل مي-24/مي-35في الخدمة مروحية هجومية 6 FlightGlobal 2025; Wikipedia gives the variant as Mi-35.
Mil Mi-17/Mi-171في الخدمة مروحية نقل 6 فلايت جلوبال 2025.
بيل 412في الخدمة طائرة هليكوبتر متعددة الأغراض 1 فلايت جلوبال 2025.
هاربين واي-12في الخدمة النقل الخفيف 4 فلايت جلوبال 2025.
بيتشكرافت سوبر كينج إير 200في الخدمة النقل الخدمي 1 فلايت جلوبال 2025.
Mi-246
Mi-176
Y-124
سو-272
بيل 4121
King Air 2001

كانت تُدار سابقاً

Every type the Eritrean Air Force has retired

2 types, from the Aermacchi MB-339CE to the Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-29UB. تمثل الأرقام القصوى عدد الطائرات التي تم استلامها على مدار فترة الخدمة بأكملها، وليس قوة الأسطول في أي تاريخ محدد.

يكتب دور قمة تم تقديمه تم استبداله بـ ملحوظات
ميكويان ميج-29 وميج-29يو بي مقاتل 1998– 8 received in 1998 (Wikipedia operator list).

أكثر

Wikipedia’s Eritrean Air Force article adds six bought from Moldova in 2000, a claim Moldovan fleet totals leave no room for, so it is not counted. Wikipedia lists four lost in the war; seven were still counted in 2022 and none was operational by 2026.

Aermacchi MB-339CE طائرة تدريب نفاثة وطائرة هجومية خفيفة 6 1997– Six ordered in 1996. Wikipedia’s war article lists one lost; its MB-339 operator list still shows five, but FlightGlobal 2025 lists none.

القواعد الجوية

Where the Eritrean Air Force flies from

تشير الدبابيس السوداء إلى القواعد النشطة؛ ولم يتم إغلاق أي من المطارات المدرجة. Asmara, built by Italy as a military airfield in 1922, is the headquarters and main base, and was struck by Ethiopian jets on 5 June 1998, the day of Eritrea’s first air missions of the border war. Assab hosted an Emirati military base built from 2015 for the Yemen war and partly dismantled from 2021; the Ministry of Information names a Fenkil Air Force Camp at Massawa, and Sawa, listed by Wikipedia at the national service training centre, could not be located. Coordinates come from Wikipedia, as Eritrea’s AIP could not be reached. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.

قاعدة جوية نشطة مغلق أو للحجزانقر على دبوس لفتح الصفحة الرئيسية
قاعدة منظمة الطيران المدني الدولي (ICAO) حالة المدرج الوحدات والطائرات
Asmaraالمنطقة الوسطى (مايكل) HHAS نشيط 07/253000 متر
Assab International AirportSouthern Red Sea Region (Debubawi Keyih Bahri) HHSB نشيط 12/303,515 m
مطار مصوع الدوليNorthern Red Sea Region (Semenawi Keyih Bahri) صاحبة الجلالة الملكية نشيط 07/253500 متر
SawaGash-Barka Region نشيط

لا توجد قاعدة جوية مطابقة لهذا البحث.


ترتيب المعركة

Who is stationed where in the Eritrean Air Force

الوحدات الجوية حسب القاعدة، والوحدات الحالية أولاً. Eritrea publishes no order of battle, and no squadron, wing or other unit designation appears in the sources reached, so no units are listed by base. The Emirati base built at Assab from 2015 is described with that airfield and is not part of the Eritrean Air Force.

لا توجد وحدة مطابقة لهذا البحث.


الجدول الزمني

Eritrean Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1922

The Italian colonial administration opens the military airfield of Gura at Asmara, today Asmara International Airport and the air force’s headquarters.

1994

The Eritrean Air Force is formed after independence under Habtezion Hadgu, a former Ethiopian Air Force pilot, starting with aircraft left by the Ethiopian army.

1996

Six Aermacchi MB-339CE jet trainers are ordered from Italy; Wikipedia dates the first combat unit to 1997.

1998

5 June: four MB-339 sorties strike Mekele and Ethiopian jets bomb Asmara airport; an Ethiopian jet is shot down and its pilot Bezabeh Petros captured. 26 June: Resolution 1177 notes pledges to end air strikes. Eight MiG-29s are delivered.

1999

21, 25 and 26 February: Ethiopia reports its Su-27s damaging one Eritrean MiG-29 and shooting down two.

2000

15 May: an Eritrean MiG-29 is credited with shooting down an Ethiopian Su-25, killing its pilot. 12 December: the Algiers Agreement ends the war.

2003

January: Habtezion Hadgu leaves command; Teklai Habteselassie takes over. Summer: the first Su-27s arrive, according to Milavia.

2004

28 April: the Claims Commission holds Eritrea liable for the civilian deaths caused by the third and fourth sorties against Mekele on 5 June 1998.

2005

19 December: the Commission holds Ethiopia liable for bombing the Harsile water reservoir near Assab but rejects the claim that its whole air campaign was indiscriminate.

2009

23 December: Resolution 1907 imposes an arms embargo on Eritrea; Wikipedia says the Russian maintenance contract for the fighters ended as a result.

2012

Two air force officers fly a government jet to Saudi Arabia and seek asylum, according to Wikipedia.

2015

September: the United Arab Emirates begins upgrading Assab airport as a base for its intervention in Yemen.

2016

July: UN monitors report an air force delegation in Italy seeking helicopter parts and 16 Ukrainian air traffic control and radar technicians arriving in Asmara.

2018

Peace with Ethiopia in July; Resolution 2444 terminates the UN sanctions regime on Eritrea.

2019

31 May: 250 cadets graduate at the air force base in Asmara before President Isaias Afwerki.

2020

14 November: Tigrayan forces fire missiles at Asmara, saying they targeted sites used for air strikes; they missed, according to Wikipedia.

2022

The College of Aviation of Eritrea holds its first commencement.

2025

FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces counts 20 aircraft and no MiG-29s.


سجل القتال

كل حرب خاضتها القوات الجوية الإريترية

الطلعات الجوية والخسائر حيثما يسمح السجل بذلك، وفراغ تام حيثما لا يسمح بذلك.

2الصراعات
1998أولاً
5طائرة مفقودة
0قُتل
  • الحرب الإريترية الإثيوبية 1998–2000 Strikes on Mekele and other Ethiopian targets with MB-339s, air defence of Asmara, and MiG-29 interceptions against the Ethiopian Air Force
  • حرب تيغراي 2020–2022 Eritrean ground forces fought alongside the Ethiopian federal army; the air force’s own role is largely unreported

افتح سجل القتال الكامل


الشركات المصنعة

Who built the Eritrean Air Force fleet

كل شركة تقف وراء الطائرات الموجودة في هذه الصفحة لها صفحتها الخاصة: القصة، وكل نوع قامت ببنائه، والأرقام، والقوات الجوية الأخرى التي تستخدمها.

الأسطول الحالي والطلبات

ميل, بيتشكرافت, جرس, هاربين, سوخوي

الأسطول السابق

إيرماكي, ميكويان


أسئلة وأجوبة

Everything people ask about the Eritrean Air Force

What aircraft does the Eritrean Air Force fly?
FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2025 lists 20 aircraft: two سو-27 Flankers (one fighter, one two-seat trainer), six Mi-24/35 attack helicopters, six Mi-17/171 transport helicopters, a Bell 412, four Harbin Y-12 light transports and a King Air 200. How many of them fly is not published; Wikipedia says the Russian fighters are rarely flown for lack of maintenance.
Does Eritrea still have MiG-29s?
Not as an operational type, as far as published sources show. Eritrea received eight طائرات ميغ-29 in 1998 and seven were still counted in 2022, but FlightGlobal’s 2025 directory lists none and Wikipedia’s operator list says none were operational by 2026. A claim that six more came from Moldova in 2000 does not fit Moldova’s own fleet numbers.
When was the Eritrean Air Force founded?
In 1994, according to Wikipedia, shortly after Eritrean independence. It started with aircraft the Ethiopians had left behind and was built up by Habtezion Hadgu, a former Ethiopian Air Force pilot. The government has not published an official founding date.
What is the Eritrean Air Force called in Tigrinya and Arabic?
Eritrea has no official language: its constitution treats all Eritrean languages as equal, and Tigrinya, Arabic and English are the working languages, according to Wikipedia. The Ministry of Information’s English site, shabait.com, calls the service the Eritrean Air Force. We could not reach an official Tigrinya or Arabic page naming it, so we do not print a native-script name here rather than guess one.
Who commands the Eritrean Air Force?
Major General Teklai (also spelt Teklay) Habteselasie, whom the Ministry of Information named as commander in May 2019, January 2026 and August 2026. Wikipedia says he has held the post since about 2003, when the founding commander, Brigadier General Habtezion Hadgu, left; it also says Teklai commands the Sawa training camp.
Did Eritrean jets bomb a school in Mekele in 1998?
An international tribunal found that they did. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission found that on 5 June 1998 the third and fourth of four MB-339 sorties dropped cluster bombs on the Ayder School area of Mekele, killing 53 civilians including 12 schoolchildren and wounding 185. Eritrea said it was an accident during an attack on the airport; the Commission held Eritrea liable in April 2004 for failing to take all feasible precautions.
Who won the air war between Eritrea and Ethiopia?
Ethiopia had more and better aircraft and claims the upper hand: it says its Su-27s shot down seven Eritrean MiG-29s, though Wikipedia says only two to four can be confirmed and Eritrea disputes the May 2000 claims. Eritrean MiG-29s are credited with an Ethiopian Su-25 on 15 May 2000 and three MiG-23BNs. Eritrea has never published its own figures, so every tally is one side’s claim.
Why are Eritrea’s fighters rarely flown?
Mainly because of the UN arms embargo of December 2009. Wikipedia says Eritrea’s maintenance contract with Russian firms ended because it breached resolution 1907, which barred military technical assistance, leaving the fleet with a chronic lack of maintenance. The embargo was lifted by resolution 2444 in 2018, but no new aircraft purchase has been published since.
Is there a foreign air base in Eritrea?
There was. From September 2015 the United Arab Emirates upgraded Assab airport to support its intervention in Yemen, and UN monitors described an apparent military base with permanent structures there in 2016. Wikipedia says a partial withdrawal began in 2021. The UN Monitoring Group said hosting the coalition could amount to prohibited military assistance under the embargo then in force.
Where is the Eritrean Air Force based?
Its headquarters and main base are at Asmara International Airport, a joint civil and military field that began as an Italian military airfield in 1922. Wikipedia also lists Assab, Massawa and Sawa, and the Ministry of Information mentions the Fenkil Air Force Camp at Massawa. Somali soldiers have trained at the Asmara headquarters since 2022; Somalia’s president visited them there on 9 July 2024.



المصادر ومصادر القراءة الإضافية

كل حقيقة، تم التحقق منها

تم التحقق من الأرقام بتاريخ 2026-10-01. يتم إعادة إنشاء صفحات ترتيب المعركة من مجموعة بيانات واحدة؛ إذا كان هناك رقم هنا يختلف عن صفحة كتاب الوحوش، فإن هذه الصفحة هي الأحدث من بين الصفحتين.

Photographs: Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Kristen Kincade / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Filip.vidinovski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Łukasz Golowanow / Wikimedia Commons (Attribution) · Photo: Just a Man / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)