Fuerza Aérea Eritrea
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.
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 Eritrean Air Force in numbers
Servicio
- Nombre nativo
- Fuerza Aérea EritreaEritrea 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
- Fundado
- 1994Formed after independence, according to Wikipedia; no official founding date has been published
- Parte de
- Eritrean Defence ForcesOne of three branches with the army and navy; President Isaias Afwerki is commander-in-chief
- Sede
- AsmaraAsmara International Airport is a joint civil and military airfield; Somalia’s state news agency calls the site the Eritrean Air Force headquarters
- Comandante
- 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
Fortaleza
- Personal
- Neither the government nor the sources we reached give a figure
- Aviones de combate
-
- 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
- Helicópteros
-
- Mi-24/35 — 6
- Mi-17/171 — 6
- Campana 412 — 1
FlightGlobal groups all three under combat helicopters
- Transporte
-
- Harbin Y-12 — 4
- Beechcraft King Air 200 — 1
FlightGlobal 2025
- Aviones Total
- 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
- Bajo pedido
- Nothing publishedFlightGlobal lists no orders
Infraestructura
- bases aéreas
-
- 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
- Capacitación
- 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
- Defensa aérea
- 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
- presencia extranjera
- UAE at Assab, 2015–2021The UAE upgraded Assab airport from September 2015 for its Yemen intervention and began a partial withdrawal in 2021
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.
Fuerza Aérea Eritrea
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.
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.
flota de helicópteros
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.
Flota de transporte
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.
College of Aviation of Eritrea
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.
Defensa aérea
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.
What the Eritrean Air Force flies today
Cada tipo está sujeto a cargos, vinculado a su página en el Libro de las Bestias, cuando existe. Las cifras corresponden a aeronaves registradas, no a aeronaves disponibles en un día determinado.
| Tipo | Role | En servicio | Desde | Unidades | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhoi Su-27SK and Su-27UBEn servicio | Fighter and two-seat trainer | 2 | 2003 | FlightGlobal 2025 lists one in the combat list and one in the trainer list.
MásMilavia 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. |
||
| Mil Mi-24/Mi-35En servicio | Helicóptero de ataque | 6 | FlightGlobal 2025; Wikipedia gives the variant as Mi-35. | |||
| Mil Mi-17/Mi-171En servicio | Helicóptero de transporte | 6 | FlightGlobal 2025. | |||
| Campana 412En servicio | Helicóptero utilitario | 1 | FlightGlobal 2025. | |||
| Harbin Y-12En servicio | Transporte ligero | 4 | FlightGlobal 2025. | |||
| Beechcraft Super King Air 200En servicio | Transporte de utilidad | 1 | FlightGlobal 2025. |
Every type the Eritrean Air Force has retired
2 types, from the Aermacchi MB-339CE to the Mikoyan MiG-29 and MiG-29UB. Las cifras máximas corresponden a las aeronaves puestas en servicio durante toda su vida útil, no al número total de efectivos de la flota en una fecha concreta.
| Tipo | Role | Cima | Servido | Reemplazado por | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikoyan MiG-29 y MiG-29UB | Combatiente | 1998– | 8 received in 1998 (Wikipedia operator list).
MásWikipedia’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 | Entrenador a reacción y ataque ligero | 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. |
Where the Eritrean Air Force flies from
Los marcadores negros indican bases activas; ninguno de los aeródromos que aparecen en la lista ha cerrado. 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.
| Base | OACI | Estado | Pista | Unidades y aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AsmaraCentral Region (Maekel) | HHAS | Activo | 07/253.000 metros | |
| Assab International AirportSouthern Red Sea Region (Debubawi Keyih Bahri) | HHSB | Activo | 12/303,515 m | |
| Massawa International AirportNorthern Red Sea Region (Semenawi Keyih Bahri) | HHMS | Activo | 07/253.500 m | |
| SawaGash-Barka Region | Activo |
Ninguna base aérea coincide con esa búsqueda.
Who is stationed where in the Eritrean Air Force
Unidades voladoras por base, unidades actuales primero. 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.
No se encontró ninguna unidad que coincida con esa búsqueda.
Eritrean Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
The Italian colonial administration opens the military airfield of Gura at Asmara, today Asmara International Airport and the air force’s headquarters.
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.
Six Aermacchi MB-339CE jet trainers are ordered from Italy; Wikipedia dates the first combat unit to 1997.
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.
21, 25 and 26 February: Ethiopia reports its Su-27s damaging one Eritrean MiG-29 and shooting down two.
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.
January: Habtezion Hadgu leaves command; Teklai Habteselassie takes over. Summer: the first Su-27s arrive, according to Milavia.
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.
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.
23 December: Resolution 1907 imposes an arms embargo on Eritrea; Wikipedia says the Russian maintenance contract for the fighters ended as a result.
Two air force officers fly a government jet to Saudi Arabia and seek asylum, according to Wikipedia.
September: the United Arab Emirates begins upgrading Assab airport as a base for its intervention in Yemen.
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.
Peace with Ethiopia in July; Resolution 2444 terminates the UN sanctions regime on Eritrea.
31 May: 250 cadets graduate at the air force base in Asmara before President Isaias Afwerki.
14 November: Tigrayan forces fire missiles at Asmara, saying they targeted sites used for air strikes; they missed, according to Wikipedia.
The College of Aviation of Eritrea holds its first commencement.
FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces counts 20 aircraft and no MiG-29s.
Every war the Eritrean Air Force has fought
Salidas y pérdidas donde consta en el registro, y un espacio en blanco honesto donde no.
- Guerra entre Eritrea y Etiopía 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
- Guerra de Tigray 2020–2022 Eritrean ground forces fought alongside the Ethiopian federal army; the air force’s own role is largely unreported
Who built the Eritrean Air Force fleet
Cada empresa que fabrica los aviones que aparecen en esta página tiene su propia página: la historia, todos los tipos que ha fabricado, las cifras y las demás fuerzas aéreas que los utilizan.
Flota actual y pedidos
Mil, Beechcraft, Campana, Harbin, Sukhoi
Antigua flota
Everything people ask about the Eritrean Air Force
What aircraft does the Eritrean Air Force fly?
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When was the Eritrean Air Force founded?
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Did Eritrean jets bomb a school in Mekele in 1998?
Who won the air war between Eritrea and Ethiopia?
Why are Eritrea’s fighters rarely flown?
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Read the aircraft the Eritrean Air Force flew
Cada tipo tiene una página en el Libro de las Bestias, primero en servicio y luego por el año en que abandonó la flota.
Todos los datos, verificados
- FlightGlobal: Fuerzas Aéreas Mundiales 2025Eritrean Air Force: combat aircraft Su-27 1; transport King Air 200 1, Y-12 4; combat helicopters Bell 412 1, Mi-17/171 6, Mi-24 6; training Su-27 1; nothing on order. The cover read World Air Forces 2025 when fetched; Wikipedia cites the same link as the 2026 edition.
- Shabait (Ministry of Information): Eritrean Air Force graduates 250 cadets (1 June 2019)Ceremony on 31 May 2019 at the air force base in Asmara, presided over by President Isaias Afwerki; Maj. Gen. Teklai Habteselasie named as commander; courses in aircraft technology, air defence missiles and radar, aviation theory and fighter pilot training.
- Shabait: interview with Second Lieutenant Hana Kidane on the aviation college (23 March 2022)College of Aviation of Eritrea held its first commencement in 2022; pilot programme of three years, two theoretical and one practical.
- Shabait: Eritrean Air Force sports competitions commence (6 August 2026)Maj. Gen. Teklay Habteselasie, Commander of the Eritrean Air Force, in Asmara; competitions held every two years among eight clubs.
- Shabait: Christmas celebrated at Fenkil Air Force Camp (7 January 2026)Fenkil Air Force Camp in Massawa; Maj. Gen. Teklai Habteselasie, Commander of the Eritrean Air Force, attended.
- Shabait: search results for "air force"Ministry of Information articles on the air force 2013–2026, including the road to the Air Force area in Asmara (2013).
- Permanent Court of Arbitration: Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission (case page)List of the Commission’s partial and final awards; final damages awards 17 August 2009.
- Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission: Partial Award, Central Front, Ethiopia’s Claim 2 (28 April 2004)Four MB-339 sorties on Mekele on 5 June 1998; the third and fourth dropped cluster bombs near Ayder School, killing 53 civilians including 12 schoolchildren and wounding 185; Eritrea held liable for failing to take all feasible precautions; Adigrat claims dismissed for lack of proof.
- Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission: Partial Award, Western Front, Aerial Bombardment and Related Claims (19 December 2005)Ethiopia’s bombing campaign as a whole not found indiscriminate despite "regrettable errors"; Ethiopia liable for attacks on the Harsile water reservoir, an object indispensable to Assab’s civilians.
- Milavia: Sukhoi Su-27 operator listEritrea: about eight Su-27SK/UB, first delivered summer 2003; "at least one Su-27 single-seater and one Su-27UB two-seater have been supplied"; splinter camouflage.
- UN Security Council: Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia"With the adoption of resolution 2444 (2018), which terminated the Eritrea sanctions regime, the Committee’s name was changed".
- UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea: report on Eritrea, S/2015/802 (19 October 2015)Paras 29–32: the UAE understood to have leased the port of Assab for 30 years; unconfirmed reports of some 400 Eritrean soldiers with the UAE contingent in Yemen. No aircraft detail.
- UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea: report on Eritrea, S/2016/920 (31 October 2016)Para 34: apparent military base with permanent structures at the south-eastern end of Assab airport; para 40: support to the coalition could be technical assistance under resolution 1907; paras 42–46: attempts to buy aircraft materials and air operations training, an air force delegation under Maj. Gen. Teklai Habteselassie in Italy in July 2016, 16 Ukrainian air traffic control and radar technicians in Asmara from 18 July, two helicopter pilots who did not return.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026 – EritreaTensions with Ethiopia over sea access; national service extended indefinitely since 1998; Eritrean forces still in parts of Tigray.
- SONNA: President Hassan visits Somali National Army training at the Eritrean Air Force HQ in Asmara (9 July 2024)Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, with President Isaias Afwerki, visited Somali troops training at the Eritrean Air Force headquarters in Asmara during a two-day visit.
- Yemen: UAE Backs Abusive Local Forces (Human Rights Watch, 22 June 2017)Reports that the UAE moved high-profile detainees out of Yemen, including to its base at Assab; cites security analysts and the Middle East Institute that the base includes a port, airbase and a training facility for Yemeni forces. No UAE response is quoted.
Cifras verificadas el 1 de octubre de 2026. Las páginas de Orden de Batalla se regeneran a partir de un único conjunto de datos; si algún número aquí no coincide con el de una página del Libro de las Bestias, esta página es la más reciente de las dos.
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)