Todas las guerras en las que ha luchado la Fuerza Aérea Libia
The record covers the air force of the monarchy and of Gaddafi and, since 2014, both rival air arms. Loss claims are given with the side that makes them: Egypt’s for 1977 and Chad’s for Ouadi Doum and Maaten al-Sarra are not independently confirmed, the account of who fired first over the Gulf of Sidra in 1981 is the US one, and the two sides’ accounts of the 1989 clash off Tobruk differ. In the war of 2014–2020 most strike and loss claims come from the side that made them, and the death toll of the Tajoura strike differs by source; the Russian-supplied aircraft reported by US Africa Command are not counted as Libyan. The targets of the 2023 Zawiya drone strikes are given as the Tripoli government described them. 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.
From Mirages lent to Egypt in 1973 to the drone war over Tripoli and the Zawiya strikes of 2023.
| Conflicto | Años | Contra | Avión principal | Salidas | Avión perdido | |
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| La guerra de octubreLibyan Mirages with the Egyptian Air ForceLibyan Arab Air Force (aircraft lent to Egypt) | 1973 | Israel | Mirage 5D, Mirage 5DR | |||
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Lent Mirage 5s to Egypt; they were flown by Egyptian pilots of the 69th Squadron at Tanta. Libya’s first Mirages went to war before Libyan pilots were ready to fly them in combat. According to Wikipedia’s Mirage 5 article, Egyptian pilots and 19 Libyan Mirage 5Ds plus two reconnaissance aircraft formed the 69th Squadron at Tanta during the October 1973 war. Libyan officers travelled to Tanta during the war and tried to negotiate the aircraft’s return, but the Egyptian command refused, and the Mirages only went back to Libya in 1974. The episode is a reminder of how quickly the Libyan air force was equipped after 1969 — and how far its aircraft ran ahead of its trained crews. Resultado Egypt returned the aircraft in 1974. Whether any Libyan pilots also flew in the war, and how many of the Mirages were lost, was not confirmed.
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| La guerra egipcio-libiathe 1977 border warLibyan Arab Air Force | 1977 | Egipto | Mirage 5 | |||
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Flew Mirage 5s in close air support of Libyan ground forces. Four years after lending its Mirages to Egypt, Libya fought it. In the brief border war of 1977, according to Wikipedia’s Mirage 5 article, Libya used its Mirages for close air support, and Egypt claimed to have shot down three or four of them in air combat. The sources checked give no Libyan account of the air fighting, and no independently confirmed loss figure. Resultado A short war; the sources checked give no air force outcome beyond the claims. Loss figures are Egyptian claims only.
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| La guerra entre Uganda y Tanzaniathe Mwanza raidLibyan Arab Air Force | 1979 | Tanzania | Tu-22 | 1 | ||
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Sent a Tu-22 to bomb Mwanza in Tanzania in support of its Ugandan allies. Gaddafi sent troops and aircraft to prop up Idi Amin. The air force’s contribution, according to Wikipedia’s Tu-22 article, was a single Tu-22 raid on the Tanzanian town of Mwanza on 29 March 1979, which achieved nothing. It was the first known combat use of Libya’s new supersonic bombers, which would be used much more heavily in Chad. Resultado The raid failed. Only the Tu-22 raid is recorded in the sources checked; other air force activity in Uganda was not confirmed. |
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| La guerra entre Chad y LibiaAouzou, Ouadi Doum and Maaten al-SarraLibyan Arab Air Force | 1978–1987 | Chad y Francia | Tu-22, Su-22, MiG-21y 6 más | |||
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Bombed Chadian and Sudanese targets, supported Libyan garrisons from Ouadi Doum and Faya-Largeau, and flew Tu-22 raids on N’Djamena. Chad was the Libyan air force’s real war. Tu-22s flew their first Chad mission on 9 October 1980, and in September 1981 a raid on Omdurman in Sudan killed three civilians, according to Wikipedia’s Tu-22 article. After France launched Operation Épervier, a single Tu-22 flew low across the desert on 17 February 1986 and bombed N’Djamena airport, hitting the runway; it probably crashed on the way home. The air bridge depended on Ouadi Doum in northern Chad, and when Chadian forces in Toyota pick-ups overran it in March 1987 the losses were heavy: Wikipedia lists 11 L-39s, two Tu-22s, three Mi-25s and two SF.260s destroyed or captured, and Libyan aircraft later bombed the abandoned equipment. On 5 September 1987 Chad raided Maaten al-Sarra inside Libya and claimed about 32 aircraft destroyed, including MiG-21s, MiG-23s, Su-22s and Mi-24s. Two days later a Tu-22 attacking N’Djamena was shot down by a French Hawk battery. Wikipedia’s account of the campaign blames divided commands and a regime that feared its own officers. Resultado Ceasefire on 11 September 1987, after OAU mediation by Kenneth Kaunda. Chadian loss claims are not independently confirmed. Wikipedia says the Tu-22 shot down in 1987 had an East German crew; this was not confirmed elsewhere and the crew is not named here.
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| El incidente del Golfo de Sidratwo Su-22s and two F-14sLibyan Arab Air Force | 1981 | Estados Unidos | Su-22 | 2 | 2 | |
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Intercepted US Navy aircraft over waters Libya claimed as its own. Libya had claimed the whole Gulf of Sidra as territorial waters since 1973, with a boundary at 32°30’N that Gaddafi called the Line of Death; the United States rejected the claim and sailed through it. On 19 August 1981 two Libyan Su-22s met two F-14A Tomcats of the US Navy’s VF-41. According to the US account summarised by Wikipedia, a Libyan pilot fired an AA-2 Atoll missile that missed, and the F-14s shot down both Su-22s with AIM-9L Sidewinders. Resultado No US loss. The account of who fired first is the US account; a Libyan official version was not found in the sources checked. |
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| Operación Cañón El Doradothe US raid on Tripoli and BenghaziLibyan Arab Air Force and air defence | 1986 | Estados Unidos | MiG-23, Il-76, Mi-8 | |||
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Defended against US strikes on Benina airfield and the Tripoli military airfield; aircraft were hit on the ground. On 15 April 1986 US Air Force and US Navy aircraft struck targets in Tripoli and Benghazi, including Benina airfield and the former Wheelus base. Wikipedia’s summary of US results lists numbers of MiG-23s, Il-76 transports and Mi-8 helicopters destroyed on the ground. Only one of the attacking aircraft was lost: an F-111 shot down over the Gulf of Sidra, killing Captains Fernando Ribas-Dominicci and Paul Lorence. Resultado Libyan air defences failed to stop the raid. En Afterburner SR-71 sobre Libia, 1986: El vuelo de Brian Shul esquivando los misiles de Gadafi. Libyan aircraft losses are US claims and the published tables disagree.
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| The air battle near Tobruktwo MiG-23s and two F-14sLibyan Arab Air Force | 1989 | Estados Unidos | MiG-23 | 2 | 2 | |
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Two MiG-23s approached US carrier aircraft. On 4 January 1989 two Libyan MiG-23s flew towards two F-14As of VF-32 from the USS John F. Kennedy about 40 miles north of Tobruk. According to the US account, the MiGs repeatedly turned towards the Tomcats under ground control, and the F-14s shot both down. The Pentagon later released imagery it said showed the MiGs carried air-to-air missiles. Libya said the aircraft were unarmed reconnaissance planes on a routine mission over international waters. Resultado No US loss. The two sides’ accounts of the MiGs’ armament and intent differ. |
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| The 2011 Libyan civil war and NATO interventionOperación Protector UnificadoLibyan Arab Air Force (government), defecting crews and the rebel air arm | 2011 | NATO and partner air forces and anti-Gaddafi forces | Mirage F1, Su-22, MiG-23y 2 más | 38 | ||
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Government aircraft attacked rebel areas until the no-fly zone; crews defected; rebels flew captured aircraft from Benina. The revolt broke the air force in a week. On 21 February 2011 two colonels flew Mirage F1s 502 and 508 from Okba Ben Nafi to Malta, saying they had been ordered to bomb protesters in Benghazi. On 23 February a Su-22 crew ejected near Ajdabiya instead of attacking the city, and rebels took Benina, destroying one Mi-24 and capturing a Mi-25D and a Mi-14. From 1 to 19 March, Wikipedia records, the rebel air arm flew 38 combat sorties. UN Security Council resolution 1973 of 17 March authorised a no-fly zone; France, the US and Britain began strikes on 19 March, and NATO took command on 31 March. Its Operation Unified Protector lasted 222 days and flew more than 26,000 sorties, 42 per cent of them strike sorties. On 23 March Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell told the BBC the Libyan air force no longer existed as a fighting force. Airwars, counting all belligerents in 2011, assesses 1,166 to 2,519 civilian deaths as fairly reported or confirmed; NATO said it confirmed none from its own strikes. Resultado El gobierno de Gadafi cayó en 2011. Government aircraft losses in 2011 are not published as a confirmed total. Airwars’ civilian figures cover all parties, not NATO alone.
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| The second Libyan civil war and the Tripoli warOperation Dignity to the Geneva ceasefireLNA air arm; Tripoli and Misrata-aligned air units | 2014–2020 | Entre sí | MiG-21, MiG-23, Mirage F1y 6 más | |||
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Both air arms flew strikes with ex-Gaddafi jets and helicopters; foreign-supplied drones and aircraft decided the 2019–2020 war for Tripoli. Khalifa Haftar launched Operation Dignity on 16 May 2014 and the air force divided with the country. Haftar’s air arm, led from January 2015 by Saqr Geroushi, flew old MiG-21s, MiG-23s and Mirages from Benina; the Tripoli and Misrata side kept Mitiga, Misrata and its own aircraft. Outsiders joined early: in August 2014 the United States said the UAE and Egypt had bombed Tripoli. When the LNA advanced on Tripoli on 4 April 2019 it struck Mitiga, the capital’s only working airport, repeatedly. HRW attributes the 2 July 2019 Tajoura detention centre strike, which killed at least 44 migrants, and the 4 August 2019 Murzuq strikes, which killed more than 40, to the LNA; the LNA first said it had hit a weapons depot at Tajoura and later denied involvement. HRW reported that the UAE supplied the LNA with armed drones and Turkey supplied Tripoli; on 13 April 2019 Libya Observer, citing unnamed military sources and flight trackers, reported two cargo aircraft from Abu Dhabi landing at Benina with UAE drone operators. HRW also reported that a UAE-supplied drone killed 26 cadets in Tripoli in January 2020. In May 2020 AFRICOM said at least 14 MiG-29s and several Su-24s had flown from Russia via Syria to Al Jufra, flown by contractors. A UN Panel of Experts report of March 2021, as summarised by Wikipedia, said a Turkish-made Kargu-2 drone had hunted down and attacked LNA forces in 2020. Resultado Tripoli’s forces took Al Watiya on 18 May 2020 and pushed the LNA back to Sirte and Al Jufra; a permanent ceasefire was signed in Geneva on 23 October 2020. Most strike and loss claims come from the side that made them. Tajoura deaths: at least 44 (HRW) or at least 53 (Wikipedia). The January 2020 cadet strike: 26 killed (HRW) or 28 (Wikipedia). The LNA’s air chief Saqr al-Jaroushi promised "the largest aerial campaign in Libyan history" on 21 May 2020; Russia’s position on the AFRICOM statement was not found in the sources checked.
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| Drone strikes around ZawiyaTripoli government operation on the west coastTripoli government (GNU) forces | 2023 | Armed groups in Zawiya, per the GNU | Drones armados | |||
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Drone strikes on targets the government described as smuggling and trafficking gangs. In late May 2023 the Government of National Unity began drone strikes in and around Zawiya, west of Tripoli. Its spokesman Mohamed Hammouda said the operation was launched on the direct orders of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to purge the west coast of trafficking criminals and gangs; targets reported by Libya Review included militia headquarters and fuel smugglers. On 28 May the Presidential Council’s deputy head, Abdullah al-Lafi, said that "our Turkish friends have a prominent role" in helping start the operations. The eastern-based House of Representatives condemned the strikes. Resultado The House of Representatives condemned the strikes. Casualty figures and the drone type were not confirmed. Turkey’s role is as described by the Presidential Council official; no Turkish statement was found.
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No se encontraron coincidencias con esa búsqueda.
Cada cifra, verificada
- OTAN: La OTAN y Libia (2011) – Operación Protector UnificadoDel 31 de marzo al 31 de octubre de 2011; más de 26.000 salidas, el 42 por ciento de ellas de ataque, unos 6.000 objetivos; más de 250 aeronaves.
- Guerras aéreas: todos los beligerantes en Libia (2012-presente)551 presuntos incidentes; entre 512 y 747 muertes de civiles consideradas razonables o confirmadas.
- Guerras aéreas: todos los beligerantes en Libia, 2011216 incidentes en 2011; entre 1.166 y 2.519 muertes de civiles consideradas justas o confirmadas, todas de beligerantes.
- Human Rights Watch: Informe mundial 2015, LibiaOperación de Haftar en mayo de 2014; declaración de Estados Unidos de que los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Egipto atacaron Trípoli el 18 y el 23 de agosto de 2014.
- Human Rights Watch: Informe mundial 2020, LibiaAtaque en Tajoura en julio de 2019 (al menos 44 muertos), ataques en Murzuq el 4 de agosto de 2019, ataques en Mitiga, suministro de drones por parte de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Turquía.
- Human Rights Watch: Informe mundial 2021, Libia2020: Recuento de víctimas civiles de la ONU, huelga de cadetes de enero de 2020, acusación de EE. UU. sobre aviones rusos y Wagner, alto el fuego en Ginebra.
- The Aviationist: Dos Mirage libios desertan a Malta (22 de febrero de 2011)Dos Mirage F1, con números de serie 502 y 508, aterrizaron en Malta el 21 de febrero de 2011; los pilotos afirmaron que habían recibido órdenes de bombardear a los manifestantes.
- The Aviationist: AFRICOM confirma que Rusia desplegó aviones de combate militares en Libia (26 de mayo de 2020)Declaración de AFRICOM y cita del general Stephen Townsend.
- The Aviationist: AFRICOM publica nuevas pruebas de la actividad de aeronaves rusas en el espacio aéreo libio (18 de junio de 2020)Según AFRICOM, en Al Jufra hay al menos 14 MiG-29 y varios Su-24.
- The Aviationist: La afirmación de que Rusia trasladó seis MiG-29 y dos Su-24 a Libia (21 de mayo de 2020)la afirmación del Ministro del Interior del GNA, Fathi Bashagha; Declaración del jefe aéreo del LNA, Saqr al-Jaroushi, del 21 de mayo de 2020.
- Libya Observer: Avión con oficiales y equipo militar de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos aterriza en el aeropuerto de Benina (13 de abril de 2019)Según fuentes militares anónimas y sistemas de seguimiento de vuelos, dos aviones de carga procedentes de Abu Dabi.
- Análisis de Libia: El Consejo Presidencial afirma que Turquía participó en el ataque con drones a Al-Zawiya (28 de mayo de 2023)Declaración del vicepresidente del Consejo Presidencial, Abdullah al-Lafi.
- Análisis de Libia: Se reportan nuevos ataques con drones en el oeste de Libia (27 de mayo de 2023)Portavoz del Gobierno de Unidad Nacional (GNU): Dbeibah ordenó ataques contra contrabandistas y bandas criminales en la costa oeste.
Cifras verificadas el 1 de octubre de 2026. Back to the Libyan Air Force.