Every war the Lebanese Air Force has fought or been caught up in
The Lebanese Air Force’s only fight with Israel was a single sortie by two Hunters on 5 June 1967, recorded by Wikipedia from Israeli accounts. In the civil war it flew for a divided army, and the losses of 1983 and 1989 are given as Wikipedia and Aeroflight give them, which do not always agree. In the wars of 2006, 2024 and 2026 the Lebanese Armed Forces were not a belligerent; they are included because Lebanese airfields were bombed and soldiers were killed, and casualty figures are each party’s own. 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 two Hunters over Galilee in 1967 to the Israel–Hezbollah wars of 2024 and 2026.
| Conflicto | Años | Contra | Avión principal | Salidas | Avión perdido | |
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| The Six-Day WarHunter strike over GalileeLebanese Air Force | 1967 | Israel | Cazador de halcones | 2 | 1 | |
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Lebanon’s only part in the war: two Hunters crossed into Israeli airspace and strafed Israeli positions on 5 June. Wikipedia lists Lebanon among the belligerents with minor involvement. On 5 June 1967, two of the 12 Hunters Lebanon then had crossed into Israel and strafed Israeli positions in Galilee; Israeli fighters intercepted them and shot one down. That one sortie is Lebanon’s entire air war with Israel. The country’s Mirage IIIs were still being delivered and played no part. Resultado Lebanon took no further part in the fighting. The loss is recorded in Wikipedia, drawing on Israeli accounts; no Lebanese official account was found. Wikipedia says Lebanon had 12 Hunters, while MILAVIA’s delivery figures give 13 by 1966.
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| The Lebanese Civil Warincluding the 1983 Mountain WarLebanese Air Force | 1975–1990 | Druze PSP/PLA and Syrian forces (1983) | Hawker Hunter, Scottish Aviation Bulldog, Helicopters | — | — | |
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Flew occasional Hunter strikes, reconnaissance and helicopter missions for a divided army; most of the time it was grounded. When the war began in 1975 the army fractured. Wikipedia’s article on the breakaway Lebanese Arab Army describes Rayak, where most of the flying assets were concentrated, being held by mutineers, with the Mirages at Kleyate. The air force was used little. In September 1983, in the Mountain War after the Israeli withdrawal from the Chouf, ten refurbished Hunters were committed for the first time since 1975–77. Rayak had been damaged, so they flew from an improvised strip at Halat near Byblos built by the Americans. Wikipedia records three Hunters attacking Druze and Syrian gun positions on 16 September, and one pilot flying on to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where he asked for asylum. Wikipedia’s air force article gives the last Hunter combat sortie as 17 September. In 1989 a Hunter came down near Batroun; Wikipedia says its undercarriage failed in training and the pilot ejected and was handed back by Syrian forces. Resultado The army was split for much of the war; by 1990 the air force had almost no serviceable combat aircraft. Dates and losses come from Wikipedia and Aeroflight, not official Lebanese records. The 1989 loss is a training accident in Wikipedia but “shot down over Batrun” in Aeroflight. The asylum account is Wikipedia’s and was not corroborated.
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| The 2006 Lebanon WarJuly WarLebanese Air Force | 2006 | — | — | — | — | |
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Not a belligerent; Lebanese airfields were bombed by Israel. The Lebanese Army mostly stayed out of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Wikipedia records, though troops sometimes fired anti-aircraft weapons at Israeli aircraft. Israeli aircraft bombed the runways of Rayak on 13 July 2006 and destroyed the runways and fuel depots of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, where the air force also bases aircraft. Resultado Ceasefire on 14 August 2006 under UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Israel said it struck to stop Hezbollah resupply; the casualty figure for the army is Wikipedia’s. |
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| The battle of Nahr al-Bared2007 North Lebanon conflictLebanese Air Force | 2007 | Fatah al-Islam | UH-1H (as bombers), SA342L Gazelle, Helicopters | — | — | |
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Bombing, rocket and missile attacks, transport, resupply, casualty evacuation and aerial filming in support of the army against Fatah al-Islam. With no fighter or attack aircraft, the air force improvised. Wikipedia and MILAVIA record UH-1Hs fitted to drop Mk 82 and Mk 83 unguided bombs (MILAVIA: two 227 kg bombs and one of about 400 kg), plus Matra SNEB 68 mm rocket pods salvaged from stored Hunters, while Gazelles fired HOT missiles: on 16 June two Gazelles fired four missiles at suspected militant positions. The army’s own history lists bombing support, troop transport, ammunition delivery, medical evacuation and aerial documentation from 20 May to 2 September 2007. The battle destroyed much of the camp, home to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Resultado The army took the camp; Wikipedia records the government declaring victory on 7 September. About 31,000 Palestinians fled the camp. The army dates the end to 2 September (the militants’ breakout), Wikipedia to 7 September. Casualty figures are as reported by Wikipedia from Lebanese and press sources.
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| The border campaign against Nusra Front and Islamic StateArsal and Fajr al-JoroudLebanese Air Force | 2014–2017 | Nusra Front and Islamic State | AC-208 Caravan, SA342L Gazelle, A-29 Super Tucano (from late 2017) | — | — | |
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Surveillance and precision strikes against militants on the Syrian border. Wikipedia’s air force article says the service flew surveillance and precision strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State fighters around Arsal and al-Qaa from 2014. The army’s own August 2017 offensive on its side of the border ran while Hezbollah and the Syrian army attacked from the other; Wikipedia records the jihadist withdrawal at the end of August. Resultado Islamic State fighters in western Qalamoun agreed to a ceasefire on 27 August 2017, and the Lebanese government regained control of all its territory for the first time in six years, according to Wikipedia. Detailed air force mission records were not found; the aircraft listed are those in service at the time and should not be read as a confirmed order of battle.
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| The Israel–Hezbollah wars of 2024 and 2026Lebanese Armed Forces | 2024–2026 | — | — | — | — | |
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Not a belligerent: the army withdrew from the border and did not engage Israeli forces except in isolated incidents. When Israel invaded southern Lebanon on 1 October 2024 the army pulled back about five kilometres from the border; Wikipedia records that it fired back for the first time after an Israeli strike on a post near Bint Jbeil. After the ceasefire the army began deploying in the south on 7 January 2025. On 2 March 2026 Hezbollah began firing on Israel after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and Israel sent ground forces into southern Lebanon from mid-March; the army again redeployed away from border posts. The Lebanese government banned Hezbollah’s military activity and expelled Iran’s ambassador, Wikipedia records. Resultado The 27 November 2024 ceasefire tasked the army with deploying about 5,000 troops south of the Litani. Fighting resumed on 2 March 2026; truces were announced on 16 April, 1 June and 19 June 2026, and a framework announced on 26 June was rejected by Hezbollah. Casualty figures are each party’s own and are attributed. Hezbollah called its 2026 attacks a defensive act; Israel describes its operations as against Hezbollah.
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Cada cifra, verificada
- Lebanese Army: Air ForceFounded 10 June 1949 at Rayak under Lt. Col. Emile Boustany; earlier names; HQ moves 1969 and 1989; missions; Nahr el-Bared 20 May–2 September 2007.
- MILAVIA: Lebanese Air Force report (2011)Deliveries, serials and squadrons for Vampire, Hunter, Mirage, Magister and helicopters; Nahr al-Bared bombing.
- Aeroflight: Lebanese Air Force fleet entries (page 1)AB212, Alouette II/III, Hunter, Shrike Commander, Gazelle, Magister.
- Aeroflight: Lebanon AF Hawker Hunter FGA Mk.70ADelivery dates from 8 December 1975; losses 1978, 1983, 1989.
- Breaking Defense: US to provide Lebanon with explosives to dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches (September 2025)$14.2 million; 5 August 2025 cabinet decision.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Lebanese Air Force.