Elk conflict waaraan de Algerijnse luchtmacht heeft deelgenomen
Algeria’s air wars were fought mostly on other countries’ fronts: its squadrons reached Egypt too late in 1967 and flew about 500 sorties there in 1973, for losses that English and French Wikipedia count differently. At Amgala in 1976, in Western Sahara, the territory Morocco claims and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front seeks to make independent, the casualty figures are each side’s own claims. The air force’s role in the civil war of 1992–2002 is thinly documented, and for the 2013 In Amenas crisis the sources do not say which service flew the helicopters. Algeria and Mali disagree over whether the drone shot down near Tin Zaouatine in 2025 had entered Algerian airspace. 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 the Sand War with Morocco in 1963 to a drone shot down on the Mali border in 2025.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
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| De Zandoorlogthe 1963 border war with MoroccoAlgerian Air Force (newly formed) | 1963 | Marokko | MiG-15, Mi-4 | |||
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Very limited: a few MiG-15s and Mi-4 helicopters against a Moroccan air force with modern strike aircraft. The air force was barely a year old when fighting broke out over the undemarcated border with Morocco in October 1963. English Wikipedia’s account of the war says Morocco had modern strike aircraft and Algeria did not, and that little use of air power was reported apart from an Algerian aircraft bombing Oued Zeknou. Egypt backed Algeria with advisers, and Morocco reported capturing an Algerian helicopter carrying five Egyptian officers. The war was decided on the ground and ended with a ceasefire agreed at Bamako at the end of October. For the air force its main lesson was how far behind its neighbour it stood, and the Soviet deliveries of the next three years answered that. Resultaat Ceasefire agreed at Bamako on 29–30 October 1963; peace treaty on 20 February 1964. Air operations are described only in general terms in the sources checked.
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| De Zesdaagse OorlogAlgerian squadrons sent to EgyptAlgerijnse luchtmacht | 1967 | Israël | MiG-17, MiG-21, Il-28 | |||
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Sent fighter and bomber squadrons to reinforce Egypt; they arrived too late to affect the air war. English Wikipedia says the Algerian air force was not considered combat-ready in 1967 despite its new Soviet fighters. French Wikipedia records that Algeria nevertheless sent two MiG-17 squadrons, a MiG-21 squadron and an Il-28 squadron towards the Egyptian front, and that the first MiG-21s landed at El Arish in Sinai after the airfield had fallen to Israel and were captured. By then the war in the air was already over. The episode is told in Arabic and French sources as a story of solidarity, and in aviation histories as a demonstration of how unprepared the force was. These capture claims are given here as French Wikipedia’s; the Israeli side’s count was not found in the sources checked. Resultaat The war was over before the Algerian squadrons could make a difference.
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| De Oktoberoorlog (Jom Kippur-oorlog)Algeria on the Egyptian frontAlgerijnse luchtmacht | 1973 | Israël | MiG-21, Su-7, MiG-17en nog 1 | 500 | 2 | |
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Expeditionary force of fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons under Egyptian command. Algeria’s second Arab war was its first real air campaign. English Wikipedia says the air force sent two MiG-21 squadrons, a Su-7 squadron and a unit of 23 MiG-17s to Egypt, supported by An-12 transports, and that Algerian pilots flew around 500 combat sorties. French Wikipedia describes the Su-7s attacking with MiG-21 escort and the MiG-17s flying support missions. The two accounts disagree on losses, and neither cites an Algerian or Israeli official figure; Israeli claims for Algerian aircraft were not found in the sources checked. The main English Wikipedia article on the war lists Algeria among the Arab expeditionary forces without detail. Resultaat Algeria’s first sustained air campaign; the war ended in a ceasefire later in October. Loss figures are each encyclopedia’s; they are not confirmed by either side’s official record.
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| Westelijke Sahara en de veldslagen van AmgalaAmgala, 1976People’s National Army; air defence crews | 1976 | Marokko | SA-6 (surface-to-air missile) | |||
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No Algerian air combat is recorded; an Algerian-crewed SA-6 battery supported Algerian troops at Amgala. Western Sahara is the territory Morocco claims as its own and the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, seeks to make independent as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; the UN calls it Western Sahara. In January 1976 Algerian army units and Sahrawi fighters clashed with Moroccan forces at Amgala. English Wikipedia’s account says Moroccan aircraft were in action and that Algeria had provided an SA-6 battery with Algerian operators; one Moroccan F-5 was reported shot down. Algeria said its troops were delivering humanitarian aid; Morocco said they were heavily armed and supporting the Polisario. French Wikipedia states there were no direct air engagements involving Algerian aircraft. Later, Algerian MiG-25 reconnaissance flights over Morocco are recorded in a declassified CIA assessment cited by Wikipedia. Resultaat Algerian forces withdrew after about 36 hours; there were no further direct clashes between the two armies. Casualty figures are the claims of each side; this was a ground battle, and the air force’s own role was limited to reconnaissance in the years that followed.
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| De Algerijnse Burgeroorlogthe “black decade”Algerijnse luchtmacht | 1992–2002 | Armed Islamic Group (GIA), Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) and GSPC | Mi-24, Mi-8/17 | |||
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Supported the army against armed Islamist groups, mainly with helicopters; details are thinly documented. After the High Security Council cancelled the second round of the general election in January 1992, as the Library of Congress study describes it, the country slid into a war between the security forces and armed Islamist groups. English Wikipedia says the air force saw combat, and French Wikipedia records that the Mi-24s were later upgraded by South African companies with precision weapons. The war coincided with the loss of Soviet support: some 500 Soviet technicians had gone by about 1990, according to French Wikipedia. What the air force flew, where and with what effect has not been published in detail, and this page does not guess. Resultaat The AIS declared a ceasefire in October 1997; the war is generally dated to end on 8 February 2002. No sortie, loss or casualty figures attributable to the air force were found in the sources checked.
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| The In Amenas hostage crisisTigantourine gas plantAlgerian armed forces (helicopters; the sources do not name the service) | 2013 | Armed hostage-takers | Helicopter gunships | 0 | ||
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Helicopter gunships supported the special forces assault on the gas plant. On 16 January 2013 an armed group seized the Tigantourine gas plant. On 17 January, according to Wikipedia’s account, Algerian forces attacked a convoy in which the hostage-takers were moving hostages and began an assault using helicopter gunships and heavy weapons; the final assault came on 19 January. The Algerian government said it would not negotiate and defended the operation as necessary to stop the plant being blown up. Japan criticised Algeria for not putting lives first and the British prime minister said he had not been told in advance; France defended Algeria’s handling. The sources do not say whether the helicopters belonged to the air force or another service. Resultaat The facility was retaken on 19 January 2013. The service operating the helicopters is not stated in the sources checked.
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| The Tin Zaouatine drone shoot-downthe Algeria–Mali drone incidentAlgerian armed forces (the Ministry of National Defence did not name the unit) | 2025 | Mali (disputed) | Niet vermeld | 0 | ||
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Shot down a Malian reconnaissance drone that Algeria said had entered its airspace. Around midnight on 31 March 2025, according to English Wikipedia, Algeria shot down a Malian drone about two kilometres inside its airspace near Tin Zaouatine; the Ministry of National Defence announced it without further detail. Mali’s prime minister denied that the drone had violated Algerian airspace, and the Alliance of Sahel States called the shoot-down a breach of international law. Mali withdrew its ambassador and Algeria recalled its own; on 7 April 2025 Algeria banned flights to and from Mali, citing repeated violations by Malian military drones (Reuters, as cited by Wikipedia). On 10–11 July 2026 both governments announced that ambassadors would return and that their airspace was reopened to civil and military aircraft. The incident is sometimes dated to 2024; the sources checked place it in 2025. Resultaat Ambassadors withdrawn and airspace closed in April 2025; relations and airspace restored in July 2026. Algeria’s and Mali’s accounts of where the drone was differ; neither has published a track.
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Niets komt overeen met die zoekopdracht.
Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- Landenstudies van de Library of Congress: Algerije (1993) – De strijdkrachtenVier krijgsmachtonderdelen; 121.700 actieve militairen in 1993, 10.000 manschappen bij de luchtmacht plus wellicht 4.000 manschappen bij de luchtverdediging; de annulering van de verkiezingen van 1992 door de Hoge Veiligheidsraad; de president als opperbevelhebber.
- Arab News Pakistan: Algerije zegt dat zijn gezant na een jaar van conflict naar Mali zal terugkeren (10 juli 2026)Ambassadeurs keren terug; luchtruim heropend voor civiele en militaire vliegtuigen; Mali ontkent schending van het luchtruim in 2025.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 1 oktober 2026. Back to the Algerian Air Force.