Lebanese Air Force
The Lebanese Air Force (القوات الجوية, Forces Aériennes) was founded at Rayak in June 1949 with a handful of donated British and Italian aircraft, flew Hawker Hunters and Mirage IIIs that a divided country could neither fight nor afford to keep, and has been rebuilt since the 2000s, largely with American aid, as a small helicopter and turboprop force for internal security, with no fighter jet in service since the last Hunters were retired in 2014.
The Lebanese Air Force story: born at Rayak in 1949, Hunters and Mirages it could not keep, and a helicopter force rebuilt on American aid
1949–1958: born at Rayak with gifts and second-hand trainers
The Lebanese Army’s own history dates the air force to 10 June 1949 at Rayak airbase in the Bekaa Valley, under Lieutenant Colonel Emile Boustany; English Wikipedia gives 1 June. Rayak itself was older: German engineers laid a dirt strip there in 1914, and the French air force used it until it left in 1949. The first equipment was donated or bought second-hand. Britain supplied Percival Prentices and Proctors (Aeroflight counts three of each delivered in May 1949; Wikipedia four Prentices and two Proctors), and Italy four Savoia-Marchetti SM.79L bombers, ordered in 1946, which Lebanon used as transports until 1959. Twelve Harvard trainers followed in 1952, six ex-RAF and six ex-Iraqi, with Chipmunks from 1950 and a single de Havilland Dove in 1951. It was a training air force, and the army’s site still lists training, transport and help to state institutions such as pest control among its missions.
1953–1978: Vampires, Hunters and the Mirages Lebanon could not keep
Jets came quickly. Sixteen de Havilland Vampires arrived from 1953, according to MILAVIA, and from 1958 or 1959 the Hawker Hunter, which became the backbone of the force: six ex-RAF F.6s first, then ex-Belgian aircraft in the mid-1960s and six more refurbished ex-RAF Hunters from December 1975, between 19 and 20 airframes in all. On 5 June 1967, the first day of the Six-Day War, two Lebanese Hunters strafed Israeli positions in Galilee and one was shot down by an Israeli fighter, Wikipedia records. Lebanon also bought ten Mirage IIIEL fighters and two two-seaters, delivered from 1967 to 1969 and kept at Kleyate in the north. Lebanon could not afford to run them: they were grounded for lack of money in the late 1970s and later sold to Pakistan.
1975–1994: an air force in a civil war
When the civil war broke out in 1975 the army itself split, and the air force with it. Wikipedia’s account of the breakaway Lebanese Arab Army describes mutineers guarding Rayak, where most of the flying assets were concentrated, with the Mirages at Kleyate. The Hunters flew only occasionally. In September 1983, during the Mountain War, Rayak had been damaged and the Hunters operated from an improvised strip at Halat near Byblos; Wikipedia records their first combat sorties of that phase on 16 September against Druze and Syrian gun positions, and three days later a Bulldog trainer on reconnaissance over the Chouf was hit by ground fire and crashed, killing both pilots. Aeroflight lists a Hunter shot down over the Shouf that month. The last Hunter loss came in 1989 near Batroun: Wikipedia says the undercarriage failed in training and the pilot ejected; Aeroflight records it as shot down. The surviving Hunters were grounded in 1994.
1995–2007: a helicopter air force, and the bombers of Nahr al-Bared
Peace left Lebanon an air force without combat jets and without money, and it was rebuilt around helicopters. The United States supplied 24 UH-1H Hueys between 1995 and 2001, according to MILAVIA, and the UAE gave nine Gazelles from 2007. The test came in 2007 at Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli held by the militant group Fatah al-Islam. Lacking strike aircraft, the air force modified UH-1Hs to drop Mk 82 and Mk 83 unguided bombs and fitted Matra SNEB rocket pods taken from stored Hunters, while Gazelles fired HOT missiles, Wikipedia records. The army’s own history credits the air force with bombing, transport, resupply, medical evacuation and aerial filming from 20 May to 2 September 2007. Wikipedia’s figures for the 105-day battle are 168–179 soldiers and 226 militants killed. It was crude and it worked, and it made the case for proper close-support aircraft.
2008–2023: rebuilt on American aid, from Caravans to Super Tucanos
That case was answered by Washington. Three Cessna Caravans, armed as AC-208s with Hellfire missiles according to Wikipedia, arrived from 2009, and on 12 November 2008 four of the eight surviving Hunters were briefly returned to service at Rayak before the type was retired for good in 2014. In August 2021 Lebanon sold five Hunters and spares to Canada’s Lortie Aviation for about US$1 million, keeping two for its museum. Six A-29 Super Tucanos were delivered in October 2017 and June 2018; the State Department says the United States has invested more than $3 billion in the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2006. Six MD 530G armed helicopters were ordered in 2018, six ScanEagle drones arrived in 2019, and Huey IIs followed from 2021. Wikipedia says the air force flew surveillance and precision strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State fighters around Arsal and al-Qaa between 2014 and 2017.
2024–2026: wars it does not fight, and an air force on a budget
The Lebanese Armed Forces stayed out of the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah: Wikipedia records that the army pulled back about five kilometres from the border when Israel invaded on 1 October 2024, and that several soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes, by the army’s own statements. The ceasefire of 27 November 2024 made the army the force meant to deploy in the south, and in July 2025 the United States approved $100 million in sustainment for the A-29s. When Hezbollah began firing on Israel on 2 March 2026, after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and Israel invaded again, the army again did not fight. What remains is, by Wikipedia’s count, a force of about 80 aircraft, five or six of them light attack turboprops, run on donated parts and foreign money. It is competent at the jobs it can afford — surveillance, close support against militants, rescue — and it has no means of defending Lebanese airspace.
The Lebanese Air Force in numbers
Serviço
- Nome nativo
- القوات الجوية / Forces AériennesThe names used on the Lebanese Army’s Arabic and French pages (lebarmy.gov.lb). The English page calls it simply the Air Force; English Wikipedia uses Lebanese Air Force and the fuller forms Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya and Force Aérienne Libanaise
- Fundada
- 10 June 1949, at RayakDate from the Lebanese Army’s history; English Wikipedia gives 1 June 1949 and MILAVIA 1948. First commander: Lt. Col. Emile Boustany
- Earlier names
- Force of the Air; Air Defence ForceNames the army’s own history says the service carried before it settled on Air Force
- Parte de
- Lebanese Armed ForcesUnder the Commander of the Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, in post since 13 March 2025
- Sede
- Ain el-Remmaneh, BeirutMoved from Rayak to the Ministry of National Defence in 1969, and to the Bayda building in Ain el-Remmaneh in 1989, according to the army
- Comandante
- Not confirmedBrig. Gen. Ziad Haikal in 2021 (Defense News); described as former chief in July 2025 (Breaking Defense). His successor’s name was not found on a source that could be checked
Força
- Pessoal
- Cerca de 2.500English Wikipedia’s figure; not confirmed on an official page
- Light attack aircraft
-
- A-29 Super Tucano — 5–6
- AC-208 Combat Caravan — 3
Six A-29s delivered by June 2018; one damaged in an accident at Hamat on 18 May 2023. Wikipedia counts five; Breaking Defense said six in July 2025
- Helicópteros
-
- Huey II — 14
- UH-1H — 9
- IAR 330SM Puma — 7
- SA342L Gazelle — 7
- AB212 — 5
- MD 530 — 5
- AW139 — 1 (presidential)
English Wikipedia’s inventory; not confirmed by the army. The MD 530s were ordered as the armed MD 530G
- Treinadores
-
- Scottish Aviation Bulldog — 3
- Robinson R44 — 4–6
Wikipedia lists three Bulldogs still in service; Aeroflight recorded the type as withdrawn in 2000. MILAVIA counted four R44s in 2011, Wikipedia six
- Drones
-
- ScanEagle — 5 (6 delivered 2019)
- RQ-11 Raven — hand-launched
Janes reported six ScanEagles worth $11 million delivered in April 2019; Wikipedia records one lost in 2025
- Combat jets
- None since 2014The last Hawker Hunters were retired in 2014; the Mirage IIIs had been grounded since the late 1970s
- US assistance
- More than $3 billion since 2006To the whole Lebanese Armed Forces, according to the State Department fact sheet of 20 January 2025
Infraestrutura
- bases aéreas
-
- Beirut (Rafic Hariri International Airport) — Caravans, UH-1H, presidential flight
- Hamat (Wujah al-Hajar) — A-29, MD 530
- Rayak — Gazelle, R44, UH-1H, museum
- Kleyate (Rene Mouawad) — Pumas
Unit allocation as published by English Wikipedia; not confirmed by the army
- Historic strip
- Halat, near ByblosImprovised airfield built by the Americans and used by the Hunters in September 1983 while Rayak was damaged
- Rayak runway
- 3,039 m, concreteRunway 04/22, per English Wikipedia (not the AIP). Israeli aircraft bombed the runways on 13 July 2006
- Museu
- RayakEight aircraft including a Vampire T.55, Hunter F.6, Magister, Alouettes and Gazelles; visits by permission of the air force
How the Lebanese Air Force is organised
One air arm of the Lebanese Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Ain el-Remmaneh in Beirut and, by English Wikipedia’s count, about 2,500 personnel and four bases. It has had no fighter jet since the last Hawker Hunters were retired in 2014; its strike aircraft are five or six A-29 Super Tucanos and three AC-208 Caravans, beside a fleet of Huey, Puma, Gazelle and MD 530 helicopters. The unit allocation below is the one English Wikipedia publishes and has not been confirmed by the army.
Lebanese Air Force
The air arm of the Lebanese Armed Forces, answering to the Commander of the Army, General Rodolphe Haykal, in post since 13 March 2025. Its headquarters moved from Rayak to the Ministry of National Defence in 1969 and to the Bayda building in Ain el-Remmaneh in 1989, according to the army. The current air force commander could not be confirmed: Brig. Gen. Ziad Haikal commanded in August 2021, according to Defense News, and Breaking Defense called him the former chief in July 2025.
7th and 9th Squadrons
The air force’s strike units, both placed at Hamat (Wujah al-Hajar) by English Wikipedia: 7th Squadron with the A-29 Super Tucano, six of which were delivered in October 2017 and June 2018, five or six in service, and 9th Squadron with the MD 530 armed helicopters ordered in 2018. The United States approved $100 million in A-29 sustainment on 11 July 2025.
4th Squadron
Three Cessna AC-208B Combat Caravans, delivered from 2009 and modified to carry Hellfire missiles according to Wikipedia, flown from the military side of Beirut’s international airport, per English Wikipedia.
8th, 12th and 14th Squadrons
As English Wikipedia allocates them, not confirmed by the army: 12th Squadron with about 14 Huey IIs and nine UH-1Hs at Beirut, 14th Squadron with seven ex-UAE IAR 330SM Pumas at Kleyate and 8th Squadron with seven HOT-armed Gazelles at Rayak. Wikipedia also lists five AB212s, restored to service from 2007.
1st and 15th Squadrons and the Aviation School
15th Squadron trains helicopter crews on Robinson R44s and UH-1Hs at Rayak, where the aviation and technical schools and the air force’s only flight simulator, a UH-1 simulator, are based, per English Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s articles disagree on whether the Bulldog-equipped 1st Squadron is at Beirut or Rayak; Aeroflight recorded the Bulldog as withdrawn in 2000.
Presidential Flight and drones
The Presidential Flight flies a single AW139 from Beirut, per English Wikipedia. Six ScanEagle drones worth $11 million were delivered at Beirut airport in April 2019, Janes reported, and Wikipedia records one lost in 2025; hand-launched RQ-11 Ravens have been in use since 2009. The operating unit of the drones is not stated in the sources for this page.
What the Lebanese Air Force flies today
Cada tipo de cobrança, com link para sua página no Livro das Feras, quando houver. Os números indicam as aeronaves registradas, não as aeronaves disponíveis em um determinado dia.
| Tipo | Papel | Em serviço | Desde | Unidades | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer A-29B Super TucanoEm serviço | Light attack and surveillance | — | 2017 | — | 5–6. Six delivered; one was damaged in an accident on departure from Hamat on 18 May 2023 (L’Orient-Le Jour reported only the nose damaged).
MaisWikipedia lists five; Breaking Defense said Lebanon operates six in July 2025. |
|
| Cessna AC-208B Combat CaravanEm serviço | Armed surveillance | 3 | 2009 | — | Three delivered from 2009 (Aeroflight, MILAVIA, Wikipedia). | |
| Bell Huey IIEm serviço | helicóptero utilitário | 14 | 2021 | — | Wikipedia’s figure; it records three donated in January 2021, three in December 2022 and one lost in 2023. | |
| Bell UH-1H IroquoisEm serviço | Utility helicopter and improvised bomber | 9 | 1995 | — | 24 delivered 1995–2001 (MILAVIA); Wikipedia says three crashed and 12 were retired, leaving nine. | |
| Agusta-Bell AB212Em serviço | helicóptero utilitário | 5 | 1973 | — | Aeroflight counts 22 Bell- and Agusta-built 212s from 1973; withdrawn in 1999 and five restored to service from 2007. Wikipedia lists five. | |
| IAR 330SM PumaEm serviço | helicóptero de transporte | 7 | 2009 | — | At least seven ex-UAE IAR 330SMs transferred 2009–2011 (Wikipedia); MILAVIA counted ten IAR-built examples in 2010. | |
| Aerospatiale SA342L GazelleEm serviço | Scout and anti-armour helicopter | 7 | 1981 | — | Seven in service per Wikipedia. Aeroflight counts four delivered in 1981, three in 1983–84 and nine ex-UAE in 2007. | |
| MD Helicopters MD 530GEm serviço | Light attack helicopter | 5 | 2019 | — | Six ordered on 1 October 2018; Wikipedia lists five after a 2022 crash and describes them as MD 530F. | |
| AgustaWestland AW139Em serviço | Presidential transport helicopter | 1 | — | One, per Wikipedia. | ||
| Scottish Aviation Bulldog 126Em serviço | Instrutor básico | 3 | 1975 | — | Six delivered in 1975 (Aeroflight); Wikipedia lists three in service, while Aeroflight records the type withdrawn in 2000. | |
| Robinson R44 Raven IIEm serviço | Helicóptero de treinamento | — | — | 4–6: four in MILAVIA’s 2011 report, six in Wikipedia. | ||
| Boeing Insitu ScanEagleEm serviço | Surveillance drone | 5 | 2019 | — | Six delivered in April 2019 (Janes); one lost in 2025, per Wikipedia. | |
| AeroVironment RQ-11 RavenEm serviço | Hand-launched surveillance drone | — | 2009 | — | Twelve were being delivered in 2011 (MILAVIA); Wikipedia lists 13 with losses in 2015 and 2016. |
Every type the Lebanese Air Force has retired
17 types, from the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79L to the Hawker Hunter F.6, FGA.70/70A, T.66C and T.69. Os números máximos representam as aeronaves incorporadas à frota ao longo de toda a sua vida útil, e não a força total da frota em uma data específica.
| Tipo | Papel | Pico | Servido | Substituído por | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawker Hunter F.6, FGA.70/70A, T.66C and T.69 | Caça-bombardeiro | — | 1958–2014 | — | 19–20 airframes. MILAVIA counts 19 (six F.6 in 1959, seven ex-Belgian in 1966, six in 1975–77).
MaisAeroflight lists six ex-RAF from 1958, four ex-Belgian from 1965, three T.66C, six FGA.70A from 8 December 1975 and one T.69 sub-leased from Iraq. |
|
| Aero Commander 690A Shrike Commander | Ligação | 1 | 1975–1983 | — | One delivered in 1975. | |
| Sud Aviation SE3130 Alouette II | Helicóptero leve | — | 1959–1981 | — | 3–4: Aeroflight counts three delivered in 1959 plus one lent by France 1962–65; MILAVIA four. | |
| Dassault Mirage IIIEL and IIIBL | Interceptor | 12 | 1968–1978 | — | Ten single-seat IIIEL and two two-seaters (Wikipedia and MILAVIA; Aeroflight calls the two-seaters IIIDL).
MaisWikipedia’s Mirage article elsewhere speaks of 14 Lebanese Mirages, and Aeroflight lists 14 serials. |
|
| de Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.30 and T.20 | Treinador principal | 6 | 1950–1974 | — | Three T.30 in 1950–51 and three T.20 in the early 1960s (Aeroflight). | |
| North American Harvard T.2B | Treinador | 12 | 1952–1967 | — | Six ex-RAF delivered on 26 January 1952 and six ex-Iraqi on 4 September 1952 (Aeroflight). | |
| Macchi MB.308 | Light aircraft | 1 | 1955–1966 | — | One delivered in 1955 (Aeroflight). | |
| Savoia-Marchetti SM.79L | Bomber used as transport | 4 | 1949–1959 | — | Four ordered in 1946 and delivered in 1949. | |
| Percival Prentice T.1 | Treinador | — | 1949–1952 | — | 3–4: three delivered in May 1949 (Aeroflight), four donated (Wikipedia). | |
| de Havilland Vampire FB.5, FB.52, FB.9 and T.55 | Caça-bombardeiro e treinador | 16 | 1953– | Caçador | Four FB.5, five FB.52, three FB.9 and four T.55 (MILAVIA). | |
| Fouga CM.170 Magister | Treinador a jato | — | 1966– | — | 8–10: Aeroflight counts eight French- and German-built from 1966; MILAVIA lists five in 1966 and five ex-Luftwaffe in 1972. | |
| Percival Proctor IV | Ligação | — | 1949– | — | 2–3: three delivered in May 1949 (Aeroflight), two (Wikipedia). | |
| de Havilland Dove 1 | Transporte | 1 | 1951– | — | Delivered on 11 April 1951 (Aeroflight). | |
| Dassault Falcon 20 | transporte VIP | — | — | — | Número não confirmado. | |
| Sud Aviation Alouette III | helicóptero utilitário | — | 1961– | — | 13–14: Aeroflight counts eight from 1961 and five SA316B in 1969; MILAVIA 14. | |
| Aerospatiale SA 330 / IAR 330L Puma | helicóptero de transporte | 6 | 1980– | IAR 330SM | Six; MILAVIA dates them to 1980, Wikipedia’s IAR 330 article to 1984 (Romanian-built). | |
| Sikorsky S-61N | helicóptero de transporte | 3 | — | — | Three listed by MILAVIA in 2011 with 16 Squadron. |
Where the Lebanese Air Force flies from
Os pinos pretos representam bases ativas, os pinos ocos representam aeródromos que foram desativados. Rayak in the Bekaa, where a runway was first laid in 1914 and the air force was founded in 1949, is still its training base; the strike aircraft fly from Hamat near Batroun, the Pumas from Kleyate in the far north and the Caravans from Beirut airport. On 13 July 2006 Israeli strikes destroyed the runways of Rayak and Kleyate and damaged all three at Beirut airport. The Lebanese AIP could not be retrieved, so only Rayak and Beirut carry pins, from English Wikipedia’s coordinates; entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
| Base | OACI | Status | Pista | Unidades e aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BeirutBeirut–Rafic Hariri International AirportMount Lebanon Governorate (southern outskirts of Beirut) | OLBA | Ativo | 03/213.800 mconcreto16/343,395 mconcreto17/353.250 m |
|
| HamatWujah al-HajarNorth Governorate (Batroun District) | Ativo | — |
|
|
| KleyateRene MouawadAkkar Governorate | OLKA | Ativo | — |
|
| RayakBeqaa Governorate (Zahle District) | OLRA | Ativo | 04/223,039 mconcreto |
|
| Halat AirstripKeserwan-Jbeil Governorate (Jbeil District) | Fechado | — |
|
|
| IaatBaalbek-Hermel Governorate | Fechado | — |
|
|
| IstablBeqaa Governorate | Fechado | — |
|
Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.
Who is stationed where in the Lebanese Air Force
Unidades voadoras por base, unidades atuais primeiro. Lebanese flying units are numbered squadrons: the current ones, as English Wikipedia allocates them, are the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th and 15th, with the Presidential Flight at Beirut. Former units, from the training squadron of 1949 to the Mirage III unit at Kleyate and the 2nd Squadron Hunters retired in 2014, are listed and marked as no longer in service. Where Wikipedia’s articles disagree on a squadron’s base, the entry says so.
- 8th SquadronScout and anti-armour helicopter squadron · active
- Aerospatiale SA342L Gazelle
- 15th SquadronEsquadrão de treinamento de helicópteros · ativo
- Robinson R44 Raven II, Bell UH-1H
- Lebanese Air Force Aviation School and Technical SchoolFlying and technical training · active
- Robinson R44 Raven II
- 2nd Squadron2008–2014
- Hawker Hunter FGA.70A and T.66
- Training squadron1949–
- Percival Prentice, North American Harvard T.2B
- 4th SquadronArmed surveillance squadron · active
- Cessna AC-208B Combat Caravan
- 12th SquadronUtility helicopter squadron · active
- Bell Huey II, Bell UH-1H
- 1st SquadronEsquadrão de treinamento · ativo
- Scottish Aviation Bulldog
- Presidential FlightVIP transport · active
- AgustaWestland AW139
- 16th Squadron—
- Sikorsky S-61N
- Helicopter units1973–
- Agusta-Bell AB212, Sud Aviation Alouette III
- 7th SquadronLight attack squadron · active
- Embraer A-29B Super Tucano
- 9th SquadronLight attack helicopter squadron · active
- MD Helicopters MD 530G
- 14th SquadronEsquadrão de helicópteros de transporte · ativo
- IAR 330SM Puma
- Mirage III unit1968–1978
- Dassault Mirage IIIEL and IIIBL
Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.
Lebanese Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
German engineers lay a dirt runway at Rayak in the Bekaa Valley, later a French air base.
June: the air force is founded at Rayak under Lt. Col. Emile Boustany (10 June per the army, 1 June per Wikipedia); Prentices, Proctors and four SM.79Ls arrive.
The first de Havilland Vampires bring jets, a year after twelve Harvard trainers arrived in 1952.
The first Hawker Hunters arrive (1958 per Aeroflight and Wikipedia, 1959 per MILAVIA).
5 June: two Hunters strafe Israeli positions in Galilee; one is shot down. Mirage IIIEL deliveries run 1967–69.
Air force headquarters moves from Rayak to the Ministry of National Defence.
Civil war begins; on 8 December the first of six refurbished FGA.70A Hunters is delivered, and Bulldog trainers arrive.
16 September: Hunters fly combat sorties from Halat near Byblos; 19 September: a Bulldog is shot down over the Chouf, killing two.
Last Hunter loss near Batroun; headquarters moves to the Bayda building, Ain el-Remmaneh.
UH-1H deliveries begin; 24 arrive by 2001.
13 July: Israeli aircraft bomb Rayak’s runways during the war with Hezbollah.
20 May–2 September: Nahr al-Bared; UH-1Hs drop bombs and Gazelles fire HOT missiles. Nine Gazelles from the UAE.
12 November: four Hunters return to service at Rayak. The first AC-208 Caravan follows in 2009.
The Hunters are retired; Lebanon has no fighter jet.
October: the first two A-29 Super Tucanos arrive; the last four follow in June 2018.
August: five Hunters sold to Lortie Aviation of Canada; Huey II deliveries begin in January.
11 July: US approves $100 million A-29 sustainment. 5 August: cabinet endorses the army’s plan to disarm armed groups.
2 March: Hezbollah opens fire on Israel and Israel invades southern Lebanon again; the army redeploys away from border posts.
Every war the Lebanese Air Force has fought or been caught up in
Missões e perdas onde constam nos registros, e um espaço em branco honesto onde não constam.
- The Six-Day War 1967 Lebanon’s only part in the war: two Hunters crossed into Israeli airspace and strafed Israeli positions on 5 June
- The Lebanese Civil War 1975–1990 Flew occasional Hunter strikes, reconnaissance and helicopter missions for a divided army; most of the time it was grounded
- The 2006 Lebanon War 2006 Not a belligerent; Lebanese airfields were bombed by Israel
- The battle of Nahr al-Bared 2007 Bombing, rocket and missile attacks, transport, resupply, casualty evacuation and aerial filming in support of the army against Fatah al-Islam
- The border campaign against Nusra Front and Islamic State 2014–2017 Surveillance and precision strikes against militants on the Syrian border
Everything people ask about the Lebanese Air Force
What is the Lebanese Air Force called in Arabic and French?
What aircraft does the Lebanese Air Force fly in 2026?
Does Lebanon have fighter jets?
What happened to Lebanon’s Mirage III fighters?
What happened to the Lebanese Hawker Hunters?
How did the Lebanese Air Force bomb Nahr al-Bared without jets?
Has the Lebanese Air Force ever fought Israel?
Where is the Lebanese Air Force based?
Who pays for the Lebanese Air Force’s aircraft?
When was the Lebanese Air Force founded?
Read the aircraft the Lebanese Air Force flew
Cada tipo com uma página no Livro das Feras, primeiro em serviço e depois pelo ano em que deixou a frota.
Todos os fatos foram verificados.
- 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.
- Lebanese Army (Arabic): القوات الجويةOfficial Arabic name and emblem.
- Lebanese Army (French): Forces AériennesOfficial French name and emblem.
- 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: Lebanese Air Force fleet entries (page 2)Harvard, Chipmunk, Bulldog, Dove, Caravan, Mirage, Prentice, Proctor, MB.308.
- Aeroflight: Lebanon AF Dassault Mirage IIIELTen delivered 1968; serials; sold to Pakistan 1994–95, delivered 2001.
- Aeroflight: Lebanon AF Hawker Hunter FGA Mk.70ADelivery dates from 8 December 1975; losses 1978, 1983, 1989.
- Aeroflight: Lebanon AF Cessna 208 CaravanThree, first in 2009.
- Aviation Museum EU: Lebanon Air Force Museum, RayakEight aircraft with serials; visits by permission.
- Defense News: Canadian firm begins negotiations to buy Lebanese Hawker Hunter jets (12 August 2021)Five Hunters to Lortie Aviation, about $1 million; nonoperational since 2010; Brig. Gen. Ziad Haikal quoted as commander.
- Breaking Defense: US clears $100M A-29 Super Tucano sustainment deal for Lebanese Air Force (July 2025)Six A-29s; FMF; APKWS; plan for 12; Haykal called former chief.
- Al Arabiya: US approves $100 mln sale of aircraft sustainment to Lebanon (12 July 2025)Announced 11 July 2025; Sierra Nevada Corporation.
- L’Orient-Le Jour: Lebanese army aircraft crashes due to sudden damage, no injuries (May 2023)Super Tucano accident at Hamat, 18 May 2023.
- US Department of State: U.S. Security Cooperation With Lebanon (20 January 2025)More than $3 billion since 2006; six A-29s delivered by June 2018.
- MD Helicopters: Lebanon Air Force orders six armed MD 530G (1 October 2018)Six MD 530G under US Army contract; deliveries by end of 2020.
- Janes: Lebanon receives ScanEagle UAVs (April 2019)Six ScanEagles worth $11 million; MD 530G programme about $94 million.
- Breaking Defense: US to provide Lebanon with explosives to dismantle Hezbollah weapons caches (September 2025)$14.2 million; 5 August 2025 cabinet decision.
- GlobalSecurity.org: Lebanese Air Force backgroundAccount of the early years: Rayak the “jewel” of the mandate bases; 1949 reconstruction; Khalde airport 1 July 1950; command to Beirut 1 December 1954; Iaat and Istabl airfields; 1952 and 1957 crashes; foreign instructors.
- Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (official site)Checked for the Lebanese AIP: the aeronautical information section (/zip/) is password-protected, so no AIP data could be used.
- Goethe-Institut Lebanon: Rayak Air Base – It Began With a Sand Runway (Christian Kirchen)Sand runway laid by a Bavarian air regiment in the First World War; surviving corrugated hangars; German aircraft bound for Baghdad landing in the Bekaa in 1941.
- WWII After WWII: WWII aircraft in Lebanon (26 January 2021)Specialist blog: surviving German barracks and Vichy hangars at Rayak; succession of controlling powers; Kleyate a former oil company strip; Rayak the main base in 2021.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: United States Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rachel Yates / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: RoyKabanlit / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: own work / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5) · Photo: Spc. Ashley Xie / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Staff Sgt. Jared Duhon / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Myself (Adrian Pingstone). / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Sovxx / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: AFP Radio DWDD / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: ZemplinTemplar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Leo za1 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Bidgee / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 au) · Photo: Moshe Pridan / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: RuthAS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Biponacci / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: abdallahh from Montreal, Canada / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: BAI73 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Bob Adams from Amanzimtoti, South Africa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)