Yemeni Air Force combat record

Todas as guerras em que a Força Aérea Iemenita lutou.

The record includes the air forces of the two Yemens before 1990 and both sides of the war since 2015. Shoot-down claims are given with the side that makes them: in 1994 the North and the South each claimed jets on the first day, and the losses of 2009 are blamed on technical faults by the government and claimed by the Houthis. The Houthi missile and drone campaign is listed as the work of Houthi forces, not of the air force as an institution, with the Houthis’ own justification and that of their opponents both given. 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 siege of Sanaa in 1967 to the government air strikes of 2026.

Conflito Anos Contra Aeronave principal Missões Aeronave perdida
Guerra Civil no Iêmen do Norte e o Cerco de Sanaathe 70-day siege of 1967–1968Yemen Arab Republic Air Force (from 20 November 1967) 1962–1970 Royalist forces backed by Saudi Arabia MiG-17, Yak-11 3

Most of the republican air war was flown by Egypt; the new Yemeni air force flew in the siege of Sanaa with Soviet and Syrian pilots helping.

The war began with the revolution of 26 September 1962. Egypt sent about 70,000 troops and, according to Wikipedia, used chemical weapons from 1967, including an attack on Kitaf on 5 January 1967 that caused 270 casualties. Royalists were backed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan and covert British operations. The Yemen Arab Republic Air Force was established on 20 November 1967 as the Egyptians withdrew, and its first fight was the defence of Sanaa against the royalist siege; republican aircraft, some flown by Soviet and Syrian pilots, supported the defenders until the siege failed.

Resultado The republic survived; Saudi Arabia recognised it in 1970.

Egyptian official figures give 15,194 military deaths for Egypt; Yemeni casualty totals are not reliably known.

Voando para
Yemen Arab Republic Air Force (from 20 November 1967)
Onde
North Yemen
Ao lado de
Egypt and Soviet Union (aircraft and some pilots)
Contra
Royalist forces backed by Saudi Arabia
Aeronave
MiG-17, Yak-11
Perdas
3 aeronavesTwo MiG-17s destroyed with their pilots killed and one Yak-11 flown by a Soviet pilot lost during the 70-day siege (Wikipedia citing Cooper).
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia
Primeira guerra interiemenitathe 1972 border warPeople’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force 1972 República Árabe do Iêmen MiG-17 1

Southern MiG-17s flew ground-attack and supply missions.

Fighting ran from 26 September to 19 October 1972. Wikipedia says Cuban pilots flew combat missions in Soviet-built MiGs for the South and judges the southern air operations effective; the South recovered the ground it had lost. No northern air activity is described in the sources checked.

Resultado Ceasefire 19 October; Cairo Agreement on unification 28 October 1972.

Single-source detail.

Voando para
People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force
Onde
North–South Yemeni border
Ao lado de
Soviet Union and Cuba (pilots)
Contra
República Árabe do Iêmen
Aeronave
MiG-17
Perdas
1 aeronave · 1 mortoOne southern MiG-17 shot down on 30 September 1972, pilot killed (Wikipedia).
Fontes
Wikipédia
Desdobramento de guerra em OgadenSouth Yemeni support for EthiopiaPeople’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force 1977–1978 Somália

Wikipedia says South Yemen deployed forces to Ethiopia during the war.

Wikipedia’s article on the Yemeni Air Force records that South Yemen sent forces to Ethiopia in the 1977–1978 Ogaden War. What the air force itself contributed is not described in the sources checked.

Resultado Ethiopia won in March 1978.

The air force’s role could not be confirmed beyond one sentence in Wikipedia.

Voando para
People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force
Onde
Etiópia
Ao lado de
Ethiopia, Soviet Union and Cuba
Contra
Somália
Fontes
Wikipédia
Segunda guerra interiemenitathe 1979 warBoth Yemeni air forces 1979 Su-22, Su-7, MiG-21e mais 1

The southern air force gained air superiority within days and bombed Sanaa and the Hodeidah area.

The war ran from 24 February to 19 March 1979. On 8 March, according to Wikipedia, three Su-22s, three Su-7s and five MiG-21s from the South bombed military and civilian targets in Sanaa; on 10 March they hit airfields and ports near Hodeidah. Wikipedia says Taiz airfield was bombed on 28 February. The North flew MiG-17s and MiG-21s. The defeat led the United States, from 13 March, to ship F-5Es to the North; with no trained Yemeni pilots, about 80 Taiwanese air force personnel were sent to fly them.

Resultado Arab League-mediated Kuwait Agreement, ceasefire 20 March 1979.

Wikipedia gives 18 F-5Es in its 1979 war article but 12 F-5Es plus 4 F-5Bs in its F-5 article.

Voando para
Both Yemeni air forces
Onde
North Yemen
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Aeronave
Su-22, Su-7, MiG-21, MiG-17
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia · Wikipédia
Crise no Iêmen do Sul"the Events" of January 1986People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force 1986

Split between the factions of Ali Nasir Muhammad and his opponents; the air force was largely destroyed.

Fighting began on 13 January 1986 and lasted about 12 days. Wikipedia gives 4,000–6,000 deaths, without attributing the estimate to an organisation. For the air force it was a catastrophe: about three-quarters of its aircraft were destroyed and some 40 pilots took refuge in the North.

Resultado Ali Nasir Muhammad was defeated; about 60,000 people fled to North Yemen with him (Wikipedia).

Casualty figures are unattributed estimates.

Voando para
People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Air Force
Onde
Aden
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Perdas
Wikipedia says about 75 per cent of the air force was destroyed and about 40 pilots fled north.
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia
1994 civil warthe war of secessionAir forces of the former North and South 1994 MiG-21, Su-22, MiG-29e mais 1

The southern air force opened the war with raids on Sanaa, Hodeidah and Taiz; the northern air force bombed Aden and Al Anad.

On 4 May 1994 about 40 southern MiG-21s and Su-22s attacked northern targets including the presidential palace in Sanaa and air bases, according to Wikipedia; the North replied against Aden, Al Anad, the al-Haswa power station and Aden’s refineries and broadcasters. The South bought MiG-29s from Moldova, flown by Eastern European mercenaries; the only recorded MiG-29 air combat, against two F-5Es on 29 June, ended with neither side firing. Wikipedia’s F-5 article says northern F-5s claimed several MiG-21s. The South also fired Scud missiles at Sanaa, killing dozens of civilians. Overall deaths are estimated at 7,000–10,000.

Resultado Northern forces took Aden; the war ended on 7 July 1994.

Shoot-down claims by both sides are unconfirmed; the death toll is a general estimate, not a counted figure.

Voando para
Air forces of the former North and South
Onde
Iémen
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Aeronave
MiG-21, Su-22, MiG-29, F-5E
Missões
About 40 southern jets flew the first raid on 4 May (Wikipedia).
Perdas
Each side’s claims only: the North said it shot down five southern jets on the first day, the South four northern ones.
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia · Wikipédia
Saada wars against the Houthisincluding Operation Scorched Earth, 2009–2010Força Aérea Iemenita 2004–2010 Houthi movement MiG-21, Su-22 3

Bombing of Houthi positions with MiG-21s and Su-22s; also strikes against al-Qaeda.

Wikipedia says the air force fought the Houthi insurgency from 2006 onward. In Operation Scorched Earth (11 August 2009 – 12 February 2010) MiG-21s and Su-22s bombed Houthi positions in Saada. The government said the MiG-21 lost on 2 October 2009 ran into a mountain peak because of a technical fault; the Houthis said they shot it down. Saudi Arabia entered the fighting in November 2009 with F-15s and Tornados after a cross-border attack.

Resultado Houthis accepted the government’s ceasefire proposal on 12 February 2010.

Causes of the three losses remain disputed.

Voando para
Força Aérea Iemenita
Onde
Saada Governorate, northern Yemen
Ao lado de
Saudi Arabia (from November 2009)
Contra
Houthi movement
Aeronave
MiG-21, Su-22
Perdas
3 aeronavesA MiG-21 on 2 October 2009 and two Su-22s: the government blamed technical faults, the Houthis claimed shoot-downs.
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia
2011 uprisingthe fall of SalehForça Aérea Iemenita 2011 Uprising forces and defecting tribal units Su-22, MiG-29

Air force used during the uprising against President Saleh.

Wikipedia records two losses in the 2011 uprising: a Su-22 brought down on 28 September north of Sanaa, and an attack on al-Dailami air base on 30 October that destroyed two or three aircraft. It adds that maintenance was largely halted after Saleh was ousted in 2012.

Resultado Saleh handed over power in 2012; maintenance largely stopped afterwards.

Number of aircraft destroyed on 30 October varies between two and three in the sources cited by Wikipedia.

Voando para
Força Aérea Iemenita
Onde
Sanaa region
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Contra
Uprising forces and defecting tribal units
Aeronave
Su-22, MiG-29
Perdas
A Su-22 shot down by a shoulder-fired missile north of Sanaa on 28 September; two to three aircraft, at least one a MiG-29, destroyed at al-Dailami on 30 October (Wikipedia, citing the IISS).
Fontes
Wikipédia
Houthi takeover and the Saudi-led interventionthe collapse of the air forceYemeni Air Force (split) 2015 Saudi-led coalition Su-22, MiG-29, F-5E

Elements of the air force sided with the Houthis and Saleh loyalists and struck Aden; the coalition then destroyed much of the remaining fleet on the ground.

On 19 March 2015 air raids on Aden showed that parts of the air force had sided with the Houthis. On 25 March two Su-22s, covered by a MiG-29, attacked the presidential compound in Aden from Houthi-controlled al-Dailami, while MiG-29s loyal to President Hadi scrambled from Al Anad. Al Anad itself fell to the Houthis and the 201st Armoured Brigade the same day, after US special forces withdrew. The Saudi-led coalition intervened on 26 March; its spokesman Ahmed Asiri said strikes destroyed weapons, aircraft and air defences, and King Salman said the Royal Saudi Air Force was in full control of the zone.

Resultado Wikipedia says the air force was inoperable by 2017.

Loss figures come from coalition statements and press imagery collated by Wikipedia; there is no full count.

Voando para
Yemeni Air Force (split)
Onde
Aden, Sanaa, Al Anad
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Contra
Saudi-led coalition
Aeronave
Su-22, MiG-29, F-5E
Perdas
Destroyed at al-Dailami in the first strikes: a King Air 350ER, a CN-235 and two Bell 214s; two Su-22s and an F-5 reported destroyed by mid-April; an Il-76TD burned at Sanaa airport on 4 May (Wikipedia).
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia · Wikipédia
Houthi missile and drone campaignattacks on shipping and IsraelHouthi (Ansar Allah) forces — not the air force as an institution 2023– United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Saudi-led coalition (2026) Burkan ballistic missiles, Qasef and Sammad drones

Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against ships and Israel; surface-to-air fire against US drones.

The Houthis began attacking Israel on 31 October 2023 and shipping in November 2023. ACLED counts 178 vessels attacked, four sunk and nine sailors killed. The US and UK began strikes on 12 January 2024; a US campaign from 15 March to 6 May 2025 hit more than 1,000 targets and ended in a US–Houthi ceasefire. The Yemen Data Project, quoted by Human Rights Watch, says those US strikes killed at least 238 civilians; Airwars counts 445–643 civilian deaths from all US action in Yemen since 2002, against 166 acknowledged by the US military. Israel struck Hodeidah and Sanaa airport, where Wikipedia says four Yemenia airliners were destroyed in May 2025. The Houthis say they act in support of Gaza; Israel and the US call the attacks terrorism and piracy.

Resultado Paused after the Gaza ceasefire of 10 October 2025; resumed against Israel on 28 March 2026 and against Saudi Arabia from July 2026.

Western governments attribute much of the missile and drone arsenal to Iranian supply (as collated by Wikipedia); a US National Security Council statement of April 2015 said Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis. The UN Panel of Experts reports could not be retrieved and are not quoted. Shoot-down figures for US drones differ between US sources and Houthi claims.

Voando para
Houthi (Ansar Allah) forces — not the air force as an institution
Onde
Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Israel, Saudi Arabia
Ao lado de
Sem força aérea aliada
Contra
United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Saudi-led coalition (2026)
Aeronave
Burkan ballistic missiles, Qasef and Sammad drones
Missões
ACLED, quoted by Wikipedia: 178 vessels attacked in two years.
Perdas
Wikipedia reports 17 US MQ-9s lost (the Houthis claim 25) and three US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets lost during the campaign.
Fontes
Wikipédia · Wikipédia · Human Rights Watch · Guerras aéreas · UN Security Council
Government air strikes on the Houthisthe 2026 fightingBraço aéreo do governo internacionalmente reconhecido 2026– Houthis (Ansar Allah)

Air strikes on Houthi airfields, missile and drone sites, depots and front-line positions.

According to Al Jazeera, government aircraft struck the runway at Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport on 13 July 2026, hit Houthi missile and drone launch sites and weapons depots in Marib and al-Jawf on 25 July, and carried out at least 15 strikes on Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles in Taiz and Hodeidah on 5 September. Wikipedia says the strikes are flown with repaired F-5s, but the Al Jazeera report it cites does not name the aircraft. The Houthis, who had declared a naval blockade in July, seized the whole western coast in September; the coalition said on 24 September it intercepted six ballistic missiles fired at Taif and Yanbu.

Resultado Ongoing; in September 2026 the Houthis took the Red Sea coast, including Mocha.

Aircraft types and numbers on the government side are not confirmed by a primary source.

Voando para
Braço aéreo do governo internacionalmente reconhecido
Onde
Sanaa, Marib, al-Jawf, Taiz, Hodeidah
Ao lado de
Saudi-led coalition
Contra
Houthis (Ansar Allah)
Missões
At least 15 strikes in Taiz and Hodeidah on 5 September 2026 (Al Jazeera).
Perdas
Nenhum dado foi divulgado.
Fontes
Al Jazeera · Wikipédia · Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera · Relatório do Conselho de Segurança

Nada corresponde a essa pesquisa.


Fontes e Leitura Complementar

Cada número, verificado

Dados verificados em 01/10/2026. Back to the Yemeni Air Force.