Força Aérea do Mali
The Malian Air Force (Armée de l’Air du Mali) grew from two airliners borrowed in 1963 into a formal service in 1976, flew MiG-21s in a 1985 border war with Burkina Faso, all but collapsed with the north in 2012, and since the military government of 2021 has been rebuilt with Russian jets and helicopters and Turkish drones — while losing aircraft to insurgents almost as fast as they arrive.
The Malian Air Force story: borrowed airliners in 1963, MiG-21s over the Agacher Strip and a rebuild with Russian aircraft and Turkish drones
1961–1976: borrowed airliners, Soviet MiGs and a formal air force
Mali’s military flying began with French aid and borrowed aircraft. Wikipedia dates the first aircraft, Broussards and C-47s, to 1961, the year after independence; the armed forces’ own history starts in 1963, when a Tuareg rebellion in the north led the army to requisition two An-2s and an L-200A Morava from the airline Air Mali. The Soviet Union soon became the main supplier, with An-2s and Mi-4 helicopters from 1962 and, in the mid-1960s, five MiG-17F fighters and a MiG-15UTI trainer. Military aviation was formally created on 1 March 1966, a tactical air grouping followed in November 1968, and the air force itself was created by Ordonnance 76-99 of 6 February 1976. It was always small, and the dates matter less than the pattern: a poor country whose aircraft came as aid, from whichever patron was offering.
1976–2011: the Agacher war and a long decline
MiG-21s replaced the MiG-17s, and in December 1985 they flew Mali’s only interstate air war. In the dispute over the Agacher Strip, Malian MiG-21s and helicopters began patrolling on 20 December and on Christmas morning bombed Djibo, Ouahigouya and Nassoumbo in Burkina Faso, then other towns on 28 December; Burkina Faso’s lone MiG-17 hit Sikasso. There was no air combat, and the International Court of Justice divided the strip a year later. Six L-29 trainers came in 1983; the 1999 texts gave the service its present shape of air regions, bases and detachments. After the Cold War the money and the spares dried up. Second-hand MiG-21s from the Czech Republic in 2005 and Mi-24Ds from Bulgaria between 2007 and 2012 kept a few aircraft flying, but by January 2012 only two MiG-21s were airworthy.
2012–2020: collapse in the north and the French years
Then the north fell. The MNLA took Tessalit and its airport on 11 March 2012; on 22 March soldiers led by Captain Amadou Sanogo overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré; and by 1 April Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu were lost, with the bases there. The air force’s contribution was a handful of Mi-24s, some flown by Ukrainian contract crews, and English Wikipedia records the MiG-21s grounded. When jihadist groups pushed south in January 2013, it was France’s Operation Serval, with Mirage 2000Ds and helicopters, that stopped them. The years that followed brought Western-backed rebuilding: a C-295W, two Y-12Es and a Super Puma in October 2017, Mi-17s and Mi-35s from Russia in 2017–2018, four Embraer Super Tucanos in July 2018 and an EU-donated Cessna in 2019. One Super Tucano crashed near Sévaré in 2020.
2021–2023: the military government rebuilds with Russia and Turkey
The coups of 18 August 2020 and 24 May 2021 brought Colonel Assimi Goïta to power and turned Mali towards Russia and Turkey. Mi-8/Mi-17s ordered in 2020 for $61 million began arriving in 2021, two Mi-24Ps in March 2022, and on 9 August 2022 Goïta commissioned a Su-25, L-39Cs, a Mi-24P, a Mi-8 and a C295 at Bamako-Sénou. By March 2023 Military Africa counted 13 L-39Cs and five TB2 drones. Losses came as fast: both Su-25s crashed near Gao, in October 2022 and on 9 September 2023. The new force’s record is contested. The UN human rights office found that more than 500 people were killed at Moura from 27 March 2022, with a helicopter firing on people and foreign personnel operating alongside Malian troops; the government counted 203 ‘terrorists’ and denies wrongdoing.
2024–2025: drones, Tinzaouaten and the quarrel with Algeria
Drones became the air force’s main weapon: at least 17 TB2s by January 2024 and two Akincis presented in December 2024. Human Rights Watch documented strikes that killed civilians at Konokassi in February 2024 and at Tinzaouaten on 25 August 2024, after the separatists and JNIM defeated a FAMa and Wagner column there in July and a Mi-24 was lost; the army said it hit fighters. On 17 September 2024 JNIM attacked the military airport at Bamako and filmed C295s and the presidential jet being destroyed. One Akinci crashed in training in January 2025, and Algeria shot down the other near Tinzaouaten on the night of 31 March. Algeria says it came 2 km into its airspace; Mali says it fell about 10 km inside Mali and took Algeria to the International Court of Justice. In June 2025 Wagner handed over to Russia’s Africa Corps, whose Su-24s now fly alongside the FAMa.
2026: the April offensive and an air force under strain
On 25 April 2026 JNIM and the FLA attacked Kati, Bamako, Sénou, Gao, Sévaré and Kidal at once. The defence minister, General Sadio Camara, was killed at Kati, Kidal was lost and Russian troops withdrew from the far north; General Goïta became his own defence minister on 4 May. In July JNIM shot down Mi-24s near Anefis and Kouakourou, and Military Africa now counts at least 13 modern aircraft and drones destroyed since 2023. The relationship with Algeria thawed, with airspace reopened on 11 July 2026. Under Brigadier General Alou Boï Diarra the air force is better equipped than at any time since independence, yet it has lost aircraft faster than it receives them, still depends on Russian aircraft for heavy strikes, and faces credible, unanswered findings that its strikes have killed civilians.
The Malian Air Force in numbers
Serviço
- Nome nativo
- Armée de l’Air du MaliThe armed forces’ site fama.ml calls the service the Armée de l’Air and its staff the État-Major de l’Armée de l’Air. French is the language of the armed forces
- Fundada
- 6 February 1976 (as an air force)Ordonnance 76-99 CML of 6 February 1976 created the air force. The official history dates military aviation to 1 March 1966 and a tactical air grouping to November 1968; English Wikipedia gives 1961, when French aid brought the first aircraft
- Parte de
- Malian Armed Forces (FAMa)Under the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Élisée Jean Dao (September 2026)
- Sede
- BamakoThe air force general staff is in Bamako; Air Base 100 there received a new command post in September 2026
- Chefe de Gabinete
- Brig. Gen. Alou Boï DiarraIn post by 9 August 2022 and still in post in September 2026; the date of his appointment was not found
- Ministro da Defesa
- Gen. Assimi Goïta (also transitional president)Took the portfolio on 4 May 2026 after the defence minister, General Sadio Camara, was killed at Kati on 25 April 2026
Força
- Pessoal
- No official or IISS figure could be checked for this page
- Aeronaves de combate
-
- Aero L-39C Albatros — 13 delivered 2022–2023, at least three lost; three flew in the September 2025 parade
- EMB-314 Super Tucano — 3 (reported grounded for want of spares in 2024)
Both Su-25s delivered in 2022–2023 have crashed; the MiG-21s have been unserviceable since about 2012. Su-24s seen over Mali are presumed to be the Russian Africa Corps’s, not Malian
- Drones armados
-
- Bayraktar TB2 — at least 17 by January 2024, about 20 per Wikipedia
- Bayraktar Akinci — two delivered late 2024, both lost in 2025
Numbers are media and Wikipedia estimates; Mali does not publish them
- Helicópteros
-
- Mi-24P/Mi-35M — 7–8 listed before the 2024–2026 losses
- Mi-8MT/Mi-17 — about 5 (2024)
- Super Puma/H215 — 1–2
Military Africa counts four Mi-24P and more than four transport helicopters destroyed since 2023, and further Mi-24s were shot down in July 2026
- Transporte
-
- Airbus C295 — 1–2
- An-26 — 2
- Harbin Y-12E — 2
- Basler BT-67 — 1
JNIM videos of 17 September 2024 showed two C295s destroyed at Bamako; how many remain is not confirmed
Infraestrutura
- bases aéreas
-
- Base 100 — Bamako
- Base 101 — Sénou (Bamako airport)
- Base 102 — Kayes
- Base 103 — Sikasso
- Base 200 — Sévaré (Mopti)
- Base 201 — Timbuktu
- Base 300 — Gao
- Base 301 — Tessalit
French Wikipedia’s list by air region; Tessalit was lost in March 2012 and again to JNIM on 1 May 2026, per Wikipedia. The decree of 19 November 1999 organises the service in air regions, bases and detachments
- Air detachments
- About eightSégou, Nioro du Sahel, Nara, Kolokani, Douentza, Hombori, Ménaka and Kidal per French Wikipedia; Kidal has been held by the FLA since April 2026
- Foreign air power in Mali
- Corpo Russo da ÁfricaTook over from Wagner after 6 June 2025; flies Su-24s and helicopters in support of the FAMa.
How the Malian Air Force is organised
One service of the Malian Armed Forces, commanded from Bamako and organised since 1999 in three air regions with eight numbered bases and about eight air detachments. Its strike power is L-39C jets, Mi-24P and Mi-35M gunships and Bayraktar TB2 drones, all delivered since 2017; both Su-25s have crashed, and the MiG-21s have not flown since about 2012. Russia’s Africa Corps, which took over from Wagner in June 2025, flies its own Su-24s in support of the FAMa.
Força Aérea do Mali
One of the services of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa), created by Ordonnance 76-99 of 6 February 1976 and organised since 1999 in air regions, bases and detachments. Brigadier General Alou Boï Diarra was Chief of Staff by 9 August 2022 and still in post in September 2026; his appointment date was not found. The transitional president, General Assimi Goïta, has also been defence minister since 4 May 2026, after General Sadio Camara was killed at Kati on 25 April.
Jets and light attack aircraft
Thirteen L-39C jet trainers delivered from Russia in 2022–2023, at least three since lost, fly the counter-insurgency role with rocket pods; three Super Tucanos remain of four delivered in 2018, reported grounded for want of spares in 2024. Both Su-25s delivered in 2022–2023 crashed in the Gao region. Su-24s seen over Mali are presumed to be the Russian Africa Corps’s, not Malian.
Drone force
At least 17 Bayraktar TB2s by January 2024 according to Military Africa, about 20 per Wikipedia; the first two reached an air base in Mopti on 20 December 2022. Two Akincis delivered in late 2024 were both lost in 2025, one in training and one shot down by Algeria, which says it entered Algerian airspace; Mali says it fell inside Mali. Human Rights Watch documented drone strikes that killed civilians at Konokassi and Tinzaouaten in 2024; the army said it had struck armed fighters.
Helicópteros de ataque e transporte
Seven or eight Mi-24P and Mi-35M gunships were listed before the latest losses, among them Mi-24s shot down near Anefis on 5 July and near Kouakourou on 19 July 2026; about five Mi-8MT/Mi-17s in 2024 and one or two Super Pumas. Military Africa counts four Mi-24Ps and more than four transport helicopters destroyed since 2023.
Transport fleet
One or two C295s, after JNIM videos of the attack on the Bamako military airport on 17 September 2024 showed two destroyed; two An-26s, two Y-12Es, a BT-67 and an EU-donated Cessna. The Boeing 737 BBJ presidential jet, stored since acquisition according to French Wikipedia, was set alight in the same attack.
Regiões aéreas
French Wikipedia lists three air regions: Region 1 with Bases 100 (Bamako), 101 (Sénou), 102 (Kayes) and 103 (Sikasso); Region 2 with Bases 200 (Sévaré) and 201 (Timbuktu); and Region 3 with Bases 300 (Gao) and 301 (Tessalit), plus about eight air detachments. Russian forces withdrew from Tessalit after the offensive of April 2026, and the FLA has held Kidal since 26 April 2026. Which flying units are at which base has not been published.
What the Malian 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aero L-39C AlbatrosEm serviço | Jato de treinamento e ataque leve | 2022 | 13 delivered from Russia in 2022–2023 per Military Africa (5 in August 2022 per Military Africa, 4 per defenceWeb; 4 in January and 4 in March 2023).
MaisEnglish Wikipedia lists 12, with two lost in 2023 and one shot down in 2024; three flew in the September 2025 parade. |
|||
| Embraer EMB-314 Super TucanoEm serviço | Ataque leve e treinador | 3 | 2018 | Four delivered in July 2018; one crashed near Sévaré in 2020. | ||
| Baykar Bayraktar TB2Em serviço | drone armado | 2022 | At least 17 by January 2024 (Military Africa); about 20 (French Wikipedia); 20+ (English Wikipedia). | |||
| Baykar Bayraktar AkinciEm serviço | drone armado | 2024 | Two delivered in late 2024; one lost in training in January 2025 and one shot down by Algeria on 31 March/1 April 2025. English Wikipedia reports two more in 2026; not confirmed elsewhere. | |||
| Mil Mi-24P / Mi-35MEm serviço | Helicóptero de ataque | 2017 | 7–8 listed before the latest losses (French and English Wikipedia).
MaisLosses include one at Tinzaouaten in July 2024 and Mi-24s shot down near Anefis on 5 July 2026 and Kouakourou on 19 July 2026. |
|||
| Mil Mi-8MT / Mi-17 / Mi-171Em serviço | helicóptero de transporte | 2017 | About five in 2024 per French Wikipedia; English Wikipedia lists the Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-171 among former types.
MaisMilitary Africa counts more than four transport helicopters destroyed since 2023. |
|||
| Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma / H215Em serviço | helicóptero utilitário | 2017 | 1–2: defenceWeb reports one Super Puma in October 2017; English Wikipedia lists two H215. | |||
| Airbus C295Em serviço | Transporte tático | 2017 | 1–2. A C-295W arrived in October 2017 and another C295 was commissioned on 9 August 2022.
MaisJNIM videos of the 17 September 2024 attack showed two C295s destroyed; Wikipedia lists still differ (one or two). |
|||
| Antonov An-26Em serviço | Transporte | 2 | Two per English Wikipedia; one flew in the September 2025 parade. | |||
| Harbin Y-12EEm serviço | Transporte leve | 2 | 2017 | Two delivered in October 2017. | ||
| Basler BT-67Em serviço | Transporte | 1 | Um. | |||
| Cessna 208 CaravanEm serviço | Vigilância | 1 | 2019 | One, donated by the European Union in April 2019 per defenceWeb; French Wikipedia describes the EU-donated aircraft as a Cessna 206. | ||
| Antonov An-28Em serviço | Transporte leve | 1 | One, per English Wikipedia only; not corroborated. | |||
| Air Création Tétras 912Em serviço | Light reconnaissance (microlight) | 4 | Four per French Wikipedia, which records several Tétras accidents between 2008 and 2012. | |||
| SIAI-Marchetti SF.260Em serviço | Treinador | 1 | One, per English Wikipedia only; not corroborated. | |||
| Boeing 737-700 BBJEm serviço | transporte presidencial | 1 | One; French Wikipedia says it has been stored since acquisition. JNIM video of 17 September 2024 showed a fighter setting fire to an engine of the presidential jet. |
Every type the Malian Air Force has retired
11 types, from the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard to the Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot | apoio aéreo aproximado | 2 | 2022–2023 | One delivered on 9 August 2022 and one in January 2023; both crashed. | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF / UM | Lutador | English Wikipedia lists nine non-operational; French Wikipedia records three MiG-21MF/UM supplied by the Czech Republic in 2005. | ||||
| Mil Mi-24D (ex-Bulgarian) | Helicóptero de ataque | 2007– | Mi-24P / Mi-35M | At least seven per Military Africa; six per French Wikipedia, partly cannibalised. | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F | Lutador | 5 | MiG-21 | Five, from the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s. | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI | Treinador a jato | 1 | One, delivered with the MiG-17Fs. | |||
| Aero L-29 Delfín | Treinador a jato | 6 | 1983– | L-39C | Six delivered in 1983 per French Wikipedia. | |
| Antonov An-2 | Transporte utilitário | 1963– | Two An-2s of the airline Air Mali were requisitioned in 1963; the Soviet Union then supplied An-2s from 1962 onwards per Wikipedia. | |||
| Mil Mi-4 | Helicóptero | 1962– | ||||
| Ilyushin Il-14 and Antonov An-24 | Transporte | |||||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain e Max Holste MH.1521 Broussard | Transporte e ligação | 1961– | ||||
| Britten-Norman BN-2B Islander | Transporte leve |
Where the Malian Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases, hollow pins those out of government hands. Air Base 101 at Sénou, beside Bamako’s international airport, is the main operating base and the place where the Russian-supplied aircraft were handed over; JNIM attacked it on 17 September 2024 and again on 25 April 2026. The base list is French Wikipedia’s, and which units fly from which base has not been published. Tessalit and the Kidal detachment have been out of government hands since the offensive of April 2026. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
| Base | OACI | Status | Pista | Unidades e aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Base 100 BamakoDistrito de Bamako | Ativo |
|
||
| Air Base 101 SénouBamakoDistrito de Bamako | GABS | Ativo | 06/243.200 mconcreto asfáltico |
|
| Air Base 102 KayesKayes Region | GAKD | Ativo | 09/272.700 mconcreto betuminoso | |
| Air Base 103 SikassoSikasso Region | Ativo | |||
| Air Base 200 SévaréMoptiMopti Region | GAMB | Ativo | 05/232.540 mconcreto asfáltico |
|
| Air Base 201 TimbuktuTombouctou Region | GATB | Ativo | 07/252.170 mconcreto asfáltico | |
| Air Base 300 GaoGao Region | GAGO | Ativo | 06L/24R2.500 mconcreto betuminoso06R/24L1.800 mlaterite |
|
| Air Base 301 TessalitAmachachKidal Region | GATS | Fechado | 05/232.500 m15/331.200 msand |
|
Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.
Who is stationed where in the Malian Air Force
Unidades por base, unidades atuais primeiro. The Malian government publishes no squadron-to-base dispositions, so the bases are listed by their number in the air regions, and only the air force staff at Base 100 is tied to a site. The French, British and German detachments at Gao and Tessalit and the UN camps of MINUSMA are listed and marked as not Malian.
- Air Force Staff (État-major de l’Armée de l’Air)Sede · ativa
- Base aérienne 101 (Air Base 101)Base aérea · ativa
- MINUSMA presence at Sévaré-Mopti2013–2023
- French Operation Barkhane base, Gao (earlier Operation Serval)2013–2022
- Royal Air Force Chinook detachment
- CH-47 Chinook
- Camp Castor (German contingent, MINUSMA)
Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.
Malian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
French military aid brings the first aircraft, including MH.1521 Broussards and C-47s; English Wikipedia dates the air force from this year.
A rebellion in the north: the army requisitions two An-2s and an L-200A Morava from Air Mali, the start of Malian military flying in the official history.
1 March: military aviation is formally created, attached to engineering units.
November: the tactical air grouping (Groupement aérien tactique) is formed.
6 February: Ordonnance 76-99 CML creates the Armée de l’Air.
25 December: Malian MiG-21s bomb Djibo, Ouahigouya and Nassoumbo in the Agacher Strip war with Burkina Faso; the ICJ divides the strip on 22 December 1986.
Ordonnance of 1 October and the decree of 19 November 1999 set the present organisation in air regions, bases and detachments.
Tessalit falls on 11 March; the coup of 22 March follows; Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu are lost by 1 April, and with them the northern air bases.
January: France’s Operation Serval begins; French Mirage 2000Ds and Gazelles carry the air war.
July: four Embraer Super Tucanos arrive from Brazil.
24 May: the second coup in nine months; Colonel Assimi Goïta becomes transitional president on 28 May. Russian Mi-8/Mi-17 deliveries begin.
9 August: Goïta commissions a Su-25, L-39s, a Mi-24P, a Mi-8 and a C295 at Bamako-Sénou. 20 December: the first two TB2 drones reach Sévaré.
More L-39s, a Su-25, Mi-17s, a Mi-35M and TB2s arrive; the second Su-25 crashes near Gao on 9 September.
Tinzaouaten battle in July; JNIM attacks the military airport at Bamako on 17 September; Akinci drones presented in December.
Algeria shoots down a Malian Akinci near Tinzaouaten on the night of 31 March/1 April; Wagner hands over to Russia’s Africa Corps in June; Mali takes Algeria to the ICJ in September.
25 April: coordinated JNIM and FLA attacks; the defence minister is killed at Kati and Kidal is lost. July: Mi-24s shot down near Anefis and Kouakourou. 11 July: Algeria and Mali reopen their airspace to each other.
Every war the Malian Air Force has fought
Missões e perdas onde constam nos registros, e um espaço em branco honesto onde não constam.
- The first Tuareg rebellion 1963–1964 Borrowed civil aircraft flew liaison and support for the army; this is where the official history starts Malian military flying
- The Agacher Strip war 1985 Border patrols from 20 December, then bombing raids on Burkinabé towns from 25 December
- The 2012 rebellion and the loss of the north 2012–2013 A handful of helicopters, partly crewed by Ukrainian contract pilots, supported garrisons until the northern bases fell
- The counter-insurgency with Russian support 2021–present Close air support, helicopter assault and armed-drone strikes against JNIM, Islamic State Sahel and the northern separatist coalition
- The battle of Tinzaouaten 2024 Helicopter support to a FAMa and Wagner column, then drone and air strikes on the town on 31 July and 25 August
Who built the Malian Air Force fleet
Cada empresa responsável pelas aeronaves desta página tem sua própria página: a história, cada tipo que construiu, os números e as outras forças aéreas que as operam.
Frota atual e encomendas
Antonov, Baykar, Mil, Aero Vodochody, Criação de ar, Airbus, Helicópteros Airbus, Basler Turbo Conversions, Boeing, Cessna, Embraer, Harbin, SIAI-Marchetti
Antiga frota
Mikoyan, Britten-Normando, Douglas, Ilyushin, Max Holste, Sukhoi
Everything people ask about the Malian Air Force
What is the Malian Air Force called in French?
When was the Malian Air Force founded?
What aircraft does the Malian Air Force fly in 2026?
Does Mali have fighter jets?
Who commands the Malian Air Force?
Did Algeria shoot down a Malian drone?
Have Malian drone strikes killed civilians?
What happened to the Malian Air Force in 2012?
Who supplies the Malian Air Force?
Did the Malian Air Force fight a war with Burkina Faso?
Read the aircraft the Malian 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.
- FAMa: État-Major de l’Armée de l’AirOfficial history: 1963 northern rebellion and requisitioned Air Mali An-2s and L-200A Morava; military aviation created 1 March 1966; tactical air grouping November 1968; air force created by Ordonnance 76-99 CML of 6 February 1976; 1999 legal texts; missions; organisation by air regions, bases and detachments.
- FAMa: Armée de l’Air – une 18e journée de solidarité en faveur des enfants des militaires disparus (26 September 2026)Brigadier General Boï Diarra presided on 25 September 2026 at the air force general staff; amphitheatre named after the late General Sadio Camara.
- FAMa: Base 100 – un nouveau poste de commandement pour renforcer les capacités opérationnelles de l’Armée de l’Air (24 September 2026)New 154 square-metre command post at Air Base 100, Bamako, opened by the Chief of General Staff, Major General Élisée Jean Dao, with the air force chief of staff, Brigadier General Alou Boï Diarra, present.
- FAMa: news listing, September 2026Headlines including the escort of more than 1,200 fuel tankers to Bamako (24 September 2026) and the 66th independence anniversary.
- defenceWeb: Mali commissions new aircraft (10 August 2022)9 August 2022 ceremony at Bamako-Sénou: one Su-25, four L-39, one Mi-24P, one Mi-8, one C295; Goita presiding, air force chief General Alou Boi Diarra; 2020 order for four Mi-8MT/Mi-17Sh worth $61 million; Super Tucano July 2018; C-295W, two Y-12E and a Super Puma October 2017; Cessna 208 donated by the EU April 2019.
- defenceWeb: Mali receives Mi-24s and radars from Russia (4 April 2022)Headline and summary seen in defenceWeb search: two Mi-24P attack helicopters from Russia.
- defenceWeb: Mali’s military displays new hardware during anniversary parade (30 September 2025)Parade of 23 September 2025: three L-39s, an An-26, one Mi-8/17 and two Mi-24s; two Su-24s presumed operated by the Africa Corps flew over and had flown more than 78 hours in support of the FAMa in 2025.
- defenceWeb: Algeria shoots down Malian UAV, escalating tensions (2 May 2025)Akinci shot down near Tinzaouaten; Algeria says it entered Algerian airspace, Mali says it came down about 10 km inside Mali; ambassadors recalled and airspace closed.
- defenceWeb (ACLED analysis): Is the Malian military losing against JNIM? (21 July 2026)Mi-24 shot down by JNIM near Kouakourou on 19 July 2026, crew killed, the second helicopter shot down in two weeks; Anefis fighting 4–9 July 2026.
- Military Africa: Russia expands Mali’s airpower; delivers L-39C aircraft and Mi-35 helicopter (9 August 2022)Five L-39C, one Su-25 and one Mi-35 on 9 August 2022; earlier Mi-17s and Mi-35s 2017–2018; two Mi-24P and a P-18 radar 30 March 2022; at least seven ex-Bulgarian Mi-24D 2007–2012.
- Military Africa: Mali receives additional L-39C Albatros and Bayraktar TB2 (17 March 2023)16 March 2023: four L-39C, three TB2 and one Mi-35M; totals 13 L-39C and five TB2; first two TB2 delivered to Mopti (Sévaré) on 20 December 2022; January 2023 delivery of two Mi-17, four L-39C and one Su-25.
- Military Africa: Last remaining Malian Air Force Su-25 crashes (11 September 2023)Su-25 crash in the Gao region on 9 September 2023, pilot ejected; earlier Su-25 loss near Gao airport in October 2022; Mi-24D crash in Bamako on 22 April 2023.
- Military Africa: Mali acquired Akinci drone after Bayraktar TB2 (December 2024)Akinci drones presented by Goita in Bamako; at least two photographed; TB2 deliveries January and March 2023 and 4 January 2024; at least 17 TB2s.
- Military Africa: Tuareg rebels and Salafi-jihadists continue to degrade Mali’s air capabilities (19 July 2026)Mi-24P downed near Anefis on 5 July 2026; at least 13 modern manned and unmanned aircraft destroyed since 2023 (four Mi-24P, one Akinci, more than four transport helicopters, at least two Su-25).
- Human Rights Watch: Mali – Atrocities by the Army and Wagner Group (12 December 2024)Drone strike on Tinzaouaten on 25 August 2024 killed seven civilians including five children (HRW finding); army said it targeted armed group fighters; separatists claimed 21 civilians killed; government did not answer HRW.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025 – MaliDrone strikes on a wedding and a burial at Konokassi, Ségou region, 16–17 February 2024; Tinzaouaten 25 August 2024; ECOWAS exit announced January 2024.
- Human Rights Watch: Mali – Russia’s ‘Africa Corps’ airstrikes kill civilians (31 July 2026)Su-24 strike on Kyrnia, Mopti region, 15 June 2026, eight civilians killed including three children (HRW finding); attributed to the Africa Corps; no public record of Su-24 transfer to Mali; no Russian reply.
- Human Rights Watch: Mali country pageIndex of 2024–2026 reports including Africa Corps strikes (July 2026) and massacre (August 2026).
- OHCHR: Malian troops, foreign military personnel killed over 500 people during military operation in Moura (12 May 2023)UN finding: more than 500 killed at Moura from 27 March 2022; one military helicopter fired on people while four others landed troops; armed foreign personnel operated alongside Malian forces; authorities deny wrongdoing.
- International Court of Justice: Press release 2025/40 – Mali files an application concerning a dispute with Algeria (19 September 2025)Listing seen on the ICJ press release index; the PDF itself could not be fetched.
- Arab News Paquistão: Argélia afirma que seu enviado retornará ao Mali após um ano de desavenças (10 de julho de 2026)Algeria’s ambassador returned from 11 July 2026; both countries reopened airspace to civil and military aircraft; Mali had disputed the airspace violation.
- AIP ASECNA, AD 2 GABS Bamako/Sénou (Aéroport international Président Modibo Keita – Sénou), valid from 16 April 2026Reference point, elevation (380 m), runway 06/24, the military zone beside runway 06 and taxiway D reserved for state and military aircraft.
- AIP ASECNA, AD 2 GAGO Gao/Korogoussou, valid from 16 April 2026Reference point, elevation (265 m), two parallel runways, overflight of the military camp prohibited, military apron.
- AIP ASECNA, AD 2 GAMB Mopti/Ambodedjo, valid from 16 April 2026Reference point, elevation (277 m), runway 05/23.
- AIP ASECNA, AD 2 GATB Tombouctou, valid from 16 April 2026Reference point, elevation (265 m), runway 07/25 (2,170 m).
- AIP ASECNA, AD 2 GAKD Kayes/Dag-Dag, valid from 22 January 2026Reference point, elevation (50 m), runway 09/27; operated by ASECNA and Mali’s DAAN.
- COMPLEXE YERETA : la Mutuelle de l’Aviateur renforce son engagement au profit du personnel de l’Armée de l’Air (FAMa, 25 September 2026)Official: places Base 101 of the air force at Sénou; 1,452 m² welfare complex opened 24 September 2026.
Dados verificados em 01/10/2026. As páginas da Ordem de Batalha são geradas a partir de um único conjunto de dados; se algum número aqui divergir de uma página do Livro das Feras, esta página será considerada a mais recente.
Photographs: Photo: Spc. Kimberly Trumbull / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Bayhaluk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: SGT. Kimberly Yearyean / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Ank kumar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Mary Karpach / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Noah Wulf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Landolso / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: SDASM Archives / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Photographer: Mosbatho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)