Tunus Hava Kuvvetleri

Savaş Düzeni · Tunisia

Tunus Hava Kuvvetleri

جيش الطيران · Armée de l’Air

The Tunisian Air Force (جيش الطيران, Armée de l’Air) was founded in 1959, three years after independence, flew Swedish, Italian and American trainers and Sabres through the Bourguiba years, made the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II its only supersonic fighter in 1984–85, and since 2012 has been rebuilt with American help into a counter-insurgency and border-surveillance force of Black Hawks, Kiowa Warriors, surveillance Caravans and Turkish Anka-S drones — while the same small F-5 fleet still guards the airspace.

0Savaş uçağı
8Aktif hava üsleri
1959Kurulan
3Emekli olan türler
Fotoğraf: ABD Hava Kuvvetleri / Wikimedia Commons (Kamu malı)
ÜlkeTunusKurulan1959DurumAktifMerkez OfisBizerte (per Wikipedia; not confirmed on an official page)KomutanMohamed Hajjem
Hikaye

The Tunisian Air Force story: born beside Bizerte, an F-5 force four decades old and an air arm rebuilt for the Chaambi and the Libyan border

1959–1963: an air force born in the shadow of Bizerte

Tunisia became independent in 1956, and its air force followed in 1959; French Wikipedia credits Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi with creating it. What it inherited was mostly unfinished business. France still held the naval base at Bizerte, with its airfield at Sidi Ahmed, and in May 1961 the French admiral there announced work to lengthen the runway — work which, by the French Wikipedia account, crossed 1.5 metres into Tunisian territory. Tunisia blockaded the base, and between 19 and 23 July 1961 French paratroops, warships and jets broke the blockade and took the town. The young Tunisian air force played no recorded part in the fighting; it had only light trainers. The cost was counted on the ground: France gave its own dead as 20–27, Tunisia’s official communiqué gave 630 Tunisians killed and 1,555 wounded, and later estimates run far higher. France handed Bizerte back on 15 October 1963 — and Sidi Ahmed became the Tunisian Air Force’s own main base.

1960–1980: Safirs, Macchis and second-hand Sabres

The equipment of the first two decades says a good deal about Tunisian foreign policy: small, Western, and bought from several suppliers so as to depend on none. The first aircraft, in 1960, were Swedish Saab 91 Safir trainers — 15 in all, by Wikipedia’s count. Jets came from Italy in 1965 with eight Aermacchi MB-326B trainers, which could also carry weapons, and a handful of MB-326LT. In 1969 the United States supplied 15 second-hand F-86F Sabres, Tunisia’s first true fighters. The 1970s brought SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers and, in 1977–78, eight single-seat MB-326KT light attack aircraft. None of this amounted to an air force that could fight a neighbour, and nobody pretended it did. As the Carnegie Middle East Center later put it, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali kept the military purposely weak for decades to avoid the coups seen elsewhere in the region.

1981–2010: the F-5 era and a deliberately small military

The fighter that defines the service arrived in the 1980s. Tunisia ordered 12 Northrop F-5s — eight single-seat F-5E and four two-seat F-5F — in 1981, received them in 1984–85, and added five ex-US Air Force F-5Es in 1989. defenceWeb describes the F-5 as the country’s main air defence aircraft, flown by 15 Squadron at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed; several have been lost in crashes over four decades. Two C-130H Hercules arrived in 1985, five surplus C-130Bs in 1997, and the Czech Aero L-59T jet trainer and Let L-410 transport in 1995–96. The limits of this force were exposed on 1 October 1985, when Israeli F-15s flew some 2,060 km to bomb the PLO headquarters at Hammam Chott near Tunis; Israel’s air commander expected no resistance and met none. The UN Security Council condemned the raid in Resolution 573.

2011–2016: revolution, a burning border and the Chaambi mountains

The revolution of 2011 ended Ben Ali’s rule and, within weeks, put war on Tunisia’s south-eastern border as Libya collapsed. In June 2011 Reuters reported an F-5 and a helicopter patrolling the frontier after Libyan rockets landed near Mrabeh, and Wikipedia records armed L-59 patrols along the border that year. From December 2012 the army was fighting al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Chaambi mountains near Algeria. After eight soldiers were ambushed and killed in July 2013, Tunisian warplanes bombed militant hideouts in August, according to an army source quoted by Reuters; in April 2014 L-59s flew reconnaissance and strike missions there. On 16 July 2014 an attack in the Chaambi killed at least 14 soldiers, by the Defence Ministry’s count — according to the Carnegie Middle East Center, the worst military loss since Bizerte. In March 2016 an Islamic State assault on Ben Guerdane, near Libya, was defeated; defenceWeb reported at least 53 dead.

2014–2023: the American re-equipment and the first UN mission

The answer was a rebuilt air arm, paid for largely by the United States, which reports more than one billion dollars of security cooperation since 2011. Eight UH-60M Black Hawks, ordered in December 2014, were delivered in 2017–18. Twenty-four ex-US Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors followed, the first six handed over at Gabès in early 2017. Twelve Maule MX-7 light aircraft with sensor turrets, a 20-million-dollar US package, were handed over at El Aouina in May 2016 for surveillance. Two C-130J-30 Super Hercules, ordered in March 2010 — the first J-model Hercules in Africa — arrived in 2013 and 2014–15. Twelve F-5s received a Northrop Grumman avionics upgrade worth 32.5 million dollars, and eight Beechcraft T-6C trainers had joined 13 Squadron at Sfax by August 2023. Tunisia also looked elsewhere: in 2020 it bought Turkish Anka-S drones, and in February 2019 a C-130J and 75 personnel went to Bamako, the air force’s first United Nations mission.

2024–2026: Hercules, Caravans and an ageing fighter force

Since 2024 the pattern has continued rather than changed. Four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft arrived at El Aouina in September 2024 in a 54-million-dollar deal. Surplus American C-130Hs have kept coming — one in May 2024, a third on 18 November 2024 and a fourth on 13 January 2026 — and in June 2025 the air force ordered 12 Subaru Bell 412EPX helicopters at the Paris Air Show. The F-5 remains the only fighter: no replacement order, and no change to the fleet, was reported in the sources checked for 2024–2026, and the four AT-6C light attack aircraft the US approved in 2020 have not been reported as ordered. The weakness is plain: a fighter force of around a dozen jets that first flew in Tunisia four decades ago. The strength is equally plain: a service that, with modest money, has turned itself into an effective counter-insurgency and border-surveillance force.

The equipment of the first two decades says a good deal about Tunisian foreign policy: small, Western, and bought from several suppliers so as to depend on none. The first aircraft, in 1960, were Swedish Saab 91 Safir trainers — 15 in all, by Wikipedia’s count.Tunisian Air Force · verified 2026-10-01

Bir bakışta

The Tunisian Air Force in numbers

Hizmet

Yerli isim
جيش الطيران / Armée de l’AirArabic as written by the Ministry of National Defence on defense.tn (Jaysh al-Tayaran, literally "the army of aviation"); French as given by English Wikipedia. French Wikipedia titles its article Armée de l’air tunisienne
Kurulan
1959Three years after independence in 1956. French Wikipedia names Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi as founder; no exact day was found
Bir parçası
Tunisian Armed ForcesOne of three services with the army and navy, under the Ministry of National Defence; the President is supreme commander
Merkez Ofis
BizerteGiven by English Wikipedia; not confirmed on an official page. Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed is the fighter base and the scene of official handovers
Hava Kuvvetleri Kurmay Başkanı
Gen. Mohamed HajjemIn post by October 2019; last named at the November 2024 Hercules handover. Spelling varies (Hajem, El Hajjam)
Milli Savunma Bakanı
Khaled SehiliAlso spelled Shili. Presided at the Caravan, C-130H and Africom events of 2024–2026

Kuvvet

Personel
About 4,500English Wikipedia and defenceWeb (2024) give about 4,500; defenceWeb’s 2019 country profile gave 3,500
Savaş uçağı
  • F-5E/F Tiger II — 12–15 (10 F-5E and 3 F-5F per Wikipedia; 12 E and 3 F per defenceWeb 2019)
  • Aero L-59T (armed trainer) — 6–12

17 F-5s were delivered (1984–85 and 1989); several have been lost. No fighter replacement had been ordered by October 2026

Ulaşım ve gözetim
  • C-130H — 5, C-130B — 1, C-130J-30 — 2 (defenceWeb, January 2026)
  • C-208B Grand Caravan EX (ISR) — 4
  • Maule MX-7 (ISR) — 12 delivered
  • Let L-410 — 5

defenceWeb counts a further ten Hercules in storage or preservation

Helikopterler
  • UH-60M Black Hawk — 8
  • OH-58D Kiowa Warrior — 24 delivered (18 in service per Wikipedia)
  • Bell 205/AB 205 and UH-1N — about 37 (Wikipedia)
  • Gazelle, Alouette II/III, AS350, Bell 412, HH-3 — older types
  • Bell 412EPX — 12 on order

defenceWeb counts 39 Bell-family helicopters before the 412EPX order. Counts for the older types come from Wikipedia’s table and are not confirmed officially

Eğitmenler
  • Beechcraft T-6C Texan II — 8
  • SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 — 17–20
  • Aero L-59T — see combat aircraft

T-6Cs with 13 Squadron at Sfax; pilot and technical schooling at Borj El Amri

Drone'lar
TAI Anka-S — 3–6defenceWeb reported six aircraft in three systems (2020); English Wikipedia says three were contracted and five delivered, the first on 13 November 2021. The navy, not the air force, flies ScanEagle
Savunma harcamaları
$824 million (2018)Carnegie: up from $572 million in 2010, peaking at nearly $1 billion in 2016. No later official figure was checked

Altyapı

Ana hava üsleri
  • Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed — F-5s, Hercules handovers
  • Tunis-El Aouina — Caravans, Maules
  • Sfax — T-6C training
  • Gabès — Kiowa Warrior handover
  • Gafsa, Bizerte-La Karouba

Wikipedia lists Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, Gafsa, Bizerte-La Karouba and Sfax; French Wikipedia adds El Aouina, Borj El Amri and Gabès. Unit locations given here are those already published in the press

Uçuş okulu
Borj El AmriÉcole de l’aviation de Borj El Amri: formed in 1994 by merging the civil aviation school (1968) with the Air Academy founded at Sfax in 1984
Fighter squadron
15 Squadron, Bizerte-Sidi AhmedF-5E/F, as reported by defenceWeb in 2015
UN air deployments
MINUSMA, Mali, from 2019One C-130J and 75 personnel to Bamako from 1 February 2019: the air force’s first UN mission
Foreign aircraft
US surveillance drones, 2016President Essebsi confirmed in November 2016 that unarmed US drones flew over the Libyan border at Tunisia’s request, while denying there was a US base; the air base was not named
Border security
Libya border systemUS-German-Tunisian programme since 2016; Phase III ($95 million) approved by the US on 27 April 2026

Yapı

How the Tunisian Air Force is organised

One of the three services of the Tunisian Armed Forces, about 4,500 strong, with its headquarters at Bizerte according to Wikipedia and its flying school at Borj El Amri. The only fighters are 12 to 15 Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs of 15 Squadron at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, delivered in 1984–85 and 1989; since 2011 the rest of the fleet has been rebuilt, largely with American help, around Black Hawks, Kiowa Warriors, surveillance aircraft and Hercules. The Ministry of National Defence does not publish a full list of units by base, so only the squadrons named in the press are placed.

MH

GenelMohamed HajjemHava Kuvvetleri Kurmay Başkanı
Tunus Hava Kuvvetleriجيش الطيران
Merkez Ofis

Tunus Hava Kuvvetleri

جيش الطيران
Bizerte

One of the three services of the Tunisian Armed Forces, with the army and navy, under the Ministry of National Defence; the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, is supreme commander. defenceWeb already named Gen Mohamed Hajjem chief of staff of the air force, as a brigadier general, in October 2019, and he was last named at the Hercules handover of November 2024; the date of his appointment was not found, and the spelling of his name varies. The Minister of National Defence is Khaled Sehili. The headquarters is at Bizerte according to English Wikipedia, which no official page confirms.

Ön cephe

15. Filo

Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed

Flies the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, the only fighter and, in defenceWeb’s words, the country’s main air defence aircraft: 17 were delivered in 1984–85 and 1989, and 12 to 15 remain after crash losses. Twelve received a Northrop Grumman avionics upgrade under a 32.5-million-dollar contract of 2015. No replacement had been ordered by 2026.

Light attack and drones

L-59T and Anka-S

Six to 12 Aero L-59T armed jet trainers, which patrolled the Libyan border in 2011 and flew reconnaissance and strike missions over the Chaambi mountains in April 2014, according to Wikipedia; and Turkish TAI Anka-S drones, three to six by different counts, the first officially received on 13 November 2021. Their bases are not published.

Ulaşım

Hercules transport fleet

Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed

Five C-130H, one C-130B and two C-130J-30 Super Hercules in service, with about ten more stored, according to defenceWeb in January 2026; the C-130Js, the first J models in Africa, flew the air force’s first UN mission, to Mali, from 2019. Surplus US C-130Hs were handed over at Sidi Ahmed in November 2024 and January 2026; where the C-130Js are based is not stated. Five Let L-410s complete the transport fleet.

Gözetim

Maule MX-7 and C-208B Grand Caravan EX

El Aouina

Twelve sensor-equipped Maule MX-7s, handed over at El Aouina in May 2016, and four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft delivered there on 9 September 2024 in a 54-million-dollar US package, bought for the Libyan border and counter-insurgency. The squadron is not named in the sources.

Helikopterler

32 Squadron and the helicopter fleet

Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed and Gabès

32 Squadron at Sidi Ahmed sent three armed AB205As to the UN mission in the Central African Republic in 2021, according to defenceWeb. The fleet also counts eight UH-60M Black Hawks, 24 ex-US Army OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, the first six handed over at Gabès in 2017, and about 37 Bell 205s and UH-1Ns by Wikipedia’s count; 12 Subaru Bell 412EPX were ordered in June 2025.

Eğitim

13 Squadron and the Aviation School of Borj El Amri

Sfax and Borj El Amri

13 Squadron at Sfax flies eight Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIs, the last delivered in August 2023, alongside 17 to 20 SF.260s. The Ministry’s Aviation School at Borj El Amri was formed in 1994 by merging the civil aviation school of 1968 with the Air Academy founded at Sfax in 1984.


Hizmette

What the Tunisian Air Force flies today

Ücretli olan her tür, varsa ilgili Canavarlar Kitabı sayfasına bağlanmıştır. Sayılar, belirli bir günde müsait olan uçak sayısını değil, kayıtlarda yer alan uçak sayısını ifade eder.

Türü Rol Hizmette O zamandan beri Birimler Notlar
Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIHizmette Hafif savaş uçağı 1984 12–15. English Wikipedia: 10 F-5E and 3 F-5F. defenceWeb (2019): 12 F-5E and 3 F-5F. 17 delivered: 8 F-5E and 4 F-5F in 1984–85 and 5 ex-USAF F-5E in 1989; several lost in crashes.
Aero L-59T Super AlbatrosHizmette Silahlı jet eğitim uçağı 1995 6–12. 12 delivered in 1995–96; Wikipedia’s inventory gives 6–9 in service, defenceWeb (2019) 9.
Beechcraft T-6C Texan IIHizmette Temel eğitmen 8 2022 Eight bought through US Foreign Military Sales (a 12-aircraft request was notified in 2019).
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260W/CHizmette Birincil eğitmen ve hafif saldırı 1974 17–20. Wikipedia: 17. defenceWeb (2019): 12 SF.260WT and 8 SF.260CT. Bought as 12 SF.260W Warrior and 9 SF.260C from 1974.
Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Süper HerkülHizmette Taktiksel ulaşım 2 2013 İki.
Lockheed C-130B ve C-130H HerculesHizmette Taktiksel ulaşım 6 1985 Five C-130H and one C-130B active, plus about ten Hercules in storage or preservation (defenceWeb, January 2026). English Wikipedia gives 4 C-130B/H.
Textron Aviation C-208B Grand Caravan EXHizmette ISR and light transport 4 2024 Four, delivered 9 September 2024.
Maule MX-7Hizmette Gözetim 12 2016 On iki.
L-410UVP Turbolet'i bırakınHizmette Hafif ulaşım 5 1995 Five per Wikipedia; defenceWeb (2019) lists 2 L-410UVP-E20 and 3 L-410UVP-E20G.
Sikorsky UH-60M Black HawkHizmette Genel amaçlı ve silahlı helikopter 8 2017 Eight delivered. Contracts for up to 16 were reported in 2015–16, but only eight deliveries were confirmed.
Bell OH-58D Kiowa WarriorHizmette Silahlı keşif helikopteri 2017 18–24. 24 ex-US Army helicopters delivered in 2017; Wikipedia gives 18 in service.
Bell 205 / Agusta-Bell AB 205 and Bell UH-1NHizmette Çok amaçlı helikopter About 37 per Wikipedia (21 Bell 205, 16 UH-1N). defenceWeb counted 39 Bell-family helicopters in all in 2025.
Bell 412Hizmette Çok amaçlı helikopter 2 Wikipedia'ya göre iki tane.
Aérospatiale SA341/SA342 CeylanHizmette Silahlı keşif helikopteri 15 15 per Wikipedia.
Aérospatiale Alouette II and Alouette IIIHizmette Hafif hizmet helikopteri 15 Wikipedia: 8 Alouette II and 7 Alouette III.
Eurocopter AS350 ÉcureuilHizmette Hafif hizmet helikopteri 6 6 per Wikipedia.
Sikorsky HH-3Hizmette Arama kurtarma ve nakliye helikopteri Wikipedia lists 15; not confirmed by any other source checked, and the number in flying condition is unknown.
TAI Anka-SHizmette Orta irtifada uzun süre havada kalabilen insansız hava aracı 2021 3–6. defenceWeb (2020): six aircraft in three systems. Wikipedia: three contracted, five delivered; its Tunisian Air Force inventory gives 6.
Ceylan15
Alouette15
MX-712
T-6C8
UH-60M8
C-130B/H6
AS3506
L-4105

Sipariş üzerine

Türü Sipariş edildi İlk teslimat Notlar
Subaru Bell 412EPXSipariş üzerine 12 Ordered at the Paris Air Show in June 2025, beating Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo; the first order for this variant in the region. Built by Subaru in Japan with Bell.

Daha

No delivery schedule was published.


Daha önce işletiliyordu

Every type the Tunisian Air Force has retired

3 types, from the Saab 91 Safir to the Aermacchi MB-326B, MB-326KT and MB-326LT. Zirve rakamları, herhangi bir tarihteki filo gücünü değil, tüm hizmet ömrü boyunca teslim alınan uçak gövdelerini ifade eder.

Türü Rol Doruğa ulaşmak Servis edildi Yerine şu geçti: Notlar
Aermacchi MB-326B, MB-326KT and MB-326LT Jet eğitim uçağı ve hafif saldırı uçağı 1965– About 20 bought: 8 MB-326B (1965), 4–5 MB-326LT and 7–8 MB-326KT (1977–78). defenceWeb still listed 16 in 2019; English Wikipedia’s current inventory no longer includes the type.
Kuzey Amerika F-86F Sabre Savaşçı 15 1969– 15 second-hand from the USAF.
Saab 91 Safir Baş eğitmen 15 1960– One 91B-D and 14 91D (Wikipedia); French Wikipedia: 8 in 1960 and 7 more.

Hava üsleri

Where the Tunisian Air Force flies from

Black pins are active bases; no closed base is listed. The principal base, Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed, was a French military airfield until 15 October 1963, and Sidi Ahmed, El Aouina, Sfax and Borj El Amri, then Massicault, all served American air units in 1943. El Aouina is the military side of Tunis-Carthage airport; no based units are published for Gafsa, Remada or La Karouba. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.

Aktif hava üssü Kapalı veya rezerve edilmişAna sayfayı açmak için bir iğneye tıklayın.
Temel ICAO Durum Pist Birimler ve uçaklar
Bizerte-La KaroubaBizerte Valiliği Aktif
Bizerte-Sidi AhmedBizerte Valiliği DTTB Aktif 08/263.001 masfaltlanmış11/291,212 mbeton
Borj El AmriManouba Governorate DTTI Aktif 13/311.050 m
  • Aviation School of Borj El Amri
  • US Army Air Forces (Twelfth Air Force), Massicault Airfield: B-17 Uçan Kale, B-26 Marauder, F-4/F-5 Lightning
El AouinaTunis-CarthageTunis Governorate DTTA Aktif 01/193.200 m11/292.840 m
  • Surveillance aircraft (squadron not named in sources): Maule MX-7, Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX
GabèsGabès-MatmataGabès Governorate DTTG Aktif 06/242,998 m
  • Kiowa Warrior helicopters (squadron not named in sources): Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
GafsaGafsa-KsarGafsa Governorate DTTF Aktif 05/232.900 m
RemadaTataouine Governorate DTTD Aktif 02/202400 metre
SfaxSfax-ThynaSfax Governorate DTTX Aktif 15/333.000 mbeton

Arama sonucunda bu kriterlere uyan bir hava üssü bulunamadı.


Savaş düzeni

Who is stationed where in the Tunisian Air Force

Üslerine göre uçan birlikler, önce mevcut birlikler. Only three Tunisian squadrons are named in the published sources: 15 Squadron with F-5s and 32 Squadron with AB205 helicopters at Sidi Ahmed, and 13 Squadron with T-6Cs at Sfax. Where the press names only a handover site, as for the surveillance aircraft at El Aouina and the Kiowa Warriors at Gabès, the entry says so. US Army Air Forces groups of 1943 and the French naval flottilles at La Karouba are listed and marked as not Tunisian.

Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed Air Base · DTTBTunus Hava Kuvvetleri
15. FiloSavaş uçağı filosu · aktif
Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II
32 SquadronHelikopter filosu · aktif
Agusta-Bell AB 205A
Hercules transport fleetUlaşım · aktif
Lockheed C-130H / C-130B Hercules
US Army Air Forces (Twelfth Air Force)1943–1943
Boeing B-17 Uçan Kale
El Aouina (Tunis-Carthage) · DTTATunus Hava Kuvvetleri
Surveillance aircraft (squadron not named in sources)ISR / light transport · active
Maule MX-7, Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan EX
Sfax (Sfax-Thyna) · DTTXTunus Hava Kuvvetleri
13 SquadronEğitim filosu · aktif
Beechcraft T-6C Texan II
Air Academy (Académie de l’air)1984–1994
Gabès (Gabès-Matmata) · DTTGTunus Hava Kuvvetleri
Kiowa Warrior helicopters (squadron not named in sources)Armed reconnaissance helicopters · active
Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
Borj El Amri · DTTIAviation School of Borj El Amri, Ministry of National Defence
Aviation School of Borj El AmriUçuş ve teknik okul · aktif
US Army Air Forces (Twelfth Air Force), Massicault Airfield1943–1943
B-17 Flying Fortress, B-26 Marauder, F-4/F-5 Lightning
Bizerte-La Karouba · Tunus Hava Kuvvetleri
French naval aviation flottilles1952–1963
Vought F4U-7 Corsair, Grumman TBM Avenger

Bu aramaya uyan bir birim bulunamadı.


Zaman çizelgesi

Tunisian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1959

The Tunisian Air Force is founded, three years after independence; French Wikipedia credits Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Habib Essoussi.

1960

First aircraft: Saab 91 Safir trainers from Sweden, 15 in all.

1961

19–23 July: the Bizerte crisis. French forces break the Tunisian blockade of the Bizerte base and its Sidi Ahmed airfield; Tunisia’s official count is 630 killed.

1963

15 October: France hands Bizerte back; Sidi Ahmed becomes a Tunisian air base.

1969

15 second-hand F-86F Sabres from the United States.

1984

Deliveries of 8 F-5E and 4 F-5F (ordered 1981) begin, completed in 1985; two C-130H follow in 1985.

1985

1 October: Israeli F-15s bomb the PLO headquarters at Hammam Chott; no Tunisian air defence response is recorded. UN Security Council Resolution 573 condemns the raid on 4 October.

1995

12 Aero L-59T and 3 Let L-410 ordered from the Czech Republic; L-59 deliveries run to 1996.

2011

Revolution; as Libya collapses, F-5s, L-59s and helicopters patrol the south-eastern border.

2013

April: first C-130J-30 delivered, the first J-model Hercules in Africa. August: warplanes bomb militants in the Chaambi mountains.

2014

16 July: at least 14 soldiers killed in the Chaambi mountains (Defence Ministry). December: eight UH-60M Black Hawks ordered.

2016

May: 12 Maule MX-7 surveillance aircraft handed over at El Aouina. November: President Essebsi confirms US drones fly over the Libyan border at Tunisia’s request.

2017

First of 24 OH-58D Kiowa Warriors handed over at Gabès; first four UH-60Ms delivered in June (the last in June 2018).

2019

1 February: a C-130J and 75 personnel deploy to Bamako for MINUSMA, the air force’s first UN mission.

2021

13 November: first TAI Anka-S drone officially received; the first surplus US C-130H of a new batch also arrives this year.

2023

August: eighth and last T-6C Texan II delivered to 13 Squadron at Sfax.

2024

9 September: four C-208B Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft delivered. 18 November: third surplus C-130H handed over at Sidi Ahmed.

2026

13 January: fourth surplus C-130H received at Sidi Ahmed.


Savaş kaydı

Every war the Tunisian Air Force has fought

Kayıtlarda belirtilen yerlerde sorti ve kayıplar, belirtilmeyen yerlerde ise boş bırakılmıştır.

6çatışmalar
1961Birinci
0Uçak kayboldu
0Öldürüldü
  • The Bizerte crisis 1961 No recorded combat flying
  • Israeli raid on Hammam Chott (Operation Wooden Leg) 1985 Did not engage
  • The Libyan civil war on Tunisia’s border 2011 Border surveillance and armed patrols by F-5s, L-59s and helicopters after Libyan fire landed on Tunisian territory
  • Counter-insurgency in the Chaambi mountains 2012–günümüz Air strikes, armed reconnaissance and helicopter support for army operations against al-Qaeda-linked militant groups
  • Islamic State and the Libyan border 2015–günümüz Surveillance of the Libyan border with manned ISR aircraft and, from 2021, Anka-S drones; Tunisia also allowed unarmed US surveillance drones to fly over the border

Tüm savaş kaydını açın.


üreticiler

Who built the Tunisian Air Force fleet

Bu sayfadaki uçakların arkasındaki her şirketin kendi sayfası var: hikayeleri, ürettikleri her tip, rakamlar ve onları kullanan diğer hava kuvvetleri.


Sorular ve Cevaplar

Everything people ask about the Tunisian Air Force

What is the Tunisian Air Force called in Arabic and French?
In Arabic it is جيش الطيران (Jaysh al-Tayaran), the name the Ministry of National Defence uses on defense.tn; in French it is the Armée de l’Air, and French Wikipedia calls it the Armée de l’air tunisienne. English Wikipedia’s article is titled Tunisian Air Force.
Which fighter jets does the Tunisian Air Force fly?
Only the Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II. Seventeen were delivered, 12 in 1984–85 and five ex-US Air Force F-5Es in 1989; after crash losses, Wikipedia and defenceWeb put the active fleet at about 12–15. They fly with 15 Squadron at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed and received an avionics upgrade from Northrop Grumman under a 2015 contract. The Aero L-59T armed trainer also flies light attack missions.
When was the Tunisian Air Force founded?
In 1959, three years after independence. Its first aircraft, Saab 91 Safir trainers, arrived in 1960; its first jets were Aermacchi MB-326s ordered in 1965, and its first fighters were 15 second-hand F-86F Sabres in 1969.
Did the Tunisian Air Force fight in the 1961 Bizerte crisis?
Not as far as the sources show. The air force was two years old and had only light trainers. The July 1961 fighting was between Tunisian forces and French forces holding the Bizerte base, whose plan to lengthen the Sidi Ahmed runway had helped trigger the crisis. Tunisia’s official toll was 630 killed; France gave 20–27 of its own dead. France left in October 1963, and Sidi Ahmed became the air force’s main base.
What does the Tunisian Air Force do in the Chaambi mountains?
It supports the army’s campaign, running since December 2012, against al-Qaeda-linked militants near the Algerian border. Reuters reported air strikes on militant hideouts in August 2013, and Wikipedia records L-59 reconnaissance and strike sorties in April 2014. Black Hawks, Kiowa Warriors and surveillance aircraft bought from the United States since 2014 were acquired largely for this fight and for the Libyan border.
Does the Tunisian Air Force have drones?
Yes. Tunisia ordered Turkish TAI Anka-S medium-altitude drones in early 2020 for about $80 million and officially received the first on 13 November 2021; reported numbers range from three to six. The ScanEagle drones supplied by the United States are flown by the navy, according to defenceWeb.
Are there American aircraft or bases in Tunisia?
Tunisia says there is no US base on its territory. In November 2016 President Beji Caid Essebsi confirmed that unarmed US surveillance drones were flying over the Libyan border at Tunisia’s request; US officials said they flew from a Tunisian air base, which was not named. The United States is the air force’s main supplier and reports more than $1 billion of security cooperation since 2011.
What transport aircraft does the Tunisian Air Force have?
Lockheed Hercules: two C-130J-30 Super Hercules (2013 and 2014–15), the first J models in Africa, plus five C-130H and one C-130B active according to defenceWeb in January 2026, with about ten more stored. Four surplus US C-130Hs have arrived since 2021, the latest on 13 January 2026. Let L-410s and Cessna/Textron Caravans complete the fleet.
What new aircraft is Tunisia getting?
Twelve Subaru Bell 412EPX helicopters were ordered at the Paris Air Show in June 2025. Four Grand Caravan EX surveillance aircraft arrived in September 2024 and more surplus C-130Hs have followed. The US approved four AT-6C Wolverine light attack aircraft in 2020, but no order had been reported, and no replacement for the F-5 has been announced.
Has the Tunisian Air Force served with the United Nations?
Yes. In February 2019 it sent a C-130J and 75 personnel to Bamako for MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali — its first UN deployment, according to the Defence Ministry announcement reported by defenceWeb. The UN closed MINUSMA in 2023.



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