Every war the Ethiopian Air Force has fought
The air-to-air claims of the Ogaden war in 1977 and the war with Eritrea in 1998–2000 are Ethiopian claims, and Eritrea denies those of May 2000. In the Tigray war, the Amhara conflict and the renewed fighting of 2026, casualty figures for air and drone strikes are those of Human Rights Watch, the UN and the other bodies named; the government denies targeting civilians, and reports that drones were flown by or from the United Arab Emirates remain unconfirmed. 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 Italian invasion of 1935 to renewed fighting in Tigray in 2026.
| Anlaşmazlık | Yıllar | Aykırı | Ana uçak | Çıkışlar | Uçak kayboldu | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| İkinci İtalyan-Etiyopya Savaşıthe Italian invasionImperial Ethiopian air arm | 1935–1936 | İtalya | Potez 25, Beechcraft 17 Staggerwing | |||
|
Unarmed reconnaissance, liaison and courier flights for the emperor; Red Cross ambulance flights by foreign volunteers. When Italy invaded on 3 October 1935 the air arm had roughly two dozen aircraft, including four Potez 25s, and none was armed, according to Wikipedia’s biography of John Robinson, the American aviator who commanded it. Robinson flew reconnaissance and communications missions between the emperor and his commanders, watched the Italian bombing of Adwa, and escaped an attack by six Italian fighters. The Swede Carl Gustaf von Rosen flew casualties out for the Swedish Red Cross and was burned by mustard gas used by the Italian air force. Sonuç Italian occupation from 1936 until liberation in 1941. Aircraft numbers in 1935–36 vary between accounts; no Ethiopian loss figures were found. |
||||||
| UN Operation in the Congo (ONUC)the Congo crisisImperial Ethiopian Air Force | 1960'lar | Katanga ayrılıkçı güçleri | F-86F Sabre | |||
|
Contributed F-86F Sabres to the UN air component. Wikipedia’s F-86 article records that Ethiopian and Iranian F-86F units were used in the UN operation in the Congo. Its ONUC article describes the UN combat wing at Kamina, with Swedish J 29s and Iranian and Philippine Sabres, but gives no detail on the Ethiopian detachment. Sonuç ONUC ended in 1964 with Katanga reintegrated into the Congo. The size, dates and missions of the Ethiopian detachment were not confirmed in the sources reached; the start year is approximate. |
||||||
| Ethiopian–Somali Border Warthe 1964 border warImperial Ethiopian Air Force | 1964 | Somali | F-86 Sabre, T-33A, Saab B 17A | |||
|
Struck Somali border posts, positions and towns and held air superiority. The war lasted from 8 February to 2 April 1964. According to Wikipedia, Ethiopian aircraft bombed and strafed Somali positions around Tog Wajaale on 8–10 February, struck Feerfeer, Galkayo and Buuhoodle on 12 February and bombed Hargeisa three times on 30 March. Somalia had only Vampire trainers for combat air patrols. Total deaths are put at 1,000–2,000. Sonuç Ceasefire under Sudanese mediation on 30 March 1964 and the Khartoum accord; status quo ante. Strike dates come from Wikipedia; Somali civilian casualties from the air raids were not separately reported. |
||||||
| Eritrean War of Independence and Ethiopian Civil Warthe Derg’s air war in the northImperial, then Derg-era Ethiopian Air Force | 1961–1991 | ELF, EPLF and TPLF | MiG-21, MiG-23, Mi-24ve 2 tane daha | |||
|
Bombing of rebel-held areas, close air support and gunship operations against the ELF, EPLF and TPLF. From May 1978, using a new airfield at Mekelle, the air force began saturation bombing of ELF and EPLF positions in Eritrea; Wikipedia records that towns, villages and herds were hit as well as military targets. A 1990 Human Rights Watch report, quoted by Wikipedia, said attacks with napalm, phosphorus and cluster munitions were aimed at civilians and humanitarian convoys. On 22 June 1988 MiGs and helicopter gunships attacked the market at Hawzen in Tigray; Gebru Tareke, Aregawi Berhe and HRW put the dead at 1,800–2,500, while the military said TPLF fighters had gathered there. After the EPLF took Massawa in February 1990 an air raid with cluster bombs killed hundreds of civilians. In 2008 an Ethiopian court sentenced five Derg military officials to death over Hawzen; the sentences were commuted to life in 2011. Sonuç The EPRDF and EPLF defeated the Derg in May 1991; Eritrea became independent in 1993. Casualty figures are from historians and human rights groups; the Derg did not publish its own. |
||||||
| Ogaden Warthe Ethiopian–Somali warEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 1977–1978 | Somalia and Western Somali Liberation Front | F-5E, F-5A, F-86Fve 5 tane daha | 23 | ||
|
Won air superiority with F-5Es, struck Somali forces and airfields, and later supported the Soviet- and Cuban-backed counter-offensive. Somalia invaded on 13 July 1977 with 53 aircraft against an Ethiopian strength of about 37, but, according to Wikipedia, spare-part shortages kept its air force largely grounded. The eight F-5Es flew as interceptors; the 9th Fighter Squadron’s record, as quoted by Wikipedia, claims 13 MiG-17s and 12 MiG-21s shot down with Sidewinders between 20 July and 1 September 1977, and the pilot Legesse Tefera is credited with six or seven. Wikipedia’s war article lists Somali losses to Ethiopian action as 9 MiG-17s, 18 MiG-21s in air combat and 6 MiG-21s on the ground; Somalia’s Il-28s were all destroyed at their airfields. Ethiopian aircraft reached Berbera, and at Dire Dawa on 17–18 August they helped break the Somali assault. From late September a Soviet airlift delivered MiG-21s, and Soviet pilots flew Mi-24s in their first combat. Sonuç Somali forces driven out of the Ogaden by March 1978. The kill figures are Ethiopian claims; Somali claims of Ethiopian losses were not found in the sources reached, and no independent count exists.
|
||||||
| Eritre-Etiyopya SavaşıBadme savaşıEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 1998–2000 | Eritre | Su-27, MiG-21bis, MiG-23BNve 2 tane daha | 7 | ||
|
Strikes on Asmara airport and Eritrean forces, air defence with Su-27s, and close air support in the May 2000 offensive. The war began on 6 May 1998. On 5–6 June the air force bombed Asmara airport; one jet was shot down and its pilot, Bezabeh Petros, captured. The same day Eritrean aircraft bombed Mekelle and cluster bombs hit an elementary school, killing dozens of children and parents. Ethiopia then bought eight surplus Su-27s; the first arrived in December 1998. Wikipedia records Su-27s damaging a MiG-29 on 21 February 1999 and shooting down MiG-29s on 25 and 26 February 1999, with two more claimed in May 2000 that Eritrea denies. Ethiopia claimed seven MiG-29s in all; Wikipedia says only two to four can be confirmed. Total war deaths are commonly estimated at about 70,000, with other estimates much higher. Sonuç Ethiopia’s May 2000 offensive succeeded; the Algiers Agreement of 12 December 2000 ended the war. The Boundary Commission awarded Badme to Eritrea on 14 April 2002; peace was declared in July 2018. Air-to-air claims are Ethiopian claims; Eritrea disputes those of May 2000. Ethiopian aircraft losses differ between Wikipedia articles (one to three MiG-23BNs).
|
||||||
| Ethiopian intervention in Somaliathe war against the Islamic Courts UnionEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 2006–2009 | Islamic Courts Union and al-Shabaab | MiG-23, Mi-24/35 | |||
|
Air strikes in support of the Ethiopian ground offensive and the Transitional Federal Government. From 24 December 2006 the air force struck Beledweyne and other towns in central Somalia, and hit Mogadishu airport, killing several people according to Wikipedia. US AC-130 gunships flew from Dire Dawa in Ethiopia in support, attacking retreating ICU convoys in January 2007, until the Ethiopian government stopped the flights from its bases after they became public. Sonuç Ethiopian forces took Mogadishu in December 2006 and withdrew in January 2009. Ethiopian aircraft types in Somalia are given only in general terms by the sources reached.
|
||||||
| Tigray SavaşıKuzey Etiyopya'daki savaşEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 2020–2022 | Tigray Halk Kurtuluş Cephesi / Tigray Savunma Kuvvetleri | MiG-23, Su-27, Mi-35ve 3 tane daha | 5 | ||
|
Air and drone strikes against TPLF forces, depots and bases; drones were credited with helping turn the war in December 2021. The war began on 3–4 November 2020 and federal air strikes started with the offensive. From 2021 the air force flew armed drones: four TB2s ordered in August 2021 arrived in November, and Wing Loong and Mohajer-6 drones were reported. On 22 June 2021 an air strike on the market at Togoga killed at least 64 people and injured about 180, according to AP and others; the government said it had targeted fighters in civilian clothes. On 7 January 2022 a TB2 strike on the Dedebit displaced persons’ camp killed at least 57 people; Human Rights Watch found no military target and called it an apparent war crime, while the government denied targeting civilians. The UN Human Rights Council set up the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia on 17 December 2021 to investigate all parties. Estimates of the war’s total dead range from about 100,000 to 600,000. Sonuç Cessation of hostilities signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022. Reports that drones were flown by or from the United Arab Emirates (from Assab, Eritrea) are unconfirmed media reports cited by Wikipedia; neither government confirmed them. Casualty figures for individual strikes are those of the bodies named.
|
||||||
| War in Amhara (Fano insurgency)the Fano conflictEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 2023– | Fano militias | Bayraktar TB2, Akinci, Mi-24/35 | |||
|
Drone and helicopter gunship strikes against Fano militias. Fighting began in April 2023 and a state of emergency was declared on 4 August 2023. Wikipedia records a drone strike at Finote Selam on 13 August 2023 that killed 26 according to hospital sources, and one in Sayint on 10 December 2023 that killed 30–40 according to the BBC. Human Rights Watch reports that an apparent drone strike on a truck carrying civilians killed at least 30 on 19 February 2024, and that strikes killed three people in North Shewa in early February 2025 (per Addis Standard) and 16 in East Gojjam on 20 February 2025 (per BBC Amharic). The UN human rights office said government forces used drones against civilians, and the UN counted more than 300 civilians killed by drone strikes in 2024, as cited by Wikipedia. The government denies responsibility for civilian deaths and has restricted access for journalists. Sonuç Devam ediyor. Casualty figures are those of the bodies and media named; independent access to the region is limited.
|
||||||
| Renewed fighting with Tigrayan forcesthe 2026 hostilities in the northEtiyopya Hava Kuvvetleri | 2026– | Tigray Security Forces / TPLF and allies | Silahlı insansız hava araçları | |||
|
Air and drone strikes, according to OHCHR. OHCHR reported that fighting between the ENDF and the Tigray Security Forces intensified on 26 January 2026 around Tselemti and Laelay Tselemti, with both sides using drones and artillery; the Tigrayan forces withdrew from Tselemti on 1 February. On 25 September 2026 the High Commissioner, Volker Türk, said ENDF air strikes, some by drone, had reportedly hit five schools in Tigray on 22 September, causing deaths and injuries, and urged all parties to "avoid a return to full-scale war". Sonuç Continuing at the time of writing. OHCHR gave no casualty figures; the Ethiopian government’s response to the September 2026 reports was not found in the sources reached. |
||||||
Bu aramayla eşleşen hiçbir sonuç bulunamadı.
Her rakam kontrol edildi.
- defenceWeb: Etiyopya, Akıncı İHA'ları ve Su-30 savaş uçaklarını satın aldı (Guy Martin, 17 Ocak 2024)Eski Hindistan filosundan altı Su-30K, 16 Ocak 2024'teki bir törende sergilendi; Akıncı ilk kez Kasım 2023'te görüldü; Bahir Dar ve Harar Meda'da TB2'ler bulunuyor; Wing Loong ve Mohajer-6 2021'den beri kullanımda; Birhanu Jula ve Yilma Merdasa'dan alıntılar yapıldı.
- Human Rights Watch: Ethiopia: Airstrike on Camp for Displaced Likely War Crime (24 March 2022)At least 57 killed and more than 42 wounded at Dedebit on 7 January 2022 by MAM-L bombs from a TB2; HRW found no military target and called it an apparent war crime.
- OHCHR: International Commission of Human Rights Experts on EthiopiaSet up by Human Rights Council resolution S-33/1 on 17 December 2021 to investigate violations by all parties since 3 November 2020; reports A/HRC/51/46 (2022) and A/HRC/54/55 (2023); mandate ended October 2023.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025 – EthiopiaApparent drone strike on a truck carrying civilians in Amhara on 19 February 2024, at least 30 killed (media reports); OHCHR said government forces used drones against civilians.
- Human Rights Watch: World Report 2026 – Ethiopia2025 strikes in North Shewa (early February, three killed, per Addis Standard) and East Gojjam (20 February, 16 killed, per BBC Amharic); reports of drone strikes harming civilians in Amhara.
- OHCHR: Ethiopia: Türk urges restraint and steps towards de-escalation amid volatility in Tigray (10 February 2026)Fighting between the ENDF and Tigray Security Forces from 26 January 2026 around Tselemti; both sides reportedly used drones and artillery.
- OHCHR: Ethiopia: Türk alarmed by civilian impact of hostilities, urges de-escalation (25 September 2026)ENDF air strikes, some by drone, reportedly hit five schools in Tigray on 22 September 2026, causing deaths and injuries; hostilities with the TPLF and allies in Tigray, Amhara and Afar.
Veriler 01.10.2026 tarihinde doğrulanmıştır. Back to the Ethiopian Air Force.