The Syrian Air Force (SyAF, ) is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until 8 December 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF). Also, until December 2024, land-based air defense systems were grouped under the Syrian Air Defence Force, which was separate from both the Air Force and the Army.
Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other rebel groups, and Israeli airstrikes in December 2024 aimed at the former regime combat aircraft, the new government and defense ministry began reconstituting a smaller air force.
History
1940s
The end of World War II led to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria. In 1948, the Syrian Air Force was officially established after the first class of pilots graduated from a French-run flight school at Estabel airfield in Lebanon, using aircraft left behind by the French. Further training of early Syrian military fliers was continued with help of a sizeable group of Croat and German instructors, contracted by the Lebanese and Syrian governments from refugee camps in Italy. Among the foreign instructors were Mato Dukovac (a leading Croatian Air Force fighter ace of World War II) and Fritz Strehle (former Me.262 pilot with Jagdgeschwader 7 of the Luftwaffe), who trained Syrian pilots at Estabel in 1948 and at Nayrab airfield (south of Aleppo) in 1949.
Organized into three squadrons, one of which was equipped with North American T-6 Harvards, the air force participated in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, conducting bombing raids against Israeli forces and settlements. One T-6 was lost to ground fire while attacking Ayelet Hashahar on 16 July, and another possibly shot down by Morris Mann (flying an Avia S-199) on 10 June. The Syrian Air Force claimed its sole kill of the war on 10 July when Mohammad a Din Wadi – rear gunner of a T-6 Harvard – shot down an Avia S-199 flown by Lionel Bloch of 101 Squadron with a .30 Cal AN-M2 Machine Gun, which was the first kill of the Airforce.
1950s
During and immediately after this war, successive governments sought to bolster the air force through the acquisition of Fiat G.55s, Fiat G.59B-2s, and Fiat G.46-1s from Italy. In January 1950, a set of contracts was signed with London, providing for training of Syrian officers and pilots, along with the acquisition of de Havilland Chipmunk basic trainers, Supermarine Spitfire Mk 22s, and Gloster Meteor F.Mk 8 and T.Mk 7 jets from Great Britain. While the Chipmunks and Spitfires arrived without problems and entered service with the Flight School at Nayrab, the delivery of Meteors was held up by a temporary British arms embargo.
The original batch of Meteors manufactured for Syria was sold to France instead. It was only following additional negotiations that SyAF received its first jet aircraft, in the form of two Meteor F.Mk 8s. All 12 were in Syria by 9 March 1953. Another batch of seven refurbished ex-RAF F.Mk 8s and two FR.Mk 9 reconnaissance fighters followed in 1956. In summer 1954, six ex-RAF Meteor NF.Mk 13 were delivered without their radar equipment: in Syria, they were used for training purposes until 1958. Because the government of Great Britain imposed additional arms embargoes, most of the pilots for Meteors had to be trained in Egypt.
In 1955, Syria placed its first order for 24 MiG-15bis fighters and 4 MiG-15UTI two-seat conversion trainers from Czechoslovakia ('Operation 104'). Another batch of 24 MiG-15s was ordered in early 1956. All these aircraft were delivered to Egypt, by October 1956, but their pilots and ground crews were still undergoing training when Israel, followed by France and Great Britain, invaded Egypt in the course of the Suez Crisis of 1956. Three MiG-15UTIs were evacuated to Syria via Saudi Arabia and Jordan; 20 MiG-15bis and 1 MiG-15UTI were destroyed in British attacks on Abu Suweir Air Base. The second batch of 20 MiG-15bis' was not yet assembled: the aircraft in question were all damaged by British air strikes, but subsequently repaired and donated to Egypt. On 6 November 1956, Meteors from No. 9 Squadron Syrian Air Force had shot down a Royal Air Force Canberra PR.7 that was involved in reconnaissance of Syria and Iraq. The aircraft crashed on the border to Lebanon: one crewmember was killed, while two were captured alive.
Sixty MiG-17s – including 20 radar-equipped MiG-17PFs – were ordered at the end of 1956 and Syrian pilots were dispatched to the USSR and Poland for training. The first aircraft arrived in January 1957 and by the end of the year, two MiG-17 squadrons were defending the capital from their base at Damasucus' Mezzeh Military Airport. By the end of the year, additional orders were placed in the USSR for 12 Ilyushin Il-28 bombers.
In February 1958 Syria and Egypt joined to create the United Arab Republic. The Syrian Air Force was integrated into the United Arab Republic Air Force (UARAF) and ceased to exist. Nearly all of its aircraft and personnel, all of training aids and most of the equipment were re-deployed to Egypt, and replaced by two squadrons of MiG-17Fs of the UARAF. For example, recently delivered MiG-17PFs and their pilots formed the No. 31 'Crow-Bat' Squadron of the UARAF. During the times of the United Arab Republic, this unit was always commanded by a Syrian officer.
1960s
The union ended following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The new military flying service – officially designated the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) – was re-established later the same year, using aircraft left behind by the Egyptians, including about 40 MiG-17Fs and 4 Il-28s.
The new government of the Syrian Arab Republic attempted to buy additional aircraft from Germany and Italy, in 1961 and 1962. When all related efforts failed, Syria was left without a choice but to turn to Czechoslovakia for arms. By that time, Czechoslovakia was done producing fighters and interceptors, and thus the Syrians had to buy from Soviet Union instead. On 19 June 1962, Damascus and Moscow signed a major contract for arms, including an order for 34 MiG-21F-13 interceptors and 4 MiG-21U conversion trainers.
Delivered starting in spring 1963, MiG-21s entered service with two squadrons of the 3rd Air Brigade, based at Dmeyr Air Base, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Damascus. MiG-17s were meanwhile operated by two squadrons of the 7th Air Brigade, based at Almezzeh Air Base, in Damascus.
With the ascent to power of the Baath Party, during the 1963 Syrian coup d'état, Hafez al-Assad (former Meteor and MiG-17PF-pilot), was appointed the Commander of SyAAF. Preoccupied with his involvement in domestic politics, Assad left the effective command of the SyAAF to his Deputy, Brigadier-General Mohammad Assad Moukiiad (former Meteor-pilot trained in Great Britain).
During theArab/Israeli Six-Day War, the SyAAF flew few air strikes on targets in northern Israel on the first day of the conflict but was subsequently evacuated to air bases in remote parts of Syria. In this fashion it evaded most of the Israeli air strikes that caused massive damage to Egyptian and Jordanian air bases. This, in turn, helped the IDF defeat the Syrian Army on the ground and led to Israel’s acquisition of the Golan Heights. After this conflict, Syria continued acquiring small numbers of MiG-17s from East Germany and MiG-21s from the Soviet Union. On 12 August, 1968, two Syrian MIG 17s landed in Northern Israel at Betzet, on a former British airfield that the IAF had abandoned. The two pilots were thought to have been defectors, but it was determined that they had a navigational error after needing to land due to low fuel. The pilots thought the airfield they were landing at was in Lebanon. After testing the MIGs to determine their characteristics and capabilities, the Israelis sent the MIG17s to the US for further testing.
1970s
In May 1973, a new arms deal was signed with the Soviet Union, resulting in deliveries of over 100 additional MiG-21M/MFs by the end of the year. The Yom Kippur War provided initial success for both Syria and Egypt, but the SyAAF suffered extensive losses in air combat as the war continued, prompting the Soviets to launch an air-bridge to Aleppo and Damascus, starting on 9 October 1973. Replacement aircraft initially included only MiG-17s and MiG-21s: in April 1974, Syria received the first two batches of MiG-23 fighter-bombers. Acquisition of additional aircraft from the USSR was stopped in 1975 due to diplomatic disagreement between the governments in Damascus and Moscow.
In the late 1970s, an insurgency characterised by dozens of assassinations of government officials and military officers erupted in Syria. By 1978, the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria joined the armed uprising. Concerned by destabilisation of the government of President Hafez al-Assad, Moscow decided to restart providing arms and military aid. In April of the same year, a new arms deal was signed, including deliveries of more advanced MiG-23MF and MiG-25 interceptors, and additional MiG-23BN and Su-22 fighter-bombers, plus deployment of up to 4000 Soviet advisors. The insurgency continued to spread nonetheless, and included attacks on the Soviet advisors.
1980s In 1981, the commander of the SyAAF, Major-General Mamdouh Hamdi Abaza, was assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. In early 1982, hundreds of SyAAF officers became involved in a coup attempt against President Hafez al-Assad, originally planned to take place in coordination with an armed uprising in the city of Hama. El Assad’s government crushed the uprising in Hama in bloody fashion, and subsequently purged the SyAAF.
The Syrian Arab Air Force thus entered the 1982 Lebanon War with Israel’s IAF in significantly weakened condition and suffered massive losses in a series of aerial combats between 6 and 11 June 1982. Israel claimed the destruction of 85 Syrian MiGs (including MiG-21s as well as MiG-23s). The Syrian Arab Air Force claimed they used Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopters successfully in the anti-armour role against advancing Israeli ground forces. In one such engagement, an Israeli tank column was stopped for some hours by SyAAF Gazelle missile strikes while approaching Ein Zehalta.Schif, Ze'ev & Ya'ari, Ehud Israel's Lebanon War London Counterpoint 1986 pp160-1 The helicopters did not stop,the Israeli advance, and in fact, one Gazelle was captured and converted to Israeli markings during the war.
Immediately after the 1982 Lebanon War, the USSR again refused deliveries of more advanced aircraft to the Syrian Air Force. It was only in August 1982, that Moscow changed its mind and granted permission for delivery of MiG-23ML interceptors, followed by advanced Su-22M-4 fighter-bombers. In an attempt to help Syria establish a strategic balance with Israel, in 1986 the Syrians were granted permission to place orders for 24 MiG-29s and 24 Su-24s. Deliveries of these commenced in 1987, but were still incomplete by the time the Soviet Union officially ceased providing military aid to Syria, in 1989.
1990s/2000s
Short on spares and lacking funding for fuel and maintenance, the SyAAF was largely grounded for most of the 1990s and 2000s. Reports regarding purchases of Su-27s in 2000–2001, MiG-29SMTs, MiG-31s, and Yak-130s from the period 2006–2008, have all proven to be unfounded. The only reinforcement the air force acquired during this period came in form of 28 MiG-23MLDs and 5 MiG-23UBs acquired from Belarus in 2008. In 2008 Syria agreed to purchase 36 Russian military aircraft,Russland verkauft Syrien 36 Militärflugzeuge Tages Anzeiger. but delivery of these was postponed by Russia due to the civil war in Syria starting in 2011.
During the Syrian civil war up to the fall of the Assad regime