Libyan Air Force
The Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat-capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in Libya. Since the 2011 civil war and the ongoing conflict, multiple factions fighting in Libya are in possession of military aircraft. As of 2019 the Libyan Air Force is nominally under the control of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli, though the rival Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar also has a significant air force. In 2021, the air force is under command of the new President of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi that replaced Fayez al-Sarraj.
The air force was established as the Royal Libyan Air Force in September 1962 by a decision of the minister of defense Abd al-Nabi Yunis. Lt. Col. al-Hadi Salem al-Husomi was assigned to lead the new force. It was originally equipped with a small number of transports and trainers: Douglas C-47s and Lockheed T-33s. However, F-5 Freedom Fighters were delivered from 1969. In 1970 it changed its name to the Libyan Arab Republic Air Force. After US forces left Libya in 1970, Wheelus Air Base, a former US facility about from Tripoli, became a LARAF installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. The base housed the LARAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities. Starting in 1970, a significant expansion of the air force took place, with a large number of French and later Soviet combat aircraft being purchased.
History
Early years (1962–1969)
In May 1967, the Kingdom of Libya reached an agreement with the United States to supply 10 Northrop F-5s to the Royal Libyan Air Force. These were the first fighters for the young Air Force, which only operated six Douglas C-47 transports and three Lockheed T-33A trainers at the time. Fifty-six personnel underwent training at bases in the US, pilots at Williams Air Force Base; a US Survey Team on Expansion came to Libya in August 1968 to supervise the introduction of the fighters. Serviceability of the F-5s declined after the 1969 coup and it appears that most may have eventually been sold to Turkey.The Libyan Air Defence Force was part of the Air Force and had the second largest air defence network in the region. However, the equipment – which was mainly Soviet weaponry from the 1960s and 1970s – was outdated and it proved inefficient during the 1986 bombing of Libya by the US Air Force. Only one of the 45 attacking US aircraft was shot down. Due to an embargo during the 1980s, the system could not be upgraded following the US attack.
Early Gaddafi era (1969–1989)
During the months following the 1969 coup d'état, Libya distanced itself from the United Kingdom and the United States. Nevertheless, in 1971, eight C-130Hs were delivered by the United States. Instead, close ties were developed with France. Accordingly, an order for 110 Dassault Mirage 5s, twelve Fouga Magisters, ten Aérospatiale Alouette IIIs and nine Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelons was signed in December 1969. Negotiations for the purchase of Soviet military aircraft only started in 1973, in the light of the experiences of the Yom Kippur War. These resulted in the delivery of 54 MiG-23MS interceptors and MiG-23UB trainers, 35 MiG-23BN attack aircraft, and 64 MiG-21bis fighters and MiG-21UM trainers. Fourteen Tupolev Tu-22 bombers were also bought in this period. Relations with France were maintained, and 16 Dassault Mirage F1AD, 6 F1BD and 16 F1ED were ordered in 1975. Lastly, 240 SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers were bought from Italy, as well as 50 Soko G-2 Galebs. In the mid-1970s, 20 CH-47 Chinook heavy transport helicopters were also acquired from Italy, 14 of which were transferred to the army during the 1990s.With all of these acquisitions, within a few years, the number of aircraft on strength in the LAAF increased drastically. However, there was no way of training enough pilots and ground crews to operate all of these. Hence, agreements were passed with friendly countries to operate some of the LAAF's aircraft. Two MiG-23 squadrons were manned by Syrian aircrews. Similarly, around 100 North Korean airmen operated MiG-21s between 1979 and 1981. Lastly, some of the newly acquired aircraft were put into storage. Of the combat aircraft, the United States Department of State estimated in 1983 that 50 percent remained in storage, including most of the MiG fighters and Tu-22 bombers.
Dassault Mirage 5s bought shortly after Gaddafi took power were secretly used by Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. These were later returned to Libya. These aircraft were retired in 2008, becoming used for Pakistan Air Force spares.
The Libyan Arab Republic Air Force operated a large number of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25s, some sources say more than 60 were delivered. Types were of the MiG-25PD, MiG-25RBK, MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU variants. They were operated by No. 1025 Squadron at Jufra-Hun, No. 1055 Squadron at Ghardabiya and an unidentified squadron at Sabha Air Base. As of February 2007 AirForces Monthly reported all aircraft of the type had been retired.
In the 1970s and '80s Libyan MiGs and Tupolevs were common visitors to international airspace, close to Italy and NATO bases. On 19 July 1980, a crashed Libyan Arab Air Force MiG-23 was discovered on the Sila Mountains near Castelsilano, southern Italy. The event is speculated to be connected to the loss of Itavia Flight 870 a few weeks earlier.
The LAAF lost a total of four aircraft to United States Navy F-14 Tomcats in two incidents over the Gulf of Sidra, in 1981 and 1989. In addition, many planes were destroyed or damaged on the ground in 1986 when American planes attacked targets at Benina International Airport in Benghazi and Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli.
File:F-4N of VF-51 intercepts Libyan Tu-22 1977.jpg|thumb|A US Navy F-4N Phantom II intercepts a Tupolev Tu-22 being delivered to the Libyan Arab Republic, April 1977.
The air force was extensively used in the fighting in Chad in the 1980s, in support of Libyan ground units. It was reported that many Libyan Arab Air Force bombing raids were carried out at excessively high altitudes when met with anti-aircraft fire, so the attacks were not very effective. On 17 February 1986, in retaliation for the Ouadi Doum air raid by the French air force, a single LAAF Tu-22B attacked the airport at N'Djamena. That aircraft ran into technical problems on its return journey – American early warning reconnaissance planes based in Sudan monitored distress calls sent by the pilot of the Tu-22 which probably crashed before reaching its base at Aouzou. On 7 September 1987, another Tu-22 was shot down over N'Djamena by a French MIM-23 HAWK battery.
In November 1986 Libyan jets carried out countless attacks and bombings against Zaghawa and Toubou civilian populations, ethnic groups mostly loyal to the Chadian government. During these aerial terror campaigns a large number of villages in the B.E.T region were completely devastated, a large number of people were killed and thousands fled to seek refuge in caves or crossed into refugee camps in Darfur. The Government of Chad denounced these attacks on civilians as genocide.
The Chadians seized the Ouadi Doum base in 1987 and destroyed or captured two SF.260s, three Mil Mi-25s, two Tu-22B bombers, eleven L-39 jets, two complete 9K33 Osa SAM batteries, and a plethora of additional equipment, weapons, supplies and ammunition – a good deal of which was flown out to France and the United States within the next five days. Four USAF C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft were sent to N'Djamena to collect the captured Jamahiriya equipment. On 5 September 1987 Chadian technicals crossed into Libya and attacked the Maaten al-Sarra Air Base which is within Libyan territory. The battle of Maaten al-Sarra was a major victory for Chad and several LAAF aircraft were destroyed on the ground with only minor Chadian casualties.
On 8 October 1987, an LAAF Sukhoi Su-22 was shot down by a man-portable air defence system in northern Chad. The pilot, Captain Dia ad-Din, ejected and was captured. The LAAF immediately organized a recovery operation; subsequently a MiG-23BN was also shot down. Its pilot was recovered. In November 1988, a Libyan Arab Air Force SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 was shot down over northern Chad, and its crew was captured.
Post–Cold War to Libyan civil war
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the elimination of military aid by the new Russian Federation, Soviet/Russian support was drastically curtailed. The last major delivery of Soviet aircraft to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was six Sukhoi Su-24s in March/April 1989.In the mid-1990s, Libya paid for spares for Syrian Arab Air Force Su-24MK fighter-bombers, in exchange for Syrian help to operate Libya's own Su-24s. In an expression of gratitude for this cooperation, the LAAF gifted its sole Su-24MR to Syria.
In January 2008 Libya signed a contract for one ATR 42MP maritime patrol aircraft from Italy's Alenia. Other reports mentioned four ATR 42s.
Libyan civil war/NATO intervention
Before the war began, Libyan People's Air Force had between 18,000 and 22,000 personnel and 374 aircraft and helicopters—however, most of these aircraft were not flyable, and the air force in general was in a very poor state when the war began. During the Libyan Civil War, Libyan People's Air Force warplanes and attack helicopters launched repeated airstrikes on protesters, reportedly targeting a funeral procession and a group of protesters trying to reach an army base. The human rights researcher Ahmed Elgazir had reported, that the Libyan News Centre received a satellite phone call from an unnamed woman who was "witnessing the massacre in progress". This Information could not be verified, since phone lines in the country had been blocked. During the opening month of the Libyan civil war between 19 February and 19 March, rebel forces managed to capture four out of 13 Libyan air force airfields, and were attacking multiple others—to prevent their destruction, according to the opposition sources, most of Libyan People's Air Force fighter jets and helicopters that were still serviceable were relocated to Ghardabiya air force base near Sirte and Mitiga air force base near Tripoli.On 21 February 2011, two senior LPAF pilots, Colonel Ali al-Rabiti and Colonel Abdullah Salheen, defected to the opposition – they flew their Mirage F-1ED fighter jets, serial numbers "502" and "508" to Malta and requested political asylum after defying orders to bomb protesters. On 17 February, an AN-26 transport plane was reportedly captured by prostesters in Kufra, while on 20 February, a pro-Gadaffi helicopter was reportedly shot down at Bayda.
On 23 February 2011, pilot Abdessalam Attiyah al-Abdali and co-pilot Ali Omar al-Kadhafi—crew of a Sukhoi-22—ejected with parachutes near Ajdabiya, west of Benghazi, after refusing orders to bomb the city of Benghazi, thus crashing their Su-22 bomber. Anti-Gaddafi forces and Syrian opposition groups claim that Syrian pilots were flying attacks for the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. According to the opposition sources, many Libyan People's Air Force pilots have multiple times refused to obey orders to bomb protesters, instead dropping their bombs purposely off target in deserted areas. Also on the same day, on 23 February 2011, rebels captured the Benina air force base south of Benghazi—during the battle for the airport, one pro-Gadaffi Mi-24 combat attack helicopter was destroyed on the ground by rebel forces, while two more helicopters were captured by the rebel forces. Rebels claimed to have shot down Jamahiriya fighter jets and attack helicopters over Brega and Ra's Lanuf. Another pro-Gadaffi helicopter was shot down at Misrata by rebel forces with MANPAD-s, the crew of five survived and was captured by rebel forces.
At Brega a pro-Gadaffi Mirage F-1ED fighter jet was shot down by the rebel forces on 2 March 2011, thus leaving just one Mirage F-1BD trainer aircraft in possession of Gadaffi's loyalist forces, while that same day one pro-Gadaffi SU-22M-3K was damaged by rebel anti-aircraft fire at Brega. Several more pro-Gadaffi helicopters and fighter jets were reportedly shot down by rebel forces during the fight for Brega between 2 March and 3 March, however this claims remain uncomfirmed. Several days later, on 4 March, one abandoned pro-Gadaffi Mi-8MT air ambulance helicopter serial number "2119" was captured by rebel forces at Ra's Lanuf airfield. Also, on 5 March 2011, rebels shot down near Ra's Lanuf a pro-Gadaffi Su-24MK bomber, serial number "38" of the 1124th Libyan air force squadron with a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun, and then the next day, rebels also shot down a pro-Gadaffi helicopter near Ra's Lanuf with a ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun. Three more pro-Gadaffi fighter jets and two more pro-Gadaffi helicopters were reportedly shot down by rebel forces during the fight for Ra's Lanuf between 5 March and 7 March, however these claims remain uncomfirmed. Exactly how many and what types of aircraft have been shot down were not confirmed by Jamahiriya government or independent sources. Using air power, the Libyan military checked the opposition advance westwards, towards Bin Jawad in early March. By 11 March, the pro-Gadaffi air force was running out of quality jet fuel, and attempts were made to bribe Maltese Air Force officials to purchase more fuel. On 13 March, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan People's Air Force at the Mitiga military airport, near Tripoli, announced that he had defected and joined the revolution, and this is the earliest case of Libyan air force personnel defecting to the opposition. Very quickly defections have started to have effect on pro-Gadaffi air force—according to the opposition sources, hundreds of pilots, technicians and ground personnel have defected to the opposition during the first half of March. On the same day, on 13 March 2011, according to the news published on 20 March by the opposition media wing Al Manara Media, pilot Muhammad Mokhtar Osman crashed his fighter jet, an MiG-23BN, on Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli in an apparent kamikaze-style suicide attack on pro-Gadaffi military high command, in which Khamis Gadaffi was heavily wounded and died from his wounds a week later on 20 March; however, this news wasn't confirmed by any independent sources and was right away denied by pro-Gadaffi media wing, and was finally confirmed to be misinformation when on 9 June a captured pro-Gadaffi loyalist soldier in Misrata told the rebel forces that he personally saw that Khamis Gadaffi was alive and well, leading his soldiers in Zliten.
On 15 March 2011, Free Libyan air force aircraft conducted its first air attacks against Gadaffi loyalists, flying six combat sorties. According to the opposition sources, on that day rebel MiG-23BN fighter jet and Mi-24 combat attack helicopter first sank two Gadaffi loyalist warships and damaged a third Gadaffi loyalist warship near the coast of Ajadabiyah, and then bombed Gaddafi loyalist tank columns outside of Brega and Ajadabiyah. Also, on that same day, rebel MiG-23BN fighter jets bombed the Ghardabiya air force base, damaging its runway. On 16 March 2011, pilots of one MiG-21bis and one MiG-21UM fighter jets which took off from the Ghardabiya airport defected with their planes to the opposition and landed in rebel-held air force base in Brega. Free Libyan air force aircraft conducted more air attacks on 16 March, flying three combat sorties with Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters, bombing pro-Gadaffi tank columns near Ajadabiyah—during those combat sorties one rebel Mi-24 combat attack helicopter was shot down by pro-Gadaffi forces near Ajadabiyah, killing three crew members while only one crew member, Ismael Kuttep, survived.
Rebels claimed to have shot down what appeared to be a MiG-21 outside of Bohadi. On 17 March, a pro-Gadaffi Su-22UM3K fighter bomber was shot down over Benina AB, the pilot, reportedly an Algerian mercenary, ejected safely and was captured by rebel forces. On that same day, on 17 March 2011, a "Free Libya Air Force" MiG-21UM crashed after take off from Benina airport due to technical problems, the pilot ejected safely. The rebel MiG-21UM that crashed on 17 March was flown from Ghardabiya Air Base near Sirte to Benina by a defecting pilot the day before. On that same day on 17 March 2011, Gadaffi loyalist fighter jets bombed the rebel-held Benina air force base, damaging three passenger aircraft—two YAK-40 and one Boeing 737-26D operated by Air Libya—that were parked there on the runway.
On 19 March 2011, a rebel MiG-23BN was shot down over Benghazi by rebel air defence forces in a case of mistaken identity. The pilot, colonel Mohammed Mbarak al-Okali ejected but at a very low altitude, and was killed as a result. BBC News reported on 20 March that the rebel aircraft was shot down by its own air defenses during an attempt to bomb advancing pro-Gadaffi tank columns near Benghazi.
According to the opposition sources, rebel MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighter jets, Mi-24 combat attack helicopters, 14 rebel fighter pilots, 50 technicians and hundreds of ground personnel, all stationed at the Benina air force base, were crucial in their defence of Benghazi from pro-Gadaffi offensive, launching multiple airstrikes during the first half of March on advancing Gadaffi forces in eastern Libya, with the hardest day of combat for the Free Libya air force being 19 March, when pro-Gadaffi forces tried to capture Benghazi. But rebel air force suffered heavy losses in process—according to opposition sources, between 1 March and 19 March, rebel air force launched a total of 38 combat sorties against advancing pro-Gadaffi forces in eastern Libya, but lost in the process two fighter jets and one helicopter, suffering eight pilots and gunmen killed.
On 17 March 2011., the UN Security council adopted the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973 which legitimised the military operation against the pro-Gadaffi regime – with 10 votes in favour, 0 against and 5 abstentions, a no-fly zone was established over the whole of Libya with the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973. Despite that, both pro-Gadaffi and pro-rebel air forces continued their sorties for the next two days, launching multiple airstrikes up until the night of 19 March, when a no-fly zone was finally implemented by NATO forces, grounding both rebel and pro-Gadaffi fighter jets from then on. In the late afternoon of 19 March, first coalition airstrikes were launched against the Gadaffi regime, with French fighter jets bombing pro-Gadaffi tank columns at the entrance to Benghazi, stopping their offensive against rebel forces in Benghazi. US and British warships then launched more than 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Jamahiriya air defences and four US B-2 stealth bombers attacked and destroyed several Jamahiriya airfields during the night of 19 March, with more airstrikes and cruise missile strikes being launched against the pro-Gadaffi regime during the next several days, destroying the combat capabilities of pro-Gadaffi Libyan air force and anti-air defences.
On 22 March, a US air force F15E fighter jet crashed near Benghazi due to mechanical problems; both pilots ejected safely and were then rescued by US search and rescue teams, and during the rescue of the US pilots, US search and rescue teams shot and wounded six libyan civilians on the ground. On 23 March 2011, British Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell was quoted by the BBC saying that the Libyan People's Air Force "no longer exists as a fighting force" and that Libyan air defenses had been damaged to the extent that NATO forces could now operate over Libyan airspace "with impunity." On 24 March, several media sources reported that a French Dassault Rafale destroyed a G-2 Galeb near Misrata. Initial reports of the French action said the LPAF plane, a G-2/Galeb with a single engine, was in the air when it was hit. French military spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard later said the plane had just landed when the attack took place.
On 26 March 2011, the French Air Force reported that five Soko G-2 Galeb aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Misrata airport together with two Mi-35 helicopters, but satellite images later showed that the five fixed wing aircraft destroyed were actually MiG-23s.
A Belgian Air Force F-16 hit a Libyan People's Air Force Su-22UM3K plane on the ground during an operation on 27 March. On 9 April, a Free Libyan air force Mi-25D combat attack helicopter bombed positions of Gaddafi's soldiers at Ajadabiya, but it was then shot down by Gaddafi loyalist forces; its pilot captain Hussein al-Warfali was killed. Also on the same day on 9 April, a Free Libyan air force MiG-23BN fighter jet was intercepted by NATO fighter jets over Benghazi, and escorted back to its base in accordance with the UN-authorized and established no-fly zone over Libya.
On 7 May, after weeks of complete inactivity, the Libyan People's Air Force conducted a successful air raid over the rebel-held fuel depots at Misrata, bombing them and setting them on fire. The rebels reported that the raid was conducted with crop dusting aircraft, but probably SF.260 light attack aircraft were used taking off from Misrata airport. NATO failed to intercept the bombing mission. During the entire war and NATO-led intervention in Libya, Libyan rebel forces extensively used their three MiG-21 fighter jets as fighter escort of supply flights to western Libya, guarding transport aircraft that were delivering supplies to besieged rebel garrisons and cities in western Libya, flying despite the NATO-imposed no-fly zone over Libya. These three Free Libya air force jets—two MiG-21bis single-seat and one MiG-21UM two-seat fighter jets—were photographed flying over the Benina air force base south of Benghazi on 27 June 2011.
Following the defeat of forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and the rebel victory in October 2011, the no-fly zone was lifted and two grounded Jamahiriya air force Mirage F-1ED that had been based in Malta after their pilots refused orders to bomb the opposition during the civil war, were then given permission to return to Libya. The jets were finally returned to Libya on 21 February 2012, exactly a year to the day after they defected.
Combat Aircraft's May 2011 issue included an article covering the air elements of the 2011 Libyan civil war.