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 2026 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 (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Malakiya al Libiyya) 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 (second to Egypt). 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.Libyan Mirages in Use for Pakistan AF Spares, Air Forces Monthly, June 2008 issue, p. 32
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.Gordon, Yefim. Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat: Guardian of the Soviet Borders (Red Star Vol. 34). Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2008. . As of February 2007 AirForces Monthly reported all aircraft of the type had been retired.Libya Opens Up AirForces Monthly, February 2007, pp. 4 & 69
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 1981Library of Congress Country Studies, Libya: Encounters with the United States , 1987 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.
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 (maybe hit by twin-tubes that fired at it from N'Djamena airport).Page A7, The Citizen, Ottawa, Canada, 18 February 1986 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.Collins, Robert O. Africa's Thirty Years War: Libya, Chad, and the Sudan, 1963–1993, p. 212.: Westview Press, 1999.
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 (SA-8) SAM batteries,Tom Cooper, Libyan Wars, 1986–1989, Part 6 , Air Combat Information Group, 2003. Retrieved October 2011 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 (a specialized reconnaissance and electronic warfare variant) 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 (LNC) 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 (either Mi-8 or Mi-24) was reportedly shot down at Bayda.