Syrian Air Force

Syrian Arab Air Force
القوات الجوية العربية السورية
Syrian Arab Air Force; القوات الجوية العربية السورية
	;
Founded	1948
Country	Syria
Branch	Air Force
Type	Military Aviation
Role	Aerial Warfare
Size	60,000 (including 20,000 reserve)
Part of	Syrian Armed Forces
Nickname	SyAAF
March	We are the Eagles
Engagements	Six-Day War; Yom Kippur War; 1982 Lebanon War; 2011 Syrian uprising (allegedly)
Commanders
Chief of Air Staff	Major General Ali Mahmoud
Insignia
Roundel
Air Force Ensign
Aircraft flown
Attack	MiG-23; Su-24; Su-22; Mi-25; Gazelle
Electronic; warfare	Mi-8
Fighter	MiG-29; MiG-23; MiG-21; Su-27
Interceptor	MiG-25
Reconnaissance	MiG-25; MiG-21
Trainer	L-39; MBB 223; MFI-17
Transport	An-26; An-24; Il-76; Mi-17; Mi-8

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The Syrian Air Force (Arabic: القوات الجوية العربية السورية‎, Al Quwwat al-Jawwiyah al Arabiya as-Souriya) is the Aviation branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948.

[edit] History

See also: Military history of Syria

AT-6 Harvard of the Syrian Air Force

The end of World War II led to a 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 flight schools in the United Kingdom. The embryonic force saw limited participation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, conducting bombing raids against Israeli forces and settlements. One North American Harvard was lost to ground fire while attacking Ayelet Hashahar on July 16, and another possibly shot down by Morris Mann (flying an Avia S-199) on June 10. The Syrian Air Force claimed it sole kill of the war on July 10 when a Harvard supposedly shot down an Avia S-199 flown by Lionel Bloch.

Military governments formed after the war sought to bolster the air force, which began equipping with Fiat G.59s, ex-Egyptian Macchi C.205s and Supermarine Spitfire F.22s. In September 1952 the SAF received its first jet aircraft, the Gloster Meteor F.8. Additional Meteors, including the NF.13 night fighting variant, were delievered by the mid-1950s.^[1]

The 1950s also saw Syria and Egypt attempt to unify as the United Arab Republic, and this was reflected in the Syrian Air Force with growth in personnel and aircraft. However, this union would not last. With the ascent to power of the Baath Party and Hafez Al-Asad, himself a former SAF Commander-in-chief, Syria began looking to the members of the Warsaw Pact for help and built closer ties with the USSR. This in turn led to a massive influx of Eastern-made equipment to the Syrian Armed Forces, including the Air Force.

In 1955 Syria placed an order for 25 MiG-15s, including several MiG-UTI conversion trainers. These were shipped to Alexandria and assembled at the Egyptian air base at Almazah, where Syrian pilots and technicians were trained to operate the aircraft. The fighters were present at Almazah when the Suez Crisis broke out and several were destroyed on the ground by British and French air strikes. On November 6, 1956, a Syrian Meteor shot down an Royal Air Force Canberra PR.7 monitoring activity at SAF bases.^[1] One Meteor was lost after another attempted intercept, the pilot and future president of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, crashing his aircraft while attempting to land in the dark.^[1]^[2]

Sixty MiG-17s 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 already defending the capital from their base at Damasucus-Mezzeh.^[1]

The Syrian Air Force, despite its training and capabilities, never fared well against Israel. In the Six-Day War, the Syrian Air Force lost two-thirds of its forces with the rest retreating to bases in remote parts of Syria. This in turn helped the IDF in defeating the Syrian Army on the ground and led to the occupation of the Golan Heights.

The Yom Kippur War provided initial success for both Syria and Egypt, though again Israel inflicted more casualties in the air than it endured. During the war the Pakistani Air Force sent 16 pilots to the Middle East in order to support Egypt and Syria. By the time of their arrival, however, Egypt had already opted for a ceasefire, while only Syria remained in a state of war against Israel. Eight PAF pilots subsequently started flying out of Syrian airbases, forming the A-flight of 67 Squadron at Dumayr Airbase. The Pakistani pilots flew Syrian MiG-21 aircraft on CAP missions, during which Flt/Lt. A. Sattar Alvi shot down an Israeli Mirage in air combat. Other aerial encounters involved Israeli F4 Phantoms; Alvi was decorated by the Syrian government and the Pakistani pilots stayed on in Syria until 1976, training Syrian pilots in the art of arial warfare.

SAF Gazelle captured by Israel in 1982. Behind stands a MiG-23 whose pilot defected in 1989

During the 1982 Lebanon War, the Syrian Air Force fought the Israeli Air Force in the largest air-to-air combat of the jet age, involving approximately 150 aircraft from both sides. In six days (6-11 June, 1982) of intense aerial combat, Syrian and Russians source admit the loss of 24 MiG-23s (6MF, 4MS and 14BN), while shooting down no Israeli aircraft. Russian and Syrian sources continue to claim a modicum of success against Israeli aircraft in this conflict, but have been unable to provide any justification for their claims. Israel claims the destruction of 85 Syrian MiGs.^[3] However, at low altitude the Syrian Air Force did significantly better by using Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopters in anti-armour role against advancing Israeli ground forces. In one such engagement, an entire Israeli tank column was stopped by SyAAF Gazelle missile strikes while approaching Ein Zehalta.^[4]

During the 2011 Syrian Uprising it is claimed that the Syrian Air Force was called in as air support during the fighting with opposition forces in and around Rastan and Talbiseh.

[edit] Modernization

Since then, the Syrian Air Force has continued to rebuild with Eastern-made equipment. However the full extent of this rebuilding is not known. Nor are the exact numbers of planes or what types of aircraft are in the Air Force. This is due to the amount of secrecy maintained by the Syrian government in regard to its military. It is known though that the Syrians have procured MiG-29s and Su-24s which should give its Air Force a great boost, though rumours regarding the recent purchase of some Su-27s appear to be unfounded. In 2008 the Syrian Air Force was reportedly taking deliveries of 8 examples of the MiG-31E from Russia, as well as the MiG-29SMT and Yak-130,^[5] although delivery of the MiG-31s may have been cancelled by Russia due to pressure from Israel.^[6]

[edit] Organization

Main article: Squadrons of the Syrian Arab Air Force

The Air Force command consists of:^[7]

7 Attack squadrons
20 Interceptor/FGA/Reconnaissance squadrons
4 Transport squadrons
1 Electronic Warfare squadron
7 Transport/Attack Helicopter squadrons
5 Attack Helicopter squadrons
1 VIP Helicopter squadron
1 Training Group.

[edit] Air Bases

Main article: List of Syrian Air Force bases

[edit] Markings

The roundel used by the Syrian Air Force has the same basic design as that used by the Egyptian Air Force. It consists of three concentric circles, with a red outer, white middle and black inner. The unique part of the Syrian roundels is the presence of two green stars in the white circle, which is reflective of the two stars on the national flag. The fin flash is also an image of the flag.

[edit] Aircraft Inventory

Due to the high security level on everything military the past and the present of the Syrian Arab Air Force is still largely unknown. This makes it hard to judge the real strength of the air force today.^[8] The following information is compiled from multiple sources.

Between ~458 to ~752 Fixed Wing Aircraft:
- Combat/Reconnaissance/OCU Aircraft: Between ~357 and ~611
- Training Aircraft: Between ~81 and ~117
- Transport Aircraft: Between ~20 and ~24
Between ~176 to ~214 Rotary Wing Aircraft:
- Attack Helicopter: Between ~70 and ~84
- Armed Transport/Utility Helicopter: Between ~106 and ~120
- Electronic Warfare/Command Helicopter: Between ~0 and ~10

Combat Aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
MiG-29 Fulcrum	Soviet Union	MRCA MRCA MRCA OCU	A M/M2 SMT UB	40 N/A 14^[7] 6	20 10 N/A N/A	} 42	60^[12] 20^[12] N/A N/A	Will be upgraded to M/M2 standard. Total: Between ~30 to ~80
MiG-25 Foxbat	Soviet Union	Interceptor Reconnaissance OCU	PD RB U	30 8 2	35 7 N/A	11 N/A N/A	N/A N/A N/A	Total: Between ~11 to ~42
MiG-23 Flogger	Soviet Union	Fighter Ground Attack OCU	MS/MF/ML/MLD BN UM	80 60 6	50 } 56	} 106	N/A	Upgrade in progress. Total: Between ~106 to ~146
MiG-21 Fishbed	Soviet Union	Fighter OCU Reconnaissance	MF/Bis U/UM R	159^[9] 20 40	} 140	} 176	N/A N/A N/A	Mostly in reserve. Total: Between ~140 to ~219
Su-24 Fencer	Soviet Union	Ground Attack	MK	20^[9]	20^[10]	20^[11]	20^[12]
Su-22 Fitter	Soviet Union	Ground Attack	M-2/M-4	50	60	60	90^[13]	Total: Between ~50 to ~90
Electronic warfare

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
Mi-8 Hip	Soviet Union	Electronic Warfare	SMV/PP	10	N/A	N/A	N/A
Trainer Aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
L-39 Albatros	Czechoslovakia	Jet Trainer	ZO/ZA	70	~40	40	N/A	Total: Between ~40 to ~70
MBB 223 Flamingo	West Germany	Primary Trainer	A-1	35	40	40	N/A	Total: Between ~35 to ~40
MFI-17 Mushshak	Pakistan	Primary Trainer		6	6	7	N/A	Total: Between ~6 to ~7
Yak-130 Mitten	Russia	Advanced Jet Trainer						Deal for 36 signed January 2012.^[14]
Transport Aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
An-24 Coke	Soviet Union	Transport		1	1	1	1
An-26 Curl	Soviet Union	Transport		6	5	4	N/A	Total: Between ~4 to ~6
Il-76 Candid	Soviet Union	Transport	M	4	4	4	4
Dassault Falcon 20	France	VIP Transport		2	2	2	2
Dassault Falcon 900	France	VIP Transport		1	1	1	1
Tu-134 Crusty	Soviet Union	VIP Transport		N/A	2	4	N/A	Total: Between ~2 to ~4
Yak-40 Codling	Soviet Union	VIP Transport	V	6	6	6	6
Attack Helicopter

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
Mi-25 Hind	Soviet Union	Attack Helicopter	D	36	~35	36	48^[13]	Total: Between ~35 to ~48
SA-342 Gazelle	France	Attack Helicopter	L/M	36	~35	36	36
Mi-2 Hoplite	Poland	Attack Helicopter		20	10	6	N/A	Total: Between ~6 to ~20
Transport Helicopter

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Version	In Service (Global Security)^[9]	In Service (INSS)^[10]	In Service (MilAviaPress)^[11]	In Service (Jane's)^[12]	Comments	Image
Mi-8 Hip Mi-17 Hip	Soviet Union	Transport Helicopter	F H	} 100	} 100	55 45	N/A