Libyan Air Force

Libyan Air Force
Active	since
Country	Libya
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Attack	Su-22, J-21, Mi-14, Mi-24, Bell 206,
Bomber	Su-24
Fighter	MiG-21, MiG-23, Mirage F1
Trainer	SF-260, L-39, G-2, Yak-130
Transport	An-26, Falcon 20, Falcon 50, Gulfstream II, Il-76, L-410, JetStar, C-130, Il-78 Midas, Bell 212, CH-47, Mi-8

The Libyan Air Force (Template:Lang-ar - Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Libiyya) is the air force of Libya.

After U.S. forces had left Libya in 1970, Wheelus Air Base, a previous U.S. facility about seven miles from Tripoli, became a Libyan Air Force installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. OBN AB housed the LPAF's headquarters and a large share of its major training facilities.

LPAF Soviet-made MiG-17/19/25 fighters and Tu-22 bombers were based at Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. 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.

Cold War

During the Cold War, aircraft and personnel of the Soviet Air Force took residence at Okba Ben Nafi Air Base. With Soviet assistance, the Libyan Air Force was organized into one medium bomber squadron, three fighter interceptor squadrons, five forward ground attack squadrons, one counterinsurgency squadron, nine helicopter squadrons, and three air defense brigades deploying SA-2, SA-3, and Crotale missiles.

Post–Cold War

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the elimination of military aid by the new Russian republic, Soviet/Russian support was drastically curtailed. The last major delivery of Soviet aircraft was 15 Su-24 Fencers in March/April 1989.

Much of Libyan air doctrine appears now to be of an ad hoc nature and contracted personnel from Yugoslavia, South Africa, Russia, North Korea and Pakistan provide piloting, maintenance and technical services.

UN sanctions were lifted in early 1999 and Libya has talked to Russia about upgrades for its MiG-21s and MiG-25s while also expressing an interest in MiG-29s, MiG-31s and long-range SAMs. However, many of the transport and combat aircraft are in storage.

Combat History

LAF has lost a total of four aircraft to United States Navy F-14 Tomcats in two incidents, in 1981 and 1989.

Aircraft Inventory

File:LybMi-8.jpg

Libyan Air Force Mi-8

Libyan Air Force Aero L-39

File:LAF Su-22M-2K.JPG

Su-22 attack aircraft of Libyan Air Force.

• Combat Aircrafts - most aircrafts are grounded and considered withdrawn from service
  • 12 Dassault Mirage F1BD/ED - all grounded but to be refurbished and return to service
  • 25 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis Fishbed-L/N
  • 125 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN/MS/ML/UM Flogger-E/F/G/H
  • 40 Sukhoi Su-22M3/UM-3K Fitter-G/H
  • 5 Sukhoi Su-24MK Fencer-D

• Trainers
  • 110 Aero L-39ZO Albatros
  • 20 Aermacchi SF-260WL - 12 of them will refubished in Italy
  • 80 Soko G-2 Galeb and Soko J-21 Jastreb
  • 6 Yakovlev Yak-130 - on order

• Transport Aircraft
  • 10 Antonov An-26 Curl - plans to procure new transport planes to replace them
  • 3 Dassault Falcon 20
  • 1 Dassault Falcon 50
  • 3 Gulfstream II
  • 15 Ilyushin Il-76 Candid
  • 15 Let L-410 Turbolet
  • 2 Lockheed JetStar
  • 10 Lockheed C-130H Hercules

• Refuellers
  • 4 Ilyushin Il-78E Midas

• Attack Helicopters
  • 4 Bell 206 JetRanger
  • 12 Mil Mi-14 Haze
  • 43 Mil Mi-24 Hind - 13 of them modernised in South Africa

• Transport Helicopters
  • 2 Bell 212 Twin Huey
  • 8 Boeing CH-47 Chinook - another 12 sold to U.A.E
  • 25 Mil Mi-8 Hip including Mi-17
  • ? Mil Mi-17 Hip-H

• Air Defence
  • 90 SA-2 Guideline
  • 10 SA-3 Goa
  • 48 SA-6 Gainful
  • Rapier missile 'Jernas' system - under study

• Future Aircraft
  • 14 Dassault Rafale - MoU signed December 9, 2007 runs until July 1, 2008
  • 12 Eurocopter Tiger - MoU signed December 9, 2007 runs until July 1, 2008
  • 20 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29SMT Fulcrum - under study
  • 12 Sukhoi Su-30MK Flanker - under study
  • 15 Eurocopter EC 725
  • 10 Eurocopter AS-350 Ecureuil

File:Tu-22 Libyan.jpg

Libyan Tu-22 flying in the early 1980s.

• Retired Aircraft
  • Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat
  • Dassault Mirage V
  • Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder
  • Boeing 707
  • Alenia G-222

External links

• Libyan Air Force - Globalsecurity.org
• Libyan Air Forces - Historical Listings - worldairforces.com
• Libyan Detachment in Malta - aeroflight.co.uk
• Photos of Libyan military aircraft - airliners.net