Syrian Air Force

Syrian Arab Air Force
الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ al-Quwwāt al-Jawwīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah
Badge of the Syrian Arab Air Force
Founded	1948; 76 years ago (1948)[a]
Country	Syria
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	15,000[1]
Part of	Syrian Armed Forces
Headquarters	Damascus
Nickname(s)	Nosour Qasioun (Arabic: نُسُور قَاسِيُون, lit. 'Qasioun eagles')
March	We are the Eagles (Arabic: نَحْنُ النُّسُورُ, romanized: Naḥn-un-Nusūr)
Anniversaries	16 October
Equipment	Approx 450 aircraft in 2011 (before Syrian civil war) Approx 459 aircraft in 2024[2]
Engagements	1948 Arab-Israeli War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War 1982 Lebanon War Syrian Civil War War in Iraq (2013–2017)[3]
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Marshal Bashar al-Assad
Minister of Defence	Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas
Commander of the Air Force	Major General Tawfiq Khaddour[4]
Chief of Air Staff	Major General Adel Jadallah Qaysar[4]
Notable commanders	Muhammad al-Khuli Hafez al-Assad
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Flag
Aircraft flown
Attack	Su-22, Su-24, MiG-21, MiG-23
Fighter	MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29
Helicopter	Mil Mi-14, Mil Mi-17, Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-2, Kamov Ka-28, Kamov Ka-226
Attack helicopter	Mil Mi-24, Gazelle
Reconnaissance	MiG-25
Trainer	L-39, PA-31, MFI-17
Transport	Il-76, An-24, An-26

The Syrian Air Force (SyAF or SAF), officially the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF or SAAF; Arabic: الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, romanized: al-Quwwāt al-Jawwīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948. Land-based air defense systems are grouped under the Syrian Arab Air Defense Force, which split from both the Air Force and the Army.

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