Syrian Air Force

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Syrian Air Force
الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ‎ al-Quwwāt al-Jawwīyah as-Sūrīyah
Founded	1945; 80 years ago (1945)[a] 2025 (Current form)
Country	Syria
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	15,000 (as of 2021)[1] troops
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 the Syrian Civil War) Approx 459 aircraft in 2024[2]
Engagements	1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Islamist uprising in Syria Lebanese Civil War 1982 Lebanon War Syrian Civil War
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Ahmed al-Sharaa
Minister of Defence	Major General Murhaf Abu Qasra
Commander of the Air Force	Vacant
Chief of Air Staff	Vacant
Notable commanders	Hafez al-Assad Muhammad al-Khuli Issam Hallaq
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Attack	Su-22, Su-24
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 (Arabic: الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, romanized: al-Quwwāt al-Jawwīyah al-Sūrīyah) is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Force. Land-based air defense systems were grouped under the Syrian Air Defence Force, which split from both the Air Force and the Army.

As of March 2025, the air force status is unknown, with some of its equipment being lost following the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and other rebel groups offensive in November 2024 and subsequent Israeli Air Force's airstrikes in December 2024, following the collapse of the Assad regime.^[3]

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