Lebanese Air Force

The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) (القوات الجوية اللبنانية Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a Roundel with two wings and a Lebanese Cedar tree, surrounded by two laurel leaves on a blue background.

History


The Lebanese Air Force was established in 1949 under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel Emile Boustany who later became commander of the army. Soon after its establishment, a number of planes were donated by the British, French, and Italian governments, with additional planes donated by Britain and Italy later that same year. Britain donated 4 Percival Prentices and 2 World War II-era Percival Proctors, while Italy donated 4 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers which were mainly used for transportation. In 1953, jet fighters were introduced when 16 de Havilland Vampire jets were received. The first Hawker Hunters arrived in 1959 and were followed by additional fighters through 1977. In 1968, 12 Mirage IIIELs were delivered from France but were grounded in the late 1970s due to lack of funds. In 2000, the grounded Mirages were sold to Pakistan.

The air force, in the absence of advanced fixed wing aircraft, currently relies on a helicopter force and Hawker Hunter jets that have been put back in service in late 2008. The Lebanese Air Force consists of six squadrons distributed between three air bases.

Combat history
The Lebanese Air Force has a long history operating Hawker Hunter jets since 1958. A Lebanese Hawker Hunter shot down an Israeli jet over Kfirmishki in early sixties, its pilot was captured by the Lebanese Armed Forces. One Lebanese Hawker Hunter was shot down on the first day of the Six-Day War by the Israeli Air Force. The Hawker Hunters have not flown any combat sorties since September 17, 1983. This was at a time when the French and Americans were rebuilding the Lebanese army. Three F.Mk.70s were made airworthy, and resumed combat operations on September 15. Because the main airfield, Rayak Air Base, had been shelled by Syrian forces, the Hunters had to operate from an airfield in Byblos. The Hunters were finally grounded in 1994 after a minor accident with one of the T.66 trainers during landing and the remaining 8 were stored in Rayak. The last loss took place in 1989 near Batroun during routine training, when the undercarriage failed to lower, leading the jet to crash. The pilot ejected safely from the doomed jet and landed in the sea, where he was promptly rescued by the Syrian army, which then handed him over to Suleiman Frangieh, who in turn handed him over to the Lebanese Army at the al-Madfoun crossing.

During operations in the Nahr el-Bared camp in North Lebanon, lacking any airworthy fixed-wing strike aircraft, the Lebanese army modified several UH-1H helicopters to permit the carrying of 500 pound Mark 82 and 1000 pound Mark 83 bombs (all unguided iron bombs, also known as dumb bombs) as well as Matra SNEB 68 mm rocket pods (taken from stored Hawker Hunters). Special mounting pads engineered by the Lebanese army were attached to each UH-1 Huey on the sides and belly to carry the bombs. The air force, in collaboration with the engineering regiment, developed and used two dumb bombs variants, the 250 kg LAF-GS-ER2 and the 400 kg LAF-GS-ER3. Usually, helicopters cannot bomb in this method as compared to ground attack aircraft, this became one of the rare moments in history during which helicopters were used in such a way. The Lebanese army also made extensive use of Aérospatiale Gazelles equipped with the Euromissile HOT missile and machine guns pods.

Air Bases
The Lebanese Air Force has three bases
 * Beirut Air Base, Beirut International Airport (OLBA)
 * Eighth Squadron
 * Tenth Squadron
 * Eleventh Squadron
 * Sixteenth Squadron
 * Rayak Air Base (OLRA)
 * Second Squadron
 * Twelfth Squadron
 * Fifteenth Squadron Squadron
 * Kleyate Air Base, Rene Mouawad Airport (OLKA)
 * Fourteenth Squadron
 * Wujah Al Hajar Air Base
 * Newly established still not fully operational. Includes Lebanese army special forces school.

Second Squadron
Employs: Hunter Mk66C, Hunter Mk70A, and AC-208B Combat Caravan

Eighth Squadron
Employs: Aerospastiale SA-342 Gazelle

Ninth Squadron
Employs: IAR-330 SM Puma

Tenth Squadron
Employs: UH-1H

Eleventh Squadron
Employs: UH-1H

Twelfth Squadron
Employs: UH-1H

The helicopters of this squadron are on loan from the squadrons at Beirut Air Base.

Fourteenth Squadron
Employs: UH-1H

The helicopters of this squadron are on loan from the squadrons at kleyaat Air Base.

Fifteenth Squadron
Employs: Robinson Raven R44 II

The squadron is part of the Aviation School, which is also based at Rayak.

Sixteenth Squadron
Employs: Sikorsky S-61N MkII

Future
On February 10, 2009, UAE officially announced approval to provide Lebanon with 10 Aérospatiale Puma transport helicopters that can be delivered immediately. UAE already delivered four helicopters on April 21, 2010; remaining six to follow.

Some media reports mentioned during July 2009 that the United States has conveyed to the UAE its approval for the transfer of BAE Hawk jets to Lebanon.

On January 22, 2010, Lebanon signed a contract with Eurotech to revamp 13 Gazelle helicopters of the original and ex-UAE delivered in addition to equip the ex-UAE Puma helicopters.

During the meeting of the Lebanese-American Joint Military Committee in February 2010, the US expressed its readiness to supply Lebanon with either the Hawker Beechcraft AT 6B or the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano by 2013; the final choice would depend on which of them the Pentagon will choice for the US forces.

On February 27, 2010, Lebanon decided to replace previously offered MiG-29 jets with Mi-24 attack helicopters.

Non-Fatal Crashes And Accidents

 * On November 20, 2010, a Raven R44 helicopter (L-1502) made an emergency landing on Jal el-Dib highway when its engine stopped working during a drill for Lebanon Independence Day parade. Both pilots and helicopter were unharmed.
 * On December 3, 2010, a Gazelle helicopter made a crash landing in Afqa. The two pilot were unharmed, although the helicopter sustained some damage.

Fatal Crashes And Accidents

 * On May 12, 2006, a UH-1H helicopter crashed in the Neiha mountains. Four air force personnel, including the 2 pilots, were killed.