Lebanese Air Force

The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) (Arabic: القوات الجوية اللبنانية Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnania) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is constituted of 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, while an additional number of planes were donated by Britain and Italy the same year. Britain donated 4 Percival Prentices and 2 World War II period Percival Proctors while Italy donated 4 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers which were mainly used for transportation.[1] In 1953, jet fighters were introduced when a number of 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.[2]
The air force, in the absence of advanced fixed wing aircraft, currently relies on a helicopter force and a some Hawker Hunter jets that have been put back in service at late 2008. The Lebanese Air Force consists of six squadrons distributed on three air bases.