Tunisian Air Force
Air force
Unit nameTunisian Air Force
Start date1959 (age 67)
CountryTunisia
RoleAerial warfare
Size4,500 personnel
Command structureTunisian Armed Forces
GarrisonBizerte
Garrison labelHeadquarters
Anniversaries24 July
Equipment155 aircraft
BattlesWar on terror
Commander 1President Kais Saied
Commander1 labelCommander-in-Chief
Commander 2General Mohamed El Hajjam
Commander2 labelCommander of the Air Force
Identification symbol labelRoundel
Aircraft attackNorthrop F-5
Aircraft fighterNorthrop F-5
Aircraft helicopterBell 412, Bell 204/205, Bell UH-1N Iroquois, Bell OH-58, Aérospatiale Alouette II, Aérospatiale Alouette III, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, Sikorsky S-61R, Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil
Aircraft patrolCessna 208, Maule M-7
Aircraft trainerNorthrop F-5F, Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, Aero L-59 Super Albatros
Aircraft transportLet L-410 Turbolet, Lockheed C-130B/H/J-30 Hercules/Super Hercules

The Tunisian Air Force (Arabic: جيش الطيران, French: Armée de l'Air[1]) is one of the branches of the Tunisian Armed Forces.

History

The Tunisian Air Force was established in 1959, three years after Tunisia regained its independence from France. It took deliveries of its first aircraft, eight Saab 91 Safirs, in 1960, later to be complemented by further Saab 91 Safirs. The Tunisian Air Force entered the jet age in 1965 with the purchase of 8 MB326-Bs and then 5 MB326-LTs. In 1969, the country received 15 ex-USAF F-86F Sabres. Between 1974 and 1978 12 SF.260 Warriors and 9 SF.260Cs were delivered for basic training. In 1977–78, eight MB.326KTs were supplied for light attack duties. In 1981, Tunisia ordered 12 F-5s (8 F-5E and 4 F-5F); deliveries took place in 1984–85. Tunisia added 5 ex-USAF F-5Es from the Alconbury Aggressor Squadron in 1989. In 1985 Tunisia ordered two C130-H Herculeses. In 1995, a major Czech order was placed, with 12 Aero L-59 armed trainers and 3 Let L-410UVP transports ordered. In 1997, five surplus C-130B's were delivered from the USA. Tunisia had two C-130J-30s on order for delivery in 2013 and 2014. Tunisia purchased a 8 UH-60M.[2]

Tunisia's four main bases are Bizerte/Sidi Ahmed, Gafsa, Bizerte/La Karouba, and Sfax.

Organization

The order of battle of the Tunisian Air force is as below:[3]

Tunis-Laouina

No. 12 Squadron
Transport squadron, Let L-410 Turbolet

Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed

No. 15 Squadron
Fighter squadron, Northrop F-5 Tiger
No. 21 Squadron
Transport squadron, C-130 Hercules

Bizerte-La Karouba

No. 31 Squadron
Helicopter squadron, Bell 205, UH-1 Iroquois
No. 32 Squadron
Helicopter squadron, Alouette II, Ecureuil
No. 33 Squadron
Helicopter squadron
No. 36 Squadron
Helicopter squadron

Sfax-Thyna

No. 31 Squadron
Helicopter squadron

Gafsa

No. 34 Squadron
Helicopter squadron, OH-58D
No. 51 Squadron
UAV squadron,MQ-27
No. 42 Squadron
Light Transport ISR squadron Cessna 208ex

Aircraft

Current inventory

AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes
Combat aircraft
Northrop F-5United StatesLight fighterF-5E10[4]
Reconnaissance
Maule MX-7United StatesISRMX-712[5]For border surveillance
Cessna 208United StatesISTAR4[6]
Transport
Let L-410Czech RepublicUtility5[4]
C-130 HerculesUnited StatesTransport / SARC-130B/H4[4][1]4 units were delivered between 2021 and january 2026
C-130J Super HerculesUnited StatesTactical airlifter2[4]
Helicopters
Bell 412United StatesUtility2[4]
Bell 412 EPXUnited StatesUtilityBell 412 EPX(12 on order)During Paris 2025 air show Tunisia has signed a deal with Bell to acquire 12 Bell 412 EPX[7]
Bell 205United StatesUtility21[4]
UH-1N IroquoisUnited StatesUtility16[4]
Aérospatiale GazelleFranceArmed scout15[8]Armed with HOT MBDA missiles, seen in use during African lion 2025
Bell OH-58United StatesArmed scoutOH-58D18[4]Ex US army
Alouette IIFranceLiaison / Light utility8[4]
Alouette IIIFranceLiaison / Utility7[4]
Sikorsky HH-3United StatesSAR / Transport15[4]
Sikorsky UH-60United StatesUtilityUH-60M8[4]
Eurocopter AS350FranceUtility / Liaison6[4]
Trainer aircraft
Northrop F-5United StatesConversion trainerF-5F3[4]
Aero L-59CzechoslovakiaJet trainerL-59T6-9[4][9]
SF.260ItalyTrainer17[4][9]
Textron T-6 Texan IIUnited StatesTrainerT-6C8[4][10]
UAV
TAI AnkaTurkeyISTAR / UCAVAnka S6[11]

References

  1. ^ "Présentation au profil de l'armée de l'air" (in French). Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Tunisia – UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters - The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency". Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Tunisian Air Force OrBat". Scramble. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  4. ^ Hoyle, Craig (ed.) (2023). "World Air Forces 2024". Flight Global. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  5. ^ Warnes, Alan (14 February 2017). "Tunisian Maule ISR Package Revealed"
  6. ^ "United States Delivers Advanced Reconaissance[sic] Aircraft To Tunisian Air Force". U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  7. ^ Ewers, Gideon (2025-06-16). "Tunisian Air Force commit to 12 SUBARU Bell 412EPXs". RotorHub International. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  8. ^ "Orbats". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  9. ^ Abdul, Kazim (August 19, 2023). "Textron delivers final T-6C Texan II to Tunisia". military.africa. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  10. ^ McNeil, Harry (2023-08-16). "Beechcraft T-6C Texan II training system delivered to Tunisian Air Force". Airforce Technology. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  11. ^ "TUSAŞ hangi ülkelere kaç adet hava aracı teslim etti?" (in Turkish). 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

Sources

  • World Aircraft Information Files. Brightstar Publishing, London. File 337 Sheet 03