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"2010 is the year of our air force"
Defense Minister Elias el-Murr
Artist impression of the Lebanese Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum.
Photo modified and camouflaged by George Matta.
Artist impression of the twin-seater combat trainer MiG-29UB Fulcrum of the Lebanese Air Force.
Photo modified and camouflaged by George Matta.
The US has promised to deliver the Cessna 208 Caravan to the LAF armed with Hellfire air-to ground missiles.
The aircraft can also be used for training, utility and surveillance duties.
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Lebanon is approaching Russia for a number of Mi-35 attack helicopters.
Some UAE Hawks can still find their way to Lebanon as advanced trainers and attack jets.
Even though the BAe Hawk trainers are less likely to make their way to Lebanon, the air force with the help of friendly Arab states, is working to introduce a few jet trainers into active service in the near future.
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In the mid 90s, the Lebanese Air Force gradually grounded the small numbers of the existing jets and most of the surviving helicopters and thus, became an all helicopter operating force when the first UH-1H Hueys were received from the
US. In the following years, instead of re-introducing the stored mothballed Mirage III fighters into active service, more interest was put on selling them and eventually all 10 were bought by
Pakistan in 2000.
These choices were against the wills of the air force but there seemed to be little that can be done to change the policies then, which were sometimes dictated by foreign powers. This situation affected the operational abilities and the capabilities of the air force and deprived the new generation of pilots from much needed experience and operational flying hours.
In recent years though, the air force has made the introduction of fixed wing aircraft a priority and the need came during the Nahr el-Bared battle to have such a force to an extent that the decade long retired Hawker Hunter jets were put back to maintenance to serve as an immediate solution.
This serious interest in having new jet capabilities by the Lebanese Air Force has led to numerous rumors since mid 2007 till this present day.
One of the most rumored types has been the joint Pakistani-Chinese JF-17 (also known as FC-1) light fighter. However, these rumors have been found to be baseless and have probably been generated by enthusiastic Pakistani fans of the aircraft that keep on seeking foreign success.
The official Lebanese Air Force word has singled out the
US made third generation F-5 fighter through the media. In the meantime, the
US also has expressed assistance by showing willingness to donate old trainer jets like the TA-3 Skyworrier and the TA-4J Skyhawk but both are believed to have been turned down by
Lebanon.
Other rumored types have included donations of Saudi Tornados, UAE Hawks and Omani Jaguars. However, the high maintaining costs of the Panavia Tornado almost rules the type out of the list.
This interest in having a jet force has not shifted the attention to get more helicopter types. The Air Force has made clear that it's not satisfied by having the Gazelle helicopters alone for the attack role and has asked for AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters from the
US. It is also believed that there is strong interest for more utility helicopters like the UH-1H currently in service and other types. For this purpose, there have been efforts as of late 2007 to overhaul stored helicopters, specially the Agusta AB-212 and most probably the SA-330 Pumas.
It is likely that in the future, the Lebanese Air Force will have a squadron of jet fighters. In fact, a primary agreement with Russia was reached on December 16, 2008 for the delivery of 10 MiG-29 multi-role fighters. These should be complimented by propeller driven primary trainers and advanced jet trainers with attack capabilities, each assigned to a squadron.
As advanced jet trainer, it is believed that the Hawk (possibly the T.60 model) has emerged as a strong contender and may make its way to the Lebanese Air Force in the future.
The helicopter force will remain mostly dependent on the UH-1H Hueys for the utility and SAR roles until funds can be made available to buy newer types. In this respect, a firefighting fixed wing aircraft has also been made a priority after strong calls by environmentalist groups to fight deforestation caused by seasonal fires which seem to have become a habit in recent years.
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