- State affiliation · Syria
- Vigil category device · not official insignia
Identity provenance
State affiliation: Syria.
Vigil category device — drawn from this record’s own domain, echelon and role. Not an official insignia.
In brief
The air arm the transitional state is rebuilding from almost nothing — the Assad-era fleet and most of its air defences were destroyed by Israel in the days after Damascus fell — with a first class of cadets graduated in July 2026, restored Su-22s flying in August, and an Israeli strike on the base they flew from days later.
- Scope
- Structure, role, lineage and links. No subordinate records published.
- Subordination
- Subordination confirmed
- Sources
- 4 on the record
- Record state
- Partial
Broad area of activity
Nationwide in principle; the rehabilitated bases of the north-west in practice, described at provincial scale only
Notable history
The Israeli campaign of December 2024 destroyed what it described as most of Syria's strategic weapons and around eighty per cent of its air defences — hundreds of Sukhoi and MiG aircraft, helicopters, missile launchers and the navy's remnants at Latakia — so the transitional state inherited an air force in name only. Rebuilding has run through Türkiye, which rehabilitated the airfield at Abu al-Duhur and whose delegations surveyed the T4 and Palmyra bases before Israel struck them in April 2025. The first thousand cadets of the new Air Force College graduated on 26 July 2026; two restored Su-22 fighter-bombers were filmed flying in August; Israel struck Abu al-Duhur on 18 August, days later. That sequence is the service: a capability under construction, and a neighbour that strikes each visible step of it. Whether a separate Air Defence Force exists as it did under the Assad-era structure is not established, and the air-defence function is recorded here.
Strengths
Turkish backing with an airfield-rehabilitation programme behind it, and a cadet pipeline that has produced graduates.
Limitations
Almost no aircraft, no air defence to speak of, and an Israeli policy of striking the rebuilding as it happens, which makes every airfield a negotiation problem before it is a military one. No aircraft by count, bases by status or readiness are published.
Reported & historical equipment associations
L-39 Albatros: The Assad-era light attack and training type; surviving airframes unverified.
Lineage & institutional history
Predecessors: Syrian Arab Air Force (Assad-era) — fleet largely destroyed December 2024
Related locations
Abu al-Duhur airbase area: The base Türkiye rehabilitated and Israel struck on 18 August 2026 after restored aircraft flew from the area; structural association only.
Key events
Israel strikes the airbases Türkiye had surveyed
Israeli aircraft strike the T4 (Tiyas) and Palmyra airbases in Homs province and the military airport at Hama on 3 April 2025 — nine days after strikes on T4 and Palmyra that hit hours before a scheduled Turkish inspection visit, which was then cancelled. Regional intelligence officials and Syrian military sources told reporters that Turkish teams had visited the three sites in the preceding weeks to assess runways, hangars and other infrastructure while Ankara and Damascus discussed a defence agreement; one Syrian source described T4 as unusable afterwards. Türkiye's defence ministry dismissed the reporting as lacking credibility. A senior Israeli official said Israel sought to prevent military, naval and air bases in Syria "under Turkish protection". The strikes are documented; the causal link to the Turkish visits rests on unnamed officials and is recorded as reported, not established.
The Abu al-Duhur strike and the Turkish deployment dispute
Eight Israeli airstrikes hit the runway and storage facilities of Abu al-Duhur airbase in eastern Idlib province in the early hours of 18 August 2026, Syrian state television reported; no casualties were reported. Israel confirmed the strikes the following day: the prime minister's office said Israel and Syria had agreed a "status quo in security matters" which Syria "was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo", and that repeated warnings had been ignored. Türkiye's presidency called the allegation baseless and its defence ministry said no Turkish delegation was at the base before or during the strikes. Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani said he had told Israel there was no intention to establish a Turkish base, a permanent Turkish military presence or a Turkish deployment at the site; that the airfield was being rehabilitated for the Syrian air force and was largely empty and not yet operational; and that Turkish officers had visited as part of training and wider military cooperation. US envoy Tom Barrack called the strikes an unnecessary escalation, said Türkiye had received no advance notice and could have scrambled aircraft believing itself under attack, and said Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Türkiye. Whether a Turkish deployment was in fact planned is disputed by the parties and is not established here.
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Assessed as of2026-08Last reviewed2026-09-09
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