Talk:Syrian Air Force

Untitled
Their is no doubt that Syria dont have the money to buy 100 MIG-31. do need so many also. i am sure that this info written at the text is not true. John, Greece , 26 June 2007
 * I agree. Also the article suggests that the Syrian Air Force MIG-21's could be upgraded in collaboration with India. When the reference source is studied carefully, it states that the Indian Air Force Mig's have been recently upgraded in India by installing equipment from Israel among other western sources in addition to the Russian equipment. Like that's gonna happen in the Syrian case. Thus this possibility could be confidently purged from this article.Andy anno (talk) 07:00, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 10:25, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

Broken link for reference
Citation 33 to Janes, doesn't go to a page with the cited data, it is redirected to a different URL. comment added by Danjw1 (talk) 18:30, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Russia confirms MiG jet sale to Syria
This site: [Mig-29] has a notice, from an Israeli newspaper, about the sell of mig-29 jets from Russia to Syria.Agre22 (talk) 20:25, 3 September 2009 (UTC)agre22

Inventory numbers, please provide references
Yes, the number of aircraft operated by the Syrian Air Force is not readily available. It is therefore crucial that when editing, people provide references. Otherwise we have no way of knowing who is informed, who is guessing and who is a mere vandal. I've restored the numbers to the ones specified in the ref already in the article. Please provide references for any changes. Thank you. Poliocretes (talk) 13:33, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Quote
I think we should add the Moshe Dayan quote here. Chesdovi (talk) 00:39, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Does Moshe Dayan have a quote about the Syrian Air Force? --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 00:41, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Possibly, but I'm sure we can somehow fit in the one about Israeli tractors here, after all, it led to the decimation of Syria's airforce, didn't it? Chesdovi (talk) 01:00, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
 * "Somehow fit it"? This is an article about the Syrian Air Force, whatever Dayan had to say about related political events is irrelevant. This article does not attempt to give a detailed explaination of events, something that would be entirely out of its scope, it merely reports the air force's role and participation in them. Unless the quote has something to say about the force itself, do not insert it. Poliocretes (talk) 06:56, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Well said! Chesdovi (talk) 10:53, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Uncited statement
Do any of the sources back up the statement about the aa-9 'Amos'? That they are "on order, but due to Israeli pressure no delivery s will take pace"? This sounds a little suspect, and the poor spelling and grammar doesn't help much. Now I could be wrong, but I've yet to hear anything about the arms deal falling through. Russia is, as far as I've heard, still Syria's main supplier of arms. If I'm right, then this would be in violation of WP:CRYSTAL. For now I'm just going to remove it, but if anyone can confirm it for me I'd really appreciate their doing so. Baronofcheese (talk) 22:26, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Mi-2 Hoplite picture
Pictured is PZL-Świdnik W-3WA Sokół, 360612 (0612) - NOT a Mi-2. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Reno Bemowo (talk • contribs) 21:09, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

POV in the history section
"The Syrian Air Force, despite its training and capabilities, never fared well against Israel. In the Six-Day War, the Syrian Air Force lost two-thirds of its forces with the rest retreating to bases in remote parts of Syria. This in turn helped the IDF in defeating the Syrian Army on the ground and led to the occupation of the Golan Heights.

The Yom Kippur War provided initial success for both Syria and Egypt, though again Israel inflicted more casualties in the air than it endured."

Why don't we simply mention only the numbers of casualties? I see a clear POV in the: "though again Israel inflicted more casualties in the air than it endured" and "The Syrian Air Force, despite its training and capabilities, never fared well against Israel." --aad_Dira (talk) 13:25, 21 April 2012 (UTC)>

L-39 ZA
Wiki page:

These problems are also thought by experts to account for the recent use of L-39 trainer jets in a combat role by the regime.[13] Photos and video have confirmed that the L-39ZA trainer has been modified by the regime and outfitted for light ground attack.[14]

From referenced article [14] and general knowledge of L-39, I would say, that outfitted for light ground attack. is general description of all L-39 ZA and not a special upgrade by the Syrian government. So I suggest to remove statement that has been modified by the regime unless more detailed citation about some special Syrian uprgrade is provided.

Tatrgel (talk) 20:48, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Civil war
This is too much like current affairs so i have removed the following, pending a definitive outcome and reliable information with NPOV.Petebutt (talk) 04:02, 6 September 2012 (UTC) ==Syrian civil war (2011—present)== During the Syrian civil war the Syrian Air Force is frequently attacking opposition fighters with helicopter gunships and warplanes. Most of these attacks aim to populated areas and cause Collateral Damage among civilians. In July 2012 at the Farnborough Air Show it was announced that Russia would not deliver any new aircraft including the MiG-29M/M2's and Yak-130's while there was still a crisis in Syria, however it would still respect any previous refurbishment and maintenance contracts such as the Mi-25's. By August 2012 it had become apparent to intelligence experts that the Syrian airforce was suffering significant technical difficulties, resulting in less than half of the airforce's most advanced counterinsurgency aircraft such as the Mi-25 Hind-D being available at any given time, due to an increased number of conflict fronts and severe maintenance burdens. These problems are also thought by experts to account for the recent use of L-39 trainer jets in a combat role by the regime. Photos and video have confirmed that the L-39ZA trainer has been modified by the regime and outfitted for light ground attack. Other reports have also confirmed that MiGs are being used to launch airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas. On August 15 2012, a Syrian airforce jet twice attacked a hospital in Aleppo.

So far in the conflict, the Syrian opposition's forces have claimed to down 2 planes in flight, and "several" helicopters. At least four other planes have been claimed to be destroyed on the ground. A Syrian pilot, colonel Hassan al-Mirei Hamadeh, has also defected by landing a MiG in Jordan.

The Aviationist
From what I can see, http://theaviationist.com/ seems to be a reliable source under WP:SPS. Reading http://theaviationist.com/about/#.UewUP421GmA, this person seems like he has experience in the relevant field, and so this would be considered an acceptable source. Benboy00 (talk) 17:05, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * A blog is not a reliable source. MilborneOne (talk) 17:08, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Please read WP:SPS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SPS#Self-published_sources) where it clearly says "Self-published expert sources may be considered reliable when produced by an established expert on the subject matter, whose work in the relevant field has previously been published by reliable third-party publications". Your assumption that "a blog is not a reliable source" is clearly wrong for some blogs. We can also see from http://theaviationist.com/newsstand/#.UewdD421GmA that this is one of those blogs, as this persons work in the relevant field has been published by reliable third-party publications. Therefore, it is a reliable source. Benboy00 (talk) 17:43, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * OK I have asked for opinions at WT:AVIATION. MilborneOne (talk) 17:55, 21 July 2013 (UTC)

Tally update
The latest assessment of the strength of the world's air forces (http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/media/reports_pdf/world-air-forces-2013-101015.aspx) puts the strength of the Syrian Air Force as: 217 MiG-21s, 145 MiG-23s, 48 MiG-29s, 50 Su-22s, 20 Su-24, 3 An-26s, 2 Ka-28s, 15 Mi-2s, 70 Mi-8/17, 10 Mi-14s, 36 Mi-25/35, 30 SA342s and 69 L-39s. As the latest paper was published after the start of the Syrian civil war, there should be a table comparing the strength of the Syrian air force in the paper "World Air Forces 2013" and the strength of the Syrian air force before the start of the war in Syria. 68.4.28.33 (talk) 18:16, 21 July 2013 (UTC)Vahe Demirjian

Ensign/flag
I think the Air Force Ensign might have changed. You can see a flag in the videos available here and here. As such I've made and uploaded an svg version of the new flag. MrPenguin20 (talk) 17:20, 29 August 2013 (UTC)

Mig-23 shootdown?
While the photo for the March 23, 2014 shootdown does show a Mig-23, it is not an Mig-23 that is shown as going down. It is a Su-27.Panzertank (talk) 15:42, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

Rename to "Syrian Arab Air Force"
The full title in Arabic is Includes the phrase 'Al-Arabiyya', so I think it would be appropriate to rename this article to also show consistency with other Syrian military articles such as the Syrian Arab Army.

Solntsa90 (talk) 18:50, 6 July 2014 (UTC)


 * Not sure if you noticed, but the page Syrian Arab Army is a redirect to Syrian Army. Please do not move such a large and important page without at least having a discussion first. I have reverted your move. Benboy00 (talk) 19:11, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

All credible sources use the acronym SAAF and "Syrian Arab Air Force" to refer to the official designation of the Syrian aviation forces. If 'Syrian Arab Army' redirects to 'Syrian Army' then that is incorrect and must be changed as well. Solntsa90 (talk) 19:45, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Equipment levels and number of aircraft
Numbers are now considerably lower than in World Air Forces 2013, published by Flight Global; World Air Foces 2014 lists:

Combat aircraft MiG-21: 54 MiG-23: 95 MiG-25: 2 MiG-29: 20 Su-22: 45 Su-24: 19 Combat helicopters: Ka-28: 2 Mi-2: 13 Mi-8/17: 52 Mi-14: 12 Mi-25: 28 SA342: 62 Training aircraft/helicopters L-39: 66 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Be1981 (talk • contribs) 19:05, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

MIG 31
Reportedly Russia has given Syria 6 MIG 31 http://www.janes.com/article/53660/syria-reportedly-receives-mig-31-interceptors-from-russia 5.68.181.203 (talk) 00:42, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

YES))) + 6 into freedom195.218.182.6 (talk) 11:57, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

" Do the math "
That's certainly not sounding very " encyclopedish " — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.40.10.122 (talk) 15:09, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Syrian Air Force
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Syrian Air Force's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "World Air Forces 2017": From Myanmar Air Force:  From Pakistan Air Force:  From Belarusian Air Force:  From Royal Norwegian Air Force:  From Aero L-29 Delfín:  From Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan:  From Serbian Air Force and Air Defence:  From Czech Air Force: </li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 19:54, 10 August 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Orphaned references in Syrian Air Force
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Syrian Air Force's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "World Air Forces 2019":<ul> <li>From Brazilian Air Force: </li> <li>From Honduran Air Force: </li> <li>From Hellenic Air Force: </li> <li>From Royal Netherlands Air Force: </li> <li>From Pakistan Air Force: </li> <li>From Serbian Air Force and Air Defence: </li> <li>From Libyan Air Force: </li> <li>From Egyptian Air Force: </li> <li>From Israeli Air Force: </li> <li>From Vietnam People's Air Force: </li> <li>From Royal Australian Air Force: </li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 11:35, 16 August 2019 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Syrian Air Force
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Syrian Air Force's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "World Air Forces 2020":<ul> <li>From Qatar Air Force: </li> <li>From Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces: </li> <li>From Pakistan Air Force: </li> <li>From Portuguese Air Force: </li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 10:31, 21 January 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 22:24, 29 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Syrian Mig-17.jpg

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 11:07, 31 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Syrian Mig-17.jpg

Cooper (2018) refs
@Martimix, you recently added some shortened footnotes to Cooper (2018), but there are two such sources in the article so it's producing a harv/sfn multiple-target error. I've added disambiguation suffixes to the sources here – could you change the harvnb templates so that each of them points to the correct source? You do that by adding a or b after the year in the template as appropriate. I would do it myself, but I don't have access to the sources in Google books to check which is the correct one. Many thanks, Wham2001 (talk) 09:12, 10 May 2024 (UTC)