Tunisia’s air force has about 155 military aircraft, according to Global Firepower’s 2026 estimate: 10 fighters, 28 trainers, 12 fixed-wing transports, four special-mission aircraft and 101 helicopters. Its only fighter is the US-built F-5E/F Tiger II, delivered from 1984, and no replacement order has been reported. Helicopters make up two-thirds of the fleet, including 24 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scouts and a dozen Bell 412EPX on order since June 2025. The Tunisian Air Force also flies five Turkish ANKA-S drones, which are not counted in these aircraft totals.
Quick answer
Total military aircraft: about 155 (Global Firepower 2026, estimate; fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, drones not among the types GFP lists). Fighter jets: about 10-13 F-5E/F (16 delivered 1984-1989). Armed jet trainers: 6-9 Aero L-59T. Helicopters: about 101, including 24 OH-58D armed scouts and Black Hawks (9 UH-60M listed by Scramble; SIPRI records 12 delivered). Drones: 5 TAI ANKA-S delivered 2021-2023. On order: 12 Bell 412EPX (June 2025).
Data verified on 7 November 2026. Delivery data from SIPRI (to end-2025), manufacturer and specialist reporting; totals are estimates, not official Tunisian figures.
How many fighter jets does Tunisia have?
About ten, all Northrop F-5E/F Tiger IIs. SIPRI records 12 F-5s (including four two-seat F-5Fs) ordered from the United States in 1982 in a deal worth $200 million and delivered in 1984-1985, plus four second-hand F-5Es delivered in 1989. Global Firepower’s 2026 count is 10 fighters, while open references compiled by migflug.com list ten F-5Es and three F-5Fs. We give the current figure as roughly 10-13 because no official count is published.
Tunisia also has a light jet strike capability in the Aero L-59T Super Albatros. Twelve were delivered from the Czech Republic in 1995-1997 under a $70 million package, according to SIPRI; between six and nine are reported in service. The L-59Ts patrolled the Libyan border in 2011 and flew strike missions over the Chaambi mountains in 2014, according to open-source accounts. A planned purchase of AT-6 light attack aircraft has not been reported as an order.
Tunisian Air Force aircraft inventory
| Platform | Variant | Quantity | Status | Source / period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northrop F-5 Tiger II | F-5E, F-5F | 16 delivered; about 10-13 in service | In service | SIPRI (1984-1989); GFP 2026 |
| Aero L-59 Super Albatros | L-59T | 12 delivered; 6-9 reported | In service (armed trainer) | SIPRI (1995-1997) |
| Beechcraft T-6 Texan II | T-6C | 8 | All delivered by August 2023 | defenceWeb, Aug 2023; SIPRI |
| Lockheed Martin C-130J | C-130J-30 | 2 | In service (delivered 2013-2014) | SIPRI |
| Lockheed C-130B/E/H | C-130B/E second-hand from the US; C-130H | 4 C-130H ordered 2020; 3 delivered by end-2025 | Arriving; a further aircraft reported in January 2026 | SIPRI; specialist reporting |
| Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX | ISR configuration | 4 | Delivered 2024 ($54 million deal) | SIPRI |
| Maule MX-7 / Let L-410 | MX-7; L-410UVP-220G | 12 (2016) / 3 (1994) | Delivered; current status not published | SIPRI |
| Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior | OH-58D | 24 delivered 2016-2017 | In service (armed scout) | SIPRI; Scramble via defenceWeb |
| Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk | UH-60M; S-70 (variant not specified by SIPRI) | 12 delivered per SIPRI (8 UH-60M in 2017-2018, about 4 S-70 in 2019-2020); 9 UH-60M listed by Scramble | Listed | SIPRI; Scramble via defenceWeb, June 2025 |
| Bell 205 / AB205 / UH-1 family | AB205, Bell 205 | 23 listed (18 AB205, 5 Bell 205) | Listed (ageing) | Scramble via defenceWeb, June 2025 |
| Bell 412EPX | Subaru Bell 412EPX | 12 ordered | On order (Paris Air Show, June 2025) | defenceWeb; Breaking Defense |
| Gazelle / AS350 / AB412 | SA341, SA342; AS350B; AB412 | 10 + 14 / 6 / 6 | Listed | Scramble via defenceWeb, June 2025 |
| TAI ANKA (UAV) | ANKA-S (unarmed configuration per SIPRI) | 5 delivered | Delivered 2021-2023 | TAI via Overt Defense, June 2023; SIPRI |
| Schiebel Camcopter (UAV) | S-100 | About 2 | Delivered 2018 | SIPRI |
Helicopter quantities from the June 2025 defenceWeb report draw on the Scramble database and are an open-source estimate. SIPRI figures are deliveries, not active aircraft. Drones are listed separately and are not part of the 155-aircraft total.
Helicopters: the largest part of the fleet
Tunisia’s air force is built around helicopters for border security and counter-insurgency. The largest batch of recent years was 24 second-hand OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scouts, supplied as US aid in 2016-2017; SIPRI classes them as combat helicopters, but Global Firepower counts no attack helicopters, so the type is best described as armed reconnaissance. SIPRI records eight UH-60M Black Hawks delivered in 2017-2018 and about four more S-70 Black Hawks, variant not specified, in 2019-2020; the Scramble database lists nine, a gap public sources do not explain.
In June 2025, at the Paris Air Show, the Tunisian Air Force ordered 12 Subaru Bell 412EPX helicopters, which Breaking Defense described as the first North African deal for the type. defenceWeb reported that the order would add to a Tunisian fleet of 39 Bell aircraft; no price was announced, Breaking Defense reported. See our overview of military helicopters in African armed forces for regional context.
Turkish ANKA drones
Tunisia is one of Turkish Aerospace’s African drone customers. SIPRI records a 2020 deal worth about $80 million for five ANKA drones, including three ground control stations, delivered in 2021-2023 in an unarmed ANKA-S configuration. TAI confirmed in 2023 that all five had been delivered, Overt Defense reported. Our guide to African ANKA and AKSUNGUR operators compares Tunisia with Algeria and Chad.
How Tunisia compares in North Africa
Tunisia’s fighter force is small by North African standards. Global Firepower’s 2026 estimates credit Egypt with 242 fighters, Algeria with 111, Morocco with 84 and Libya with 10, against Tunisia’s 10. Its recent acquisitions recorded by SIPRI have instead been US-supplied surveillance aircraft, trainers and helicopters. Tunisia’s reliance on foreign military aid is examined in our analysis of Tunisia’s defence aid dependence.
Frequently asked questions
What fighter jets does Tunisia have?
Only the F-5E/F Tiger II, bought from the United States in the 1980s. About ten to thirteen are listed.
Does Tunisia have attack helicopters?
It has no dedicated gunship, but operates 24 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scout helicopters delivered in 2016-2017.
Does Tunisia have drones?
Yes. Five Turkish ANKA-S drones were delivered between 2021 and 2023, and SIPRI also records Austrian Camcopter S-100s.
Is Tunisia buying new aircraft?
Its main pending order is 12 Bell 412EPX helicopters, signed in June 2025. No new fighter order has been reported.
Related reading
- Which African countries operate ANKA and AKSUNGUR?
- Tunisia’s defence aid dependence
- Algerian Air Force aircraft
- C-130 Hercules in Africa
- Strongest air forces in Africa
Sources
- SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, trade register for Tunisia, 1960-2025 (data published March 2026; accessed November 2026).
- Global Firepower, Tunisia military strength 2026 (accessed November 2026).
- defenceWeb, “Tunisia orders a dozen Bell 412EPX helicopters”, June 2025.
- Breaking Defense, “Tunisian air force inks first North African deal to procure dozen Bell 412 helicopters”, June 2025.
- defenceWeb, “Final Tunisian T-6C trainers delivered”, August 2023.
- Overt Defense, “The Tunisian Air Force receives 2 additional ANKA UAVs from TAI”, 7 June 2023.
- migflug.com, “Tunisian Air Force” compilation (accessed November 2026).
Last updated: 7 November 2026.