On paper Libya is a formidable military power. Unfortunately after you buy it, you have to maintain military hardware, and Libya is not known for doing that. As a result you end up with a shorter list of equipment that is actually in use.

The Aero L-39 Albatros and SOKO G-2 Galeb are generally listed as trainers, which they definitely are, but the Libyan versions have ground attack capabilities. Reports indicate that both types are being used in that role, and Libya has a lot of them.

The Mil-24 Hind has decades of use as an attack helicopter in wars large and small all over the world. It is almost as ubiquitous as the AK-47. They are armored as well as armed, so the opposition needs missiles or a well-aimed RPG to take one out.

They are still getting MiG-21 Fishbeds into the air and using then. Most blacksmiths can repair Fishbeds and even the Libyan Air Force can maintain them. They don’t have a lot of Fishbeds, and that is a good thing.

They do have a lot of the swing-wing MiG-23 Floggers, and that seems to be the most common aircraft in Libyan livery in the skies. With Libyan pilots they aren’t going to win too many dogfights, but they can slow down with extended wings and cause havoc on the ground.

They have two competent ground attack aircraft types from Sukhoi: the Su-22 Fitter and Su-24 Fencer. They too are swing-wing aircraft. They will be mauled by anything NATO sends against them, but they will absorb a lot of punishment from the lightly armed rebel forces.

Libya had MiG-25 Foxbats, but they have been retired by a lack of maintenance. They were in the process of getting their Mirage F1s rehabilitated, but they aren’t available, as most of the working F1s [two] are in Malta with their pilots who defected.

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