Yemeni Air Force The Yemeni Air Force ( ; transliterated : " al - Quwwat al - Jawwiya al - Yamaniya " ) is the air operations branch of the Yemeni Armed Forces . It is equipped with both eastern and western types of aircraft . Numbers of aircraft can not be confirmed but servicibility of these aircraft is low . Aircraft have been acquired by donations from other countries or either supporting both the Soviet Union or the USA during the cold war . North and South Yemen . The Yemen Air Force , known as al - Quwwat al - Jawwiya al - Yamaniya , was established in 1926 . During the mid - 1950s , the Imam of Yemen established a private fleet that was run by the military . Later , the Soviets delivered MiG - 15 and MiG - 17 fighters , followed by MiG - 21 s to the South Yemen Air Force . The northern Yemen Arab Republic ( YAR ) had ties with Western - oriented countries , and they supported a new air force . In the 1970s , Saudi Arabia donated F - 5E and F - 5B fighters , and two C - 130H Hercules Transport aircraft . The Yemen Arab Republic Air Force ( YARAF ) aircraft markings are the basis of the current roundel and flag , which come from the North Yemen ' s support of the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1961 . The South Arabian Air Force ( as an air corps of the Federation of South Arabia under British protection ) was supported by the British and received BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk81 s , DHC - 2 Beavers , Jet Provost Mk52As and Bell 47G helicopters . The PRSY / PDRY AF ( as an air corps of the independent Southern Yemen after Nov . 1967 ) aircraft markings were a light blue triangle with a dark outer part and a red star in the center while the fin - flash consisted of a flag in the national tricolour with a blue triangle bearing a red star . This was used as the fin - flash until the unification of Yemen in 1990 . Unified Air Force . Yemen ' s air force was created in 1990 when the south and north unified in 1990 . Yemen is planning to buy more MiG - 29s . Yemen ' s new MiG - 29s were modified by Yemen to also attack air and land units . They have been proven effective and have powerful payloads . The new MiGs have been used against terrorists and has also proven to be effective in the Sah ' da conflict . Many of the aircraft used by Yemen are from South Yemen and only a small percentage from North Yemen due to the fact South Yemen was allies with the Soviets in the Cold War . After the fall of the Soviet Union , South Yemen stopped receiving Soviet made fighters . Yemen has used fighters and bombers , mainly in the 1994 civil war to bomb the city of Aden . There were also reports of EEG ( English Electric Lightning ) fighters in the North Yemen civil war . They were used by Saudi Arabia since Yemen never owned EEG fighters . The first MiG - 29SMT was delivered in October 2004 . Two MiG - 29UBs are possibly also modified to SMT - standard as MiG - 29UBT . A second batch of 6 MiG - 29SMTs and 2 MiG - 29UBTs was ordered in 2003 and delivered in 2004 - 05 . The MiG - 29s are armed with R - 27 ( AA - 10 Alamo ) , R - 73 ( AA - 11 Archer ) and R - 77 ( AA - 12 Adder ) air - to - air missiles , as well as Kh - 29 ( AS - 14 Kedge ) air - to - surface missiles . In the first quarter of 2007 another 34 MiG - 29SMTs were ordered from Russia . They are defending the Yemeni skies alongside the Northrop F - 5B / F and the aging MiG - 21 Fishbed and Sukhoi Su - 20 / - 22 Fitters . Ukraine delivered 21 second - hand MiG - 21bis Fishbed - Ns and 12 Su - 22 Fitters in the period 2005 - 07 . Yemen plans to buy more MiG - 29s from Russia . War in Sadah . Yemeni Air Force has been used extensively in the Sadah War . The Yemeni Air Force has been proven effective destroying enemy positions and buildings . Most enemy casualties were attributed to air raids . A number of accidents have occurred , including one in which a fighter plane accidentally fired a missile and killed more than 80 civilians . During Operation Scorched Earth on 2 and 5 October and on 8 November 2009 , three fighter jets reported as a MiG - 21 , a Su - 22 and a Sukhoi respectively crashed during military missions . The government claimed the crashes were due to technical problems malfunctions , while the rebels claimed they shot them down with MANPADS . War on terror . As part of the Yemeni al - Qaeda crackdown , the Yemeni Air Force have launched air raids on terrorist bases throughout Yemen to kill important terrorist leaders . The raids were confronted with antiaircraft fire . 2011 Yemeni uprising . The Yemeni Air Force performed air strikes against opposition forces to the Saleh government during the 2011 Yemeni uprising . On 28 September 2011 , a Su - 22 was shot down during a bombing mission north of Sanaa by rebel soldiers using so called " advanced air defenses " , possibly a MANPADS . The pilot ejected and was captured . On 30 October , the al - Daylami air base near Sanaa was attacked by uprising forces . Different official sources reported two or three fighter jets destroyed on the ground either by mortar shells or with planted explosive charges . The aircraft were loaded with ammunition and combat ready for strikes on the next day . Among the destroyed aircraft it was reported at least one MiG - 29 . Air Defence . Up to more than six hundred SAM vehicles in service . 12 Tor missile system s were ordered and tested in 2007 .