The first aircraft arrived in January 1957 and by the end of the year, two MiG-17 squadrons were defending the capital from their base at Damasucus' Mezzeh Military Airport.
Pirmasis lėktuvas atvyko 1957 m. sausį, o metų pabaigoje Sirijos sostinę jau gynė dvi „MiG-17“ eskadrilės, kurios bazavosi Damasko Mezzeh aerodrome.