Satellite imagery of Misrata and Mitiga airbase confirm that Libya Dawn has recently gotten at least one MiG-25 operational, or is in the progress of making it operational. Although it is still unknown if the example is of the interceptor variant or reconnaissance-bomber variant, it confirms the longstanding rumour that Libya Dawn was indeed working on restoring one of Libya's mighty Foxbats.This news comes just as it has been confirmed that the Libyan Air Force is now working on making at least one Mirage F.1AD fighter-bomber operational.
Libya Dawn, fighting for Libya's unrecognised parliament currently residing in the capital of Tripoli, is in terms of personnel and equipment the second-strongest force currently fighting in Libya. The most powerful force remains the Libyan National Army (LNA), fighting for Libya's internationally recognsed government residing in Tobruk. A strange situation inherited from what was originally a political problem. But with no political or military solution in sight, this situation will likely continue for quite some time to come.
Libya Dawn is in control of a vast amount of land in Libya, including Libya's capital Tripoli and large cities like Misrata and parts of Benghazi. It also controls Tripoli International Airport and strategically important airbases such as Mitiga, Misrata and al-Jufra, the last of these housing a large part of Libya's now decommissioned MiG-25 fleet and all of Libya's decommissioned Tu-22 bombers. Thanks to the aircraft and equipment found on these airbases, Libya Dawn succeeded in establishing their very own air force consisting of at least two Soko G-2 Galebs, one J-21 Jastreb, a couple of L-39s and two MiG-23MLDs in addition to several Il-76s, SF-260s and a small number of helicopters. Libya Dawn is currently also working on bringing one MiG-23UB and two Soko G-2 Galebs operational at Mitiga, with more airframes likely to follow.
One of the MiG-23MLDs operating out of Misrata was shot down by an Igla-S fired from a Strelets launcher while bombing the airstrip of al-Zintan on the 23th of March 2015, with its pilot KIA. This was the first loss for Libya Dawn's air force,but obviously had a large impact considering the small size of the fleet they'd gotten operational. Surprisingly, it now turns out this fleet also includes at least one MiG-25 that has only recently been restored. Libya Dawn already claimed to have been working on a MiG-25 at Misrata several months ago, but it is only now that the aircraft appeared on satellite imagery.[1] It first makes an appearance on the 31th of January 2015 at Misrata, and it was seen for a second time on the 24th of February at Mitiga. It is likely that this is actually the same aircraft that's simply switched bases, which is also common practice with Libya Dawn's MiG-23s.
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Although Mitiga once housed active MiG-25s, all squadrons flying the type ceased operations around 2003, when the large stock of spare parts for the type had run out. Mitiga's resident 1035 Squadron was one of the last to continue flying the type, and only ceased operations in 2004. Its aircraft remain stored on the Southern part of the airbase.
The largest amount of MiG-25s was located at Al-Jufra, with 1005 Squadron and 1025 Squadron being stationed here. As al-Jufra is located in the dry desert, the aircraft stationed here are generally in a much better condition than those found in Mitiga, which are fully exposed to the salty air of the Mediterranean sea just two kilometers away.
Although none of the MiG-25s were destined to ever return to Libya's skies and as a result were not serviced anymore, most of the airframes stored at al-Jufra were left in their Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS), and were thus pretty well protected against the elements. The eleven aircraft that can be found outside are in the worst condition,and their green Jamahiriya roundel and flag, anti-glare panel and serial number are now slowly fading away under the relentless sun.
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Recent imagery of al-Jufra showed that four MiG-25s had been towed out of their shelters at the Southern part of the airbase, indicating that the airframes were being examined to see if they could be overhauled. Unfortunately, no new imagery of the Northern part of the airbase was released, and thus it remains unknown if the same happened here.
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The MiG-25 in the best condition was subsequently picked out and either overhauled at al-Jufra or more likely, flown to Misrata onboard an Il-76 to be overhauled there. The overhaul was conducted by a team of foreign experts and local mechanics, which allowed the aircraft to fly its first sortie on the 11th of February 2015, likely piloted by a former Libyan MiG-25 pilot. Although the nationality of the foreign experts cannot be confirmed independently, the sudden presence of a number of Ukrainians at Mitiga and Misrata leaves little doubt on the matter. The presence of Sudanese mechanics at Misrata was also reported, but this might have been related to the overhaul of other airframes instead.
Although it remains unknown if the MiG-25 is of the interceptor variant or the reconnaissance-bomber variant, one would expect Libya Dawn has chosen for the latter. When equipped with multiple ejector racks (MERs), the reconnaissance configured MiG-25RB(T) can be turned into a bomber armed with up to eight FAB-500Ts, albeit suffering from extremely bad accuracy. Although there is no evidence that Libya ever received MERs, these racks could easily have been acquired from the Ukraine.
As al-Jufra was home to all of Libya's Tu-22s, flown by 1022 Squadron, Libya Dawn can count on a large stock of bombs originally destined for use by the Tu-22s. This large stockpile is littered around the airbase seemingly at random, and considering the current status of Libya it seems unlikely they will be properly disposed of any time soon.
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The MiG-25PD(S) interceptor would make use of R-40 and R-60 air-to-air missiles, which were acquired by Libya in the late seventies and early eighties and ran out of shelf life decades ago. Although this doesn't mean all of the missiles are completely unusable, it could seriously hamper their performance.
The NATO-led coalition was apparently afraid that some of al-Jufra based MiG-25s were in a good enough condition to return to the sky in 2011, and several munition depots housing the MiG-25's air-to-air missiles were destroyed in preemptive strikes. This was easier than targeting all the Hardened Aircraft Shelters housing the MiG-25s, which would have been an expensive endeavour. As a result of the violent explosions, R-40 missiles were scattered across the base, leaving a minefield of unexploded ordnance in their wake.
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So if the now active MiG-25 would be of the interceptor variant, it would have to draw its missiles from the stocks formerly used by 1035 Squadron based at Mitiga, which faces the same shelf life problem as the missiles seen elsewhere in Libya.
It is thus far more likely that the aircaft in question is an MiG-25RB(T), which can be used for reconnaissance and bombing sorties. Although the accuracy leaves much to desire, it will enable Libya Dawn to strike large targets like oilfields and airports while high above the range of MANPADS. With a large pool of airframes available at al-Jufra and Mitiga and the involvement of foreign experts, the MiG-25's career in Libya might be far from over. Depending on the condition of the airframes and Libya Dawn's ability to find enough technical personnel and pilots to operate MiG-25s, more Foxbats might let out their mighty roar above Libya's skies once again.
Libya Dawn, fighting for Libya's unrecognised parliament currently residing in the capital of Tripoli, is in terms of personnel and equipment the second-strongest force currently fighting in Libya. The most powerful force remains the Libyan National Army (LNA), fighting for Libya's internationally recognsed government residing in Tobruk. A strange situation inherited from what was originally a political problem. But with no political or military solution in sight, this situation will likely continue for quite some time to come.
Libya Dawn is in control of a vast amount of land in Libya, including Libya's capital Tripoli and large cities like Misrata and parts of Benghazi. It also controls Tripoli International Airport and strategically important airbases such as Mitiga, Misrata and al-Jufra, the last of these housing a large part of Libya's now decommissioned MiG-25 fleet and all of Libya's decommissioned Tu-22 bombers. Thanks to the aircraft and equipment found on these airbases, Libya Dawn succeeded in establishing their very own air force consisting of at least two Soko G-2 Galebs, one J-21 Jastreb, a couple of L-39s and two MiG-23MLDs in addition to several Il-76s, SF-260s and a small number of helicopters. Libya Dawn is currently also working on bringing one MiG-23UB and two Soko G-2 Galebs operational at Mitiga, with more airframes likely to follow.
One of the MiG-23MLDs operating out of Misrata was shot down by an Igla-S fired from a Strelets launcher while bombing the airstrip of al-Zintan on the 23th of March 2015, with its pilot KIA. This was the first loss for Libya Dawn's air force,but obviously had a large impact considering the small size of the fleet they'd gotten operational. Surprisingly, it now turns out this fleet also includes at least one MiG-25 that has only recently been restored. Libya Dawn already claimed to have been working on a MiG-25 at Misrata several months ago, but it is only now that the aircraft appeared on satellite imagery.[1] It first makes an appearance on the 31th of January 2015 at Misrata, and it was seen for a second time on the 24th of February at Mitiga. It is likely that this is actually the same aircraft that's simply switched bases, which is also common practice with Libya Dawn's MiG-23s.
Although Mitiga once housed active MiG-25s, all squadrons flying the type ceased operations around 2003, when the large stock of spare parts for the type had run out. Mitiga's resident 1035 Squadron was one of the last to continue flying the type, and only ceased operations in 2004. Its aircraft remain stored on the Southern part of the airbase.
The largest amount of MiG-25s was located at Al-Jufra, with 1005 Squadron and 1025 Squadron being stationed here. As al-Jufra is located in the dry desert, the aircraft stationed here are generally in a much better condition than those found in Mitiga, which are fully exposed to the salty air of the Mediterranean sea just two kilometers away.
Although none of the MiG-25s were destined to ever return to Libya's skies and as a result were not serviced anymore, most of the airframes stored at al-Jufra were left in their Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS), and were thus pretty well protected against the elements. The eleven aircraft that can be found outside are in the worst condition,and their green Jamahiriya roundel and flag, anti-glare panel and serial number are now slowly fading away under the relentless sun.
Recent imagery of al-Jufra showed that four MiG-25s had been towed out of their shelters at the Southern part of the airbase, indicating that the airframes were being examined to see if they could be overhauled. Unfortunately, no new imagery of the Northern part of the airbase was released, and thus it remains unknown if the same happened here.
The MiG-25 in the best condition was subsequently picked out and either overhauled at al-Jufra or more likely, flown to Misrata onboard an Il-76 to be overhauled there. The overhaul was conducted by a team of foreign experts and local mechanics, which allowed the aircraft to fly its first sortie on the 11th of February 2015, likely piloted by a former Libyan MiG-25 pilot. Although the nationality of the foreign experts cannot be confirmed independently, the sudden presence of a number of Ukrainians at Mitiga and Misrata leaves little doubt on the matter. The presence of Sudanese mechanics at Misrata was also reported, but this might have been related to the overhaul of other airframes instead.
Although it remains unknown if the MiG-25 is of the interceptor variant or the reconnaissance-bomber variant, one would expect Libya Dawn has chosen for the latter. When equipped with multiple ejector racks (MERs), the reconnaissance configured MiG-25RB(T) can be turned into a bomber armed with up to eight FAB-500Ts, albeit suffering from extremely bad accuracy. Although there is no evidence that Libya ever received MERs, these racks could easily have been acquired from the Ukraine.
As al-Jufra was home to all of Libya's Tu-22s, flown by 1022 Squadron, Libya Dawn can count on a large stock of bombs originally destined for use by the Tu-22s. This large stockpile is littered around the airbase seemingly at random, and considering the current status of Libya it seems unlikely they will be properly disposed of any time soon.
The MiG-25PD(S) interceptor would make use of R-40 and R-60 air-to-air missiles, which were acquired by Libya in the late seventies and early eighties and ran out of shelf life decades ago. Although this doesn't mean all of the missiles are completely unusable, it could seriously hamper their performance.
The NATO-led coalition was apparently afraid that some of al-Jufra based MiG-25s were in a good enough condition to return to the sky in 2011, and several munition depots housing the MiG-25's air-to-air missiles were destroyed in preemptive strikes. This was easier than targeting all the Hardened Aircraft Shelters housing the MiG-25s, which would have been an expensive endeavour. As a result of the violent explosions, R-40 missiles were scattered across the base, leaving a minefield of unexploded ordnance in their wake.
So if the now active MiG-25 would be of the interceptor variant, it would have to draw its missiles from the stocks formerly used by 1035 Squadron based at Mitiga, which faces the same shelf life problem as the missiles seen elsewhere in Libya.
It is thus far more likely that the aircaft in question is an MiG-25RB(T), which can be used for reconnaissance and bombing sorties. Although the accuracy leaves much to desire, it will enable Libya Dawn to strike large targets like oilfields and airports while high above the range of MANPADS. With a large pool of airframes available at al-Jufra and Mitiga and the involvement of foreign experts, the MiG-25's career in Libya might be far from over. Depending on the condition of the airframes and Libya Dawn's ability to find enough technical personnel and pilots to operate MiG-25s, more Foxbats might let out their mighty roar above Libya's skies once again.