Have a look at this interresting page:
http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/english/airforce.shtm

Very interesting link.

I noted on one of the pages on the site that the US government has been giving pontoon sections and M113 APCs to the army there.

I wonder if the Arab media ever reports on this stuff.

Unlikely, until the Syrian occupation of the early 1980s the Lebanon was a Christian country.
They weren't hated as much as the Jews to their south, but they weren't loved either.
They were just lucky they don't sit on top of the highly strategic piece of land that is Israel or they might have met the same faith of constant attack.

Lebanon is neither christian neither muslim, it's both, since a long long time.

Back to the topic ...

Fighter aircraft:

The Lebanese Air Force received 10 Mirage IIIs from France, comprising 9 x III-ELs and 1 x III-BL

They were all stored by 1980 as I remember, and then I think they got sold to Pakistan in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

As I remember, the Hunters outlasted them in service by quite a few years.

He he, I was just going to ask when the Mirages left service...  

In any case, if anyone has ever seen an IDF/AF Mirage in dark camouflage with huge yellow triangles on the wings and fin, those Lebanese Mirages are the motivation behind them.

LY744.

I see.

I was told they where recognition makings, simular to D-Day stripes but never understood the need for them until now.

Quoting FACT (Reply 4): The Lebanese Air Force received 10 Mirage IIIs from France

Hello to all. In fact , the Lebanese Air Force recieved 12 Mirage-3 aircraft from France during 1967-1968. They comprised 10 Mirage-3EL single-seaters , and 2 Mirage-3DL (not BL as commonly believed, although the two versions are virtually the same) 2-seaters. The LAF serialized its Mirages from L-501 to L-512. The 2-seaters were L-511 and L-512.This particular aircraft crashed soon after (sometime in the late 60s or early 70s) while on aroutine training flight and the LAF was left with 11 aircraft , 10 single-seaters and 1 two-seater(L-511). They remained in active operational service during the 70s until the early 80s ,when theh were placed in storage due to the raging civil war in the country at the time. In fact , and contrary to the wide spread belief , the LAF Mirages did actually operate in anger along side the Hunters in the fighting between the Lebanese Army and the PLO which erupted briefly inBeirut in May 1973. It is also widelly believed that the LAF lost another Mirage in an accident . This is thought to have occured sometime in the 1970s, but no details are available other than that it was a single-seater -3EL , but its serial no. is unknown. Eventually ,the LAF was left with a total of 10 Mirages ( 9 -EL and 1 -DL) and all kept in storage .During the 1990s , and after the end of the countrys civil war, the then new Lebanese government exlored various possible plans to reactivate them and put them back in operational service, but none were adopted for mainly economic ,but also political reasons(the Syrians who were at the time occupying the country would not allow it) .Finally, an agreement was reached to sell the aircraft to Pakistan which still operates alarge fleet of Mirage-3E/D/5 aircaft until this day.The Lebanese Mirages were deliverd to Pakistan in the late 1990s.Another interesting point is that in one of the very last available photos of the LAF Mirages , taken probably sometime in the mid 1980s when they were stored at Kolayaat Air Base in North Lebanon, several examples were clearly seen in remarkably good condition and quite surprisingly carrying new serial nos. in L-400 range instead of their usual L-500. Aircaft seen included L-405,L-406,L408,L-410,and the 2-seater L-411.I hope some one might have some more data on this ,or some other photo evidence to verify it .

Quoting LY744 (Reply 5): In any case, if anyone has ever seen an IDF/AF Mirage in dark camouflage with huge yellow triangles on the wings and fin, those Lebanese Mirages are the motivation behind them.

The IDF/AF only met the Lebanese Air Force in aerial combat once, during the 1967 Six-Day War. Libyan Mirages fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War were the motivation for the triangles. The triangles were added during the 1973 war. Ironically, the Egyptians later got Mirages and put similar triangles on theirs.

Quoting Salim (Thread starter): Have a look at this interresting page: http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/english/ai....shtm

I check that page whenever I need to find out something historical related to the Air Force. It's very well written that I don't mind some of the spelling mistakes.

This is the current link:

http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb/English/AirforceMain.asp

This site is in obvious need of some updating.
The Lebanese Air Force has witnessed a no. of very significant developments over the past few months. So please let us have some more info to keep this site up to date!