Syria graduates first cadets for new air force

Syrian air force personnel march during a graduation ceremony held at what is now Khalid bin al-Walid Air Base. (Syrian Ministry of Defence)

Syria held a graduation ceremony for air force cadets on 24 July, the first since the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024.

The Syrian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that more than 1,000 cadets had graduated at the Air Force College in a ceremony attended by air force commander Brigadier General Asim Hawari.

It released photographs and a video showing the event took place at the airbase at Kuweires, 40 km east of Aleppo. The hangars have been repaired and a sign on the seating area showed the facility has been renamed Khalid bin al-Walid Air Base after a famous Islamic military leader.

Two L-39 jet trainers/light attack aircraft and two Mi-24 assault helicopters performed a flyby for the ceremony. This appears to be the first time the new Syrian military has shown jets being flown.

The parade held in Damascus in December 2025 to mark the first anniversary of regime change involved a Mi-8/17 and two Gazelle helicopters. The attrition the Syrian Arab Air Force suffered during the civil war was compounded by the airstrikes that Israel carried out to prevent the rebels taking control of military assets as the Assad regime collapsed.

The MoD announced in November 2025 that the first new batch of cadet's had begun training and identified the head of the Air College as Brigadier General Ammar al-Nimr, who gave a speech during the graduation event eight months later.

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