{"id":116112,"date":"2020-05-30T21:42:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T21:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:50:16","slug":"us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/","title":{"rendered":"US Africa Command: Russian jets in Libya present broader worries for region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Africa Command flatly rejected Russian claims that Moscow did not deploy fighter jets to Libya, saying Friday that the 14 aircraft flown in reflect Russia\u2019s longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brig. Gen. Gregory Hadfield, deputy director for intelligence, said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/26\/russian-aircraft-deploy-to-libya-to-back-private-military-contractors-africom-says\/\" target=_blank>U.S. tracked the MiG-29 fighter jets and SU-24 fighter bombers <\/a>that were flown in by Russian military, passing through Iran and Syria before landing at Libya\u2019s al-Jufra air base. The base is the main forward airfield for Khalifa Hifter and his self-styled Libyan National Army, that have been waging an offensive to capture Tripoli. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Russia secures a permanent position in Libya and, worse, deploys long range missile systems, it will be a game changer for Europe, NATO and many Western nations,\u201d said Hadfield. Russia\u2019s interference in Libya, he said, give it access to that country\u2019s oil and a \u201cmilitary base strategically positioned in striking distance of Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia has denied links to the aircraft, calling the claim &#8220;stupidity.&#8221; Instead, Viktor Bondarev, the former Russian air force chief who heads the defense committee in the upper house of parliament, said the planes are not Russian, but could be Soviet-era aircraft owned by other African nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/28\/top-russian-lawmaker-denies-that-military-sent-warplanes-to-libya\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6220923.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Top Russian lawmaker denies that military sent warplanes to Libya<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A senior Russian lawmaker on Wednesday strongly rejected the U.S. military&#039;s claim that Russia has deployed fighter jets to Libya to support east-based forces in their offensive on the capital, Tripoli.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hadfield disputed that, saying there were none of those aircraft in that part of Africa. And, he said, \u201cnot only did we watch them fly from Russia by way of Iran and Syria to Libya, we were able to photograph them at multiple points.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country is now split between a government in the east allied with Hifter and one in Tripoli, in the west, supported by the United Nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"In this Jan. 17, 2020, file, photo, Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter joins a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens.\" class=\"wp-image-46566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20147537346995.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Jan. 17, 2020, file, photo, Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter joins a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens. (Thanassis Stavrakis\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hadfield said the fighter aircraft will likely provide close air support and offensive strikes for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/04\/04\/why-this-us-general-says-russian-wagner-mercenaries-in-africa-concern-me-greatly\/\" target=_blank>the Wagner Group<\/a>, a Russia-based state-sponsored company that employs mercenaries to fight alongside the eastern forces of Hifter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hifter\u2019s forces launched an offensive to capture Tripoli last year, clashing with an array of militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported but weak government there. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/12\/06\/russian-mercenaries-backing-militia-commander-trying-to-capture-tripoli-libya-and-us-officials-say\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hifter is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia<\/a>, while the Tripoli-allied militias are aided by Turkey, Qatar and Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with a small group of reporters, Hadfield said the new fighter aircraft have not yet been used. But he said they will have to be flown either by pilots from Russia or contractors employed by Wagner. He said there have been about 2,000 personnel at the base, but more have been flown in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another concern, said Hadfield, is that there also are Russian surface-to-air missiles there. But currently, he said, they are older models, and not state-of-the-art weapons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eastern European nations have been increasingly concerned about Russia\u2019s expanding military involvement and incursions in the region, on NATO\u2019s southern flank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"715\" height=\"445\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6220910.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"In this May 26, 2020, photo, Russian fighter jets were recently deployed to Libya in order to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors operating on the ground there.\" class=\"wp-image-103467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6220910.jpg.jpg 715w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6220910.jpg.jpg?resize=300,187 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this May 26, 2020, photo, from U.S. Africa Command, Russian fighter jets were recently deployed to Libya in order to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors operating on the ground there. (DVIDS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Africa Command flatly rejected Russian claims that Moscow did not deploy fighter jets to Libya, saying Friday that the 14 aircraft flown in reflect Russia\u2019s longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":103455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters","news","flashpoints","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"news"},"5":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters","news","flashpoints","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"news"},"6":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters","news","flashpoints","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"news"},"7":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters","news","flashpoints","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"news"}}},"categories":[10,29,117,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1418],"class_list":["post-116112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZVCFOF7OKBFGHFZN7RWQKU7CW4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US Africa Command: Russian jets in Libya present broader worries for region - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. Africa Command flatly rejected Russian claims that Moscow did not deploy fighter jets to Libya, saying Friday that the 14 aircraft flown in reflect Russia\u2019s longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Africa Command: Russian jets in Libya present broader worries for region\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Africa Command flatly rejected Russian claims that Moscow did not deploy fighter jets to Libya, saying Friday that the 14 aircraft flown in reflect Russia\u2019s longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-30T21:42:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T13:50:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lolita C. 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