Few details are available on its formation, but it is reported to have been established by
Viyacheslav Eshba, originally operating several
Yak-52 trainer aircraft armed with machine guns. Its first combat mission was conducted on 27 August 1992, which has come to be celebrated in Abkhazia as "
Aviation Day." The Abkhaz Air Force claims to have made 400 operational flights during the
1992-1993 Abkhaz-Georgian war. In the autumn of 2001, Abkhazia's air force was reported to comprise 250 personnel, 1
Su-25, 2
L-39, 1
Yak-52, and 2
Mi-8. The display of three L-39s at a parade in 2004 suggests a possible recent acquisition. In February 2007, a Russian website reported that Abkhazia has 2
Su-27 fighters, 1
Yak-52, 2
Su-25 attack aircraft, 2
L-39 combat trainers, 1
An-2 light transport, 7
Mi-8 helicopters, and 3
Mi-24 helicopters. However, an undated 2007 Abkhaz source gave the inventory for the Abkhazian Air Force as 16
MiG-21, 46
Su-25, 2
L-39, 1
Yak-52, and 2
Mi-8. In March 2008, a military aviation enthusiast website repeated this inventory but added 9
Mi-24/35 attack helicopters. The World Air Forces 2015 publication (the first World Air Forces publication to list Abkhazian Air Force) listed the Abkhazian Air Force inventory as follows: 1
Mi-17, 2
Mi-35, 5
L-39. By World Air Forces 2016 these had changed to: 1
Mi-8, 2
Mi-24, 5
L-39. In 2021, President
Aslan Bzhania announced intentions to modernize the air force. == Equipment ==