Burkina Faso This small air force operated six Warriors these Warriors were sold from the
Philippines via
Belgium in 1986, and were complemented by other four new Warriors coming directly from Italy,
Libya Libya was a major customer of the SIAI Marchetti SF.260 with an order of 240 SF.260WLs. The first 60 aircraft were manufactured in Italy, while the others were delivered as
knock-down kits, and assembled in a new plant in
Sebha, under the supervision of Italian technicians.
Gaddafi finally succeeded in installing a generally pro-Libyan government in
N'Djamena in 1979 (the
Transitional Government of National Unity or GUNT). However, the new Chadian
defence minister,
Hissène Habré, was fiercely anti-Libyan, and immediately started distancing himself from the rest of the government. This culminated in Habré's forces taking N'Djamena on 1 April 1980. Pro-Libyan factions fled to Libya, where they were reorganized and re-armed. These forces came back to Chad in October of the same year, together with the
Islamic Legion. Once again, SF.260s were involved in heavy airstrikes on
Faya-Largeau, together with Mi-25 helicopters,
Mirage 5s and
Tupolev Tu-22s. The quasi-continuous bombardment, which lasted for almost a week, had a big impact on the morale of the defenders. Hence, the pro-Libyan
GUNT forces easily took control of Faya-Largeau in early November 1980. After continuing the advance towards the south, by late November, pro-Libyan units had reached Dougia, only 60 kilometres north of N'Djamena. Libyan SF.260s were forward-deployed there, together with Mi-25s. On 8 December, these aircraft, joined on 12 December by Tu-22 bombers,
D-30 howitzers, and
M-46 field guns, started attacking N'Djamena. The week-long bombing caused a huge amount of destruction in the Chadian capital, and a number of civilian casualties that remains unknown today. After Habré fled to
Cameroon, resistance collapsed and his surviving fighters escaped to
Sudan. On 16 September, a SF.260 was shot down by ground fire near Junaina in the
Darfur region of Sudan; both crew members were killed. In May 1982, Habré's forces came back to Chad from their Sudanese bases, and in June 1982 they expelled the GUNT from the capital
N'Djamena. Once again, its chief
Goukouni Oueddei had to flee to Libya with his remaining forces. After another Libyan/GUNT offensive in 1983, France launched
Operation Manta, resulting in a general stalemate that lasted until 1986; pro-Libyan GUNT forces retained control of the northern parts of the country. In February of that year, a new attack was launched towards the south, supported by SF.260s and helicopters. However, this offensive collapsed after only four days. Libyan SF.260s were used in the last phase of the conflict in Chad, the
Toyota War, which started in December 1986. In February 1987, SF.260s were involved in attacks against
FANT columns active in the area north of
Faya-Largeau, using unguided rockets. Chadian
MANPADS teams armed with
FIM-43 Redeyes and
9K32 Strela-2s claimed to have shot down one LAAF SF.260 on 14 March near
Fada. Five days later, when Chadian forces ambushed a Libyan armoured column, another SF.260 was shot down, either by Chadian-operated Redeyes or by
FIM-92 Stingers operated by a French special forces team from the
11e régiment parachutiste de choc. Moreover, twelve SF.260s were lost when Chadian forces overran the airfield at Ouadi Doum on 21 March, including five captured intact. In an attempt to destroy as much of the captured equipment as possible, the Libyans heavily bombed the airfield from the air until late April. SF.260s were involved in these attacks. On 29 March, an SF.260 was claimed shot down by Chadian MANPADS north of
Zouar. Lastly, in 1988, as Chad and Libya were negotiating a settlement for the conflict, pro-Libyan insurgents were infiltrated into Sudan, from where they started attacking garrisons inside Chad. They were often supported by SF.260s, and one of these was shot down on 28 November, and its crew captured. The Libyan government supported friendly countries with arms, and several SF.260Ws were handed over to air forces such as those of Burkina Faso, Burundi, Nicaragua, Uganda and possibly others. In 1987 Chad reported to the United Nations the destruction of eight SF.260s and the capture of nine others during its border war with Libya; some of these secondhand Libyan aircraft may even have found their way onto the US market. Alenia Aermacchi refurbished twelve SF.260 primary trainers for the Libyan Air Force; the work was performed jointly by Alenia Aermacchi and Tripoli-based Libyan-Italian Advanced Technology. The work included overhaul of the airframes and systems, including propellers and engines. Work began in late 2007 and ran through 2008. During the
civil war, on May 7, 2011, this aircraft (along with a formation of pro-Gaddafi planes) was probably involved in a successful air raid over the rebel-held fuel depots at
Misrata, setting them on fire.
NATO failed to intercept the flight, despite the introduction of a no-fly zone over Libya in March. At the beginning of the uprising, one aircraft was crushed under a tank during a rebel attack on Misrata air base. As of 2013, at least six airframes are still in service with the
new Libyan Air Force and are involved in patrols and possibly airstrikes against smugglers in the porous and remote borders.
Nicaragua At least seven SF.260WLs were received by the Fuerza Aérea Sandinista as support from Libya in 1984–1985. They may have been used in the
COIN role against the
Contras and in the pilot training role. No further details are known. Three SF.260s surfaced in the USA on the secondhand market, a fourth is slowly being rebuilt in Guatemala. No longer in service.
Philippines In the early 1970s, an order was placed for 48 SF.260s (32 SF.260M; 16 SF.260W). The first six were delivered in May 1973, replacing the Beech T-34A Mentor with 100th Training Wing at Fernando Air Base. Under "Project Layang", the Philippines Air Force plans to upgrade 18 SF.260M/W aircraft to the SF.260TP standard, by replacing the Lycoming piston engine with the Allison 250-B17D turboprop engine and newer avionics. The first upgraded SF.260 was delivered in 1996, no further details are available. The Philippines has finalized a deal with Alenia Aermacchi for 18 new-build SF.260F primary/basic trainers. All 18 were delivered by Aermacchi Italy which was locally assembled by Aerotech Industries Philippines by April 2011. Six Warriors were sold to Burkina Faso via Belgium in 1986.
Rhodesia Despite an arms embargo, two batches of SF.260 aircraft were delivered in 1977. Because of the embargo, several buying teams travelled the world looking for suitable equipment. Through various routes, 17 SF.260C and 14 SF.260W aircraft arrived, the former to be used in the training role, while the warriors were being used for light attack duties and escort of convoys. In 1984–85, reportedly eight SF.260Ws were converted to SF.260TP standard by replacing the piston engine with a turboprop engine.
Sri Lanka Six SF.260TPs were delivered to the
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) in 1985, to be used in the pilot training role, although they were later brought into the government's effort to subdue the
Tamil Tigers. Two former factory demonstration aircraft were delivered in 1986 to replace lost aircraft, added by three new built aircraft in 1988. All SF.260 aircraft are based with
No. 1 Flying Training Wing on the airbase
SLAF Anuradhapura. The SF.260TP fleet was expanded in 1990–91 with the delivery of twelve former Myanmar SF.260Ws. The SF.260W fleet was withdrawn from use in 2001, being replaced by Chinese
Nanchang PT-6 aircraft. The SF.260TP fleet was also retired a few years later.
Turkey In 1990, the
Turkish Air Force placed an order for 40 planes. The first six were produced in Italy and the remaining 34 were produced by
Turkish Aerospace Industries in Turkey, under licence. All of the planes are used in training and are deployed at the 123rd Basic Training Squadron stationed at
İzmir.
Zimbabwe It was announced at the 1997 Paris Salon that the Air Force of Zimbabwe had ordered six F.260F aircraft, thus becoming the first operator of this new model. All six should have been delivered in 1998. ==Variants==