القوات البحرية الليبية

Libyan Navy
	Seal of the Libyan Navy
نشطة	November 1962 – present
البلد	ليبيا
الولاء	Presidential Council
النوع	Navy
الحجم	2,800 personnel
Headquarters	Tripoli
المعدات	pre 2011: 41+ vessels
القادة
Minister of Defense	Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi
Chief of Naval Staff	Hassan Ali Bushnak
الشارات
Flag of the Libyan Navy
Naval Ensign

Libyan Navy is the maritime force of Libya, established in November 1962. It is a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability. The Navy has always been the smallest of Libya's services and has always been dependent on foreign sources for equipment, spare parts, and training.

History

Its first warship was delivered in 1966. These were 2 Ham class minesweepers from the UK. Initially the effective force was limited to smaller vessels, but this changed after the rise of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 1969. From this time, Libya started to buy armaments from Europe and the Soviet Union. The Customs and Harbour police were amalgamated with the Navy in 1970, extending the Navy's mission to include anti-smuggling and customs duties. The total personnel of the Libyan Navy is about 8,000.

Actions

Burning Libyan corvette, 1986

Broadcast by US forces during the 2011 military intervention in Libya warning Libyan vessels of the naval blockade

a.

Ships (1985)

A starboard quarter view of a Libyan (Italian-built) Assad class missile corvette underway, 1982.

الأميرال ڤالتر جيراردلي، قائد البحرية الإيطالية، يزور نظيره من حكومة الوفاق الوطني الليبية اللواء بحار سالم أرحومة في طرابلس، 25 أبريل 2018.

Ships (2006)

Frigates

Libyan frigate Al Ghardabia in Valletta, 2005.

2 × Koni class frigates (Type 1159) (one operational)

212 Al Hani: (Captured by Rebels at Benghazi)
213 Al Ghardabia: (struck by NATO in Tripoli Harbour 20 May 2011)

Armament:

4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
4 × 76mm guns
4 × 30mm guns
4 × 406mm torpedoes
1 × RBU-6000 A/S mortar
20 mines

Corvettes

2 × Nanuchka class corvettes

416 Tariq-Ibn Ziyad: (Captured by Rebels)
418 Ain Zaara: (struck by NATO, 20 May 2011)

Armament:

4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
2 × 57mm guns MFPBs

MFPBs

9 × Combattante II fast attack craft (7 operational)

Armament:

4 × Otomat SSMs
1 × 76mm gun
2 × 40mm guns

A port beam view of the Soviet built project 205ER (NATO code Osa II) guided missile boat El Mtkhur (525) underway.

12 × Osa class missile boats (Type II) (4 operational)

Armament:

4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
4 × 30mm guns

Mine warfare vessels

9 × Natya class minesweepers (Type 266ME) (5 operational)

Armament:

4 × 30mm guns
4 × 25mm guns
2 × RBU 1200 A/S mortars
10 mines
Acoustic & Magnetic sweep

In addition to several auxiliary and landing craft.

Oceanographic Research Ship

Nour, a former trawler converted in the 1970s. was stricken in 2002.

Submarines

Libyan Foxtrot class submarine, 1982.

6 × Foxtrot class submarine (1 left; not in commission)

In 1982 Libya received six Foxtrot-class military submarines from the Soviet Union. However, since 1984, no submarine patrols are reported to have been conducted. In 1993 one submarine was reported sunk, and another one was abandoned in Lithuania due to international sanctions. Further reports circulated about one submarine being refitted in 2003, but they have since turned out to be false. In 2011, during the Libyan civil war, one submarine (along with a frigate and a corvette) was captured by the rebels at the Benghazi naval base.

Ships (2012)

Frigates

1 × Koni class frigate (Type 1159)

212 Al Hani Ship being refitted in Malta.

Armament:

4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs
2 × SA-N-4 SAMs
4 × 76mm guns
4 × 30mm guns
4 × 406mm torpedoes
1 × RBU-6000 A/S mortar
20 mines

Mine warfare vessels

1× Natya class minesweepers (Type 266ME)

Armament:

4 × 30mm guns
4 × 25mm guns
2 × RBU 1200 A/S mortars
10 mines
Acoustic & Magnetic sweep

Landing Ships

2x Polnocny-C

132 Ibn Ouf - Sighted in Toulon where she will be refitted
134 Ibn Haritha - Sighted in Cassar shipyard in Malta where she will be refitted

Naval Infrastructure

Naval bases in the 2011 Libyan civil war

Khoms (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)
Benghazi
Misrata
Tobruk
Tripoli (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)
Derna
Sirte (bombed by coalition air strikes on 20 May 2011)

Ship maintenance and repair facilities

Facilities at Tripoli with foreign technicians for repair of vessels of up to 6,000 بالطن; a 3,200-ton lift floating dock; floating docks at Benghazi and Tobruk.

Notes

^ "NATO Jet Bombs Libyan Army Boat". Military.com.
^ "Libyan navy opens fire after tanker approaches mutinous port". Reuters. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
^ "HMS Echo finds 18 wrecks in a remarkable mission".
^ "Submarine forces (Libya), Submarines - Submarine forces". Janes.عشرة November 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
^ Botti, David (25 February 2011). The New York Times http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/02/25/world/africa/100000000664162/tc-022511-libya.html?ref=libya. Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Media _DSC0117 – The Libyan Interim National Council". Ntclibya.org.سبعة March 2011. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
^ "Libyan frigate arrives in Malta for repairs".
^ Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 448. ISBN .
^ "LNS IBN HARITHA 134".
^ "NATO hitsثمانية Kadhafi ships".

References

Levie, Howard. Mine Warfare at Sea. Dordrecht, NL: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992.
War machines encliclopedy, Limited publishing, in Italian version Armi da guerra.
Annati Massimo, Al diavolo le mine!, RID magazine, Coop Riviera Ligure, Italy, June 2005.