Adib al-Jarf

Adib Ajib al-Jarf ( – ) was a Syrian fighter pilot ace and military officer, who was awarded the for shooting down several Israeli aircraft in the 1973 October War.

Career Adib al-Jarf was born to an Ismaili family in Salamiyah in 1946. He joined the Kuweires Military Aviation Institute and served in the Air Force as a combat pilot in the combat aviation branch on the Soviet MiG-21 fighter.

He began his service with the rank of pilot officer student in 1964 and retired with the rank of brigadier general. In the October War, he shot down seven Israeli planes: two French-made Mirage jets and five F-4 Phantom planes. One of the planes was shot down over Ramlet al-Baida in the Lebanese capital Beirut, and another on the road to Bikfaya. During his service, he received several medals, including the coveted & the Order of Civil Merit of the Syrian Arab Republic which he was personally given by Hafez al-Assad himself.

Al-Jarf is also noted to be the youngest individual to reach a flag officer rank in the Syrian Arab Armed Forces.

Later life Al-Jerf later passed away from COVID-19 in his hometown of Salamiyah in 2021.