The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during war.

Having never seen an airplane before, he was captivated by this demonstration of their power and abilities, and spontaneously asked if he could go up in one of the biplanes, proclaiming that it was "very fitting that he, as regent of Abyssinia should be the first Abyssinian to take flight in an aeroplane."

On 31 March 1930, three of the biplanes from Ethiopia's air arm played a dramatic role in a battle between Haile Selassie (not yet crowned Emperor) and conservative forces seeking to oust him.

In 1944, a group of World War II African-American veterans set up a flying school at Lideta airport in Addis Ababa.

The Swedes agreed to provide assistance and Carl Gustaf von Rosen was appointed as the chief instructor of the newly re-formed Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF).

The Department of Defense sent a team to undertake a comprehensive study of Ethiopian capabilities, requirements, and probable threats facing Ethiopia.

[10] This influx of equipment and training made the IEAF, in the opinion of historian Bahru Zewde, "the most prestigious show-piece of American aid in Ethiopia.

"[11] In 1964, the Somalis began receiving large quantities of weaponry, ground equipment, and MiG-17 fighters from the Soviet Union (see Ethiopia–Russia relations).

After its independence in 1960, Somalia started making claims to all of its precolonial territories that were occupied by France, British and disputed lands with Ethiopia.

[15] The Somali forces launched their attack at Togochale, a border town east of Jijiga, but the Derg at the time had killed most of the nation's most-able generals and its army was hampered down with civil wars across Ethiopia and the province of Eritrea, and therefore was no match to the air forces of Somalia well-equipped by the Soviet Union.

Lessons learned included the need for heavy bombers, an air defense complex, a secure and reliable communication system, and better coordination with ground forces.

Already alarmed at the increasing noise the Somalis were making, the Derg government had managed to convince the Ford administration to provide Ethiopia with F-5Es in 1975.

[18] The first batch of six pilots were sent to Williams Air Force Base in Arizona for conversion and tactical fighter training in August 1976.

However, further training of pilots and delivery of aircraft was stopped after President Carter cut off all arms supplies in protest of the Derg's human rights violations.

Throughout the war, it also conducted strikes against several targets deep inside Somalia, including the repeated bombings of the Somali Air Force's northern main operating base at Hargeisa and long range attack on the Berbera.

Another Canberra was lost due to a mechanical problem deep inside Ethiopia after it suffered hits from a ground attack.

The army was short in equipment of all sorts, and after the Derg acquired power United States President Jimmy Carter cut off all military aid to Ethiopia.

As a result, the Air Force received a large number of aircraft for fighter, helicopter, transport roles.

While its performance during the war with Somalia saved the ETAF from the purges inflicted on the army and nearly every other institution in the country, the Derg was determined to keep a close eye on it.

As a result, both the flying school and Air Academy were closed in 1980 and all recruits were sent to the Soviet Union after passing aptitude test examination and medical screening.

Eventually, the forces of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) overran the Derg's army and took control of the country in 1991.

Shortly after taking complete control of the country, it selected about 50 officers and NCOs from the rehabilitation camps to reactivate a transport wing.

However, the early period was fraught with much friction and mistrust between the retained personnel from the former Derg regime and the EPRDF military commanders assigned to ETAF.

As a medium term solution, the ETAF's air and ground assets were to be upgraded with modern systems, and completion of the maintenance and overhaul centers started under the Derg.

The political leadership felt there was no threat to speak of facing the country to justify large expenditures, particularly pertaining to the extensive (and expensive) upgrade project for the MIG-21/23 fighter fleet.

One of the experienced pilots, Colonel Bezabih Petros, was one of the lead fighters and was captured by Eritrean forces for the second time, where his whereabouts are unknown.

Its members undertook dangerous missions deep inside Eritrean territory from interdicting supply lines, reconnaissance, and destruction of air defense systems.

This in turn greatly raised the morale of the Ethiopian army which enabled them to break the highly fortified Eritrean front line in an amazingly short period of time.

Changes were made to better reflect in its doctrine the effects of the newer equipments acquired ability to deploy precision guided munitions.

[citation needed] On 22 June 2021, an Ethiopian fighter plane bombed a market in the town Togoga killing 64 civilians and wounding 180 more.