Ecuadorian Air Force

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The Ecuadorian Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana, FAE) is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador which includes many fighter aircraft and is one of the most powerful air forces in South America with the Brazilian Air Force, Chilean Air Force, Peruvian Air Force and the Venezuela Air Force.

[edit] History

The FAE was officially created on October 27th 1920. However, like in many other countries, military flying activity started before the formal date of birth of the Air Force. The history of Ecuador is marked by many skirmishes with its neighbour Peru. As a direct result of the 1910 Ecuador-Peru crisis the members of Club de Tiro Guayaquil decided to expand their sporting activities to aviation as well. Renamed Club de Tiro y Aviación they started an aviation school. Cosme Renella, who gained his civil aviation license in Italy, was asked as an instructor and the first aircraft that arrived in November 1912 was a Farman. Surviving a crash during a demonstration flight, Capitán Renella went on to fight in Europe during the first World War. Renella was a true ace, as many as 17 combat victories are ascribed to him, and he received several distinctions in Europe. His efforts in the founding phase of Ecuadorian military aviation are still honoured today by naming the Escuela Superior Militar de Aviación after him.

Aviation did not start in earnest until the early forties when an Ecuadorian mission to the United States resulted in the delivery of an assortment of aircraft for the Aviation school at Salinas. Three Ryan PT-22 Recruit, six Curtiss-Wright CW.22 Falcon, six Fairchild PT-19A Cornell and three North American AT-6A Harvard arrived in March 1942, considerably boosting the capacity of the Escuela de Aviación at Salinas.

The fifties and sixties saw a further build up of the airforce, gaining more units and aircraft. Meanwhile efforts were made in enhancing the facilities at various airbases. In may 1961 the First Air Zone (I Zona Aérea) with its subordinate unit Ala de Transportes No.11 was founded. The Second Air Zone (II Zona Aérea) controls the units in the southern halve of Ecuador: Ala de Combate No.21 at Taura, Ala de Rescate No.22 at Guayaquil and Ala de Combate No.23 at Manta as well as the Escuela Superior Militar de Aviación (ESMA) at Salinas.

Ecuadorian Air Force Kfir CE (C.10). Note the refuelling probe and the characteristic longer nose of this variant.

The airforce has a unique mixture of types on its inventory, mostly from Western origin. The prime fighters are the Mirage F.1, Kfir C2, CE, and Jaguar Mk.1 all based at Taura with Ala 21. For advanced training and light attack missions, Strikemaster Mk.89, 90, and A-37B are in use at Manta with Ala 23. These aircraft often operate from airfields in the amazon region.

The transport wing uses various marks of the C-130 Hercules, DHC-6, BAe.748 to transport passengers, haul cargo and support the units deployed to the secondary airfields dotted around the country. Ala 11 has its own 'commercial' branch, like in many other South-American countries, the Transporte Aérea Militar Ecuatoriana (TAME). Besides the military transport aircraft, they also use Boeing 727 and Fokker 28 aircraft. Flying to locations off the beaten track, mostly lacking service by a commercial airline, TAME provides an additional service to the people of Ecuador. Presidential transport is among the tasking of Ala 11 as well; several Sabreliners are in use for this mission.

The FAE saw action on several occasions. A history of border disputes with Peru over the south-eastern Cenepa area saw escalation in 1981 and 1995. The FAE managed to down nine Peruvian aircraft in this last conflict, among which were one A-37B, two Su-22 and several Mi-8.

Besides the threat of its southern neighbour, the conflict believed being subdued by the 26 October 1998 Brasilia peace treaty, the FAE faces the war on drugs as well as many humanitarian and logistic missions into the amazon region of the country. Being a small country, supporting the relatively large airforce with a variety of aircraft types, is a burden. Nevertheless, with the perils of the recent past and present War on Drugs acting as an incentive, the FAE is dedicated to maintain a high profile. The Ecuadorian Armed Forces have the President of the Republic as their Supreme Commander in Chief, the president is advised by the Minister of Defense (this was always an Active or Passive duty General or Admiral until January 15th 2007 when Guadalupe Larriva became Minister of Defense) and The N.S.C (National Security Council). Although the idea of founding a naval air arm dates back to 1952, the aviation branch of the navy only formed in 1967. In March 1968 it became a subordinate division resorting under the Primera Zona Naval. Starting off with fixed wing aircraft, the first helicopters followed in 1973.

[edit] Aircraft inventory

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service^[1]	Notes
Aérospatiale Alouette III	France	utility helicopter	SA 316B	2
Aérospatiale Gazelle	France	attack helicopter	SA 342K	10
Aérospatiale Lama	France	utility helicopter	SA 315B	3
Airbus A320	France	passenger transport	A320-200	2
Avro 748	United Kingdom	transport	HS.748	2
BAC Strikemaster	United Kingdom	attack	Mk 89A	6
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor	United States	trainer	T-34C-1	16
Bell 206	United States	training helicopter	TH-57 Sea Ranger	9
Boeing 727	United States	transport special mission	727-200	8
Cessna 150	United States	utility	A150L	5
Cessna A-37	United States	attack	A-37B	20
Dassault Mirage F1	France	fighter	F.1JA F.1JE	11 1	armed with R550 Magic air to air missile
de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo	Canada	tactical transport	DHC-5D	1
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter	Canada	utility transport	DHC-6-300	3
Eurocopter Fennec	France	utility helicopter	AS 555 AN	4
Eurocopter Ecureuil	France	utility helicopter	SA310	5
Fokker F28 Fellowship	Netherlands	passenger transport	F28-4000	1
IAI Arava	Israel	utility transport	Arava 101	2
IAI Kfir	Israel	fighter	Kfir C.2 Kfir TC.2	12 3
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	United States	tactical transport	C-130B C-130H L-100-30	1 1 1
North American Sabreliner	United States	VIP	Sabreliner 40 Sabreliner 60	1 1
SEPECAT Jaguar	United Kingdom	attack	Jaguar EB Jaguar ES	2 4