| Peruvian Air Force Fuerza Aérea del Perú |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1929 (as Peruvian Aviation Corps) |
| Country | Peru |
| Part of | Ministry of Defense |
| Engagements | Colombia–Peru War Ecuadorian-Peruvian war (1941) Paquisha War Cenepa War |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-In-Chief | Carlos Eduardo Samamé Quiñones |
| Chief of Staff | Walter Milenko Vojvodic Vargas |
| Inspector General | Pedro Joaquin Seabra Pinedo |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Su-25, A-37B |
| Fighter | MiG-29, Mirage 2000 |
| Attack helicopter | Mi-25D, Mi-35P |
| Patrol | C-26B |
| Reconnaissance | Learjet 36 |
| Trainer | MB-339, EMB-312, Zlin 242L |
| Transport | An-32B, C-130 Hercules, Y-12, Boeing 737, DHC-6, PC-6 |
The Peruvian Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea del Perú, abbreviated FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations and participating in international peacekeeping operations.
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On May 20, 1929, the aviation divisions of the Peruvian Army and Navy were merged into the Cuerpo de Aviación del Perú (Peruvian Aviation Corps, abbreviated CAP). During the Colombia-Peru War of 1933, its Vought O2U Corsair and Curtiss F11C Hawk planes fought in the Amazon region. The CAP lost three aircraft to the Colombian Air Force . The corps was renamed Cuerpo Aeronáutico del Perú (Peruvian Aeronautical Corps, also abbreviated CAP) on March 12, 1936. In 1941, the CAP participated in the Peruvian-Ecuadorian War. At that time, the CAP were equipped with Caproni Ca.114 and North American NA.50 Torito fighters, Douglas DB-8A-3P attack aircraft, and Caproni Ca.135 Tipo Peru and Caproni Ca.310 Libeccio bombers,[1] among others.
During the presidency of Manuel A. Odría the corps was reorganized again and on July 18, 1950 it became the Fuerza Aérea del Perú (Air Force of Peru, abbreviated FAP). In the 1950s the FAP was modernized to the jet age with the arrival of the English Electric Canberra bombers and the Hawker Hunter, Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and North American F-86 Sabre fighters. The service underwent a period of considerable expansion throughout the 1970s and early 1980s which included the acquisition of French-made Dassault Mirage 5P and 5DP, U.S. made Cessna A-37B Dragonfly attack aircraft, Lockheed C-130 and L-100-20 Hercules transport aircraft, and the introduction of an important number of Soviet-made aircraft, including Sukhoi Su-22 bombers and Antonov An-26 and An-32 transport aircraft, as well as Mil Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-25 helicopters. In 1982, during the Falklands War, the Peruvian Air Force transferred ten of their Mirage 5P to the Argentine Air Force as a measure of solidarity. The economic crisis of the later 1980s forced reductions in the fleet size as well as cuts in training and general readiness.
Under those conditions the FAP fought the Cenepa War against Ecuador in 1995 and lost five planes and helicopters. After the war, in 1996 the FAP acquired MiG-29 fighters and in 1998 Su-25 attack fighters arrived, which along with Mirage 2000 fighters acquired in the late 1980s, are currently the main combat elements of the FAP.
The current Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of Peru is General Carlos Eduardo Samamé Quiñones. Aerial forces are subordinated to the Ministry of Defense and ultimately to the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Armed Forces. Operational units are organized as follows:
1st Air Wing, headquartered at Piura
2nd Air Wing, headquartered at Callao
3rd Air Wing, headquartered at Arequipa
5th Air Wing, headquartered at Iquitos
| Personnel (as of 2001) [2] | |
|---|---|
| Commissioned Officers | 1,909 |
| Non-commissioned officers | 7,559 |
| Cadets | 325 |
| NCO in training | 296 |
| Enlisted | 7,880 |
| Civilians | 8,708 |
| Total | 17,969 (excl. civilians) |
Numbers shown below are derived from open sources, they should be regarded as estimates due to lack of confirmation from official sources.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Version | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter Aircraft | ||||||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 | Russia | tactical fighter
tactical fighter multirole fighter fighter trainer |
MiG-29
MiG-29SE MiG-29SMP MiG-29UB |
6
3 0+12 2 |
Contract signed on August 12, 2008 for US$ 106 million with Mikoyan for a custom-made SMT upgrade of eight MiG-29 called MiG-29SMP.[3] In February 10, 2011 the Peruvian Air Force CiC announced the delivery of the eight MiG-29SMP plus an additional 4 MiG-29BM, acquired and upgraded to the SMP standard in Belarus.[4] |
|
| Dassault Mirage 2000 | France | multirole fighter | Mirage 2000P
Mirage 2000DP |
10
2 |
An US$ 140 million budget was announced in Le Bourget Airshow 2009 to invest in the recovery of the Mirage 2000 fleet. | |
| Attack Aircraft | ||||||
| Sukhoi Su-25 | Russia | attack aircraft | Su-25
Su-25UB |
10
8 |
The Su-25UB fleet was upgraded for SEAD role between 2004-2005 under the Comadreja program | |
| Cessna A-37 Dragonfly | United States | light attack aircraft | A-37B | 18 | 10 upgraded with U.S. anti-drug assistance, with work on six complete by late 2002, and the rest to be completed by the end of that year. 8 aircraft and the same number of engines were donated by South Korea on February 3, 2010.[5] | |
| Trainer Aircraft | ||||||
| Aermacchi MB-339 | Italy | lead-in fighter trainer | MB-339AP | 14 | 16 delivered 1981-1982; local production program cancelled | |
| Embraer EMB 312 Tucano | Brazil | intermediate trainer | AT-27 | 18 | first 20 ordered and delivered 1987, replaced T-37Cs; 10 more acquired in 1992; some used also in interceptor role for drug-interdiction flights; at least three lost to attrition. | |
| Zlin Z 142 | Czech Republic | basic trainer | Zlin 242L | 15 | delivery before July 1998; one lost in April, 2003. | |
| Piper PA-34 Seneca | United States | multi-engine trainer | PA-34-200T Seneca II | 1 | ||
| Reconnaissance Aircraft | ||||||
| Fairchild C-26 Metroliner | United States | surveillance | C-26B | 3 | Donated for anti-drug role by U.S.; reconditioned for aerial surveillance with a FLIR turret (1 in storage) | |
| Learjet 36 | United States | reconnaissance | Learjet 36A | 2 | ||
| Rockwell Turbo Commander 690 | United States | reconnaissance | Turbo Commander 690B | 1 | current status unknown | |
| Transport Aircraft | ||||||
| Boeing 737 | United States | transport
transport VIP transport |
737-200
737-300 737-500 |
2
3 1 |
||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | transport | L-100-20 | 5 | 3 in storage | |
| Antonov An-32 | Ukraine | transport | An-32B | 5 | ||
| Harbin Y-12 | China | transport | Y-12 II | 5 | Six ordered in 1991 and scheduled to be delivered by the end of that year; one lost April 1995 in crash on takeoff from Iquitos, three crew killed. All presumed non-operational. | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Canada | utility aircraft
utility aircraft |
DHC-6-300
DHC-6-400 |
5
0+12 |
contract signed for twelve DHC-6-400 in November 2010; to be delivered from June 2011 through 2014. | |
| Pilatus PC-6 | Switzerland | liaison | PC-6B Turbo Porter | 9 | ||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Mil Mi-24 | Russia | attack helicopter | Mi-25D | 16 | twelve Mi-25s delivered in 1982; seven Mi-25s were procured from Nicaragua in 1992, one Mi-25 shot down by Ecuadoran SA-16 in 1995; two crashed in collision in August 1995 near Arequipa | |
| Mil Mi-35 | Russia | attack helicopter | Mi-35P | 2 | two Mi-35 initially ordered in late 2010 for COIN duties in the VRAE jungle. A second, undetermined batch is expected to be acquired in the near future.[6] | |
| Mil Mi-17 | Russia | transport helicopter | Mi-17 | 14 | ||
| Mil Mi-171 | Russia | transport helicopter | Mi-171Sh | 3 | six Mi-171Sh were acquired along with the Mi-35P, three for the Air Force and the rest for the Peruvian Army. A second, undetermined batch is expected to be acquired in the near future.[6] | |
| Schweizer 300 | United States | utility helicopter | Schweizer 300C | 6 | ||
| Bölkow Bo 105 | Germany | utility helicopter | Bo-105LS | 5 | six delivered in 1991 | |
| Bell 212 | United States | utility helicopter | Bell 212 | 6 | ||
| Bell 412 | United States | utility helicopter | Bell 412EP | 1 | originally two, second unit fate is unknown | |
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