| Venezuelan Air Force Aviación Militar Venezolana |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 22 June 1946 - Present |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Branch | Air Force of Venezuela |
| Size | 202 aircraft |
| Patron | Virgen de Loreto |
| Motto | Spatium superanus palatinus (Latin:The paladin of the sovereign space) |
| Colors | Bleu celeste |
| Anniversaries | 10 December |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Jorge Arévalo Oropeza Pernalete |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | OV-10, Su-30MK2 |
| Electronic warfare |
Dassault Falcon 20C Prometeo, Fairchild C-26B Metro EW, |
| Fighter | Su-30MK2, F-16, VF-5 |
| Trainer | C182, SF-260, EMB-312, K-8 |
| Transport | C-130, G.222, Boeing 707-320C, Short 360-300 |
The Bolivarian National Air Force of Venezuela/Venezuelan National Bolivarian Military Aviation, since 2006: (Spanish) Aviación Militar Nacional Bolivariana Venezolana (previously Fuerza Aérea Venezolana, FAV) is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a component of the Venezuelan armed forces.
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The birth of the FAV goes back to 10 December 1920 when the Military Aviation school of Venezuela was formed. Early aircraft included Farman and Caudron G-3 as well as the amphibian Caudron G-4. The first decades of the FAV saw mainly French, German and Italian influence. After the Second World War, the air force was reorganised with American aid, eventually leading to the formal inception of the Fuerza Aérea Venezolana on 22 June 1946.
Most current airbases were built in the 1960s. The main fighter types in those years were Venom, Vampire, and F-86. Bomber squadrons typically operated B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The 70s and 80s saw a considerable increase in capacity, mainly because the rising oil prices enabled the FAV to re-equip most of its units. The mixture of various aircraft types was maintained and Mirage IIIE and V, VF-5A and D, T-2D, OV-10A and E, T-27 were introduced. Venezuela was one of the first export customers for the F-16 which arrived in 1983 to equip the newly formed Grupo Aéreo de Caza 16 at El Libertador Airbase.[1][2]
In 2006, Venezuelan F-16s, F-5s and Mirages participated in the joint exercise Cruzex III held in Brazil along with the air forces of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Peru and Uruguay.[3]
The AMV purchased 24 Sukhoi Su-30 planes from Russia on July 2005, as a result of the American embargo on spare parts for their F-16 force.[4]
Currently Venezuela is in talks with Russia with regards to potential acquisitions of the Su-35 fighter aircraft and a second batch of aircraft 12-24 Sukhoi Su-30.[5]
In 2006, the Iranian media published a series of reports that suggested Venezuela was interested in selling its 21 F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet to Iran.[6] The rumors were confirmed, when a Hugo Chavez advisor told the Associated Press that "Venezuela's military is considering selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, possibly Iran, in response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government". In response, Sean McCormack, the U.S. State Department spokesman, warned Venezuela and suggested: "Without the written consent of the United States, Venezuela can't transfer these defense articles, and in this case F-16s, to a third country".[7]
The Air Force is organized in twelve air groups, one for each aircraft type in use:
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[9] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhoi Su-30MKV Flanker-G | Russia | multirole strike fighter | SU-30 MK2 | 24 | |
| Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States | fighter | F-16A Block 15OCU; F-16B Block 15OCU | 20 | |
| Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter | Canada | Fighter-bomber | VF-5A; VF-5B | 16 | 26 two lots (first Canada, second Netherlands); 16 remain operational |
| Hongdu K-8W Karakorum | China / Pakistan | trainer/light attack | 17 | one was lost in an accident of 2010 and a second order of 18 to 2011 for a total of 36 K-8W[10] | |
| North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco | United States | light attack observation |
7 | All to be replaced by Mil Mi-35M-2 Caribe Light transport\Attack helicopters. | |
| Ghods Mohajer | Iran | observation UAV | 12[11] | ||
| Kazan Mi-17 | Russia | Transport Helicopter | Mi-17V-5; Mi-171VIP | 8 | 6 Mi-17V-5; 2 Mi-171VIP |
| Mil Mi-35M-2 Caribe | Russia | Light transport\Attack helicopter | 10 | 9 active, 1 lost in accident [12] | |
| Airbus A-319CJ | France | transport | 1 | Presidential Aircraft (air force 1) | |
| Beechcraft B200 Super King Air | United States | transport | 5 | ||
| Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | United States | transport | 2 | ELINT | |
| Boeing 707 | United States | transport | 707-320C; 707-346C | 2 | both are Fuel Tankers (KC-135) |
| Boeing 737 | United States | VIP transport | 737-2N1 | 1 | |
| Dassault Falcon 20 | France | EW | Falcon-20DC | 2 | |
| Dassault Falcon 20 | France | VIP | Falcon-20DC; Falcon-20F | 3 | |
| Dassault Falcon 50 | France | VIP | Falcon-50EX | 3 | |
| Dassault Falcon 900 | France | VIP | 2 | ||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | United States | transport | C-130H | 6 | |
| Shaanxi Y-8 | China | transport | Y-8 | 8 | In order |
| Ilyushin Il-76 | Russia | Heavy transport | Il-76MD | 2 | In Order (20#342#####, #0#342####) |
| Short 330 | United Kingdom | transport | 2 | ||
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan | United States | liaison | 8 | ||
| Cessna 206 Stationair | United States | liaison | 14 | ||
| Cessna 182N Skylane | United States | basic trainer | 2 | ||
| Embraer EMB 312 Tucano | Brazil | trainer | 19 | ||
| Aermacchi SF.260 | Italy | trainer light attack |
SF-260EV | 12 | |
| Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma | France | transport helicopter | AS-332B-1 | 6 | |
| Eurocopter AS 532 Cougar | France | transport helicopter | AS-532AC; AS-532UL | 10 |
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