Peruvian Air Force

Peruvian Air Force
Fuerza Aérea del Perú

Coat of arms of the Peruvian Air Force
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
Internal conflict in Peru
Commanders
Commander-In-Chief Jaime Marin Figueroa Olivos
Chief of Staff Dante Antonio Arévalo Abate
Inspector General Héctor Mosca Sábate
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, 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.

History

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 thirty S-300 air-to-ground missiles together with ten of their Mirage M5-P 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.

Organization

Peruvian MiG-29SE at Halcon-Condor 2010 festival.
A-37Bs are based at Piura with the 7th Air Group
A Peruvian Sukhoi Su-25, the country's main attack aircraft.
Peruvian KAI KT-1P Woongbi have been attached to Escuadrón Aéreo 512, along with AT-27 Tucano, which they will eventually replace in the near future.
MB-339s are used for advanced training.

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of Peru is General Jaime Marin Figueroa Olivos. 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:

Ala Aérea Nº 1

1st Air Wing, headquartered at Piura

Ala Aérea Nº 2

2nd Air Wing, headquartered at Callao

Ala Aérea Nº 3

3rd Air Wing, headquartered at Arequipa

Ala Aérea Nº 4

4th Air Wing, headquartered at Iquitos

Personnel

SA-3 Pechora SAM on display at Las Palmas Airbase - 2006
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)

Equipment

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
Combat Aircraft
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29  Russia tactical fighter
tactical fighter
multirole fighter
multirole fighter trainer		 MiG-29
MiG-29SE
MiG-29SMP
MiG-29UBP		 8
3
6
2		 Contract signed on August 12, 2008 for US$ 106 million with Mikoyan for a custom-made SM upgrade of six MiG-29 and two MiG-29UB, locally called MiG-29SMP (upgraded -UB's are referred to as -UBP).[3]

Three MiG-29SMP and a MiG-29UBP were presented during an Air Force parade in July 23, 2012.[4]
As of February 2013, 8 Mig-29s have been upgraded, with 11 awaiting upgrades at a cost of US$ 400 million. MiG-29s will likely retire by 2025.[5]

Dassault Mirage 2000  France multirole fighter
multirole fighter trainer		 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.

As of February 2013, 9 aircraft are airworthy. US$ 480 million is needed to modernize the fleet to Mirage 2000-5 standard. Mirage 2000s are to remain in service until 2025.[5]

Sukhoi Su-25  Russia attack aircraft
attack aircraft trainer		 Su-25
Su-25UB		 10
8		 The Su-25UB fleet was upgraded for SEAD role between 2004-2005 under the Comadreja (Spanish for weasel) program. As of February 2013, 4 aircraft are operational.[5]
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly  United States light attack aircraft A-37B 12 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.[6]
Trainer Aircraft
Aermacchi MB-339  Italy lead-in fighter trainer MB-339AP 13 16 delivered 1981-1982; local production program cancelled. 2 lost in midair collision near Pisco in February, 1985 and 1 lost in 2012.
KAI KT-1  South Korea intermediate trainer
light attack aircraft		 KT-1P
KA-1P		 5(10)
0(10)		 First units delivered in 2014. Scheduled to replace Tucanos.
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 3 lost to attrition. 6 sold to Angola in 2002.
Zlin Z 142  Czech Republic basic trainer Zlin 242L 14 18 delivered before July 1998; 4 lost to attrition.
AMD Alarus CH2000  United States basic trainer CH2000 Antarqui 1(6) 1 in service. 5 being built under licence by SEMAN.
Cessna T-41 Mescalero  United States basic trainer T-41D 6 40 delivered in 1974. 25 of them released to aviation schools in mid-1970s. Some lost to attrition, retired or sold to private operators.
Piper PA-34 Seneca  United States multi-engine trainer PA-34-200T Seneca II 2 Delivered in 1982
Reconnaissance Aircraft
Fairchild C-26 Metroliner  United States surveillance / COMINT C-26B 4 Donated for anti-drug role by USA; reconditioned for aerial surveillance with a FLIR turret. 3 C-26B were fitted by RADA Electronic Industries with COMINT/IMINT equipment for ISR missioning. The three aircraft are deployed in the VRAEM (Valley of Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers) for counter-insurgence operations.[7]
Learjet 36  United States reconnaissance / ELINT Learjet 36A 2 2 delivered in 1983. Fitted with ESM/ELINT arrays, presented during an air parade held in Lima in December 2012.
Learjet 45  United States reconnaissance / ELINT Learjet 45XR 1 Delivered in 2013.[8]
Rockwell Turbo Commander 690  United States reconnaissance Turbo Commander 690B 1 Delivered in 1994. Current status unknown
Transport Aircraft
Boeing 737  United States transport
VIP transport		 737-200
737-500		 2
1
Lockheed C-130 Hercules  United States transport L-100-20 5 8 L-100-20 received between 1970 and 1981. 3 lost to attrition. 2 operational. 3 stored
Alenia C-27J Spartan  Italy tactical airlift C-27J 1(4) 4 purchased in 2014 from a total of 12 planned. 1 in service.[9][10]
Antonov An-32  Ukraine transport An-32
An-32B		 13
5		 16 An-32 received between 1987 and 1991. 3 lost to attrition. The remaining ones in storage or retired.

6 An-32B received between 1993 and 1995. 1 lost to attrition. 3 in service. 2 in storage. Scheduled to be replaced with C-27Js.

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter  Canada utility aircraft DHC-6-300
DHC-6-400		 3
12		 16 DHC-6-300 delivered in 1973-1976. At least 9 lost to attrition. 2 sold. 1 in storage

12 DHC-6-400 in service, received between 2011 and 2014.

Pilatus PC-6   Switzerland liaison PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo Porter 2 13 delivered in 1974-1976. 7 lost to attrition. 3 retired. 1 sold. 1 in storage
Helicopters
Mil Mi-24  Russia attack helicopter Mi-25D
Mi-35P		 16
2		 12 Mi-25s delivered in 1982; 7 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. 4 of the Mi-25s were upgraded in October 2012 to increase service lives by seven years; three more are expecting upgrades.[11]

2 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.[12]

Mil Mi-17  Russia transport helicopter Mi-17 14 The Mi- 17 helicopters were purchased from Nicaragua in the late 1990's.
Mil Mi-171  Russia transport helicopter Mi-171Sh 3 6 Mi-171Sh were acquired along with the Mi-35P in 2010, three for the Air Force and the rest for the Peruvian Army. A second batch of 24 has been ordered.[13]
Schweizer 300  United States utility helicopter Schweizer 300C 5 6 delivered in 1999, one lost on 25 February 2013.[14]
Bölkow Bo 105  Germany utility helicopter Bo-105LS 5 6 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

Gallery

Notes

  1. ↑ Acig.org: The Most Powerful Air Force in Latin America
  2. ↑ http://www.resdal.org/art-rial.htm, based on Supreme Decree DS No. 69 DE/SG of 2001.
  3. ↑ FUERZA AÉRA DEL PERÚ FIRMA CONTRATO PARA REPARAR MIG29. Ministry of Defense (2008-08-12). Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
  4. ↑ La Fuerza Aérea de Perú muestra su capacidad de combate. Defensa.com (2012-07-25). Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Spain offers Eurofighters to Peru - Flightglobal.com, February 4, 2013
  6. ↑ Ministro de Defensa recibirá este jueves ocho aviones donados por Corea. Andina (2010-01-03). Retrieved on 2009-01-03.
  7. ↑ Administrator. "Demora en la entrega de dos aviones C-26 modificados para la Fuerza Aérea del Perú". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Learjet 45 para el Grupo Aéreo N°8 de la Fuerza Aérea del Perú - Defensa.com, 2013-03-26
  9. ↑ Reed Business Information Limited. "Peru to sign for two C-27J Spartans". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Peru’s Alenia C-27J Buy to Renew Light Tactical Airlift Fleet". Defense Industry Daily. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Peru Gets Upgraded Mi-25 Gunships to Boost Drug Fight - Rian.ru, October 20, 2012
  12. ↑ Perú recibirá dos helicópteros MI-35 rusos para combate contra Sendero. RPP.com.pe (2010-02-20). Retrieved on 2009-02-21.
  13. ↑ "Peru Awards Contract For 24 Helos To Russia". Defense News. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Air Forces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. April 2013. p. 32.

Sources

See also

External links

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