Venezuelan Air Force
| Bolivarian Venezuelan Military Aviation | |
|---|---|
 Venezuelan Air Force emblem | |
| Founded | June 22, 1946 |
| Country |
 Venezuela |
| Allegiance |
 President of Venezuela |
| Type | Air force |
| Size | 202 aircraft |
| Part of |
 Ministry of the Popular Participation for the Defense |
| Nickname(s) | Aviación Militar Bolivariana Venezolana (AMBV)[1] |
| Patron | Our Lady of Loreto |
| Motto(s) | Spatium superanus palatinus (Latin: The paladin of the sovereign space) |
| Colors | Bleu celeste |
| March | Venezuelan Air Force Hymn (Himno de la Aviacion Militar Nacional) |
| Anniversaries |
|
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General of the Venezuelan Air Force | Major General Edgar Valentín Cruz Arteaga |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |
 |
| Flag |
 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | |
| Electronic warfare | |
| Fighter | |
| Trainer | |
| Transport | |
The Venezuelan Air Force, officially the Venezuelan National Bolivarian Military Aviation (Spanish: Aviación Militar Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Etymology
The organization is also known as the Bolivarian National Air Force of Venezuela. Its current official name has been in use since the end of 2008. It was previously called the Venezuelan Air Force (FAV; Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Venezolana).[1]
History
Most of the airbases in Venezuela were built in the 1960s as part of a massive expansion program. The main fighter types in those years were Venom, Vampire, and F-86. Bomber squadrons typically operated B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The 1970s and 1980s 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.[2][3]
In the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, elements of the Venezuelan Air Force were key instigators of the rebellion. FAV units concentrated at El Libertador Air Base under the command of Brig. General Visconti seized control of the airbase and then launched an attack on the capitol. OV-10s, AT-27 Tucanos, and Mirage III fighters under his command bombarded targets in the capitol and loyalist air bases, destroying 5 CF-5 fighters on the ground. Two loyalist pilots escaped with F-16 fighters and shot down 2 OV-10s and 1 Tucano, claiming air superiority for the government . Two more rebel OV-10s were lost to ground fire. As the tables turned on the coup attempt, General Visconti and his allies fled in two C-130s, 2 Mirages, 1 OV-10 Bronco, and several SA.330 helicopters.[4]
Modernization
The AMV purchased 24 Sukhoi Su-30 planes from Russia in July 2006, as a result of the United States embargo on spare parts for their F-16 force.[5] In 2008, Venezuela was reported for a potential acquisition of a number of Su-35 fighter aircraft and a second batch of aircraft 12-24 Sukhoi Su-30 from Russia.[6][7] It did not proceed further.
In October 2015, Venezuela announced the purchase of 12 more Su-30MK2 from Russia for $480 million.[8][9]
Combat organization
The current organization includes an Air Group 17 with Mil Mi-17[10]
Aircraft inventory
As of December 2012, the Venezuelan Air Force's fleet consists of the following aircraft models and numbers:[11]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[11] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter aircraft | |||||
| Sukhoi Su-30MKV Flanker-G | Russia | multirole strike fighter | SU-30 MK2 | 23 | 24 originally delivered. One crashed during an intercept mission of an unidentified intruding aircraft from Colombia on 17 September 2015.[12] In October 2015, Venezuela announced the purchase of 12 more Su-30MK2 from Russia for $480 million.[8][9] |
| Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon | U.S. | fighter trainer | F-16A/B Block 15OCU | 12 | 10 F16 A and 2 F16B |
| Counter-insurgency | |||||
| Hongdu K-8VV Karakorum | China | light attack/trainer | K-8VV | 22 |
-One was lost in an accident of 2010, a second one on Nov 27th 2012 during a ceremony on national television, and a third was lost during a night exercise on July 26, 2013.[13] |
| Hongdu L-15 | China | light attack/trainer | L-15 | 0 | 24 on order. |
| Trainer aircraft | |||||
| Embraer EMB 312 T-27 Tucano | Brazil | trainer/light attack | EMB 312 T-27 | 12 | |
| Aermacchi SF.260 | Italy | trainer | SF-260EV | 12 | |
| Cessna 182 Skylane | U.S. | trainer | 182 SKYLANE | 12 | |
| Diamond DA 40 | Austria | trainer | DA 40 | 24 | Last units received on 04/2015.[14] |
| Diamond DA 42 | Austria | trainer | DA 42 | 6 | |
| Quad City Challenger | U.S. | trainer | Quad City Challenger | 7 | |
| Transport and aerial refueling | |||||
| Boeing 707 | U.S. | transport/fuel Tanker | 1 | ||
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules | U.S. | transport | C-130H | 4 | |
| Shaanxi Y-8 | China | transport | Y-8F-200VV | 8 | Order completed Nov 2013.[15] |
| Short 360 | UK | transport | 360-300 | 2 | |
| Dornier Do 228 | GER | logistical support | 228 NG | 10 in order.[16][17] | |
| Utility transport and VIP transport | |||||
| Airbus A-319CJ | European Union | transport | A-319CJ | 1 | Presidential Aircraft (air force one) |
| Boeing 737 | U.S. | VIP transport | 737-2N1 | 1 | |
| Cessna Citation X | U.S. | VIP transport | Cessna Citation X | 1 | |
| Dassault Falcon 50 | France | VIP | Falcon-50EX | 3 | |
| Dassault Falcon 900 | France | VIP | Falcon 900 | 2 | |
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan | U.S. | transport air ambulance | 208B | 2 2 | |
| Cessna Citation II | U.S. | transport | Citation II | 1 | |
| Cessna T206H Stationair | U.S. | transport | T206H Stationair | 15 | |
| Beechcraft B200 Super King Air | U.S. | transport;air ambulance | 4 | ||
| Special operations | |||||
| Dassault Falcon 20 | France | Electronic warfare VIP | Falcon-20DC | 1 3 | |
| Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner | U.S. | Electronic Warfare transport | C-26B | 1 1 | ELINT |
| Helicopters | |||||
| Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma | France | transport helicopter | 8 | ||
| Eurocopter AS 532 Cougar | France | AS-532AC AS-532UL | transport VIP | 6 2 | |
| Enstrom 480B | U.S. | trainer helicopter | Enstrom 480B | ||
| UAV | |||||
| Ghods Mohajer/Saint Arpia | Iran/ Venezuela | observation UAV | 12+[18] | 12 drones bought directly from Iran. More to be produced locally in Venezuela.[19] | |
| Cavim ANT-3X Venezolano | Venezuela | observation UAV | 4 | ||
References
- 1 2 "Sukhoi Su-30 story in colours. Sukhoi Su-30 fighter worldwide camouflage and painting schemes". Mars.slipsk.pl. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "F-16s for Venezuela". F-16.net. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "Venezuelan F-16s". Airtoaircombat.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ Cooper, Tom. "Venezuelan Coup Attempt, 1992". ACIG.org. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ Archived 14 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090628125548/http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13081489&PageNum=0. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2016. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Venezuela buys Russian aircraft, tanks to boost power". UPI. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- 1 2 "Venezuela allocates $480m to buy Sukhoi aircraft from Russia". airforce-technology.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Pese a la crisis económica, Venezuela compra doce cazas rusos". Clarín. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ http://www.aviacion.mil.ve/modules/news/article.php?storyid=49. Retrieved 18 February 2016. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - 1 2 World Air Forces 2013 - Flightglobal.com, pg 30, December 11, 2012
- ↑ http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Venezuelan-Air-Force-Fighter-Jet-Crashes-near-Colombian-Border-20150918-0001.html
- ↑ Venezuelan K-8W light fighter trainer crashes - Janes.com, 29 July 2013
- ↑
- ↑ "First 2 Y-8 Transport Aircraft headed to Venezuela". Defenseupdates.blogspot.com. November 10, 2012.
- ↑ "to deliver 10 Dornier 228 aircraft to Venezuela". RUAG. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2015-07-13.
- ↑ "RUAG delivers first Dornier 228 to Venezuela". Business Air. 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2015-07-13.
- ↑ "La Fuerza Aérea Venezolana exhibe sus vehículos aéreos no tripulados ANT-1X". Infodefensa.com. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ "The Aviationist » Iranian Mohajer-2 drone appears in Venezuela. Chavez's building his own drone fleet with the help of Tehran.". The Aviationist. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air force of Venezuela. |
- (Spanish) Sitio oficial de la Aviación Militar de Venezuela
- U.S. Arms Sales to Venezuela from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives