The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

of Bolivia and branch of the

Bolivian Armed Forces The Bolivian Armed Forces (Spanish: ''Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia'') are the military of Bolivia. The Armed Forces of Bolivia are responsible for the defence, both of external and internal, of Bolivia and they are constituted by Bolivian Army, ...

History

By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (

Curtiss Hawk Curtiss Hawk was a name common to many aircraft designed and produced by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, most of them fighters: Curtiss Model 34 & Hawk I ;Model 34 : XPW-8B experimental fighter. ;Model 34A :P-1 Hawk single-seat fighter. ...

fighters,

Curtiss T-32 Condor II The Curtiss T-32 Condor II was a 1930s United States, American biplane airliner and bomber aircraft built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. It was used by the United States Army Air Corps as an executive transport. Development The Con ...

and

Junkers W 34 The Junkers W 34 was a German-built, single-engine, passenger and transport aircraft. Developed in the 1920s, it was taken into service in 1926. The passenger version could take a pilot and five passengers. The aircraft was developed from the J ...

bombers,

Junkers Ju 86 The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to S ...

used as transport craft, and

Fokker C.V The Fokker C.V was a Dutch light reconnaissance and bomber biplane aircraft manufactured by Fokker. It was designed by Anthony Fokker and the series manufacture began in 1924 at Fokker in Amsterdam. Development The C.V was constructed in the earl ...

Breguet 19 Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

and

Vickers Vespa The Vickers Vespa was a British army cooperation biplane designed and built by Vickers Limited in the 1920s. While not adopted by Britain's Royal Air Force, small numbers were bought by the Irish Free State and Bolivia, the latter of which used ...

reconnaissance planes), and about 300 staff; the officers were trained in Italy. In 2017 Bolivia finally retired the

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

marking the end of 44 years of service. Bolivia was the last operator of the T-33.

Organization

FAB is organized into air brigades, which is formed by one to three air groups. The air groups are based at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Trinidad, Riberalta, Roboré, Uyuni, Oruro, Sucre and Chimoré. Major commands included the following: * General Command Systems Department in La Paz, equipped with sophisticated computers. Cavalier Mustang

* Group of Air-Defense (Grupo Aereo de Defensa Anteaerea – GADA): GADA-91 (I BRIGADE), GADA-92 (II BRIGADE), GADA-93 (III BRIGADE), GADA-94 (IV BRIGADE), GADA-95 (V BRIGADE), GADA-96 (VI BRIGADE) and GADA-97 (I BRIGADE). * Six air brigades with subordinate air groups. ** First Air Brigade (El Alto): *** Fighter group 31 "Gral. Jorge Jordán Mercado": Fighter squadron 311, Executive squadron 310 *** Transport air group 71 "Gen.W.A.Rojas" (Military airlift TAM):Air squadron 710, Air squadron 711, Air squadron 712 *** Aerophotogrammetry National Service (NSS) *** Air group 1 – Air group VIP *** Air group 66 – air base in Oruro *** Transporte Aereo Boliviano-TAB *** Task Force "Black Devils" *** Group air defence artillery GADA-91 *** Group air defence artillery GADA-97 ** Second Air Brigade (Cochabamba): *** Fighter group 34 "P.R.Cuevas": Aerotactico squadron 340, Link training squadron 341 *** Air group search and rescue 51: Helicopter Squadron 511 *** Air group training 22 – air base in Chimore (helicopter training) *** Air group 67 – air base in Sucre *** Lockheed T-33 (14668390020)

Group air defence artillery GADA-92 ** Third Air Brigade (Santa Cruz): *** Fighter group 32 "B.B.Rioja" (CEPAC): squadron 321, squadron 320, squadron 327 (maintenance) *** COLMILAV Air group training 21 – Training squadrons: primary squadron, basic squadron, squadron "NN" (prob.navigation) *** Air group 83(air base Puerto Suarez): 831 squadron *** Air group 61 "Gen.L.G.Pereiera (air base Robore): squadron 610 *** Task force "Red Devils" (air base El Trompillo-Robore) *** Group air defence artillery GADA-93 ** Fourth Air Brigade (Tarija): *** Air Group 82 "Cap.A.V.Peralta" (air base Camiri): squadron 821 *** Air Group 63 "Tcnl.E.L.Rivera" (air base Villamontes): squadron 630 *** Air Group 41 – (air base Tarija) *** Air group 65 – (air base Uyuni) *** Group air defence artillery GADA-94 ** Fifth Air Brigade (Trinidad): *** Group air 72 – air base Trinidad *** Group air 62 – air base Riberalta *** Group air defence artillery GADA-95 ** Sixth Air Brigade (Cobija): *** Group air 64 – air base Cobija *** Group air defence artillery GADA-96

Civil Aviation

The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics () formerly part of the FAB, administers a civil aeronautics school called the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (), and two commercial air transport services TAM and TAB.

Bolivian Military Airline (TAM)

Bolivian Military Airline () is an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

based in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. It is the civilian wing of the 'Fuerza Aérea Boliviana' (the Bolivian Air Force), operating passenger services to remote towns and communities in the North and Northeast of Bolivia. TAM (aka TAM Group 71) has been a part of the FAB since 1945. A similar airline serving the

Beni Department Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 sq mi), and it was cre ...

with small planes is

Línea Aérea Amaszonas Compañía de Servicios de Transporte Aéreo Amaszonas S.A., usually shortened to Nella Bolivia, is an airline based in Bolivia, headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra with its administrative center in La Paz. It operates scheduled and charte ...

, using smaller planes than TAM. The Bolivian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing announced on 8 December 2016 that TAM would cease transporting civilian passengers and cargo on 16 December 2016. The decision was to allow TAM to reorganize with a status akin to the state-sponsored Boliviana de Aviacion prior to resuming service under civilian regulations.

Bolivian Air Transport (TAB)

Although a civil transport airline, Bolivian Air Transport (, was created as a subsidiary company of the FAB in 1977. It is subordinate to the Air Transport Management () and is headed by an FAB general. TAB, a charter heavy cargo airline, links Bolivia with most countries of the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

; its inventory included a fleet of

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

aircraft. TAB's

Base of operations Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

was headquartered at El Alto, adjacent to

El Alto International Airport El Alto International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto) is an international airport serving La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the city of El Alto, west of La Paz. At an elevation of , it is the highest international air ...

. TAB also flew to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, with stops in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Aircraft

Current inventory

Dassault Falcon 900 - Avion presidencial de bolivia

Future acquisitions

During a 31 July 2017 ceremony, which was attended by the armed forces' high command, four models of lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT; L-15,

M-346 The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. Originally co-developed with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130, the partnership was dissolved in 2000 and then Alenia Aermacchi ...

, T-50, and

Yak-130 The Yakovlev Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten) is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the "Yak/AEM-130". It has also been marketed as a potential light attack ...

) were presented with a potential to replace the T-33 and reequip the GAC-31. The FAB's Commander expressed the FAB's preference for the Yak-130.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official site
(Spanish) {{Authority control Military of Bolivia Air forces by country