Ecuadorian Air Force

The Ecuadorian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana, FAE) is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador and responsible for the protection of the Ecuadorian airspace.

Mission

To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional objectives which guarantee sovereignty and contribute towards the nation's security and development.

Vision

To be a dissuasive Air Force, respected and accepted by society, pioneering within the nation's "air-space" development.

History

The FAE was officially created on October 27, 1920. However, like in many other countries, military flying activity started before the formal date of birth of the Air Force. The history of Ecuador is marked by many skirmishes with its neighbour Peru. As a direct result of the 1910 Ecuador-Peru crisis the members of decided to expand their sporting activities into aviation as well. Renamed , they started an aviation school. Cosme Rennella Barbatto, an Italian living in Guayaquil, was one of the first members of . In 1912 was sent to his native Italy for training where he successfully graduated as a pilot. He later returned to Europe a second time in 1915, where he participated in World War I. In 152 combat sorties he scored 18 victories, although only 7 were confirmed. When he returned to Ecuador, his experiences served as motivation for a reduced group of Ecuadorian pilots, who moved to the Aviation School in Turin, Italy, with the objective of graduating as the first Ecuadorian pilots of the nascent Ecuadorian Military Aviation.

By 1939 the Ecuadorian Air Force was still limited to about 30 aircraft and a staff of about 60, including 10 officers. Military aviation did not start in earnest until the early forties when an Ecuadorian mission to the United States resulted in the delivery of an assortment of aircraft for the Aviation school at Salinas. Three Ryan PT-22 Recruits, six Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcons, six Fairchild PT-19A Cornells and three North American AT-6A Harvards arrived in March 1942, considerably boosting the capacity of the at Salinas.

The 1950s and 1960s saw a further necessary buildup of the air force, gaining more units and aircraft. Meanwhile, efforts were made in enhancing the facilities at various airbases. In May 1961 the "First Air Zone" with its subordinate unit was founded. The "Second Air Zone" controlled the units in the southern half of Ecuador, , at Guayaquil and at Manta as well as the (ESMA) at Salinas.

The has its own commercial branch, like in many other South-American countries, the (TAME). Besides the military transport aircraft, it also uses commercial airliners. Flying to locations off the beaten track, TAME provides an additional service to the people of Ecuador.

The FAE saw action on several occasions. A continuous border dispute with Peru flared up in 1981 and 1995. Today the FAE faces the war on drugs as well as many humanitarian and logistic missions into the Amazon-region of the country. Nevertheless, being a middle-income country and supporting a relatively large air force is a burden.

Structure

This is the current structure of the Ecuadorian Air Force:

*21 Combat Wing () - Taura Air Base
**2112 Combat Squadron "Cheetah" () - operating Atlas Cheetah
*22 Combat Wing () - Simon Bolivar Air Base
**2211 Combat Squadron () - operating Cessna 206
**2212 Combat Squadron () - operating TH-57
*23 Combat Wing () - Eloy Alfaro Air Base
**2311 Combat Squadron "Dragons" () - operating A-29 Super Tucano
*11 Transport Wing () - Cotopaxi Air Base (part of Latacunga International Airport)
**1111 Transport Squadron "Hercules" () - operating C-130H/L100-30
**1112 Transport Squadron "Avro" () - operating CASA 295
**1113 Transport Squadron "Twin Otter" () - operating DHC-6 Twin Otter
**1114 Transport Squadron "Sabreliner" () - operating Sabreliner
*Air Force Academy "Cosme Rennella" () - Salinas Air Base - operating Diamond DA20

Aircraft

Current inventory

Retired

Previous notable aircraft flown included the Republic P-47, PBY Catalina, BAC Strikemaster, English Electric Canberra, Hawker Siddeley HS 748, SEPECAT Jaguar, Lockheed T-33, T-28 Trojan, H-13 Sioux, and the HAL Dhruv helicopter

Air Defense

See also

*Military of Ecuador

References

External links

*

{{Authority control

Air forces by country
Air Force
Aviation in Ecuador
Military units and formations established in 1920