The Paraguayan Navy ( es, Armada Paraguaya) is the maritime force of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's waters despite not having direct access to the sea. It has gone to war on two occasions: the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, and the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõBolivia. Although Paraguay is a landlocked country, it has a strong naval tradition by virtue of the fact that it has access to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

through the

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

– Paraná rivers. The Paraguayan Navy has twelve bases. The main base is the Puerto Sajonia in Asuncion, followed by Bahia Negra, Ciudad del Este, Encarnacion, Salto del Guaira. It also has aviation facilities in Puerto Sajonia. In terms of vessels, the Navy has 34 surface ships, some of which have reached centenarian age. (This is due in part to limited use and floating in fresh water.) The main vessels and the flagship of the Paraguay Navy is still ''Humaita'', which was commissioned prior to Paraguay's involvement in the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõpatrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

s, of which the oldest was commissioned in 1908 and the newest in 1985. The Navy has 17 patrol boats of various drafts, four of which were donated by

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and the United States, while the other 13 were built locally. The rest of the fleet is composed of

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s, landing craft, transports, and a

presidential yacht Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country's navy that would be specially used by the country's president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review. Some countries (below) have vessels p ...

. The new additions are four Croc-class riverine vessels from Australia, plus 43 locally built riverline patrol vessels constructed from 2006–2009. For air support, one

Helibras HB350 Helibras or ''Helicópteros do Brasil'' S.A. (Helicopters of Brazil, Inc.) is a Brazil-based helicopter manufacturer which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus Helicopters, a division of Airbus. Helibras has produced and delivered more than 800 ...

helicopter is used to provide SAR,

MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

and utility work

Role

Its main mission is to contribute to the defense of Paraguay, in order to protect and guarantee sovereignty over its water resources. These priorities include: *The custody and defense of the coasts, ports and areas of fluvial interest in its area of influence. *Logistics support base for future operations of the forces. *Exercise prefectural functions in its area of influence. *Cooperate with the tasks of civil defense in cases of natural disasters, environmental protection and the restoration of internal order.

Fleet

Gunboats * (built 1930) *

Humaitá (C-2) Humaitá is a town and ''distrito'' on the Paraguay River in southern Paraguay. During the Paraguayan War, it served as the main Paraguayan stronghold from 1866 until its fall in August 1868. During that time, it housed as many as 24,000 troops. ...

(still commissioned, but now designated as a Museum Ship; also built 1930) River patrol ships *

Capitán Cabral (P-01) Capitan and Kapitan are equivalents of the English Captain in other European languages. Capitan, Capitano, and Kapitan may also refer to: Places in the United States *Capitan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Capitan, New Mexico, a villag ...

* Itaipú (P-05) Patrol vessels * Capitán Ortiz (P-06) * Teniente Robles (P-07) * Yhaguy (P-08) * Tebicuary (P-09) * 5 x patrol boats LP7-LP11 * 2 x Class 701 patrol boats Class LP101 108 * 2 x Croq-15 class patrol boats P201-202 * 43 x Light patrol boats, all constructed in Paraguay between 2006 and 2009 * Pirá 500 SL 5 × 1.60 m. Yamaha 25 hp. * Pirá 170 SVX 5.20 × 1.60 m. Yamaha 40 hp. * Pirá 240 SVX 6.50 × 2,40 m. Yamaha 90 hp. * Pirá 4.80 × 1.80 m. Yamaha 50 hp. Tugboats: * Triunfo R4 (1960), constructed in USA * Angostura R5 (1960) constructed in USA * Stella Maris R6 (1970) * Esperanza R7 (1970) Other * Amphibious assault craft LCVP 3 (1980), constructed in Brazil * 1 x Floating dock: DF-1 (1944), constructed in USA * 1 x Training ship: Guaraní (1968), constructed in Spain * 1 x Presidential yacht: 3 de Febrero (1972) * 1 x Casualty ship - T1 (1964)

Naval Aviation

Ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States mi ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Military of Paraguay

Military units and formations established in 1811