The ''Polícia Aérea'' (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for "Air Police") or PA is the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

and ground combat force of the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

. The Air Police has as its main symbol the Blue Beret with the Emblem of the Air Force.

Missions

The ''Polícia Aérea'' has the following main missions, both in Portugal and abroad (namely in support to deployed air assets and units): # Internal security and immediate defense of the Air Force facilities and sensitive areas; # Ground-based

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

; # Internal policing of the units and other bodies of the Air Force; # Order and security enforcement. To fulfill these missions, the PA has to maintain combat capability, employing appropriate tactics, specific equipment and

war dogs Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military ...

. It has to be able to act both in normal security conditions as in hostile environments created by acts of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

or nuclear, biological and chemical threat.

History

When created as an independent branch in 1952, the Portuguese Air Force had no military police or a permanent specialized security force to protect its bases. Initially and when needed, these tasks were entrusted to the National Republican Guard (Portuguese

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

). After 1957, these tasks were transferred to the

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

. At the same time, some units of the Air Force created ''ad hoc'' police detachments, sometimes referred to as ''Polícia da Aeronáutica'' (Aeronautics Police). One of the first of such detachments was the police corps created by the

Lajes Air Base Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; pt, Base Aérea das Lajes), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea Nº 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portug ...

, on the May 31, 1955, made up of one officer, one sergeant and 32 airmen. In the late 1950s, the Portuguese Air Force finally creates a permanent ''Polícia Aérea'' (PA, Air Police), establishing the police and close defense

flights Flight is the process by which an object moves without direct support from a surface. Flight may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Flight'' (1929 film), an American adventure film * ''Flight'' (2009 film), a South Korean d ...

(EPDP, ''esquadrilhas de polícia e defesa próxima''). Each air base should have one EPDP as part of its internal organization. The PA force is greatly expanded after 1961, with the beginning of the

Portuguese Overseas War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

and the need to defend the Air Force bases located in the theatres of operation of Angola,

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. During this War, PA suffered more than 20 dead. Initially, the EPDP flights were made up of Military Police personnel transferred from the Army to the Air Force. However, after 1963, the PA personnel started to be recruited directly by the Air Force, receiving a specific training at the

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243,squadrons (EPA, ''esquadras de Polícia Aérea''). Each EPA being made up of a headquarters, an operational flight and a support flight. In 1981, the ''Corpo de Polícia Aérea'' (CPA, Air Police Corps) is created, headed by a Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel, under the direct dependence of the General commanding officer of the Air Force Operational Command. This Corps groups all PA personnel and units under a single organization. The several PA units – although part of the CPA – continued to be integrated into the several Air Force bases organizations. The CPA would eventually be extinct in 1990.

Organization

The ''Polícia Aérea'' is an occupational speciality of the Portuguese Air Force, whose members are organized in mutually independent PA units, each one being subordinate to the command or base to which is assigned. At the present, no central PA organization exists.

PA field units

The standard PA field unit is the ''esquadra de polícia aérea'' (air police squadron), usually each Air Force base having one of such units assigned. Usually, the organization of an air police squadron is the following: * Headquarters; * Operational flight (''esquadrilha operacional''), including: ** Training sector, ** Ground fire range, ** Criminal investigation teams; * Support flight (''esquadrilha de apoio''), including: ** Identification and control sector, ** Equipment and material sector, ** Armament section.

Special forces units

The ''Núcleo de Operações Táticas de Proteção'' (NOTP, Core of Tactical Operations of Protection) is the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the Portuguese Air Force, being made up of ''Polícia Aérea'' members. Until recently, this unit was known as ''Unidade de Proteção de Força'' (UPF, Force Protection Unit). The NOTP is charged with missions of

force protection Force protection (FP) refers to the concept of protecting military personnel, family members, civilians, facilities, equipment and operations from threats or hazards in order to preserve operational effectiveness and contribute to mission succes ...

, VIP protection and combat search and rescue, as well as other possible classified missions. Disbanded in 2006 and also made up of PA elements, the ''Unidade de Resgate em Combate'' (RESCOM, Combat Rescue Unit) was the former special forces unit of the Portuguese Air Force.

Recruitment and training

The candidates to the occupational specialty of ''Polícia Aérea'' receive specific training at the

Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force The Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force ( pt, Centro de Formação Militar e Técnica da Força Aérea) or CFMTFA is the unit responsible for the military, humanistic, technical and scientific training of the personnel of the Po ...

located at Ota. Depending on the prior qualifications of the candidate, this training lasts 30, 25 or 20 weeks. Officer candidates must hold a bachelor's degree as the minimum prior qualification.

Uniform

The members of the ''Polícia Aérea'' wear the same uniforms of the rest of the members of the Portuguese Air Force, however with a blue

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

instead of the standard

side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of an ...

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

s. In some occasions, a white

brassard A brassard or armlet is an armband or piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm; the term typically refers to an item of uniform worn as part of military uniform or by police or other uniformed persons. Unit, role, rank b ...

with the letters "PA" in blue is used. In the past, a blue helmet with a white stripe and white "PA" letters was used, but this uniform item has been discontinued.

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Pistols

Heckler & Koch USP The USP (''Universelle Selbstladepistole'' or "universal self-loading pistol") is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns. History Design work on a new family of p ...

Heckler & Koch USP Compact A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout encouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of di ...

(special forces);

Submachine gus

* Heckler & Koch MP5 A3, MP5K and MP5 SD6 *

Heckler & Koch UMP The Heckler & Koch UMP (''Universale Maschinenpistole'', German for "Universal Machine Pistol") is a submachine gun developed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. Heckler & Koch developed the UMP as a lighter and cheaper successor to the MP5, thou ...

(special forces); * Heckler & Koch MP7A1 (special forces);

Assault rifles

* CZ BREN 2 (special forces); *

Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...

; * Heckler & Koch HK416A5 (Used by JTAC); * Heckler & Koch HK417A2 (special forces); * Heckler & Koch G3A3/A4;

Machine guns

Heckler & Koch MG4 The Heckler & Koch MG4 (also known as the HK123) is a belt-fed 5.56 mm light machine gun designed and developed by German firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It was developed in the late 1990s and first seen publicly in September 2001. It has be ...

(special forces); * Heckler & Koch MG5 (special forces); *

Rheinmetall MG3 The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 ''Einheitsmaschinengewehr'' (Universal machine gun) that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser ro ...

; *

Browning M2 The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

;

Shotguns

* Fabarm STF 12 (special forces); *

Benelli M3 The Benelli M3 is a dual-mode (hybrid pump-action and semi-automatic) shotgun designed and manufactured by Italian firearms manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and one of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-auto shotguns. The M3 holds a maximum of ...

;

Sniper rifles

* Sako TRG-22 (special forces); * Heckler & Koch G28E (special forces); *

Heckler & Koch MSG-90 The Heckler & Koch PSG1 (''Präzisionsschützengewehr'', German for "precision shooting rifle") is a semi-automatic sniper rifle designed and produced by the German company Heckler & Koch. Development This rifle is said to have been developed ...

A1 (special forces); *

M82 Barrett rifle M8 or M-8 or M.08 or ''variant, may refer to: Computing and electronics * M8 (cipher), an encryption algorithm * Leica M8, a digital rangefinder camera * HTC One (M8), a smartphone * Meizu M8, a smartphone Places * Messier 8, also known as M8 o ...

(special forces);

Grenade launchers

Heckler & Koch AG36 The AG36 is a single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher that operates on the high-low system and was designed primarily for installation on the G36 assault rifle, designed by the German weapons manufacturing company Heckler & Koch of Oberndorf am Nec ...

; *

Heckler & Koch HK69A1 The HK69A1 is a 40 mm grenade launcher developed and produced by the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K). The weapon was designed to engage enemy troops and strongpoints out to a distance of 350 m; it can also be used to deploy smoke g ...

;

Anti-tank missiles

* Instalaza C90-CR; * M72 LAW m/78;

Armored Vehicles

*3x HMMWV 1165A1/B3 * 12x Condor UR-425 AP

References

External links

ANPA
Air Police National Association
UPF in Real Thaw 11 exercise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Policia Aerea Portuguese Air Force Military provosts of Portugal Air force police agencies Military of Portugal