Bolivian Air Force
| Bolivian Air Force | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Bolivian Air Force |
|
| Founded | 1923 |
| Country | Bolivia |
| Part of | Bolivian Armed Forces |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
General del Aire (Air General) Tito Gandarillas |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Helicopter | Helibras HB350 Esquilo |
| Trainer | Hongdu JL-8VB, Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer, Diamond DA40 |
| Transport | Lockheed C-130 Hercules, BAE Systems 146 |
The Bolivian Air Force ('Fuerza Aérea Boliviana' or 'FAB') is part of the Military of Bolivia.
Contents |
History [edit]
By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Condor II and Junkers W 34 bombers, Junkers Ju 86 used as transport craft, and Fokker C.V, Breguet 19 and Vickers Vespa reconnaissance planes), and about 300 staff; the officers were trained in Italy.[1]
Current organization [edit]
FAB is organized into nine air bases located at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Riberalta, and Roboré.
Major commands included the following:
- General Command Systems Department in La Paz, equipped with sophisticated computers. In March 1989, FAB took a major step toward modernizing its force by inaugurating the
- Group of Security and Defense of Air Installations (Grupo de Seguridad y Defensa de Instalaciones Aéreas—GSDIA); and GADA-91, GADA-92, GADA-93 and GADA-94.
- Four air brigades with thirteen subordinate air groups.
-
- First Air Brigade (El Alto):
- Fighter Group 31 "G.J.Market": 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)
- Transporte Aereo Boliviano-TAB
- Task Force "Black Devils"
- Group air defence artillery GADA-91
- First Air Brigade (El Alto):
-
- Second Air Brigade (Cochabamba):
- Fighter Group 34 "P.R.Cuevas": Aerotactico squadron 340, Link training squadron 341
- Group air search and rescue 51: Helicopter Squadron 511
- Group air defence artillery GADA-92
- Third Air Brigade (Santa Cruz):
- Hunting air group 32 "B.B.Rioja": squdron 321,squadron 320,squadron 327 (maintenance)
- COLMILAV Training squadrons: primary squadron,basic squadron,squadron "NN" (prob.navigation)
- Air group air reconnaissance and exploration 82(air base Puerto Suarez): 831 squadron
- Air group 61 "Gen.L.G.Pereiera (air base Puerto Suarez): squadron 610
- Task force "Red Devils" (air base The Trompillo-Robore)
- Group air defence artillery GADA-93
- Fourth Air Brigade:
- Group air reconnaissance and exploration 82 "Cap.A.V.Peralta" (air base Tarija): squadron 821
- Air Group 63 "Tcnl.E.L.Rivera" (air base Villamontes): squadron 630
- Group air defence artillery GADA-94
- Second Air Brigade (Cochabamba):
Units under direct control of the general command of the FAB [edit]
-
-
- Tactical air group 62 (air base Riberalta): squadron 620
- Air group 64: squadron (air base Cobija) 640
- Transport air group 72 (air base Trinidad) : squadron 720
-
Civil Aviation [edit]
The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil—DGAC) formerly part of the FAB, administers a civil aeronautics school called the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (Instituto Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil—INAC), and two commercial air transport services TAM and TAB.
TAM (Transporte Aéreo Militar) [edit]
TAM - Transporte Aéreo Militar (the Bolivian Military Airline) is an airline based in La Paz, Bolivia. 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 with small planes is Línea Aérea Amaszonas,[2] using smaller planes than TAM.
TAB (Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos) [edit]
Although a civil transport airline, TAB - Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos, was created as a subsidiary company of the FAB in 1977. It is subordinate to the Air Transport Management (Gerencia de Transportes Aéreos) and is headed by an FAB general. TAB, a charter heavy cargo airline, links Bolivia with most countries of the Western Hemisphere; its inventory included a fleet of Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. TAB's Base of operations was headquartered at El Alto, adjacent to La Paz's El Alto International Airport. TAB also flew to Miami and Houston, with stops in Panama.
Aircraft Inventory [edit]
Future Acquisitions [edit]
Bolivia to purchase about 10 Mi-8/17 helicopters, talks in progress.[5]
Notes [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Air force of Bolivia |
- ^ R. Schnitzler, G.W. Feuchter, R. Schulz (Eds.): Handbuch der Luftfahrt (Manual of Aviation). Jahrgang 1939. p. 17-18. J.F. Lehmanns Verlag, München & Berlin
- ^ Amaszonas
- ^ Aerospace Sourcebook. Aviation Week & Space Technology 2009, 26 JAN 2009 240. Web. 14 Aug 2009.
- ^ Bolivian military aviation OrBat
- ^ http://www.defencetalk.com/russia-seeks-new-arms-deals-on-growing-latin-american-market-2-47833/
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