Ecuadorian Air Force

Ecuadorian Air Force
Ecuadorian Air Force
Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana
	Badge of the Ecuadorian Air Force
Founded	27 October 1920
Country	Ecuador
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare
Size	6,200 ; 72 aircraft
Part of	Armed Forces of Ecuador
Headquarters	Ministry of National Defence
Anniversaries	27 October
Engagements	Paquisha War; Cenepa War;
Website	fae.mil.ec
Commanders
Comandante General	Brigadier General Geovanny Espinel
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Atlas Cheetah
Utility helicopter	Bell 206, AW119, Eurocopter EC145
Reconnaissance	UAV-2 Hawk
Trainer	EMB 314 Super Tucano, Grob G 120TP, Diamond DA20 Katana, Cessna T-41 Mescalero
Transport	C-130, Boeing 737, Boeing 727, Embraer Legacy 600, Falcon 7X, Gulfstream II, CASA C-295, DHC-6 Twin Otter, Super King Air, Piper PA-34

The Ecuadorian Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana, FAE) is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Ecuador.

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 Club de Tiro Guayaquil decided to expand their sporting activities into aviation as well. Renamed Club de Tiro y Aviación, they started an aviation school.^{[citation needed]} Cosme Rennella Barbatto, an Italian living in Guayaquil, was one of the first members of Club de Tiro y Aviación. In 1912 Barbato 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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 Escuela de Aviación 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 Ala de Transportes No.11 was founded. The Second Air Zone controlled the units in the southern half of Ecuador, Ala de Combate No.21 at Taura, Ala de Rescate No.22 at Guayaquil and Ala de Combate No.23 at Manta as well as the Escuela Superior Militar de Aviación "Cosme Rennella B." (ESMA) at Salinas.

The Ala 11 has its own commercial branch, like in many other South American countries, the Transporte Aérea Militar Ecuatoriana (TAME). Besides 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.^[4]^[5] Today the FAE faces the war on drugs as well as many humanitarian and logistic missions into the Amazon-region of the country.

Structure

This is the current structure of the Ecuadorian Air Force:^[6]

21 Combat Wing (Ala de combate 21) - Taura Air Base
- 2112 Combat Squadron Cheetah (Esc. de combate 2112 "Cheetah") - operating Atlas Cheetah^[7]
22 Combat Wing (Ala de combate 22) - Simon Bolivar Air Base
- 2211 Combat Squadron (Esc. de combate 2211) - operating Cessna 206
- 2212 Combat Squadron (Esc. de combate 2212) - operating TH-57
23 Combat Wing (Ala de combate 23) - Eloy Alfaro Air Base
- 2311 Combat Squadron Dragons (Esc. de combate 2311 "Dragones") - operating A-29 Super Tucano
11 Transport Wing (Ala de transporte 11) - Cotopaxi Air Base
- 1111 Transport Squadron Hercules (Esc. de transporte 1111 "Hercules") - operating C-130H/L100-30
- 1112 Transport Squadron Avro (Esc. de transporte 1112 "Avro") - operating CASA 295
- 1113 Transport Squadron Twin Otter (Esc. de transporte 1113 "Twin Otter") - operating DHC-6 Twin Otter
- 1114 Transport Squadron Sabreliner (Esc. de transporte 1114 "Sabreliner") - operating Sabreliner
Air Force Academy Cosme Rennella (Escuela Superior Militar de Aviacion "Cosme Rennella") - Salinas Air Base - operating Diamond DA20

Aircraft

Current inventory

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Variant	In service	Notes
Combat Aircraft
Atlas Cheetah	South Africa	fighter	Cheetah C	9^[8]	upgraded variant of the Dassault Mirage III
Transport
Boeing 737	United States	VIP transport		1^[8]
Boeing 727	United States	transport / VIP		1^[8]
C-130 Hercules	United States	transport	C-130E/H	3^[8]
CASA C-295	Spain	transport / SAR		3^[8]
Piper PA-34	United States	utility		1^[8]
Gulfstream II	United States	VIP transport		1^[8]
DHC-6 Twin Otter	Canada	utility / transport		3^[8]	STOL capable aircraft
Super King Air	United States	utility	350	1^[8]
Military helicopter
Leonardo AW119	Italy	utility	Mk II^[9]	4^[8]
Eurocopter EC145	Germany	utility		6^[8]
Trainer Aircraft
Bell 206	United States	rotocraft trainer		4^[8]
Grob G 120TP	Germany	trainer		8^[8]
EMB 314 Super Tucano	Brazil	advanced trainer		17^[8]
Diamond DA20 Katana	Austria	trainer		20^[10]

Retired

Previous notable aircraft flown included the Gloster Meteor, English Electric Canberra, SEPECAT Jaguar, BAC Strikemaster, Republic P-47, PBY Catalina, Hawker Siddeley HS 748, Lockheed T-33, T-28 Trojan, H-13 Sioux, and the HAL Dhruv helicopter^[11]^[12]^[13]

Air defense

Name	Origin	Type	In service	Notes
Mobile surface-to-air missile system
9K33 Osa	Soviet Union	amphibious SAM system	2^[14]	obtained from Ukraine
9K38 Igla	Russia	MANPADS	222^[14]
M167 VADS	United States	SPAAG	28^[14]

References

^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (25 February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. London: Routledge. p. 410. ISBN 9781032012278.
^ Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Alegi, Gregory. (1997) Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI. Oxford: Grub Street. pp. 155-156.
^ Schnitzler, R.; Feuchter, G.W.; Schulz, R., eds. (1939). Handbuch der Luftwaffe [Aviation Manual] (in German) (3rd ed.). Munich and Berlin: J. F. Lehmanns Verlag. p. 64.
^ "Peru vs. Ecuador; Alto-Cenepa War, 1995". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ "Ecuador Air Force". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ Eric Katerberg & Anno Gravemaker, Force Report: Ecuador Air Force, Air Forces Monthly, July 2008 issue.
^ Leon Engelbrecht (2009-10-08). "Denel hopes Ecuador Cheetah buy will be complete by year-end". defenceWeb.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "World Air Forces 2023". Flightglobal Insight. 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
^ "Ecuadorian AW119 delivered". AirForces Monthly. Key Publishing. May 2019. p. 22.
^ "Ecuador Air Force accepts delivery of Diamond DA20 fleet". Diamond Aircraft. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
^ "World Air Forces 1973 pg. 145". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
^ "World Air Forces 1955 pg. 623". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
^ "World Air Forces 2012" (PDF). Flightglobal Insight. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Peace Research Institute". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2018.