| Venezuelan Air Force |
Article Index for Venezuelan |
Shopping Venezuelan |
Website Links For Venezuelan |
Information AboutVenezuelan Air Force |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT VENEZUELAN AIR FORCE | |
| military of venezuela | |
| air forces | |
| aviation in venezuela | |
The Air Force of Venezuela, since 2006: ''Aviación Militar Venezolana'' (previously ''Fuerza Aérea Venezolana'', '''FAV''') is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a component in the Venezuelan Armed Forces . HISTORY The birth of the ''FAV'' goes back to December 10 , 1920 when the Military Aviation school of Venezuela was formed. Early aircraft included Farman and Caudron G-3 as well as the amphibian Caudron G-4. The first decades of the FAV saw mainly French, German and Italian influence. After the Second World War , the Air force was reorganised with American aid, eventually leading to the formal inception of the Fuerza Aérea Venezolana, as we know it today, on June 22 , 1946 . Most current airbases were built in the 1960s; main fighter types in those years were Venom, Vampire, and F-86 . Bomber squadrons typically operated B-25 Mitchell aircraft. The 70s and 80s saw a considerable increase in capacity, mainly because the rising oil prices enabled the FAV to re-equip most of its units. The mixture of various aircraft types was maintained and Mirage III E and V, VF-5A and D, T-2D, OV-10A and E, T-27 were introduced. Venezuela was one of the first export customers for the F-16 which arrived in 1983 to equip the newly formed Grupo Aéreo de Caza 16 at El Libertador airbase. 12 FAV purchased 24 Sukhoi Su-30 planes from Russia on July 2005 , in response to the spare parts embargo of F-16 planes declared by the United States. Ten of these aircraft are commissioned while 50 others are scheduled to be delivered in 2008 . In 2006 , Venezuelan F-16s, F-5 s and Mirages participated in the joint exercise Cruzex III held in Brazil along with the air forces of Argentina , Brazil , Chile , France , Peru and Uruguay . Fuerza Aérea Venezolana participó en ejercicio multinacional Cruzex 2006 ORGANIZATION The Air Force is organized into three fighter groups, one for each aircraft type in use:
A fourth group, called Group 13, is being reactived for the newly acquired Sukhoi Su-30MK2 aircraft. AIRCRAFT IN USE
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|