|
Fuerza Aerea Paraguaya / Aviación de la Armada Nacional Paraguaya Paraguayan Air Force / Paraguayan Naval Air Arm
Land-locked Paraguay first formed a flying branch of it's Army in 1927. Today's Fuerza Aerea Paraguaya saw it's formation in 1946. Being surrounded by friendly countries and economic problems does not allow the FAP to operate a substantial combat aircraft fleet however. Instead, the Fuerza Aerea Paraguaya concentrate on air transport. There is a token combat element nevertheless flying Brazilian supplied EMB.326 Xavante armed jet trainers and armed T-27 Tucano turboprops within the Grupo Aerotáctico. For transport duties, a quartet of Casa 212 Aviocars fly with the Grupo de Transporte Aéreo. There are three air bases in use. The birthplace of Paraguayan military aviation, Campo Grande - Nú Guazu near the capital Asunción and the military area of Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi International Air Port. The third is Concepción in the centre of the country.
Thanks go to the Paraguayan authorities as well as to Graham Dinsdale and Garreth le Sueur for making this visit possible.
All pictures (c) Hans Rolink.
|
|
The primary trainer of the Fuerza Aerea Paraguaya is the Chilean built ENAER T-35 Pillan. A total of 13 were delivered and are based at Concepción with the Grupo Aereo Instrucción. 0101 is in fact the first deliverd in 1990.
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 17 October 2003.
|
|
The combat element of the FAP consists of the five survivors of ten EMBRAER-Aermacchi EMB.326GB Xavantes, among them 1010. This Brazilian license built Italian trainer no longer serves with the brazilian Air Force which makes supporting the aircraft increasingly difficult. Operating unit is Grupo Aerotáctico / 1° Escadrón de Caza During the late 1990's there were rumours about the supply of a batch of F-5E/F Tiger II's from Taiwan, but these have proved to be untrue.
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 17 October 2003. |
|
|
|
Taiwan however did supply six Lockheed AT-33A armed trainers to the FAP to be used in ground attack role. The T-birds flew between 1990 and 1996 until they were retired. 1021 was one of those six, but still looks quite complete. Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 17 October 2003.
|
|
Part of the transport element within the FAP, Grupo de Transporte Aéreo, is this CASA 212-200 serialled 2029. There are four CASA's in service that replaced the C-47 Dakotas during 1984.
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 17 October 2003. |
|
|
|
The VIP/Presidential Flight operates this Boeing 707-321B serialled 4001. In order to alleviate the cost of operating it, it is sometimes rented to civilian companies.
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 17 October 2003.
|
|
In a country without a dense road network, helicopters come into their own. The FAP flies four Helibras HB.350 Esquilos, license built in Brazil, from five delivered in 1987. The helicopters are based at Campo Grande - Nú Guazu, right next to Silvio Pettirossi IAP. Seen here is H-025, the oldest of the five still flying. H-025 so far escaped a helicopter reserialling within the FAP and is destined to become H-0425. It's tasks include anti-narcotics operations and humanitarian support. Operating unit is the Grupo Aéreo de Helicópteros.
Campo Grande - Nú Guazu, 17 October 2003. |
|
|
|
Taiwan, which has diplomatic ties with Paraguay, supplied more than just AT-33's. More recent deliveries include eight Bell UH-1H Iroquois. As indicated by the Red Cross on this UH-1H H-0436, medevac is part of the Huey's trade in Paraguay. Like the HB.350's, Hueys fly with Grupo Aéreo de Helicópteros from Campo Grande - Nú Guazu.
Campo Grande - Nú Guazu, 17 October 2003. |
|
Few people realise that land-locked Paraguay has a Navy. However, with some large lakes in the centre of the country and the Parana-Paraguay river system to control, there is a genuine need for a waterborne force. The Aviación de la Armada Nacional Paraguaya supports the Paraguayan Navy. This Cessna 150M serialled 124 is one of two serving in the training role with GAEN (Grupo Aeronaval de Entrenamiento).
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 18 October 2003. |
|
 |
142 is one of a pair of Cessna 310 with the Paraguayan Navy. Flying with GAPOGEN (Grupo Aereonaval de Propósitos Generales) on multi-engine training and transport duties.
Asunción - Silvio Pettirossi, 18 October 2003.
|
