The Paraguayan Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Paraguaya) is a branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay, in charge of the defense of Paraguay's skies. Its interim commander is Air Division General Julio Rubén Fullaondo Céspedes.[needs update] Its headquarters are located in Ñu Guazu, Luque, a city which belongs to Gran Asunción.
History
While the formal beginning of Paraguayan military aviation is often traced to the end of the 1920s, when the First Fighter Squadron and the First Reconnaissance Squadron were formed with French Wilbaut 72s and Potez 25 A.2s respectively, the airplane had already been used in combat in limited numbers in the 1922 Civil War, mostly flown by foreign pilots.
The Paraguayan Air Force (then called the Military Aviation) played an important part in the Paraguayan victory in the Chaco War, being present from the first to the last actions of the conflict. In 1932, the Second Reconnaissance and Bombing Squadron, with Potez 25 aircraft, and in 1933, the Eleventh Fighter Squadron «Los Indios», with Fiat CR.20bis, were formed.[2]
After the war, until the end of the 1930s, the government acquired a series of new planes to reequip the Paraguayan Air Force, including five Fiat CR.32 fighters and seven Caproni AP.1 light attack aircraft, which were used to equip the two fighter squadrons. In 1945, some planes were also donated by the United States as the Second World War wound down.
In the following decades, the Air Force had practically no combat-ready planes, though it had many foreign-trained pilots. It was only in the 1970s that the Air Force received a dozen outdated but still armed T-6 Texan planes and started again training pilots in its own soil. By the end of the 1970s though most of the aircraft inventory was still World War II vintage. The government decided to buy ten AT-26 Xavante from Brazil in order to be able to defend the Paraguayan airspace; the first three aircraft arrived in December 1979 at the International Airport of Asunción.
When, in 1989, a coup was started against long-standing dictator Alfredo Stroessner, fighter pilots 1st Lts. Juan Antonio Rojas Duré and Gerardo Miguel Ángel Maldonado Gómez, piloting Xavantes, made a series of aggressive flyovers above the loyalist forces, a deeply demoralizing action, for the latter had no way to defend themselves against the combat jets. The action of the Air Force, together with coup leader General Andrés Rodríguez's artillery superiority, led to a hasty surrender by Stroessner's forces.
In 1990 the Taiwanese government donated six T-33 Shooting Star jets to the Air Force, of which the first few arrived in 1991. The Taiwanese had also announced they would donate twelve F-5E/F fighter jets to Paraguay, with provisions for supplies, maintenance and the training of ground crew and pilots, but due to international issues this movement didn't go through.
The AT-26 Xavante were deactivated permanently in 2004, after twenty five years of service in the Air Force.
From circa 2014/2015 onwards, plans were started to modernize the branch, through strong licitations, law projects in the Congress and contracts with multinational corporations. A few achievements were noted in specialized news sources:
- The acquisition and unveiling of ELTA EL/M 2106 NG radar sets.[3]
- The start of the acquisition process for a parachuting simulator, and for drone interception equipment.[4]
- The acquisition of different flight simulators.[5][6][7]
- The creation of a federal program for the research and development of UAVs.[8]
Besides this, studies have been made for the acquisition of Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano planes, and also a delegation sent to the scene of the negotiations between Peru and South Korea for the KT-1P.[9] In 2019, a delegation was sent to Argentina to discuss the purchase of helicopters and the IA-63 Pampa.[10] In the same year, a Paraguayan company started to produce under license the Brazilian RQ-17 ION UAV.[11][12]
In April 2021, the PAF did flight-tests of the Wega 180, and in November, of the first prototypes of Paraguayan-made UAVs.[13][14][15]
In December 2022, a delegation from the PAF evaluated the RPA-240 radar, which it planned to use against the Narcotráfico.[16] In the same year, its T-35 Pillán were sent back to ENAER for an overhaul.[17]
In April 2023, the PAF C-in-C signed a declaration of interest with the Fabrica Argentina de Aviones for the acquisition of the IA-100 trainer.[18] In December 2023, Arturo Javier González Ocampo, who had been the PAF's Commander in Chief until November, was arrested by the Federal Police of Brazil amidst an investigation on arms trafficking.[19]
Overall, as it stands, due to many budgetary and political issues, the PAF's equipment can be considered mostly obsolete.
Peacekeeping
The Paraguayan Air Force participates and has participated in various humanitarian missions headed by the UN, namely:
The Air Force is composed of the Aerial Tactical Group (GAT) with three fighter squadrons, the Aerial Transport Group (GTA) which includes a paratrooper brigade, the Aerial Helicopter Group (GAH) and its SAR squadron, a utility squadron, a ground attack squadron, the Aerial Instruction Group (GAI), the Aerial Photogrammetric Group (GAF) and the Aerial Maintenance Group Sector (SEMAER). The last three units have no aircraft assigned to them.
Besides these, there exist the Instruction Institutes Command and the Aerial Regions Command; the latter has nominal jurisdiction over twelve landing strips and airports, six of which are air bases.
First Aerial Brigade
Aerial Tactical Group
1.º Fighter Squadron «Guaraní» (Escadrilles «Orion» y «Centauro»), deactivated
2.º Fighter Squadron «Indios» (Escadrilles «Taurus» y «Scorpio»), deactivated
3.º Fighter Squadron «Moros» (Escadrilles «Gamma» y «Omega»): EMB-312
