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The Bolivian Air Force (BAF; or 'FAB') is the
air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces.


History

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. In 2017 Bolivia finally retired the Lockheed T-33 marking the end of 44 years of service. Bolivia was the last operator of the T-33.


Organization

FAB is organized into air brigades, which is formed by one to three air groups. The air groups are based at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Trinidad, Riberalta, Roboré, Uyuni, Oruro, Sucre and Chimoré. Major commands included the following: * General Command Systems Department in La Paz, equipped with sophisticated computers. * Group of Air-Defense (Grupo Aereo de Defensa Anteaerea – GADA): GADA-91 (I BRIGADE), GADA-92 (II BRIGADE), GADA-93 (III BRIGADE), GADA-94 (IV BRIGADE), GADA-95 (V BRIGADE), GADA-96 (VI BRIGADE) and GADA-97 (I BRIGADE). * Six air brigades with subordinate air groups. ** First Air Brigade (El Alto): *** Fighter group 31 "Gral. Jorge Jordán Mercado": 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) *** Air group 1 – Air group VIP *** Air group 66 – air base in Oruro *** Transporte Aereo Boliviano-TAB *** Task Force "Black Devils" *** Group air defence artillery GADA-91 *** Group air defence artillery GADA-97 ** Second Air Brigade (Cochabamba): *** Fighter group 34 "P.R.Cuevas": Aerotactico squadron 340, Link training squadron 341 *** Air group search and rescue 51: Helicopter Squadron 511 *** Air group training 22 – air base in Chimore (helicopter training) *** Air group 67 – air base in Sucre ***Group air defence artillery GADA-92 ** Third Air Brigade (Santa Cruz): *** Fighter group 32 "B.B.Rioja" (CEPAC): squadron 321, squadron 320, squadron 327 (maintenance) *** COLMILAV Air group training 21 – Training squadrons: primary squadron, basic squadron, squadron "NN" (prob.navigation) *** Air group 83(air base Puerto Suarez): 831 squadron *** Air group 61 "Gen.L.G.Pereiera (air base Robore): squadron 610 *** Task force "Red Devils" (air base El Trompillo-Robore) *** Group air defence artillery GADA-93 ** Fourth Air Brigade (Tarija): *** Air Group 82 "Cap.A.V.Peralta" (air base Camiri): squadron 821 *** Air Group 63 "Tcnl.E.L.Rivera" (air base Villamontes): squadron 630 *** Air Group 41 – (air base Tarija) *** Air group 65 – (air base Uyuni) *** Group air defence artillery GADA-94 ** Fifth Air Brigade (Trinidad): *** Group air 72 – air base Trinidad *** Group air 62 – air base Riberalta *** Group air defence artillery GADA-95 ** Sixth Air Brigade (Cobija): *** Group air 64 – air base Cobija *** Group air defence artillery GADA-96


Civil aviation

The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics () formerly part of the FAB, administers a civil aeronautics school called the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (), and two commercial air transport services; TAM and TAB.


Bolivian Military Airline (TAM)

Bolivian Military Airline () is an
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
based in
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
. 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 Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern Departments of Bolivia, department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 ...
with small planes is Línea Aérea Amaszonas, using smaller planes than TAM. The Bolivian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing announced on 8 December 2016 that TAM would cease transporting civilian passengers and cargo on 16 December 2016. The decision was to allow TAM to reorganize with a status akin to the state-sponsored Boliviana de Aviacion prior to resuming service under civilian regulations.


Bolivian Air Transport (TAB)

Although a civil transport airline, Bolivian Air Transport (, was created as a subsidiary company of the FAB in 1977. It is subordinate to the Air Transport Management () and is headed by an FAB general. TAB, a charter heavy cargo airline, links Bolivia with most countries of the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
; its inventory included a fleet of
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
aircraft. TAB's Base of operations was headquartered at El Alto, adjacent to
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
's El Alto International Airport. TAB also flew to
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, with stops in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
.


Aircraft


Current inventory


Future acquisitions

During a 31 July 2017 ceremony, which was attended by the armed forces' high command, four models of lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT; L-15, M-346, T-50, and Yak-130) were presented with a potential to replace the T-33 and reequip the GAC-31. The FAB's Commander expressed the FAB's preference for the Yak-130.


See also

* Bolivian Air Force Museum


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Official site
(Spanish) {{Authority control Military of Bolivia Air forces by country