| Salvadoran Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña | |
 Emblem of the Salvadoran Air Force | |
| Founded | 20 March 1923; 102 years ago (1923-03-20) (as the Salvadoran Air Fleet) |
| Country |  El Salvador |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Size | 2,000[1] 49 aircraft |
| Part of | Armed Forces of El Salvador |
| Engagements | |
| Website | www |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | PresidentNayib Bukele |
| Minister of National Defense |  Vice AdmiralRené Merino Monroy |
| Chief of the Air Force Staff |  Colonel Pablo Alberto Soriano Cruz |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Roundel |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | A-37 |
| Attack helicopter | Bell 412,MD 500,UH-1H,UH-1M |
| Trainer helicopter | Hughes 269 |
| Trainer | SR22,T-35 Pillán |
| Transport | Arava,C208 |
TheSalvadoran Air Force (Spanish:Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, abbreviatedFAS) is theair force branch of theArmed Forces of El Salvador. As of 2025[update], the air force has 51 aircraft, most of which are from the United States.
The Salvadoran Air Fleet (Flotilla Aérea Salvadoreña, abbreviated FAS) was established on 20 March 1923 by Salvadoran presidentAlfonso Quiñónez Molina twenty days after assuming office. He established the Military Aviation Course on 27 June 1923 with Italian pilotEnrico Massi as itsflight instructor. Massi was killed later that year when theCaudron G.3 he was in crashed inIlopango while teachingJuan Ramón Munés. On 19 February 1924, the Salvadoran government created the Salvadoran Aviation Headquarters and appointed GeneralCarlos Carmona Tadey as Chief of Salvadoran Aviation.[2]
On 12 July 1924, Munés and Ricardo Aberle graduated from theMilitary Aviation School as El Salvador's first military pilots.[2] In 1927, the air fleet consisted of fifteen aircraft; fourteen were named after El Salvador'sfourteen departments and its soleBreguet 14 bomber was named after former presidentGerardo Barrios. Carmona resigned as the air fleet's chief on 7 December 1927 after afailed coup and was replaced by GeneralAntonio Claramount Lucero.[2]
On 8 December 1931, Munés became the chief of the air fleet six days after the1931 coup d'état that established amilitary dictatorship. In January 1932, air fleet helped suppressa rebellion in western El Salvador by conducting reconnaissance missing and bombing runs of rebel positions. President GeneralMaximiliano Hernández Martínez bought several new aircraft for the air fleet includingCurtiss-Wright CW-14 Osprey trainers,Fairchild M-62 trainers, and fourCaproni AP.1 bombers.[2][3]: 155–157 DuringWorld War II, the air fleet patrolled El Salvador's coastline. The air fleet supported the 2 April 1944Palm Sunday Coup that attempted to overthrow Martínez.North American AT-6 Texan bombers attacked loyalist positions inSan Salvador but the coup failed and many pilots were executed.[2]
El Salvador signed theInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance in 1947 and the air force acquired American aircraft.[4]: 223 During the 1950s, the air force used twoDouglas C-47 Skytrains as the presidential transporters.[2]
The Salvadoran Air Force first saw action in the 1969Football War againstHonduras equipped withF4U Corsairs andP-51 Mustangs.[citation needed] The Salvadoran Air Force attackedHonduran Air Force positions early, but the Honduran Air Force eventually retaliated and destroyed much of the Salvadoran Air Force.[4]: 26 After the war, the Salvadoran Air Force acquired newer aircraft.[4]: 202 After the1972 presidential election, ColonelBenjamín Mejía attemptedto overthrow the Salvadoran government in support ofJosé Napoleón Duarte, the election's loser. The air force remained loyal to the government and bombed rebel positions inSan Salvador. The coup ultimately failed.[4]: 29
The Salvadoran Air Force acquired its first jet aircraft in 1974 when it acquired theFouga CM.170 Magister.[5] From the late 1970s, isolated guerrilla actions rapidly developed into acivil war. US aid to El Salvador in 1980 consisted of sixUH-1Hs and four in 1981; they were used as gunships. Other deliveries brought that number of UH-1Hs in service up to 40.[citation needed] In January 1982, the rebelFarabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)launched an attack of theIlopango International Airport. Minister of Defense GeneralJosé Guillermo García described the attack as a "terrorist attack".[6] Following the attack, the United States sent the Salvadoran government $55 million and new Bell UH-1H helicopters.[7] During the civil war, the air force did not bomb targets indiscriminately.[4]: 198
On 23 October 1984, the FMLNbombed a FAS UH-1H inJoateca killing all fourteen people onboard including ColonelDomingo Monterrosa. The bombing occurred when the FMLN booby trapped a radio transmitter disguised as the primary transmitter for the FMLN'sRadio Venceremos. The FMLN coaxed Monterrosa into capturing the rigged transmitter and claiming it as a war trophy leading to the bomb inside detonating after takeoff.[8]: 214–215 [9]
A FASDouglas DC-6B transportercrashed after departing Ilopango International Airport on 1 May 1986. The accident killed all 37 military personnel onboard.[10] The Salvadoran government did not rule out sabotage, but the FMLN never claimed responsibility for the crash.[11]
A four-engined Douglas DC-6B provided long-range logistical capability between 1975 and its retirement in 1998. It was used on supply flights to and from the United States.[12] In December 1984, twoAC-47s were delivered to be in service with the other three C-47s in use. The civil war ended in mutual exhaustion in 1990 and the Air Force was geared for internal security.[citation needed] The air force supportdemining operations conducted by the Belgian company IDAS after the civil war.[2]
On 6 May 2013, in celebration of the 189th anniversary of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, the Salvadoran government announced the planned purchase of 10 A-37 aircraft from Chile.[13]
In September 2016 it was reported that the Salvadoran Air Force in cooperation with theColombian Aerospace Force was finalizing negotiations on modernizing its Bell UH-1H helicopters to the Huey 2 standard.[14]
In 2023, the United States donated twelveMD Helicopters MD 530Fs to the Salvadoran Air Force.[15] On 8 September 2024, an air force Bell UH-1Hcrashed in poor weather nearPasaquina killing all nine people onboard includingMauricio Arriaza Chicas, the chief of theNational Civil Police, and Manuel Coto, a former bank manager.[16] In 2025, air force personnel were deployed toHaiti as part of theMultinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to combatorganized gangs there.[17]
Per article 157 of theconstitution of El Salvador, thepresident of El Salvador is thecommander-in-chief of the air force. The air force is administered by the Joint General Staff and is overseen by theminister of national defense.[4]: 208 & 210
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The following is a list of all aircraft in the Salvadoran Air Force's inventory as of 2025[update].[18]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant(s) | Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | ||||
| Cessna A-37 Dragonfly |  United States | Attack | A-37B | 15 |
| Transport | ||||
| Cessna 208 Caravan | United States | Transport | 1[α] | |
| IAI Arava |  Israel | Transport | 3 | |
| Helicopters | ||||
| Bell 412 | United States | Combat | 3 | |
| Bell UH-1 Iroquois | United States | Combat | UH-1H,UH-1M | 13 |
| Hughes 269 | United States | Trainer | 5 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender | United States | Combat | 500E, 530F | 7 |
| Trainer aircraft | ||||
| Cirrus SR22 | United States | Trainer | 2 | |
| ENAER T-35 Pillán |  Chile | Trainer | 2 | |
Notes:
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The following are some aircraft that the Salvadoran Air Force formerly operated.
The following is a list of commanders of the Salvadoran Air Force.[2][22]
| # | Commander | Rank | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Humberto Aberle | Major captain | 20 March 1923 | 20 February 1924 | 337 days |
| 2 | Carlos Carmona Tadey | General | 20 February 1924 | 7 December 1927 | 3 years, 290 days |
| 3 | Antonio Claramount Lucero | 7 December 1927 | 15 May 1929 | 1 year, 98 days | |
| 4 | José Trabanino | 15 May 1929 | 8 December 1931 | 2 years, 268 days | |
| 5 | Juan Ramón Munés | Lieutenant colonel | 8 December 1931 | 6 April 1944 | 12 years, 120 days |
| 6 | Hernán Barón | Major | 6 April 1944 | 5 December 1944 | 243 days |
| 7 | Francisco Alberto Ponce | Captain | 5 December 1944 | 15 May 1945 | 161 days |
| 8 | Hernán Barón | Lieutenant colonel | 15 May 1945 | 15 June 1945 | 31 days |
| 9 | Gustavo López Castillo | General | 15 June 1945 | 14 December 1948 | 3 years, 182 days |
| 10 | Francisco Alberto Ponce | Major | 14 December 1948 | 16 December 1949 | 1 year, 2 days |
| 11 | Hernán Barón | Lieutenant colonel | 16 December 1949 | 30 September 1950 | 288 days |
| 12 | Luis Felipe Escobar | Colonel | 30 September 1950 | 14 October 1955 | 5 years, 14 days |
| 13 | José Velásquez | Lieutenant colonel | 14 October 1955 | 28 October 1960 | 5 years, 14 days |
| 14 | Jorge Rovira Pleitez | 28 October 1960 | 2 August 1967 | 6 years, 278 days | |
| 15 | Salvador Adalberto Henríquez | Major | 2 August 1967 | 4 December 1971 | 4 years, 124 days |
| 16 | Rafael Antonio Herrera | Lieutenant colonel | 4 December 1971 | 7 April 1972 | 125 days |
| 17 | Felipe de Jesús Artiga | 7 April 1972 | 3 January 1975 | 2 years, 271 days | |
| 18 | Godofredo Regalado | 3 January 1975 | 1 July 1979 | 4 years, 149 days | |
| 19 | Óscar Nelson Bolaños | Colonel | 1 July 1979 | 15 October 1979 | 136 days |
| 20 | Juan Rafael Bustillo | General | 15 October 1979 | 31 December 1989 | 10 years, 77 days |
| 21 | Rafael Antonio Villamariona | 31 December 1989 | 1 May 1991 | 1 year, 121 days | |
| 22 | Héctor Leonel Lobo Pérez | Colonel | 1 May 1991 | 30 June 1993 | 2 years, 60 days |
| 23 | Juan Antonio Martínez Varela | General | 30 June 1993 | 30 June 1998 | 5 years, 0 days |
| 24 | Milton Antonio Andrade Cabrera | Colonel | 1 January 1999 | 16 January 2002 | 3 years, 200 days |
| 25 | Ricardo Benjamín Abrego Abrego | Brigadier general | 1 February 2002 | 1 June 2004 | 2 years, 121 days |
| 26 | Jorge Enrique Navas López | Colonel | 1 June 2004 | 1 January 2006 | 1 year, 214 days |
| 27 | Salvador Palacios Castillo | 1 January 2006 | 1 January 2009 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 28 | Jaime Leonardo Parada González | 1 January 2009 | 1 January 2010 | 1 year, 0 days | |
| 29 | Nelson Edgardo Hernández Díaz | 1 January 2010 | 1 June 2011 | 1 year, 151 days | |
| 30 | Hugo Aristides Angulo Rogel | 1 June 2011 | 1 January 2013 | 1 year, 214 days | |
| 31 | Carlos Jaime Mena Torres | Brigadier general | 1 January 2011 | 1 January 2016 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 32 | Salvador Ernesto Hernández Vega | Colonel | 1 January 2016 | 1 January 2019 | 3 years, 0 days |
| 33 | Manuel Fabio Calderón Menéndez | 1 January 2019 | 1 January 2020 | 1 year, 0 days | |
| 34 | Pablo Alberto Soriano Cruz | 1 January 2020 | Incumbent | 5 years, 328 days |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
