Ecuadorian Air Force

The Ecuadorian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana, FAE) is the Air arm of the Military of Ecuador and responsible for the protection of the Ecuadorian airspace.

Mission
To develop the military air wing, in order to execute institutional objectives which guarantee sovereignty and contribute towards the nation's security and development.

Vision
To be a dissuasive Air Force, respected and accepted by society, pioneering within the nation's "air-space" development.

History
The FAE was officially created on October 27, 1920. However, like in many other countries, military flying activity started before the formal date of birth of the Air Force. The history of Ecuador is marked by many skirmishes with its neighbour Peru. As a direct result of the 1910 Ecuador-Peru crisis the members of Club de Tiro Guayaquil decided to expand their sporting activities into aviation as well. Renamed Club de Tiro y Aviación, they started an aviation school. Cosme Rennella Barbatto, an Italian living in Guayaquil, was one of the very first members of Club de Tiro y Aviación. In 1912 Cosme Rennella was sent to his native Italy for training where he successfully graduated as a pilot. He later returned to Europe a second time in 1915, where he participated in World War I. In 152 combat sorties he scored 18 victories, although only 7 were confirmed. When he returned to Ecuador, his experiences served as motivation for a reduced group of Ecuadorian pilots, who moves to the Aviation School in Turin, Italy, with the objective of graduating as the first Ecuadorian pilots of the nascent Ecuadorian Military Aviation.

By 1939 the Ecuadorian Air Force was still limited to about 30 aircraft and a staff of about 60, including 10 officers. Military aviation did not start in earnest until the early forties when an Ecuadorian mission to the United States resulted in the delivery of an assortment of aircraft for the Aviation school at Salinas. Three Ryan PT-22 Recruits, six Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcons, six Fairchild PT-19A Cornells and three North American AT-6A Harvards arrived in March 1942, considerably boosting the capacity of the Escuela de Aviación at Salinas.

The fifties and sixties saw a further necessary build up of the air force, gaining more units and aircraft. Meanwhile efforts were made in enhancing the facilities at various airbases. In May 1961 the "First Air Zone" with its subordinate unit Ala de Transportes No.11 was founded. The "Second Air Zone" controlled the units in the southern half of Ecuador, Ala de Combate No.21 at Taura, Ala de Rescate No.22' at Guayaquil and Ala de Combate No.23 at Manta as well as the Escuela Superior Militar de Aviación "Cosme Rennella B." '' (ESMA) at Salinas.

The Ala 11 has its own commercial branch, like in many other South-American countries, the Transporte Aérea Militar Ecuatoriana (TAME). Besides the military transport aircraft, it also uses commercial airliners. Flying to locations off the beaten track, TAME provides an additional service to the people of Ecuador.

The FAE saw action on several occasions. A continuous border dispute with Peru flared up in 1981 and 1995. The FAE managed to down several Peruvian aircraft during the latter conflict. Today the FAE faces the war on drugs as well as many humanitarian and logistic missions into the Amazon-region of the country. Nevertheless, being a middle-income country and supporting a relatively large air force is a burden.

Structure
This is the current structure of the Ecuadorian Air Force:


 * 21st Combat Wing (Ala de combate 21) - Taura Air Base
 * 2112th Combat Squadron "Mirage" (Esc. de combate 2112 "Mirage") - operating Mirage F1JA/JE, Mirage 50 (To be replaced by Atlas Cheetah)
 * 2113th Combat Squadron "Kfir" (Esc. de combate 2113 "Kfir") - operating Kfir CE/TC2


 * 22nd Combat Wing (Ala de combate 22) - Simon Bolivar Air Base
 * 2211th Combat Squadron (Esc. de combate 2211) - operating HAL Dhruv, Alouette III, Piper PA-34, Cessna 206
 * 2212th Combat Squadron (Esc. de combate 2212) - operating TH-57


 * 23rd Combat Wing (Ala de combate 23) - Manta Air Base (Eloy Alfaro Air Base)
 * 2311 Combat Squadron "Dragons" (Esc. de combate 2311 "Dragones") - operating A-37 Dragonfly (replacement in progress, Super Tucano)
 * 2313 Combat Squadron "Falcons" (Esc. de combate 2313 "Halcones") - in storage BAC Strikemaster (replacement in progress, Super Tucano)


 * 11th Transport Wing (Ala de transporte 11) - Mariscal Sucre Air Base (part of Mariscal Sucre International Airport)
 * 1111th Transport Squadron "Hercules" (Esc. de transporte 1111 "Hercules") - operating C-130B/H
 * 1112th Transport Squadron "Avro" (Esc. de transporte 1112 "Avro") - operating Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (to be replaced by four Xian MA60)
 * 1113th Transport Squadron "Twin Otter" (Esc. de transporte 1113 "Twin Otter") - operating DHC-6 Twin Otter
 * 1114th Transport Squadron "Sabreliner" (Esc. de transporte 1114 "Sabreliner") - operating Sabreliner


 * Air Force Academy "Cosme Rennella" (Escuela Superior Militar de Aviacion "Cosme Rennella") - Salinas Air Base - operating Cessna A-150L Aerobat, T-34 Mentor

Armament

 * Denel Dynamics V-4 R-Darter-BVR
 * MBDA R550 Magic-II AAMs 🇫🇷
 * IAI Python MK-IV AAMs🇮🇱
 * IAI Python MK-III AAMs🇮🇱
 * IAI Shafrir MK-II AAMs 🇮🇱
 * BLU-107 Durandal 🇫🇷

Types previously operated include

 * Boeing 707🇺🇸
 * CASA CN-235🇪🇸 Spain
 * Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcon🇺🇸
 * Fairchild PT-19 Cornell🇺🇸
 * Ryan PT-22 Recruit🇺🇸
 * SEPECAT Jaguar, Delivered: 15 total: 2 Jaguar-B, 10 Jaguar-S intl., 3 Jaguar-GR.1; 7-9 in storage🇫🇷
 * BAC Strikemaster, Delivered: 24-26 total: 2 BAC-167 MK-83, 2 BAC-167 MK-87, 8 BAC-167 MK-89, 8 BAC-167 MK-89A, 12 BAC-167 MK-90; 8-10 in storge