National Aeronaval Service
The National Aeronaval Service (SENAN), created on 20 August 2008 by merging Panama’s air and maritime services, is a police-type force under the Ministry of Public Security rather than an air force — Panama has had no army since the US invasion of 1989 and a constitutional ban since 1994 — and it flies a mostly US-supplied fleet of helicopters, transports and patrol aircraft against drug trafficking and over the Darién.
The National Aeronaval Service story: Torrijos’s air force, the 1989 invasion and a police service in the air
1969–1989: Torrijos’s air force and the Defence Forces
Panama’s military aviation began under General Omar Torrijos. According to the Spanish-language Wikipedia account, he created a coastguard service, Operaciones Marinas, in 1968 as a department of the National Guard, and on 17 January 1969 the Panamanian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Panameña) at Tocumen International Airport under Captain Alberto Purcell. Law 20 of 29 September 1983 brought the National Guard’s air and naval arms together in the Panama Defence Forces (Fuerzas de Defensa de Panamá), the institution that General Manuel Noriega came to dominate. The aircraft it flew in those years, and their numbers, are not documented in the sources reached for this page, and they are left out rather than guessed. What matters for SENAN is the lineage: its air arm descends from a military air force that ceased to exist in 1990.
December 1989: the invasion and the end of the Defence Forces
On 20 December 1989 the United States invaded Panama, in what it called Operation Just Cause, with 27,684 troops and more than 300 aircraft; fighting lasted until 31 January 1990. The figures for the dead depend on who counts. The US military gave 23 American service members killed and 325 wounded, and US Southern Command estimated 314 Panama Defence Forces soldiers killed. The Pentagon put civilian deaths at 202; an internal US Army memo estimated 1,000, the United Nations 500, Americas Watch 300, the Roman Catholic Church 673 and the former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark 3,000, while President Guillermo Endara said fewer than 600 Panamanians died in all. On 10 February 1990 Endara’s government abolished the Defence Forces, and in October 1994 a constitutional amendment prohibited a standing army.
1990–2008: a National Air Service, then SENAN
Cabinet Decree 38 of 10 February 1990 replaced the Defence Forces with the Panamanian Public Forces, a civilian security apparatus that included a National Air Service (Servicio Aéreo Nacional) and a National Maritime Service, each with its own chain of command. Decree-Law 7 of 20 August 2008 merged the two into the Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, SENAN. It is a police-type service, not a military one: it belongs to the Public Forces, answers since 2010 to the Ministry of Public Security, uses police ranks, and describes its task as the protection, surveillance, security and defence of Panama’s air and maritime jurisdiction. English Wikipedia gives the founding as 8 August 2008 and another article November 2008; SENAN itself marked its 17th anniversary on 20 August 2025, the date used here.
Helicopters from Washington, and losses at home
SENAN’s air command has always relied on the United States. Six single-engine UH-1 helicopters donated in 2019 were replaced on 31 May 2024 by eight twin-engine UH-1STs, handed over at the Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido air base at Panamá Pacífico, the former US Howard Air Force Base, under the State Department’s INL-SENAN aviation programme. US Southern Command donated a King Air in October 2022, and in September 2026 SENAN took on four US-donated K1000 drones. The cost of flying in Panama’s mountains and jungle has been high: on 10 September 2023 helicopter AN-141 crashed near Coclesito, Coclé, killing Captain Javier Hinestroza, Major Félix Barrera and Petty Officer First Class Héctor Atencio; recovering the last body took about 94 hours.
2024–2026: Super Tucanos without a war, and the Darién
In March 2025 SENAN confirmed it was procuring four Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos and two Airbus C-295s, and felt obliged to state that ‘there is no warlike or combat objective’: the Super Tucanos were for air patrol and the C-295s for cargo, rescue and humanitarian work. Whether contracts were signed and when deliveries begin was not published by October 2026. The work is real enough without them. The Security Minister, Frank Abrego, said in October 2024 that SENAN’s helicopters fly daily against organised crime, on medical evacuations from remote areas and on tasks linked to irregular migration through the Darién, and SENAN reported seizing 40,029 packages of drugs in the second half of 2024. SENAN has no combat aircraft and no combat record of its own.
The National Aeronaval Service in numbers
Service
- Official name
- Servicio Nacional Aeronaval (SENAN)As on aeronaval.gob.pa; English name National Aeronaval Service, the current English Wikipedia title. Spanish is Panama’s official language
- Founded
- 20 August 2008Decree-Law 7 of 20 August 2008 merged the National Air Service and the National Maritime Service; English Wikipedia gives 8 August 2008, and the Panamanian Public Forces article November 2008. SENAN marked its 17th anniversary on 20 August 2025
- Nature
- Police-type service, not armed forcesPart of the Panamanian Public Forces under the Ministry of Public Security; Panama has had no army since 1990 and a constitutional ban since 1994
- Part of
- Ministry of Public SecurityMinistry created by Law 15 of 14 April 2010; SENAN reorganised by Law 93 of 7 November 2013
- Director General
- Luis Antonio De GraciaNamed in December 2024; predecessor Eliécer Cárdenas Quintero (from June 2023)
- Personnel
- 2,500–3,900Spanish Wikipedia, citing Diálogo (August 2023), gives about 2,500; English Wikipedia about 3,700 sworn officers and 200 administrative staff. No official figure was reached
- Darién role
- Migration, evacuation, counter-crime flightsThe Security Minister said in October 2024 that SENAN helicopters fly daily against organised crime, on medical evacuations and on irregular migration through the Darién
Strength
- Combat aircraft
- NoneFour A-29 Super Tucanos were being procured in 2025 for air patrol; SENAN says they have no combat purpose
- Helicopters
-
- Bell UH-1ST — 8
- AgustaWestland AW139 — 8
- Bell 212 — 2
- Bell 407 — 2
- Bell 412 — 1
- MD 500 — 1
- AgustaWestland AW109 — 1
UH-1ST count from the Ministry of Public Security (May 2024); all others from English Wikipedia, which gives six UH-1s; serviceability not published
- Fixed-wing aircraft
-
- Beechcraft King Air — 3
- CASA C-212 Aviocar — 3
- DHC-6 Twin Otter — 2
- Cessna 208 Caravan — 2
- Piper PA-34 Seneca — 2
- Cessna 152 — 2
- Cessna 172 — 1
- Cessna 210 — 1
- Piper PA-31 Navajo — 1
- Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy — 1
- ENAER T-35 Pillán — 4
English Wikipedia table; Spanish Wikipedia gave about 40 aircraft in all in August 2023
- Drones
- K1000 — 4US-donated, incorporated September 2026; nine operators certified
- On order
- 4 A-29 Super Tucano, 2 C-295Procurement under way in March 2025; financing still being defined; no delivery date published
- Latest fatal accident
- Helicopter AN-141, 10 September 2023Crashed near Coclesito, Coclé; three crew killed
Infrastructure
- Air base
- Base Aérea Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido, Panamá PacíficoOn the former US Howard Air Force Base, handed to Panama on 1 November 1999; the main air command base, which replaced the original facility at Tocumen
- Other bases
-
- Comando General Aeronaval, Cocolí
- Base Naval Capitán de Fragata Noel Antonio Rodríguez Justavino
- Base Aeronaval Almirante Cristóbal Colón
- Estación Aeronaval de Quebrada de Piedra
Named on SENAN’s website and Spanish Wikipedia; mostly naval
- Jet bases
- NoneSENAN’s only jet is an executive Embraer ERJ-135BJ
How the National Aeronaval Service is organised
A police-type service of the Panamanian Public Forces under the Ministry of Public Security, not an armed force, led by a Director General from the Comando General Aeronaval at Cocolí, with its air command at Panamá Pacífico. Panama has had no army since the Defence Forces were abolished on 10 February 1990, after the US invasion, and a constitutional amendment of 1994 prohibits one; SENAN, formed on 20 August 2008 from the National Air Service and the National Maritime Service, has no combat aircraft. Four A-29 Super Tucanos and two C-295s were being procured in March 2025 for air patrol and transport, and SENAN said there was ‘no warlike or combat objective’.
National Aeronaval Service
A police-type service of the Panamanian Public Forces under the Ministry of Public Security, not an armed force, using police ranks; it was formed on 20 August 2008 from the National Air Service and the National Maritime Service. A Ministry of Public Security report of December 2024 names Luis Antonio De Gracia as Director General; his rank and the date of his appointment are not stated. The Comando General Aeronaval is at Cocolí.
SENAN Air Command
Eight twin-engine UH-1ST helicopters donated by the United States were handed over at the Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido air base on 31 May 2024, replacing six single-engine UH-1s of 2019, for counter-narcotics, migration control, border security, rescue and aeromedical evacuation. Spanish Wikipedia describes the base as the air command’s headquarters, replacing the original facility at Tocumen.
Other helicopters
According to English Wikipedia, eight AW139s, two Bell 212s, two Bell 407s, a Bell 412, an MD 500 and an AW109; serviceability and basing are not published. The Security Minister said in October 2024 that SENAN’s helicopters fly daily against organised crime, on medical evacuations and on tasks linked to irregular migration through the Darién.
Patrol, transport and training aircraft
According to English Wikipedia, three King Airs, three CASA C-212s, two Twin Otters, two Cessna 208 Caravans, an Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy, light Pipers and Cessnas and four T-35 Pillán trainers; four US-donated K1000 drones entered service in September 2026. SENAN has no combat aircraft; four A-29 Super Tucanos and two C-295s were being procured in March 2025, and no contract or delivery had been published by October 2026.
What the National Aeronaval Service flies today
Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.
| Type | Role | In service | Since | Units | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell UH-1ST (twin-engine UH-1 conversion)In service | Utility helicopter | 8 | 2024 | Eight donated by the United States on 31 May 2024 (English Wikipedia lists six UH-1s). | ||
| AgustaWestland AW139In service | Utility, search and rescue | 8 | Eight per English Wikipedia; not confirmed by an official source. | |||
| Bell 212In service | Utility helicopter | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Bell 407In service | Light helicopter | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Bell 412In service | Utility helicopter | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| McDonnell Douglas MD 500In service | Light helicopter | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| AgustaWestland AW109In service | Light twin helicopter | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Beechcraft King AirIn service | Maritime patrol and transport | 3 | Three per English Wikipedia. | |||
| CASA C-212 AviocarIn service | Tactical transport | 3 | Per English Wikipedia; also listed by Spanish Wikipedia. | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterIn service | Utility transport | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Cessna 208 CaravanIn service | Utility transport | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Piper PA-34 SenecaIn service | Liaison | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Piper PA-31 NavajoIn service | Liaison | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Embraer ERJ-135BJ LegacyIn service | VIP transport | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Cessna 210 CenturionIn service | Liaison | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Cessna 172 SkyhawkIn service | Trainer | 1 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| Cessna 152In service | Trainer | 2 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| ENAER T-35 PillánIn service | Trainer | 4 | Per English Wikipedia. | |||
| K1000 remotely piloted aircraftIn service | Unmanned surveillance | 4 | 2026 | Four donated by the United States. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer A-29 Super TucanoOn order | 4 | Being procured in March 2025 for air patrol and airspace surveillance; SENAN stated that the purchase has ‘no warlike or combat objective’.
MoreFinancing was still being defined, and no contract signature or delivery date had been published by October 2026. |
||
| Airbus C-295On order | 2 | Being procured in March 2025 for cargo, humanitarian aid, surveillance and search and rescue. No contract or delivery date published by October 2026. |
Every type the National Aeronaval Service has retired
1 types, from the Bell UH-1 (single-engine) to the Bell UH-1 (single-engine). Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.
| Type | Role | Peak | Served | Replaced by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell UH-1 (single-engine) | Utility helicopter | 6 | 2019–2024 | UH-1ST | Six donated by the United States in 2019. |
Where the National Aeronaval Service flies from
Black pins are active bases; Tocumen, where the Panamanian Air Force was founded in 1969, is listed for its history and carries no pin because no aerodrome data were reached. SENAN’s air command flies from the former US Howard Air Force Base, opened in 1942 and handed to Panama on 1 November 1999 under the canal treaties, which reopened as Panamá Pacífico International Airport in 2014. Coordinates are from Wikipedia, because the Panamanian AIP was not reached.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Aérea Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido, Panamá Pacíficoformer Howard Air Force BasePanamá Oeste (Arraiján) | MPHO | Active |
|
|
| Tocumen International Airportformer Panamanian Air Force basePanamá | Closed |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the National Aeronaval Service
Flying units by base, current units first. SENAN publishes no squadrons, so its Air Command is listed as one unit at Panamá Pacífico with the eight UH-1STs handed over there in May 2024, and the Panamanian Air Force of 1969–1990 at Tocumen as a former unit. Where the rest of the fleet is kept day to day has not been published, and the entries do not assign it.
- SENAN Air Command (Comando Aéreo)Air command of a police-type service · active
- Bell UH-1ST
No unit matches that search.
National Aeronaval Service milestones, 1914 to today
General Omar Torrijos creates Operaciones Marinas, a coastguard department of the National Guard.
17 January: the Panamanian Air Force is created at Tocumen under Captain Alberto Purcell.
29 September: Law 20 creates the Panama Defence Forces, uniting the air force and navy.
20 December: the United States invades Panama (Operation Just Cause); fighting ends on 31 January 1990.
10 February: the Defence Forces are abolished; Cabinet Decree 38 creates the Public Forces, with a National Air Service and a National Maritime Service.
October: a constitutional amendment prohibits a standing army.
1 November: Howard Air Force Base is handed to Panama; it later becomes Panamá Pacífico and SENAN’s main air base.
20 August: Decree-Law 7 merges the air and maritime services into SENAN.
14 April: Law 15 creates the Ministry of Public Security, to which SENAN answers.
7 November: Law 93 reorganises SENAN.
The United States donates six single-engine UH-1 helicopters.
17 October: US Southern Command donates a King Air.
22 June: Eliécer Cárdenas Quintero is appointed Director General. 10 September: helicopter AN-141 crashes near Coclesito; three crew killed.
31 May: eight twin-engine UH-1STs are handed over. 1 October: US$7.3 million approved for helicopter maintenance.
12 March: SENAN confirms the procurement of four A-29 Super Tucanos and two C-295s. 20 August: 17th anniversary.
September: four US-donated K1000 drones enter service.
SENAN’s predecessor and the 1989 invasion
No SENAN sorties or aircraft losses in combat to record.
- The United States invasion of Panama 1989–1990 The Panama Defence Forces, including their air force, were the invaded side
Who built the National Aeronaval Service fleet
Every company behind the aircraft on this page has its own page: the story, every type it built, the numbers and the other air forces that fly them.
Current fleet and orders
Bell, Cessna, AgustaWestland, Embraer, Piper, Airbus, Beechcraft, CASA, ENAER, McDonnell Douglas, de Havilland Canada
National Aeronaval Service news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the National Aeronaval Service and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.
Everything people ask about the National Aeronaval Service
Does Panama have an air force?
What is SENAN?
Is SENAN military or police?
What aircraft does SENAN fly?
Is Panama buying Super Tucanos?
What happened to Panama’s air force in 1989?
How many people died in the 1989 invasion of Panama?
What does SENAN do in the Darién?
Where is SENAN’s air base?
Read the aircraft the National Aeronaval Service flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Servicio Nacional Aeronaval: home page17th anniversary 20 August 2025; four US-donated K1000 RPAS incorporated September 2026; bases named. (senan.gob.pa did not resolve.)
- Servicio Nacional Aeronaval: La InstituciónUnder the Ministry of Public Security; organisation into directorates and four operational groups including the Comando Aéreo.
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Estados Unidos dona a Panamá 8 helicópteros UH-1ST para la lucha contra el narcotráfico (31 May 2024)Eight twin-engine UH-1ST at Base Aérea Teniente Octavio Rodríguez Garrido, Panamá Pacífico; INL-SENAN programme; B/.11.3 million; replaced six single-engine UH-1s of 2019.
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Aeronaves en proceso de adquisición solo tienen capacidad de patrullaje, rescate y carga (12 March 2025)Four A-29 Super Tucano and two C-295 in procurement; ‘No existe ningún objetivo bélico o de combate’.
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Ministro Abrego obtiene aprobación para mantenimiento de helicópteros (1 October 2024)US$7.3 million transfer; helicopters used daily against organised crime, for evacuations and on irregular migration through the Darién.
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Senan despide con honores a los tripulantes del helicóptero accidentado AN-141 (20 September 2023)Crash of 10 September 2023 near Coclesito, Olá, Coclé; three crew named; recovery took about 94 hours.
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Senan recibe donación de una aeronave King Air 402 para combatir el narcotráfico y la pesca ilegal (17 October 2022)King Air donated by US Southern Command (Gen. Laura Richardson) (search listing).
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Presidente de la República designa nuevo director general del Senan (22 June 2023)Commissioner Eliécer Cárdenas Quintero appointed (search listing).
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública: Senan incautó 40 mil 29 paquetes de sustancias ilícitas en los últimos seis meses de 2024 (23 December 2024)Director General Luis Antonio De Gracia; 40,029 packages seized July-December 2024.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.
Photographs: Photo: Aeroprints.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Hans Hillewaert / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Chme82 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Carlos E. Perez S.L / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: VynedJ / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Daniel Case / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Petr Kadlec / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Arpingstone / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Md Shaifuzzaman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)