Peruvian Naval Aviation
Peruvian Naval Aviation (Aviación Naval del Perú), the air arm of the Peruvian Navy, began as a corps of naval aviators around 1919–1920, was folded into a single national air service, and was re-created on 3 July 1963; in 2026 it flies second-hand SH-2G Super Seasprites and Sea Kings from its ships, Fokker and King Air patrol aircraft from Callao, and is to receive two new King Air 360ERs from the United States.
The Peruvian Naval Aviation story: naval aviators in 1919, re-created in 1963, Sea Kings from Spain
1919–1963: naval aviators, a merger and a long gap
Peru’s naval aviation predates its air force. English Wikipedia says it was formed in 1919 as the Cuerpo de Aviadores Navales; its article on the Peruvian Navy dates a Navy Aviation Corps to 1920, in the presidency of Augusto Leguía, when a United States naval mission was shaping the fleet. The service did not last as a separate arm. The army and navy air services were merged into the Cuerpo de Aviación del Perú on 20 May 1929, the date used by the Peruvian Air Force and by this site’s page on it; the English Wikipedia article on naval aviation gives 1932 for the merger instead, and the difference was not resolved in the sources checked. Either way, the Navy then had no aircraft of its own for three decades. It re-created its air arm under the present name on 3 July 1963, according to English Wikipedia.
1963–1999: a helicopter navy and the cruiser Aguirre
The details of the first decades after 1963 could not be checked against an official history: the Navy’s own naval aviation page was offline and gob.pe refused automated access. What the sources do show is a navy that bet on helicopters at sea. In August 1976 Peru bought the Dutch cruiser De Zeven Provinciën, commissioned her as BAP Aguirre on 24 February 1978 and converted her into a helicopter cruiser, removing the after turrets for a hangar and a deck large enough for four helicopters; she served until 1999. The Navy also flew the Agusta-built ASH-3D Sea King, and Zona Militar notes that the Navy lost the ability to take heavy helicopters to sea when the Aguirre went.
2010–2018: second-hand helicopters and Dutch Fokkers
The 2010s were a decade of second-hand buying. Spanish Wikipedia records two Sikorsky UH-3H Sea Kings received in 2010 and three AB 412SP helicopters in July 2015. In October 2014 Peru bought New Zealand’s five SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprites; four were remanufactured by Kaman, the implementation phase ended in 2018, and they were bought to fly from the Lupo-class frigates. Two Fokker 50s came from the Netherlands in 2014, joining Fokker 60s in maritime patrol and utility versions and five Beechcraft King Airs. A 2018 contract paid Argentina’s FAdeA and Israel’s IAI ELTA to turn both Fokker 50s into signals intelligence aircraft; by October 2024 only one, AE-567, had been finished.
2023–2026: Sea Kings for 600 euros and a new Callao base
Peru found its next Sea Kings in Spain. Six SH-3Ds retired by the Spanish Navy’s 5th Squadron between December 2021 and June 2022 were handed over at Rota on 9 August 2023 for a symbolic 600 euros, shipped home aboard the Peruvian-built BAP Pisco, and presented at the Base Aeronaval del Callao on 1 December 2023 in the presence of President Dina Boluarte. Only two were airworthy; the other four came with 305 packages of spares, and the plan was to make four fly. In July 2026 Sea Kings of Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22 took part in RIMPAC off Hawaii aboard BAP Pisco. Meanwhile the Callao base itself has been rebuilt since 2017 under a 191.8 million sol contract, with a control tower and seven maintenance hangars.
What it is, and what is missing
This is a small service — English Wikipedia gives about 800 people — with no combat jets and, as far as the sources reached show, no combat record of its own since 1963. Its fleet is old and mostly second-hand, and even its basic inventory is uncertain: the two Wikipedia articles disagree on the number of AB 212s, UH-3Hs, T-34Cs and Mi-8s, and no official count could be reached. The spare-parts problem is real: in November 2023 Peru suspended Fokker Services for failing to sign a contract to supply parts for the Navy’s Fokker 50s and 60s. New equipment is arriving slowly: the United States announced two King Air 360ERs, worth US$35 million with training and support, in September 2026.
The Peruvian Naval Aviation in numbers
Service
- Native name
- Aviación Naval del PerúThe operating command is the Fuerza de Aviación Naval (AVINAV); Zona Militar uses Comandancia de Aviación Naval. The English Wikipedia article is titled "Peruvian Naval Aviation"
- Founded
- 3 July 1963 (present arm)First formed in 1919 as the Cuerpo de Aviadores Navales per English Wikipedia (its Navy article says 1920); merged into a national air service on 20 May 1929 per the Peruvian Air Force sources, or in 1932 per the naval aviation article
- Part of
- Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Perú)The Navy’s air branch, responsible for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, maritime surveillance, reconnaissance and transport of marines
- Headquarters
- Base Aeronaval del CallaoOn the southern ramp of Jorge Chávez International Airport, Lima-Callao
- Commander
- No name found on a reachable page; the Navy’s Commander General is named by Wikipedia as Admiral Luis José Polar Figari
Strength
- Personnel
- About 800English Wikipedia; no official figure reached
- Ship-borne helicopters
-
- SH-2G Super Seasprite — 5
- Sea King (ASH-3D/SH-3D and UH-3H) — counts differ, plus 6 ex-Spanish SH-3D received 2023
- AB 212 ASW — 2–5
Counts from English and Spanish Wikipedia, which disagree; of the Spanish Sea Kings two were airworthy on arrival
- Patrol and special mission aircraft
-
- Beechcraft King Air 200 series — 5
- Fokker 60 — 4 (2 patrol, 2 utility)
- Fokker 50 — 2 (one converted for SIGINT)
Two King Air 360ERs are to come from the United States
- Transport and utility
-
- An-32B — 2
- Mi-8T — 1–2
- AB 412SP — 3
- Cessna 206 — 1
As listed by English and Spanish Wikipedia
- Trainers
-
- T-34C-1 Turbo Mentor — 3–7
- Enstrom F-28F — 4–5
At the naval aviation school at San Juan de Marcona, per Spanish Wikipedia
Infrastructure
- Main base
- Base Aeronaval del CallaoRebuilt from 2017 under a 191.8 million sol contract: more than 44,000 square metres, a control tower and seven maintenance hangars
- Other stations
-
- San Juan de Marcona — naval aviation school
- Pucallpa — squadron in the Amazon
Per English and Spanish Wikipedia; no official confirmation reached
- Aviation ships
-
- BAP Pisco and BAP Paita — multipurpose ships
- Lupo-class frigates — SH-2G
BAP Paita was delivered by SIMA in July 2025; the helicopter cruiser BAP Aguirre served from 1978 to 1999
How the Peruvian Naval Aviation is organised
The air branch of the Peruvian Navy, about 800 people strong according to English Wikipedia, with its main base at Callao. It has no combat jets: its front line is five ex-New Zealand SH-2G Super Seasprites and a mixed fleet of Sea Kings on the Navy’s ships, with Fokker and King Air patrol aircraft ashore. The two Wikipedia inventories disagree on several counts, and no official inventory could be reached.
Naval Aviation Force
The air branch of the Peruvian Navy, responsible for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, maritime surveillance, reconnaissance and the transport of marines; English Wikipedia gives about 800 personnel. Its commander’s name could not be confirmed on a reachable page; Wikipedia names Admiral Luis José Polar Figari as Commander General of the Navy.
Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22
The Sea King squadron named by Zona Militar at RIMPAC 2026, flying from BAP Pisco. The Navy received six ex-Spanish SH-3Ds in 2023, two of them airworthy, alongside older ASH-3D and UH-3H Sea Kings; the squadron’s home base is not stated in the data.
Ship-borne anti-submarine helicopters
Five SH-2G Super Seasprites bought from New Zealand in October 2014 to fly from the Lupo-class frigates, and AB 212 ASW helicopters (two to five, by source); SH-2Gs operated from the multipurpose ship BAP Paita in UNITAS 2026. The units that fly them are not named in the data.
Patrol and special mission aircraft
Five King Air 200-series, four Fokker 60s and two Fokker 50s, one of them (AE-567) converted for signals intelligence and flying from the southern ramp of Jorge Chávez airport under the Comandancia de Aviación Naval. Two King Air 360ERs are to come from the United States.
Naval Aviation School
Placed at San Juan de Marcona by Spanish Wikipedia; the service’s trainers are T-34C-1 Turbo Mentors and Enstrom F-28F helicopters, in numbers that differ between sources.
Amazon squadron
English Wikipedia lists Pucallpa as one of three naval aviation squadron locations; its designation and aircraft were not confirmed.
What the Peruvian Naval Aviation 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaman SH-2G Super SeaspriteIn service | Ship-borne anti-submarine helicopter | 5 | Five ex-New Zealand SH-2G(NZ), four of them remanufactured by Kaman. | |||
| Agusta-Sikorsky ASH-3D / SH-3D Sea KingIn service | Anti-submarine and utility helicopter | 3 | Three in the inventory tables of both English and Spanish Wikipedia, before the ex-Spanish aircraft. | |||
| Sikorsky SH-3D Sea King (ex-Spanish Navy)In service | Utility, SAR and marine transport helicopter | 6 | 2023 | Six received; two airworthy on arrival and four non-operational with 305 spares packages; the Navy planned to make four fly. How many fly in 2026 was not published. | ||
| Sikorsky UH-3H Sea KingIn service | Utility and SAR helicopter | 2010 | 2–6: Spanish Wikipedia gives two, received in 2010; English Wikipedia gives six. | |||
| Agusta-Bell AB 212 ASWIn service | Ship-borne anti-submarine helicopter | 2–5: Spanish Wikipedia gives two, English Wikipedia five. | ||||
| Agusta-Bell AB 412SPIn service | Utility helicopter | 3 | 2015 | Three in both Wikipedia articles. | ||
| Mil Mi-8TIn service | Transport helicopter | 1–2: Spanish Wikipedia gives one, English Wikipedia two. | ||||
| Bell 206B JetRangerIn service | Light helicopter | 2 | Two per Spanish Wikipedia; English Wikipedia lists two “Bell 206 ASW” as current but also says the JetRanger was retired in 2017. | |||
| Enstrom F-28F FalconIn service | Training helicopter | 4–5: Spanish Wikipedia four, English Wikipedia five. | ||||
| Beechcraft King Air 200 series (B200T/CT)In service | Maritime patrol and transport | 5 | Five in both Wikipedia articles. | |||
| Fokker 60 (MPA and UTA)In service | Maritime patrol and utility transport | 4 | Two maritime patrol and two utility, per both Wikipedia articles. | |||
| Fokker 50 (MPA / SIGINT)In service | Maritime patrol and signals intelligence | 2 | 2014 | Two acquired from the Netherlands in 2014; one (AE-567) converted to SIGINT. | ||
| Antonov An-32BIn service | Transport | 2 | Two in both Wikipedia articles. | |||
| Beechcraft T-34C-1 Turbo MentorIn service | Trainer | 3–7: English Wikipedia three, Spanish Wikipedia seven. | ||||
| Cessna 206In service | Utility | 1 | One. | |||
| Fokker F27 FriendshipIn service | Electronic warfare | 1 | One per English Wikipedia; not in Spanish Wikipedia’s list, so its status is uncertain. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft King Air 360EROn order | 2 | A US$35 million package of two aircraft with training and maintenance support, transferred by the United States for maritime surveillance and against illegal fishing and transnational crime; announced during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Lima on 9–10 September 2026.
MoreThe aircraft come from a November 2023 Textron contract that also covers one for Ecuador. No delivery date was given. |
Where Peruvian Naval Aviation flies from
Black pins are active bases. The Base Aeronaval del Callao, rebuilt since 2017 with a control tower and seven maintenance hangars, shares Lima’s Jorge Chávez airport with the Peruvian Air Force. San Juan de Marcona and Pucallpa rest on Wikipedia; Pucallpa has no confirmed airfield and carries no pin.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CallaoCallao | SPJC | Active | 16L/34R3,507 m16R/34L3,480 m |
|
| PucallpaUcayali Region | Active |
|
||
| San Juan de MarconaIca Region | SPJN | Active | 15/332,073 m |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Peruvian Naval Aviation
Flying units by base, current units first. Only one squadron is named in the sources reached — Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22, the Sea King squadron — and its home base is not stated. Other units are given by function, as the data allows.
- Comandancia de Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation Command)Naval aviation command and main base · active
- Fokker 50 SIGINT, Fokker 60, Beechcraft King Air
- Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22Helicopter squadron · active
- SH-3D Sea King
- Escuela de Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation School)Flying school · active
- T-34C-1 Turbo Mentor, Enstrom F-28F
- Naval aviation squadron, PucallpaSquadron · active
No unit matches that search.
Peruvian Naval Aviation milestones, 1914 to today
The Cuerpo de Aviadores Navales is formed, according to English Wikipedia; its Navy article dates a Navy Aviation Corps to 1920.
20 May: army and navy aviation are merged into the Cuerpo de Aviación del Perú, per the Peruvian Air Force sources (English Wikipedia’s naval aviation article gives 1932).
3 July: naval aviation is re-created under its present name.
24 February: the ex-Dutch cruiser De Zeven Provinciën becomes BAP Aguirre; she is later converted to carry four helicopters.
BAP Aguirre leaves service.
Two UH-3H Sea Kings are received, according to Spanish Wikipedia.
October: Peru buys New Zealand’s five SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprites. Two Fokker 50s are acquired from the Netherlands.
July: three AB 412SP helicopters are received.
Work begins on rebuilding the Base Aeronaval del Callao; English Wikipedia dates the retirement of the Bell 206 JetRanger to this year.
The SH-2G implementation phase ends; a contract is signed to convert the Fokker 50s to SIGINT aircraft.
March: 38.46 million soles are transferred for the Callao base works, after 27.47 million in October 2021.
9 August: six ex-Spanish SH-3D Sea Kings are handed over at Rota. 18 November: Fokker Services is suspended as a supplier. 1 December: the Sea Kings are presented at Callao.
8 October: the SIGINT Fokker 50 AE-567 flies in the Navy’s anniversary parade.
July: Sea Kings of Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22 at RIMPAC. September: SH-2Gs, SH-3Ds and a Fokker 50 in UNITAS LXVII in Peru; the United States announces two King Air 360ERs.
Who built the Peruvian Naval Aviation 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.
Everything people ask about the Peruvian Naval Aviation
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Read the aircraft the Peruvian Naval Aviation 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
- Infodefensa: Perú asigna más de 10 millones de dólares a la ampliación de la Base Aeronaval del Callao (24 March 2022)38.46 million soles transferred in March 2022 after 27.47 million in October 2021; works from 2017 on more than 44,000 square metres with a control tower and seven maintenance hangars; contract 191.8 million soles (Consorcio Aeronaval Callao, CMO Group and Pizzarotti).
- Infodefensa: Perú suspende por seis meses a Fokker Services como proveedor de las FFAA (18 November 2023)Fokker Services failed to sign an awarded contract for spare parts for the Navy’s Fokker 50 and Fokker 60; six-month suspension.
- Zona Militar: Por US$ 35 millones, EE.UU. transferirá dos aviones Beechcraft King Air 360ER a la Marina de Guerra del Perú (11 September 2026)Two King Air 360ER for maritime surveillance, US$35 million package with training and support, announced during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Lima; Textron contract of November 2023.
- Zona Militar: Guerra antisubmarina, cross-deck y ataque aéreo: las operaciones de los aviones y helicópteros desplegados en UNITAS 2026 (18 September 2026)Peruvian SH-2G and SH-3D operated from BAP Paita (delivered by SIMA in July 2025); a Fokker 50 supported the PHOTOEX and firing exercise.
- Zona Militar: La Marina de Guerra del Perú dejó ver en vuelo a su avión Fokker SIGINT modificado por FAdeA y ELTA Systems (11 October 2024)Fokker 50 AE-567 shown on 8 October 2024; one of two acquired from the Netherlands in 2014; 2018 contract for two conversions, only one completed; based on the southern ramp of Jorge Chávez airport under the Comandancia de Aviación Naval.
- Zona Militar: Proyectos prioritarios de la Marina de Guerra del Perú de cara al próximo año 2025 (6 September 2024)Among eight priority projects: conversion of a second Fokker 50MPA to SIGINT and modernisation of the Base Aeronaval del Callao.
- Zona Militar: El BAP Pisco embarca a los seis helicópteros SH-3D Sea King adquiridos a la Armada Española (11 August 2023)Six SH-3D of the Spanish Navy’s 5th Squadron, retired December 2021–June 2022, handed over at Rota on 9 August 2023 for a symbolic 600 euros; BAP Pisco restores the heavy-helicopter ship capability lost with BAP Aguirre.
- Zona Militar: La Marina de Guerra del Perú presentó a sus nuevos helicópteros SH-3D Sea King cedidos por España (1 December 2023)Presented at the Base Aeronaval del Callao on 1 December 2023 with President Dina Boluarte; two airworthy and four non-operational with 305 spares packages; plan to activate four.
- Zona Militar: RIMPAC 2026 – Los SH-3D Sea King de la Marina del Perú continuaron con un intenso programa de operaciones en el Pacífico (29 July 2026)SH-3D Sea Kings of Escuadrón Aeronaval No. 22 aboard BAP Pisco at RIMPAC 2026: deck landings on USS Essex, cross-deck with Spain’s Álvaro de Bazán, SAR and marine insertions in Hawaii.
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: Javier Leon G / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth G. Takada / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: MARINA DE GUERRA DEL PERÚ – OFICIAL / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: André Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Mfield – Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5) · Photo: Gordon Leggett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Aeroprints.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Arpingstone / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)