Salvadoran Air Force
The Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña), founded on 20 March 1923, fought the last war in which piston-engined fighters met each other, against Honduras in 1969, then flew a twelve-year counter-insurgency with American A-37s and Hueys that the UN Truth Commission later examined, and still flies the A-37B more than four decades after it arrived.
The Salvadoran Air Force story: Corsairs in 1969, the Ilopango raid of 1982 and Dragonflies that still fly
1923–1960s: a flotilla becomes an air force
President Alfonso Quiñónez Molina decreed the Salvadoran Air Fleet (Flotilla Aérea Salvadoreña) on 20 March 1923, twenty days after taking office; the force kept its initials, FAS, when it became the Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña. Captain Humberto Aberle ran the first military flying course from 14 July 1923, and on 12 July 1924 Juan Ramón Munés and Ricardo Aberle became the country’s first military pilots. The air force’s own history lists a Mexican-built TNCA Serie A among the first aircraft, then five Hanriot H.320s and a Breguet 14 named Gerardo Barrios bought from France. Under General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez three Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Ospreys arrived on 16 August 1933, followed by a Caproni A.P.1 and Fairchild trainers. After 1945 came C-47s, AT-6s and, in 1957, twenty Goodyear FG-1D Corsairs: the backbone of the force that went to war twelve years later.
July 1969: the Hundred Hours War
The war with Honduras in July 1969, called the Football War abroad and the Hundred Hours War in El Salvador, began at 18:10 on 14 July. By the FAS’s own account it had about 25 pilots, five FG-1D Corsairs, five Cavalier F-51 Mustangs, six C-47s, a single B-26 and a handful of light aircraft, against more than 52 Honduran aircraft; twenty civilian aircraft of a reserve flying club were armed with mortar bombs, and some 30 machines attacked Toncontín and other Honduran fields at dusk. Honduran Corsairs struck back at Ilopango and the fuel stores at Acajutla and Cutuco from 15 July. On 17 July two Salvadoran pilots died: Captain Douglas Varela Moreno, shot down and, the FAS says, killed after capture, and Captain Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez. Honduras credits Captain Fernando Soto with three kills that day. Both sides’ figures are set out below as claims.
Israel’s jets: Ouragan, Fouga and Arava
The war left the FAS with worn-out piston fighters and no jets. Israel filled the gap: between 1973 and 1975, the official history says, it supplied 18 Dassault MD 450 Ouragans, 12 CM.170 Fouga Magisters and four IAI Arava transports, and English Wikipedia dates the first jet, a Fouga, to 1974. Eight more C-47s came in 1974. The Ouragans gave El Salvador the first jet fighter-bombers in Central America’s smallest country, but they were already old designs, and most of what the FAS flew at the end of the 1970s was second-hand. James Corum counted 67 aircraft and fewer than a thousand men in 1980, organised in four combat squadrons plus transport and training units. That was the force the guerrillas of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) set out to destroy.
The civil war in the air, 1980–1992
On the night of 26–27 January 1982 commandos of the People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP), one of the FMLN’s groups, got into Ilopango and set charges on the parked aircraft. The FAS history says more than half its fleet was destroyed; Corum lists five Ouragans, six Hueys and three C-47s destroyed and five more aircraft badly damaged, while the Washington Post’s sources at the time spoke of at least five of 14 UH-1Hs and three of about 16 jets damaged. Washington replaced the losses fast: A-37B Dragonflies, O-2A spotters and C-123K transports in the first half of 1982, AC-47 gunships from late 1984, and so many Hueys that the helicopter fleet grew from 19 to 46 during 1984. By 1987 the FAS had 67 helicopters but, Corum notes, only 70 active pilots for 135 aircraft.
What the Truth Commission found
The air war had a civilian cost that is still argued over. Tutela Legal, the archdiocese’s human rights office, counted 371 civilians killed by air attack in 1985; Corum, writing for the US Air Force’s Airpower Journal, put the wartime total at about two thousand. The UN Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, reporting on 15 March 1993, recorded among its findings an air and ground attack on thousands of peasants crossing the Lempa on 17 March 1981, helicopter fire on some 5,000 fleeing peasants at San Esteban Catarina on 10 March 1982, and A-37 bombing at Tenancingo after an FMLN attack, in which it says some 100 civilians died. Overall it attributed about 85 per cent of the abuses it examined to state forces and also documented FMLN crimes. The high command rejected the report as biased; an amnesty law followed within days, and was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2016.
Today: A-37s, Hueys and peacekeepers
Since the peace accords of 16 January 1992 the FAS has shrunk to two brigades: the First Air Brigade at Ilopango, with helicopters and transports, and the Second at Comalapa, beside the international airport, with the A-37B fighter-bomber group. FlightGlobal’s 2025 count, as tabulated by Wikipedia, is 51 aircraft, led by 15 A-37Bs and 15 UH-1-family helicopters. The Dragonfly has outlived predictions of its retirement: at least nine flew over San Salvador on 15 September 2026. The United States has kept the fleet going with MD 530F helicopters for UN deployments and, in November 2025, further helicopters for the Haiti mission. The worst recent loss was a UH-1H that crashed near Pasaquina on 8 September 2024, killing all nine aboard, among them the national police director.
The Salvadoran Air Force in numbers
Serviço
- Nome nativo
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña (FAS)Spelling and initials as on fas.gob.sv. Some press reports use FAES
- Fundada
- 20 March 1923Decreed by President Alfonso Quiñónez Molina as the Flotilla Aérea Salvadoreña
- Parte de
- Armed Forces of El SalvadorCommander-in-chief: President Nayib Bukele
- Sede
- IlopangoFirst Air Brigade at Ilopango; Second Air Brigade at Comalapa
- Chief of the General Staff
- Pablo Alberto Soriano CruzIn office since 1 January 2020 according to Wikipedia; styled Brigadier on the FAS home page
- Ministro da Defesa Nacional
- Vice Adm. René Merino MonroyAs listed by English Wikipedia
Força
- Total de aeronaves
- 51 (2025)FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2025 as tabulated by English Wikipedia. Personnel strength was not published on the official site
- Aeronaves de combate
-
- Cessna A-37B Dragonfly — 15 (2025); at least 9 flew on 15 September 2026
No supersonic aircraft have ever served
- Helicópteros
-
- Bell UH-1H/M/N — 15
- MD 500E and MD 530F — 7
- Bell 412 — 3
- Hughes 269 (TH-300) — 5 (trainers)
2025 figures via Wikipedia
- Transporte
-
- IAI Arava — 3
- Cessna 208 Caravan — 1
2025 figures via Wikipedia
- Treinadores
-
- ENAER T-35B Pillán — 2
- Cirrus SR22 — 2
Five T-35Bs were bought from Chile in June 1998
Infraestrutura
- bases aéreas
-
- Ilopango — First Air Brigade
- Comalapa — Second Air Brigade
Brigade structure since 1994; Comalapa was created as an air base in 1986–1988
- Treinamento
- Centro de Instrucción Militar Aeronáutico (CIMA)Military flying school
- Equipe de exibição
- Escuadrilla CuscatlánListed on the official site
How the Salvadoran Air Force is organised
Since 1994 the air force has been organised in two brigades: the First Air Brigade at Ilopango, with helicopters and transports, and the Second at Comalapa, with the fighter-bomber group, plus the CIMA flying school and the Escuadrilla Cuscatlán display team. FlightGlobal’s 2025 count is 51 aircraft, led by 15 A-37B Dragonflies and 15 UH-1-family helicopters; no supersonic aircraft has ever served. Personnel strength was not published on the official site.
General Staff of the Air Force
One of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, whose commander-in-chief is President Nayib Bukele. Pablo Alberto Soriano Cruz has been Chief of the General Staff since 1 January 2020, according to English Wikipedia, which lists him as the 34th chief; the air force’s own pages style him Brigadier on the home page and colonel on his biography page. Wikipedia names Vice Adm. René Merino Monroy as Minister of National Defence.
Fighter-Bomber Group
The A-37B Dragonflies of the Second Air Brigade at Comalapa: 15 in FlightGlobal’s 2025 count, and at least nine flew over San Salvador on 15 September 2026, 44 years after the first six arrived to replace the Ouragans lost at Ilopango in 1982. Under Plan Arce 2000 an Air Operations Group combines the fighter-bomber and reconnaissance squadrons.
Reconnaissance Squadron
Part of the Second Air Brigade’s Air Operations Group, listed with Cessna O-2A/Bs, which flew with the A-37s from Comalapa in the civil war. The O-2 is still on the air force’s undated operational list but is listed as former by Wikipedia; whether the squadron still flies it was not confirmed.
Helicopter Squadron
Part of the First Air Brigade’s Operations Group. The 2025 count gives 15 UH-1H/M/N, seven MD 500E/530F and three Bell 412; their assignment to this squadron is inferred from its role. The MD 530Fs were funded by the United States to support UN deployments, four of them handed over on 27 October 2022.
Transport Squadron
Part of the First Air Brigade’s Operations Group, which the official site lists as a Transport Group: three IAI Aravas, of four delivered from Israel in 1973–1975, and a Cessna 208 Caravan in the 2025 count.
Military Aeronautical Instruction Centre
The military flying school, formed in 1994. The 2025 count lists two T-35B Pilláns, of five bought from Chile in June 1998, two Cirrus SR22s and five Hughes 269 (TH-300) training helicopters; the school’s base was not confirmed in the data.
What the Salvadoran Air Force flies today
Cada tipo de cobrança, com link para sua página no Livro das Feras, quando houver. Os números indicam as aeronaves registradas, não as aeronaves disponíveis em um determinado dia.
| Tipo | Papel | Em serviço | Desde | Unidades | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna A-37B DragonflyEm serviço | Ataque leve | 15 | 1982 | 15 in FlightGlobal’s 2025 count (via Wikipedia); at least nine flew in the parade of 15 September 2026. | ||
| Bell UH-1H, UH-1M and UH-1N IroquoisEm serviço | Utility and armed helicopter | 15 | 1980 | 15 across the variants in 2025 (via Wikipedia). 67 helicopters of all types were in service in 1987, 52 of them UH-1Hs. | ||
| MD Helicopters MD 500E and MD 530F (Hughes 500)Em serviço | Light attack and utility helicopter | 7 | 1984 | Seven MD 500E/530F in 2025 (via Wikipedia). Zona Militar reported four MD 530Fs handed over on 27 October 2022; Wikipedia says the United States donated twelve in 2023.
MaisThe figures do not reconcile. |
||
| Sino 412Em serviço | helicóptero utilitário | 3 | Three in 2025 (via Wikipedia). | |||
| Hughes 269 (TH-300)Em serviço | Helicóptero de treinamento | 5 | Five in 2025 (via Wikipedia). | |||
| IAI AravaEm serviço | Transporte leve | 3 | 1974 | Three in 2025 (via Wikipedia); four were delivered in 1973–1975. | ||
| Cessna 208 CaravanEm serviço | Transporte utilitário | 1 | One in 2025 (via Wikipedia). | |||
| ENAER T-35B PillánEm serviço | Instrutor básico | 2 | 1998 | Two in 2025 (via Wikipedia); five bought in June 1998. | ||
| Cirrus SR22Em serviço | Treinador | 2 | 2023 | Two in 2025 (via Wikipedia). |
Every type the Salvadoran Air Force has retired
14 types, from the Early types: TNCA Serie A, Hanriot H.320, Breguet 14, Waco, Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Osprey, Caproni A.P.1, Fairchild M-62, Vultee BT-13, Beech AT-11 to the Douglas AC-47 Spooky (and turboprop AC-47 Fantasma). Os números máximos representam as aeronaves incorporadas à frota ao longo de toda a sua vida útil, e não a força total da frota em uma data específica.
| Tipo | Papel | Pico | Servido | Substituído por | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas AC-47 Spooky (and turboprop AC-47 Fantasma) | Nave de ataque | 2 | 1984– | Two AC-47s delivered in December 1984 (Wikipedia; Corum says late 1984–1985). | ||
| Cessna O-2A/B Skymaster | Forward air control | 1982– | Four O-2As in the first half of 1982, five more in late 1984 and two O-2Bs prepared for 1985 (Corum); Wikipedia gives an inventory of 5–9. | |||
| Fairchild C-123K Provider | Transporte | 2 | 1982– | Two delivered in the first half of 1982 (Corum). | ||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain and DC-6B | Transporte | 1947– | Six C-47s in 1969, eight more in 1974, five refurbished in 1984–1985. | |||
| Dassault MD 450 Ouragan | Caça-bombardeiro | 18 | 1975– | A-37B | 18 from Israel, 1973–1975, per the official history; five destroyed at Ilopango in January 1982 (Corum). | |
| Fouga CM.170 Magister | Jato de treinamento e ataque leve | 12 | 1974– | 12 from Israel, 1973–1975. | ||
| Goodyear FG-1D Corsair (and Vought F4U-5 for spares) | Caça-bombardeiro | 20 | 1957– | Ouragan | Twenty FG-1Ds bought in 1957; five on strength in July 1969 by the FAS’s count. | |
| North American P-51D and Cavalier F-51D Mustang | Caça-bombardeiro | 5 | Ouragan | Five Cavalier F-51s, including one TF-51D, in July 1969. | ||
| Douglas B-26 Invader | Bombardeiro | 1 | One in July 1969. | |||
| Beechcraft T-34 Mentor | Treinador | 1 | One in July 1969. | |||
| North American AT-6 / SNJ-4 / SNJ-5 Texan | Treinador | Five SNJ-4/5 came with the Corsairs in 1957; one AT-6 remained in 1969. | ||||
| Cessna U-17, T-41D and Socata Rallye 235 | Ligação e treinamento | Five U-17 and T-41 in July 1969. | ||||
| Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama and SA 316/319B Alouette III | Helicóptero leve | 6 | Three Lamas and three Alouette IIIs in 1987 (Corum). | |||
| Early types: TNCA Serie A, Hanriot H.320, Breguet 14, Waco, Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Osprey, Caproni A.P.1, Fairchild M-62, Vultee BT-13, Beech AT-11 | Training, liaison and light attack | 1923– | Five Hanriots and one Breguet from France in the 1920s; three CW-14 Ospreys arrived on 16 August 1933. |
Where the Salvadoran Air Force flies from
Black pins are active bases; neither of the two mapped here has closed. Ilopango, on the eastern edge of San Salvador, has been the air force’s home for most of its history and was the capital’s international airport until 31 January 1980; Comalapa, created as an air base in 1986–1988, sits on the military side of the new international airport. Entradas sem dados de aeródromo publicados não possuem PIN.
| Base | OACI | Status | Pista | Unidades e aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ComalapaLa Paz Department | MSLP | Ativo | 07/253.200 m |
|
| IlopangoSan Salvador Department | MSSS | Ativo | 15/332,240 m |
|
Nenhuma base aérea corresponde a essa busca.
Who is stationed where in the Salvadoran Air Force
Unidades voadoras por base, unidades atuais primeiro. Salvadoran flying units are squadrons and groups under the two air brigades — helicopters and transports at Ilopango, A-37Bs and reconnaissance at Comalapa — as listed on the air force’s own site. Where a squadron’s aircraft are inferred from its role or rest on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- Helicopter Squadron (Escuadrón de Helicópteros)Esquadrão de helicópteros · ativo
- Bell UH-1H/M
- Transport Squadron (Escuadrón de Transporte)Esquadrão de transporte · ativo
- IAI Arava, Cessna 208 Caravan
- Fighter-Bomber Group (Grupo Caza y Bombardeo)Fighter-bomber group · active
- Cessna A-37B Dragonfly
- Reconnaissance SquadronEsquadrão de reconhecimento · ativo
- Cessna O-2A/B
Nenhuma unidade corresponde a essa pesquisa.
Salvadoran Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
20 March: President Alfonso Quiñónez Molina decrees the Flotilla Aérea Salvadoreña. 14 July: the first military flying course opens under Captain Humberto Aberle.
12 July: Juan Ramón Munés and Ricardo Aberle graduate as the first Salvadoran military pilots.
16 August: three Curtiss-Wright CW-14 Ospreys arrive under General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
Twenty Goodyear FG-1D Corsairs and five SNJ trainers are acquired.
14–18 July: war with Honduras. The FAS attacks Toncontín at dusk on 14 July; on 17 July Captains Douglas Varela Moreno and Guillermo Reynaldo Cortez are killed.
The first jet, a CM.170 Magister, enters service; 18 Ouragans, 12 Magisters and four Aravas come from Israel in 1973–1975.
The civil war begins; the FAS has 67 aircraft and fewer than 1,000 men (Corum). The first six UH-1Hs arrive from the United States.
26–27 January: ERP commandos destroy or damage much of the fleet at Ilopango. A-37Bs, O-2As and C-123Ks arrive in the first half of the year.
Helicopter strength grows from 19 to 46. 23 October: a UH-1H is blown up at Joateca, killing 14 including Colonel Domingo Monterrosa. December: two AC-47 gunships delivered.
1 May: a DC-6B crashes after leaving Ilopango, killing 37. 1 August: the Comalapa air base is created on paper.
16 January: the Chapultepec peace accords end the civil war.
15 March: the UN Truth Commission publishes From Madness to Hope; an amnesty law follows on 20 March.
4 March: Ilopango becomes the First Air Brigade; Comalapa the Second; CIMA is formed.
June: five ENAER T-35B Pillán trainers bought from Chile.
27 October: four MD 530F helicopters handed over by the United States for UN peacekeeping support.
8 September: a UH-1H crashes near Pasaquina, killing all nine aboard, including the director of the National Civil Police.
15 September: at least nine A-37Bs fly over San Salvador on Independence Day.
Every war the Salvadoran Air Force has fought
Missões e perdas onde constam nos registros, e um espaço em branco honesto onde não constam.
- The war with Honduras (Football War) 1969 Opened the war with dusk raids on Toncontín and other Honduran airfields, flew close support for the army’s advance and defended against Honduran raids
- The Salvadoran Civil War 1980–1992 Close air support, gunship and air-assault operations, reconnaissance and transport for the army against the FMLN guerrillas, with US equipment, training and advisers
- UN and multinational deployments 2022–2025 Supported Salvadoran contributions to UN peacekeeping with helicopters; deployed air force personnel to the Kenyan-led mission in Haiti in 2025
Salvadoran Air Force news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Salvadoran Air Force and the aircraft it flies. Esta lista é atualizada automaticamente — novas histórias do Afterburner aparecem aqui.
Everything people ask about the Salvadoran Air Force
What is the Salvadoran Air Force called in Spanish?
What aircraft does the Salvadoran Air Force fly?
Has El Salvador retired the A-37?
What happened to the Salvadoran Air Force in the 1969 Football War?
What was the 1982 attack on Ilopango?
Did the Salvadoran Air Force bomb civilians during the civil war?
Did El Salvador ever have jet fighters?
Where are the Salvadoran Air Force’s bases?
Who commands the Salvadoran Air Force?
Read the aircraft the Salvadoran Air Force flew
Cada tipo com uma página no Livro das Feras, primeiro em serviço e depois pelo ano em que deixou a frota.
Todos os fatos foram verificados.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: Historia de la Aviación de El Salvador (Douglas Alcides Cornejo Escobar)Official history: 1923 decree, first aircraft and pilots, 1930s–1950s purchases, the 1969 war from the Salvadoran side, Israeli jets 1973–1975, the 1982 Ilopango attack, 1980s deliveries, 1988 and 1994 reorganisations, 1998 T-35B purchase.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: official website (home page)Official name and spelling; command; First and Second Air Bases; Helicopter, Transport and Fighter-Bomber groups; Escuadrilla Cuscatlán; CIMA.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: JefaturaChief of the General Staff of the Air Force, Pablo Alberto Soriano Cruz, and his career; command exercised by the Chief of the General Staff under the organic law.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: Aeronaves operativasUndated list of operational types with service nicknames (A-37B Dragón, AC-47 Fantasma, Arava Pegaso, T-35B Azul, O-2A Martillo, Rallye 235 Águila, T-41D, UH-1H Guardián, UH-1M Cazador, Bell 412 Centella, Hughes 500 Guardiancillo, TH-300 Halcón).
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: Aeronaves históricasOfficial list of former types, from the TNCA Serie A to the Ouragan, Fouga, Corsair, Mustang, C-123K, DC-6B, Lama, Alouette III and FH-1100.
- Infodefensa: El Salvador y Honduras exhiben capacidades militares en los desfiles por la independencia de Centroamérica (Alberto López, 16 September 2026)At least nine A-37B Dragonflies flew over San Salvador on 15 September 2026.
- Diario El Mundo: FAES confirma muerte de director de la PNC y todos los tripulantes en helicóptero estrellado (Iliana Cornejo, 9 September 2024)UH-1H crash of 8 September 2024 at Cantón San Eduardo, Pasaquina, La Unión; police director Mauricio Arriaza Chicas among the dead; President Bukele asked for a full investigation.
- James S. Corum, The Air War in El Salvador, Airpower Journal (1998), via DTIC67 aircraft and under 1,000 men in 1980; Ilopango 1982 losses; US deliveries 1982–1985; helicopter strength 1984 and 1987; A-37 strike rates; pilot shortage; Tutela Legal civilian casualty figure; SA-7s from 1989.
- United Nations: From Madness to Hope – Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (S/25500, 15 March 1993), text hosted by Equipo NizkorTestimony from 2,000 primary sources on more than 7,000 victims and secondary sources on more than 20,000; findings including the air and ground attack on peasants crossing the Lempa on 17 March 1981, helicopter fire at San Esteban Catarina on 10 March 1982, A-37 bombing at Tenancingo, and the Atlacatl Battalion’s massacre at El Mozote.
- Zona Militar: Estados Unidos donó cuatro helicópteros MD530F a El Salvador (27 October 2022)Four MD530Fs handed over, funded by the Global Peace Operations Initiative to support UN deployments in Mali and the Central African Republic.
- The Washington Post: Rebels Damage Jets, Copters in El Salvador (Christopher Dickey, 28 January 1982)Contemporary figures from sources close to the military: at least 5 of 14 UH-1H and 3 of about 16 jets damaged; Defence Minister Gen. José Guillermo García called it a terrorist act.
- UPI: Military does not rule out rebel sabotage in plane crash killing 37 (2 May 1986)DC-6 crash after take-off from Ilopango: 33 soldiers and four crew killed; air force chief Gen. Juan Rafael Bustillo.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: Primera Brigada AéreaIlopango designated First Air Brigade on 4 March 1994; Operations Group with Helicopter and Transport squadrons.
- Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña: Segunda Brigada AéreaComalapa: created 1 August 1986; Fighter-Bomber Group with A-37B and O-2A/B.
Dados verificados em 01/10/2026. As páginas da Ordem de Batalha são geradas a partir de um único conjunto de dados; se algum número aqui divergir de uma página do Livro das Feras, esta página será considerada a mais recente.
Photographs: Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Justin Norton / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: PHCS R. L. LAWSON / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)