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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Nicaragua
Index
When the Sandinistas assumed control in 1979, the
Sandinista
Air Force/Air Defense Force (Fuerza Aérea
Sandinista/Defensa
Anti-Aérea--FAS/DAA) inherited only the remnants of the
National
Guard's small air force. Equipment included a few AT-33A
armed
jet trainers, Cessna 337s, and some transports, trainers,
and
helicopters. The time required to train pilots and
construct
airfields precluded a rapid FAS/DAA buildup. Beginning in
1982,
the Sandinistas received from Libya the Italian-made
SF-260A
trainer/tactical support aircraft and the Czech L-39 Aero
Albatros, a subsonic jet trainer that could be
missile-armed for
close-in air defense. In addition to light and medium
transport
aircraft, the air force acquired a fleet of helicopters
from the
Soviet Union that served as a vital asset in the war
against the
Contras. They included Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport
helicopters and
later the Mi-24, followed by its export variant, the
Mi-25, a
modern armored assault helicopter. After Humberto Ortega
revealed
that Nicaragua had approached France and the Soviet Union
for
Mirage or MiG fighter planes, the United States warned
against
introducing modern combat jets to the region. Although
Nicaragua
began construction of a new airbase with a longer runway
and
protective revetments, it did not succeed in acquiring new
fighter aircraft.
A series of radar sites were constructed to give the
Sandinistas radar coverage over most of Nicaragua, with
the added
capability of monitoring aircraft movements in neighboring
countries. A Soviet-designed early-warning/ground-control
intercept facility gave the air force the potential to
control
its combat aircraft from command elements on the ground.
After 1990 the FAS/DAA was no longer able to maintain
its
full aircraft inventory without Soviet support. The
personnel
complement fell from 3,000 in 1990 to 1,200 in 1993.
Airbases at
Bluefields, Montelimar, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino,
and
Managua remained operational. Combat aircraft were reduced
to a
single mixed squadron of Cessna 337s, L-39s, and SF-260As.
However, the serviceability of all these aircraft was
doubtful.
In 1992 a number of helicopters and six radar units were
sold to
Peru. A small fleet of helicopters, transports, and
utility/training aircraft was retained.
Data as of December 1993
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