South_America_air_forces_maneuvers Knowpia

The South American air forces performs several joint aerial combat training exercises. Among the more important are Cruzex (Portuguese: Exercício Cruzeiro do Sul) which is hosted by the Brazilian Air Force, salitre (English: Saltpeter) hosted by the Chilean Air Force and ceibo (English: Erythrina crista-galli flower) hosted by the Argentine Air Force. The goal is to train together in order to respond to a crisis or integrate into United Nations peacekeeping operations as a unified team; the United States Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force have also participated in some of these exercises in recent years.

The exercises include combat search and rescue, aerial refueling and combined air operations center training opportunities focused on interoperability.^[1]

List of operations edit

All helicopters are normally provided by the host nation and all the participants include different types of support aircraft.

Operation	Date	Air bases	Participants	Notes	Ref
Cruzex I	2002 May	Canoas	Mirage III, F-5 Tiger II, A-1 Falcao, AT-27 Tucano, KC-137, R-95 Bandeirante, C-130 Hercules, P-95 Bandeirulha A-4AR Fighting Hawk, IA-58 Pucará A-37B Dragonfly Mirage 2000, E-3 Sentry	65 aircraft
Cruzex II	2004 Nov	Natal	Mirage III, F-5 Tiger II, A-1 Falcao A-4AR Fighting Hawk, KC-130 Hercules Mirage 2000, E-3 Sentry, KC-135 Stratotanker F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, Mirage 50	85 aircraft
Salitre I	2004 26 Sep/10 Oct	Cerro Moreno Iquique	Mirage 50 Pantera, Mirage 5 Elkan, F-5 Tiger III, A-37B Dragonfly, EB-707 Cóndor, KB-707 Águila, LR-35 Learjet, C-212 Aviocar Mirage III, Mirage 5 Mara, B-707, L-300 Hercules F-5 Tiger II, KC-137 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker	57 aircraft	^[2]
Ceibo 2005	2005 Nov	El Plumerillo Villa Reynolds	Mirage III, Mirage 5 Mara, A-4AR Fighting Hawk A-1 Falcao Mirage 50 Pantera A-37B Dragonfly	45 aircraft	^[3]
Cruzex III	2006 Aug/Sep	Anapolis Campo Grande Uberlandia Brasilia Jatai	Mirage III, F-5 Tiger II, A-1 Falcao A-4AR Fighting Hawk, IA-58 Pucará A-37B Dragonfly Mirage 2000, E-3 Sentry A-37B Dragondly F-16A/B Fighting Falcon, Mirage 50, F-5 Tiger II	103 aircraft and helicopters. Peru withdrew due to a crash of an A-37B Dragonfly at Porto Velho on the way to Anapolis which killed both pilots.	^{[citation needed]}
Cruzex IV	2008 Nov	Natal	F-5EM/FM Tiger II, A-1 Falcao F-5 Tiger III Mirage 2000 A-37B Dragonfly, IA-58 Pucará F-16A/B OCU Fighting Falcon	98 aircraft. Argentina withdrew at last minute due to the Congress not authorizing the Air Force's aircraft to leave the country in time.	^[4]^[5]
Salitre II	2009 19-30/Oct	Cerro Moreno Iquique	F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, F-5 Tiger III, EB-707 Cóndor, KB-707 Águila, Beech 99A Petrel, C-212 Aviocar A-4AR Fighting Hawk, KC-130 Hercules A-1 Falcao, KC-130 Hercules F-15C Eagle, KC-135 Stratotaker, HC-130 Hercules, C-130 Hercules Mirage 2000, E-3F Sentry, KC-135 Stratotanker	59 aircraft and helicopters. The exercise was criticized by Peru	^[1]^[6]
Cooperación I	2010 4-15/Oct	Chile	C-130 Hercules, DHC-6 Twin Otter, C-212 Aviocar, CJ-1, UH-60 Black Hawk, Bell 412, UH-1H Iroquois UH-60 Black Hawk C-130 Hercules C-130 Hercules L-100 Hercules, Bell 212 C-130 Hercules	Natural disasters relief training official video	^[7]
Cruzex V	2010 28oct/19nov	Natal	F-5EM/FM, Mirage 2000, A-1 Falcao F-16C/D Rafale, Mirage 2000-5 IA-58 Pucará, A-37B Dragonfly F-16C/D	98 aircraft	^[8]
Cruzex VI	2013 2-15/Nov	Natal	F-5EM/FM Tiger II, Mirage 2000, A-1 Falcao, A-29 Super Tucano, UH-60 Black Hawk, Mi-35 Sabre, EC-725 Caracal, C-130 Hercules, C-295 Amazonas, R-99 C-130J Super Hercules F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker A-37B Dragonfly, C-130 Hercules, KC-767 A-29 Super Tucano IA-58 Pucará, A-37B Dragonfly, C-130 Hercules F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker F-16A/B OCU Fighting Falcon, Y-8 Pegaso	91 aircraft and helicopters
Cooperación III	2014 23 Apr/1 May	Perú	L-100 Hercules, Mi-8 Hip, Bell 212 C-130 Hercules C-295 Amazonas, UH-60 Black Hawk CC-130J Super Hercules, CH-149 Cormorant C-130 Hercules C-295, Beech 350 King Air C-130 Hercules, UH-1H Iroquois C-130 Hercules	Natural disasters relief training	^[9]
Salitre III	2014 6-17/Oct	Cerro Moreno Iquique	F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, F-5 Tiger III A-4AR Fighting Hawk F-5EM/FM Tiger II, KC-130 Hercules F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotaker A-37B Dragonfly	51 aircraft
Cruzex 2018	2018 18-30/Nov	Natal	F-5EM/FM Tiger II, A-1M, AF-1 Falcao, A-29 Super Tucano, EC-725 Caracal, K/C-130M Hercules, C-105 Amazonas, R-99, C-767 CC-130J Super Hercules F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, KC-135E Stratotanker CN-235 Mirage 2000, A-37B Dragonfly, L-100-20 Hercules, C-27J Spartan, Boeing 737-200 A-37B Dragonfly F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, KC-135R Stratotanker	100 aircraft and helicopters

References edit

^ ^a ^b AFSOUTH Airmen participate in Exercise SALITRE II
^ Ejercicio Salitre 2004 Archived 2007-10-29 at archive.today (in Spanish)
^ saorbats.com.ar CEIBO 2005 Archived 2007-10-28 at archive.today
^ FAB In CRUZEX IV Coalition Force's backstage
^ FAB CRUZEX IV Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
^ Empezó el ejercicio militar chileno 'Operación Salitre II' pese a críticas (in Spanish)
^ Cooperacion I at fach site
^ Cruzex V official site Archived 2010-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ http://www.fap.mil.pe/wrdp/?p=8460 ^{[dead link]}

External links edit

[af.mil-1] AFSOUTH Airmen participate in Exercise SALITRE II

[2] Ejercicio Salitre 2004 Archived 2007-10-29 at archive.today (in Spanish)

[3] saorbats.com.ar CEIBO 2005 Archived 2007-10-28 at archive.today

[4] FAB In CRUZEX IV Coalition Force's backstage

[5] FAB CRUZEX IV Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)

[6] Empezó el ejercicio militar chileno 'Operación Salitre II' pese a críticas (in Spanish)

[7] Cooperacion I at fach site

[8] Cruzex V official site Archived 2010-08-17 at the Wayback Machine

[9] ttp://www.fap.mil.pe/wrdp/?p=8460 ^{[dead link]}

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Summary

List of operations edit

See also edit

References edit

External links edit