Central/South American Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Argentina purchase in the United States two House 212-200 with digital avionics for 10 million dollars


(Defensa.com) formalized the purchase through an administrative decision 210/2015, signed by the chief of staff, Anibal Fernandez and Defense Minister Agustin Rossi, Argentina has acquired, for manning of the Army, two aircraft of second hand 212-200 hand by a process of "direct contract for exclusivity" for an amount totaling $ 10,120,000, as published in the Official Gazette.

The contract has been signed with the company Aviacom LLC, representing Ds Airbus Military Aircraft Inc., a US subsidiary of the European company. The acquisition process began last year following a request by the Undersecretariat of Defense Logistics Service of the Defense Ministry. The payment would be made by the Consolidated Supply Program for Defense Supplies (pacId) for the year 2014. The cost of equipment is considered excessive from different sectors, given that Uruguay last year acquired two aircraft of the same type by an amount not exceeded one million dollars. It is equipped with digital avionics, unlike the devices of the neighboring country, two Airbus Military C-212/300 acquired inventories Portuguese Air Force, justify theoretically the additional costs assumed by the Argentine Government.

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The Uruguayan Air Force clarified that have not yet purchased the BAE125 - 700A


(Defensa.com) Leaving the intersection of what was published in some media that give as a fact already accomplished the acquisition of BAE 700A 125, with another 600 (one from 1978 and one from 1977), the source of some parts, for VIP use, and aero Flight Check ambulance, the Commander in Chief of the FAU, Air General Martinez confirms that Washington has not yet produced the purchase. It does recognize that it has carefully evaluated the offer (less than one million dollars for both planes). Also, although looking officers who are not as near horizon dabble in commercial aviation for pilots of a possible unit of that type, not yet have been appointed, nor would have been established to give this fleet of civilian or no fees.

In this sense, the military official said that the ferry flight of President Tabare Vazquez and entourage to Brasilia to meet with Dilma Rousseff, "does not mean or the release of this model in the FAU as a presidential plane, or the opening of a new unit, but a check of the same authorities, a standard flight around the region, with no decision has been confirmed, "Force being open to consider other hypotheses, but" with these economic conditions and by an aircraft of this autonomy which reaches almost all South American capitals "-destaca Martinez it may seem very difficult to compete.

Regarding the EMB-120 "Brasilia", which acts so far -and since 1999 as VIP aircraft maintenance demanding deployments abundant, it is not for sale and would be deprogrammed to formalize not a substitute, but before long, "deals will be heard."




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A cocaine-laden plane shot down by Venezuela crashes in northern Colombia


(Defensa.com) A private jet Hawker 800 from Venezuela crashed Wednesday in the coast near the town of Puerto Colombia, in the department of the Atlantic. The plane had damage that forced him to attempt a landing maneuver in which the airplane was destroyed. The scene was recorded on video by aircraft of the Air Force who participated in the mission to intercept the plane after it entered airspace of Colombia without permission and was monitored by the System of National Air Defense Air Force Colombia. After the plane crashed, vessels of the Coast Guard Station in Barranquilla reached the place, checking that the plane was carrying more than a ton of cocaine. Besides the bodies of two people, one of whom had personal documents that accredit Mexican nationality they were found.

Also on Wednesday the Minister of Defense of Venezuela, Vladimiro Padrino López praised the event, saying the plane had been shot down by aircraft of the Bolivarian Military Aviation just before it entered the airspace of Colombia and denying that this came from Venezuela. According Godfather the plane had come from Central America and entered the airspace of Venezuela. By failing to respond to communications requesting identification, the plane landed south of Elorza, in the state of Apure and took off again without identifying themselves, so opened fire with 20 mm shells. on several occasions, they are reaching the right engine, causing the crash. Venezuelan authorities would report at the time the FAC address following the plane.

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The Ministry of Defense of Peru selects new equipment for Aviation Brigade to be awarded to the Russian Rosaviacomplex

(defensa.com) According to unofficial information, the Peruvian Ministry of Defense through the Office of Institutional Control (OCI), would review recent procurement by the Army Aviation Brigade that was awarded to Rosaviacomplex Ltd. (Russia) for an approximate amount of $ 5.6 million. The decision reflects the fact that we would have detected several irregularities - which could eventually cause to invalidate or cancel the process - and the claim of several companies that were not considered in the process and sent letters to the Ministry of Defense expressing dissatisfaction with conditions the process, the short time to prepare the technical and economic proposals and maladministration by Colonel Cesar Chavez Apolaya EP, Head of Responsible Procurement Office (OEC) of the Army Aviation Brigade.




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Paraguay's evaluates the military capabilities of the VBTP "Guaraní"


(Defensa.com) A delegation of officers from the 3rd Infantry Division and the Command Headquarters of the Army (Research Center), headed by the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division General Jose Luis de León Araujo visited the 15th Brigade Mechanized Infantry Brazil, in the city of Cascavel, where he attended the presentation and test the capabilities of the armored personnel carrier vehicle VBTP-MR Guarani Italian-Brazilian manufacturing.

They were also explained the process of transformation of the 15th Infantry Brigade, formerly Motorized Infantry Brigade Mechanized using armored "Guaraní". The Paraguayan Army is interested in boosting its fleet of armored vehicles, which includes the modernization of the existing assets and the purchase of other machined for conversion to all Army units, in compliance with the guidelines of modernization and transformation units.


Currently it has wheel means, such as "EE-11 Urutu" and "EE-09 Cascavel" and is seeking military surplus in good condition for the acquisition of the Leopard I MBT as A5 of the Italian Army and media as the Centaur or the same VBTP-MR Guarani of Brazilian origin, for which already have begun exploratory talks. The process is part of the fight against new threats of criminal gangs who try to subvert the internal order in Paraguay, especially the narco-terrorist group calling itself "Army of the Paraguayan People". At the same time seeks to respond to ads increase purchases of military equipment from neighboring countries, which would tend to break the strategic balance in the region of the Southern Cone.




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The H145 shows its operational capacity in Peru and Bolivia


(Defensa.com) Airbus Helicopters held in Cusco one Demo Tour Altiplánico with H145, last evolution of the EC145. During his stay in this city he showed more than 15 operators of civil and military field performance under hot and high, and its flight characteristics and greater safety, best in climatic and geographical conditions of Peru. Currently under certification flight, landing and takeoff to a height of 20,000 feet (6096 meters) which confirms its power and will, among others, conducting rescue at this point. With this model, Airbus Helicopters presented to the Armed Forces and Police of Peru a light multipurpose platform that allows develop their search and rescue missions, medical, police emergencies, among other important.

The National Police of Peru, the largest operator in the region EC145 with five aircraft, has reached 1,000 hours of flight with this model, on missions to combat illegal mining, performing rescues, police surveillance, among others. The H145 is a powerful bi-turbine helicopter enjoying the extensive experience of the BK117 family, with more than 4 million flight hours accumulated. The aircraft incorporates the latest generation technological leaps, such as four-axis autopilot, avionics technology and Helionix Fenestron. Ariel 2E new engines develop 20% more power than the previous version and are equipped with digital control dual channel FADEC, which gives added security and functionality in all types of terrain and conditions.

Bolivia
Also this May, the H145 taking off from the highlands of Bolivia, with elevations reaching up to 13,500 feet to demonstrate its ability to VIP transport and military missions. The helicopter he recorded exceptional agility and handling as well as excellent visibility enjoyed by their crews due to the design of the cockpit and wide cabin, which sleeps up to 12 people (pilot (s) and passengers) .Dotado a mission management system that reinforces its versatile features, the H145 covers a multitude of mission requirements, as demonstrated by the National Police of Peru (PNP), which with five appliances is the main operator of H145 the region and to date records thousand flight hours in operations of law enforcement. High-altitude testing took place at the airport in La Paz / El Alto, at an altitude of 13,325 feet above sea level and able to ISA + 25 ° C. The main objective of the flight test, carried out in the presence of representatives from the EASA, lay in the performance and controllability. The results, which exceeded expectations, help establish at 20,000 feet the highest point of takeoff and landing of the helicopter. The performance and handling qualities tested during the evaluation have shown that the H145 is fully prepared to rescue operations such altitudes.








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Fifty-five thousand flak jackets for the Provincial Police Argentina


(defensa.com) The General Directorate of Military Industries signed a historic agreement with the Homeland Security Council, the body that brings together the provincial police, to supply forces from 11 provinces (Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, La Pampa, Misiones , Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, Santiago del Estero Tierra del Fuego Tucumán) 2.1 multi-threat Vests produced at its plant in Fray Luis Beltran. The agreement involves the production of 55,000 units RB2 level of ballistic protection and Level 1 antipunzante protection. Furthermore, this year another 32,000 vests were produced for the federal security forces




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Recovery of three of the machine guns stolen from the Armed Forces of El Salvador. They were destined for Guatemala


(Defensa.com) Salvadoran Authorities recovered three of the four M-60D machine guns that had been stolen from the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) almost a year ago. The weapons were found in a private vehicle inside a house in the neighborhood of La Chacra, Altos de Los Ausoles 2 located near the General Cemetery in the city of Ahuachapán, in an operation mounted by a drive against organized crime the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Attorney General's Office (FGR). The same vehicle had been stolen in early May in Costa Rica colony, San Salvador, and appeared in Ahuachapán, a city west of the country.

The weapons had disappeared in June 2014 from the arsenals of the Cavalry Regiment, located on the road to Santa Ana, and in July of that same 2014 the capture of three soldiers were confirmed and assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation requested ( FBI) in the US. It was also reported that would strengthen controls on military warehouses to prevent the disappearance of more implements. They would have arrested an officer and two members of Troop Cavalry Regiment, but the weapons had not been recovered.

M-60D machine guns were hidden in false compartments of a house in the Gardens neighborhood of Sonsonate and Guatemala were destined to end. The M-60 is the standard machine gun of FAES. It is a weapon developed and distributed in the 60s, but it would come to El Salvador in US military aid packages since 1981. The pedestal version, M60D, became the most widely used in vehicle assembly and on the doors of the helicopters. The end of the civil war meant that the M-60 was retained as the main gun, and was knocked down to Sætter Madsen, M1919, HK21 and others.


The M-60 fires the caliber 7,62x51mm NATO, and its original design presents a number of problems and disadvantages considered obsolete. The models in use in El Salvador should be modernized with a conversion package of US ORD, the MK43 / M60E4 standard with the assistance of naval commandos SEAL, that is the MK43 Mod 0 / Mod 1. The design series has continued to evolve and the adoption of the M60E6 Dutch Army version presents again another opportunity to modernize the park of nuclear weapons. This means a new gas system, and a complete redesign of the frame and bipod, using compositional materials that reduce weight just 21 pounds, improved rail and allowing a view shots with an effective range of 1,100 meters. The conversion module provided by US Ordnance allows conversion of an M-60 model M60E6 in just 30 minutes in a certified armory, as the Military Industry FAES.

In recent months they have produced scandals linked to the disappearance of weapons and military equipment, but the issue is still a problem for many years. Do not forget that in February 1992 a colonel was involved in the theft of five bombs of 500 pounds of the 2nd Air Brigade, which were intended for illegal elements in Cali, Colombia, and in those days fell on Paul narco Escobar Gaviria. The Salvadoran army recognizes the loss of 18 guns between 2009 and 2014, four in 2009, three in 2010, four in 2011, four in 2012, one in 2013 and two more in 2014. However, police recorded more than 95 assault rifles captured in 2014 alone, at least nine of them M-16 model, and exclusive use of the Armed Forces. They have strayed grenades and even anti-tank rocket




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The Uruguayan Air Force over 10,000 hours of flight in international missions



(Defensa.com) The FAU with air assets involved in peacekeeping missions since March 2003, when it was deployed the first contingent of 36 troops and two Bell 212 helicopters to Ethiopia and Eritrea UNMEE. The mission consisted of medical evacuations, SAR missions, transport of personnel and cargo, reconnaissance and observation day and night conditions used night vision devices (NVG).

In 2008 he finished this operation, reaching 3730 hours of flight and 62 medical evacuations, 32 of which are made using night vision systems NVG That year unfolding in Haiti a contingent of 30 troops and aircraft C-212 "Aviocar" in support of the peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH. In 2011, with the withdrawal, they will reach the 1680 hours of flight.

In 2010 they are deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo a contingent of 46 troops and two Bell 212 helicopters in support of the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, to perform SAR missions, transport of personnel and cargo, reconnaissance, observation and medical evacuations day and night conditions and then adding a third copy. To date this mission continues, reaching 4616 hours of flight and 153 medical evacuations, 22 of which are made using NVG

The crews of the Uruguayan Air Force have accumulated in these 12 years, an experience very different from those used in Uruguay, ranging from arid and hot areas with elevations over 10,000 feet, areas, seismic, humid jungle and operational environments, with elevations of more than 12,000 pies.e including active volcanoes, with whose scientific survey should collaborate. Also, on occasion an Uruguayan Hercules remained a few weeks in Congo flying to MONUSCO. Before this saga with the UN, and in 1998 the FAU had deployed a week, a helicopter AS-365N2- then recently received-for severe floods in Paraguay, months later you would during an earthquake, then Hercules remained in helping Colombia victims.




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The future of the Pucara in Uruguay remains uncertain


(Defensa.com) Authorities of the Uruguayan Air Force believe or three of the A-58 Pucara will continue flying to the problems for the Uruguayan fleet (and partly in Argentina) remain: lack of spare parts in the landing gear problems with plexiglass dome of the cockpit and engines Astazou obsolescence.

Even the hypothesis cannibalize 3 copies to preserve flight, allocating a cell of Gate Guardian or monument to aviation in the city of Durazno (seat of Group 1 / Attack of the FAU, until now composed this model) and another at the Museum aeronautical, is presented as very diffuse at this time. The lack of spare parts and after-sales service affects all units, despite the enormous efforts at human resources deployed in Uruguay to keep Pucara in flight, having modernized a copy - the 227-. A multifunction display LED Sandel SN 3500 (already the US firm Pacific Coast Avionics was installed in some L-39 and certain Alpha Jet), which provides VOR and ILS Glide Slope and Tracker- signs placed. Addition had been added, using exactly the same space previously available in the original cabin VHF beacon system and Stormoscopio L-3 WX 500, with up to 200 mile range. By this he pointed to a better performance of the aircraft, increased safety for crew, prolonging the life cycle of the same with a moderate investment.

For these old and little standardized cells large expenditure would be justified, neither in Uruguay nor even in Argentina, according to observers commented traffic in both aéreas- escasísimo forces of the two economic power estimating only a redesign of the project from the original implying a customer base to justify such specific compounds and instrumental use digital materials to reduce the large radar signature of this apparatus, and a consequent aerodynamic cleanup, to increase their performance, through repowering. If there is a potential market, it would be facing a very competitive industrial alternative, otherwise it would be just a program boasted more political character, in which Uruguay, worn and awaiting solutions, it would interest. Furthermore, according to the Commander in Chief of the FAU, Air General Washington Martínez, in spite of their ads, no authority would FAdeA met during the last LAAD him to renegotiate these aspects.




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