Guatemalan Air Force at 100
On 5 December 2021, the Fuerza Aérea de Guatemala (FAG, Guatemalan Air Force) celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Hundred years ago, the French military mission opened an aviation school, marking the birth of today’s air force, making it the oldest air force in Central America.
The FAG organised an air show at its main base La Aurora in Guatemala City, which saw participation of a number of FAG aircraft and helicopters, as well as aircraft from the USAF, US Army and the US Department of Homeland Security.
Star attractions of the show, however, were a pair of Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña (FAS, Salvadoran Air Force) Cessna A-37B Dragonfly light attack aircraft, which had flown over from neighbouring El Salvador for the celebrations. The A-37Bs, serial numbers 440 and 442, arrived at La Aurora before the air show and flew a demonstration on the day of the celebration.
With Guatemala having retired its last A-37 Dragonfly about a decade ago, the presence of the Salvadoran aircraft was most welcome. However, FAG mechanics managed to get one of Guatemala’s own stored A-37Bs, with serial A-448, to taxi under its own power, just in time for the air show!
The FAG was restructured in 2003, along with the rest of the Guatemalan Army. The three operational commands are: Comando Aereo Central (Central Air Command) located in La Aurora in Guatemala City and sharing space with the Comandancia de la Fuerza Aérea de Guatemala, the Comando Aereo del Sur (Southern Air Command) located in Retalhuleu and the Comando Aereo del Norte (Northern Air Command) located in Mundo Maya.
The two schools are the Escuela Militar de Aviacion (Military Aviation School, or EMA) which trains new pilots and standardises pilots trained in other countries. The school is based in Retalhuleu, but does temporary detachments all over the country for training. The other school is the Escuela Tecnica Militar de Aviacion (Technical Military Aviation School, ETMA) which is a military high school that trains all of the FAG's new mechanics and is located at La Aurora.
Most FAG Aircraft are based at La Aurora, but perform detachments as necessary to other bases as operations require. The exception for this is the EMA aircraft, the Presidential aircraft, and a few aircraft permanently based at the two other Operational Commands.
Photos by Carlos Alberto Rubio Herrera