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.
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The exercises include combat search and rescue, aerial refueling and combined air operations center training opportunities focused on interoperability.[1]
List of operations
editAll helicopters are normally provided by the host nation and all the participants include different types of support aircraft.
| Operation | Date | Air bases | Participants | Observers | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruzex I | ||||||
| Cruzex II | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| Cruzex IV | ||||||
| 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][4] |
| 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 | [5] |
| Cruzex V | ||||||
| Cruzex VI | ||||||
| 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 | [6] |
| 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 | ||||||
| Cruzex 2024 | ||||||
See also
editReferences
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
- ^ Empezó el ejercicio militar chileno 'Operación Salitre II' pese a críticas (in Spanish)
- ^ Cooperacion I at fach site
- ^ http://www.fap.mil.pe/wrdp/?p=8460 [dead link]
External links
edit