South America air forces maneuvers

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.

A-4AR Fightinghawk during the 2006 Cruzex exercise

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

List of operations

All 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 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][3]
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 [4]
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. [5]
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. [6][7][8]
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][9]
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 [10]
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 [11]
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 [12]
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

See also

References
  1. AFSOUTH Airmen participate in Exercise SALITRE II
  2. Ejercicio Salitre 2004 Archived 2007-10-29 at Archive.today (in Spanish)
  3. Opt. Salitre 2004
  4. saorbats.com.ar CEIBO 2005 Archived 2007-10-28 at Archive.today
  5. CRUZEX III: The biggest aerial operation in Latin America!
  6. FAB In CRUZEX IV Coalition Force's backstage
  7. FAB CRUZEX IV Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
  8. Cruzex 2008 pictorial Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Empezó el ejercicio militar chileno 'Operación Salitre II' pese a críticas (in Spanish)
  10. Cooperacion I at fach site
  11. Cruzex V official site Archived 2010-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
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