Bolivian Navy relocates its Naval Aviation operations base

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian Navy moved the operations base of the Directorate of Naval Aviation, which was located at the El Alto airport, adjacent to the city of La Paz, to the facilities of the III Air Brigade of the Bolivian Air Force, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the east of the country.

The purpose of the relocation is to “integrate the units located in the northern Amazon and in the Cuenca del Plata, in a more effective way and according to the strategic deployment of the naval institution”, said the Chief of the General Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral Juan Arnéz Salvador.

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In this sense, the apparently only aircraft currently in service, a Cessna 340A, registration AB-007, was deployed to its new base in Santa Cruz, with the crew headed by the director of the Directorate of Naval Aviation, Lieutenant Commander Alex Guerrero Lerma.

BOLIVIAN NAVAL AVIATION

The genesis of the Bolivian Naval Aviation dates back to 1965, being institutionalized in 1972. In 1968, a Cessna 172 aircraft was acquired and its first naval air base was located in the city of Santa Ana de Yacuma, in the department of Beni. A year later, the Argentine Navy donated two North American SNJ-5 Texan aircraft, followed by a Cessna U206 Stationair and later a Cessna 402C Utililiner.

According to Guerrero Lerma, the Naval Aviation is currently training new crews with the idea of incorporating more aircraft.