| Polícia Aérea Air Police | |
|---|---|
| Country | Portugal |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Military police |
The Polícia Aérea (PA) (Air Police) are the Military Police of the Portuguese Air Force. The primary mission of the Air Police is to guarantee the security and immediate defense of the Air Force units in the Portuguese territory. Outside the national territory, it exerts its mission of supporting the air units detachments or of independent air means. Other missions include:[citation needed]
- Protection and defense of the Air Force's infrastructures, material and personnel;
- Detection and inactivation of explosive devices;
- Combat search and rescue;
- Force protection of PoAF personnel and aircraft.
Organization[]
The Air Police is an Arm of its own inside the Air Force, and each PoAF base unit has, normally, one Police Post organized in the following way:[citation needed]
- Command;
- Operational Squad,
- Instruction Sector,
- Field Fire Range,
- Criminal Investigation teams;
- Support Squad,
- Identification and Control Sector,
- Equipment and Material Sector,
- Armament Section;
Units[]
Current units[]
- Unidade de Protecção de Força (UPF) (Force Protection Unit) — Force protection, VIP protection, and combat search and rescue unit, as well as other possible classified actions.[1][2]
Former units[]
RESCOM badge
- Resgate em Combate (RESCOM) — Combat search and rescue unit. Disbanded in 2006.[2]
Equipment[]
Firearms[]
- 7.62 mm Braço de Prata G3 m/61 assault rifle;
- 7.62 mm HK417 assault rifle;
- 5.56 mm Heckler & Koch G36 service assault rifle;
- 9 mm Taurus submachine gun;
- 9 mm Heckler & Koch MP5 A3, MP5K and MP5 SD6 submachine gun;
- 9 mm Heckler & Koch UMP submachine gun (special forces);
- 4.6x30 mm Heckler & Koch MP7 A1 personal defense weapon;
- 12.7 mm M82 Barrett rifle sniper rifle;
- 7.62 mm Sako TRG-22 sniper rifle;
- 7.62x51 mm Heckler & Koch MSG-90 A1 sniper rifle (special forces);
- 7.62 mm Rheinmetall MG3 general purpose machine gun;
- 12.7 mm Browning .50 heavy machine gun;
- 5.56 mm FN Minimi light machine gun (special forces);
- 9 mm Walther P38 service pistol;
- 9 mm Heckler & Koch USP service pistol;
- 9 mm Heckler & Koch USP Compact (special forces);
- 9 mm Ingram Mac 10 (Used by the K9 Group, also called TTCM).[citation needed]
- 40 mm Heckler & Koch HK69 A1 grenade launcher;
- 66 mm M72 LAW m/78 grenade launcher
- 5.56mm Heckler & Koch MG4(special forces)
- 40mm Heckler & Koch AG36 grenade launcher
- C90 anti car & personnel Instalaza grenade launcher
Vehicles[]
- Ferret Mk.2 (retired);
- Condor UR-425[1];
- DAF YP-408.[citation needed]
Anti-air artillery[]
- 20 mm Reinmetall Rh-202 m/81 Anti-Aircraft Cannon[citation needed]
References[]
- ↑ "Núcleo da Proteção da Força". Portuguese Air Force. http://www.emfa.pt/www/unidade-83-nucleo-da-protecao-da-forca. Retrieved 22 February 2013. (Portuguese)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Miguel Machado (27 November 2009). "Afeganistão: Unidade de Protecção da Força em operações". Operacional. http://www.operacional.pt/afeganistao-unidade-de-proteccao-da-forca-em-operacoes/. Retrieved 22 February 2013. (Portuguese)
External links[]
- ANPA, Air Police National Association (Portuguese)
- UPF in Real Thaw 11 exercise
The original article can be found at Polícia Aérea and the edit history here.