The South American air forces performs several joint aerial combat training exercises. Among the more important are Cruzex ( Portuguese language: 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.
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 | 1999 | |||||
| Cruzex II | ||||||
| Salitre I | 2004 26sep/10oct | Cerro Moreno Iquique |
 Mirage Elkan, Norhtrop F-5 Tiger III  Mirage III, Mirage 5 F-5EM/FM Tiger F-16C/D |
[2][3] | ||
| Ceibo 2005 | 2005 Nov | El Plumerillo Villa Reynolds |
Mirage III, Mirage 5, A-4AR AMX Mirage Pantera A-37B Dragonfly |
[4] | ||
| Cruzex III | 2006 Aug/Sep | Anapolis Campo Grande Uberlandia Brasilia Jatai |
Mirage III, F-5EM/FM, AMX A-4AR, IA-58 Pucara Mirage 2000, E-3 Sentry A-37B Dragondly F-16C/D, Mirage 50, Norhtrop F-5 A-37B Dragonfly
|
  
|
103 aircraft and helicopters. Peru withdrew due to a crash of an A-37 Dragonfly at Porto Velho on the way to Anapolis which killed both pilots. | [5] |
| Cruzex IV | 2008 Nov | Natal | F-5EM/FM,AMXF-5 Tiger IIIF-16A/B OCUA-37B Dragonfly, IA-58 PucaraMirage 2000 |
|
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 19/30oct | Cerro Moreno/Iquique | F-16C/D, F-5 Tiger IIIAMXA-4ARF-15CMirage 2000
|
|
The exercise was criticized by Peru | [1][9] |
| Cooperación | 2010 | Chile |    
|
Natural disasters relief training official video | [10] | |
| Cruzex V | 2010 28oct/19nov | Natal | F-5EM/FM,Mirage 2000,AMXF-16C/DIA-58 Pucara,A-37B DragonflyRafale,Mirage 2000-5F-16C/D
|
[11] | ||
| Cruzex VI | 2013 2nov/15nov | Natal |
|
See also[]
- Organization of American States
- Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
- System of Cooperation Among the American Air Forces
- Gringo-Gaucho
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 AFSOUTH Airmen participate in Exercise SALITRE II
- ↑ Ejercicio Salitre 2004 (Spanish)
- ↑ Opt. Salitre 2004
- ↑ saorbats.com.ar CEIBO 2005
- ↑ CRUZEX III: The biggest aerial operation in Latin America!
- ↑ FAB In CRUZEX IV Coalition Force's backstage
- ↑ FAB CRUZEX IV (Portuguese)
- ↑ Cruzex 2008 pictorial
- ↑ Empezó el ejercicio militar chileno 'Operación Salitre II' pese a críticas (Spanish)
- ↑ Cooperacion I at fach site
- ↑ Cruzex V official site
The original article can be found at South America air forces maneuvers and the edit history here.