Colombian National Army Aviation
The Colombian National Army Aviation, or Aviación Ejército, is the air arm of Colombia’s National Army. Its mission is to support ground forces by air.
Its history goes back to 1919 with the creation of a military aviation school for the Army. Laws in 1916 and 1919 laid the groundwork for army aviation and flight training. The unit that would become Army Aviation was officially activated on February 15, 1921, in Flandes, Tolima, with help from a French mission led by Lieutenant Colonel Rene Guichard. The school began with a small fleet—3 Caudron G.3 E-2, 3 Caudron G.4 A-2 and 4 Nieuport Delage 11 C-1—and closed in 1922 due to financial difficulties.
Today the Army Aviation is organized as the 25th Army Aviation Brigade. Its bases include the Army Aviation Airfield General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla in Bogotá, Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport, and bases in San José del Guaviare, Tumaco, Forward Operating Bases Buena Vista and Saravena, and the Mobility and Maneuver Battalion No. 1. For heavier air power, it relies on the Colombian Aerospace Force. The Army maintains a fleet of 163 aircraft, including 141 helicopters.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:35 (CET).