Mexican Naval Aviation
Mexican Naval Aviation, known as FAN (Fuerza AeroNaval), is the naval air arm of the Mexican Navy. The Navy operates two fleets: one in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Gulf of Mexico. FAN began in 1918 when a Mexican-made float biplane was tested in Veracruz by Carlos Santa Ana. In 1927, Carlos Castillo Breton became Mexico’s first naval pilot after training in the United States and Mexico. Between 1927 and 1943, more aircraft were acquired and seven naval officers qualified as pilots, with some joining the Mexican Air Force.
World War II led to the creation of the Naval Aviation School in 1943 at Las Bajadas, Veracruz. Ex-FAM aircraft patrolled the Gulf of Mexico for German submarines and later trained new pilots. After the war, FAN supported ground and sea units, carried out coastal patrols, and helped with search-and-rescue and disaster relief.
In the 1990s, the Mexican Navy began buying Russian aircraft and helicopters, including Mil Mi-2, Mil Mi-8, and Antonov An-32B, along with helicopters and aircraft from France, the United States, and Germany, and the Finnish L-90 Redigo. In 1999 a program started to build kit planes and light helicopters at Las Bajadas.
By 2023 FAN reportedly had about 120 aircraft: 68 fixed-wing in nine squadrons and 54 helicopters in nine squadrons, with some on land and others aboard ships. The fleet included three ex-Israeli Air Force E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, delivered in 2004. In July 2004, the first two upgraded C212-200 Aviocar transports returned to Mexico, with six more upgraded at Las Bajadas. In 2005, two AS565 Panther helicopters were purchased for shipboard duties.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:22 (CET).