The Costa Rica Air Surveillance Service ( Spanish: Servicio de Vigilancia Aerea ) is a structural unit of the Costa Rican Civil Guard.
| Costa Rica Aerial Surveillance Service Servicio de Vigilancia Aerea | |
|---|---|
 air surveillance emblem | |
| A country |  Costa Rica |
| Subordination | Costa Rica Ministry of Public Security |
| Included in | Costa Rica Civil Guard |
| Site | |
Content
History
December 1, 1948, after the end of the civil war , the armed forces of Costa Rica were disbanded. The Constitution , adopted on November 7, 1949, prohibited the creation and maintenance of a permanent professional army in peacetime, and a “civil guard” was created in its place to protect the country.
At the disposal of the Civil Guard were transferred weapons, equipment and other property of the disbanded army of Costa Rica.
As of 1948, the Cessna AT-17 aircraft was at the disposal of the Civil Guard.
In 1950, the United States supplied the Ministry of Public Security with one Beechcraft C-45F aircraft (registration number TI-505SP), which was used until 1960 [1] .
In 1954, the Cessna 180B aircraft (TI-SPA registration number) was received from the United States, which was used until 1980 [1] .
On January 11-22, 1955, civilian forces repelled a military invasion from Nicaragua by armed detachments of supporters of former President of the country R. A. Calderon Guardia (according to modern estimates, about 200 people supported by several Universal Carrier light armored personnel carriers and five aircraft) [ 2] .
After the outbreak of hostilities, the United States sold four Mustang fighter P-51D fighters to Costa Rica [3]
In 1962, an agreement was signed with the United States on additional deliveries of military equipment to the country [4] ; in 1963, three U-17A aircraft (military version of the Cessna 185E aircraft) were received from the United States [1] [5] .
In 1964, an air squadron of the Civil Guard was created [1] .
As of 1978, there were 6 aircraft in service with the Civil Guard.
As of the beginning of 1981, there were three DHC-3 Otter aircraft , three Cessna-185 aircraft, one Cessna 180 and three Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six light aircraft, as well as three helicopters (one FH-100 and two S-58ET ) [6]
US military assistance for Costa Rica has been increasing since the early 1980s. In the period from January 1981 to May 23, 1984, under the military assistance program from the United States, 2 Hughes 500E helicopters (with removed weapons) were received [7] [8] .
In 1985, under the military assistance program, three Hughes helicopters (two Hughes 269C and one Hughes 369) were received from the USA, and in 1986 - three Cessna 337 Super Skymaster aircraft [9] . In general, until 1988, 4 Session aircraft and other property were received from the United States [8] .
In 1996, the Nicaraguan government donated a Mi-8 helicopter to Costa Rica. Also, in 1996, military reform began, as a result of which the paramilitary groups of the civil guard, maritime security and border police received, by 2000, a common command and a single name - "People's Forces" ( Fuerza Pública de Costa Rica ) [10] .
Current status
The air surveillance service is operationally subordinate to the Costa Rican Civil Guard and acts in the interests of the Civil Guard, Coast Guard, Border Police and Costa Rica National Police.
Certain categories of airborne surveillance personnel are armed with small arms.
As of 2010, there were several light aircraft in service with the air surveillance service (one DHC-7 , two Cessna 210 , two PA-31 Navajo and one PA-34-200T ) [11]
At the end of 2012, the MD 600N helicopter worth $ 3.7 million was received from the United States [12] .
In accordance with the agreement signed in 2015 with the PRC [13] , two twin-engine Y-12E turboprop aircraft were received in October 2016 [14] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Escuadrilla de Comunicaciones of the Costa Rican Civil Guard
- ↑ Costa Rican Civil Wars: 1948 & 1955 // Air Combat Information Group, 09/01/2003
- ↑ Margaret Tyler Mitchell, Scott Pentzer. Costa Rica: A Global Studies Handbook . 1st edition. 2008. page 212
- ↑ T. Yu. Ryutova. Costa Rica: troubled times. M., “Knowledge”, 1981. p. 54
- ↑ John Andrade. Militair 1982. London, Aviation Press Limited, 1982. page 50
- ↑ Costa Rica // "World's Air Forces", 1981. page 332 . .flightglobal.com. Date of treatment March 7, 2013.
- ↑ Preparing a massive invasion // Red Star, No. 120 (18407) dated May 24, 1984. p. 3
- ↑ 1 2 Martha Honey. Hostile Acts: US Policy in Costa Rica in the 1980s. University Press of Florida, 1994. page 298
- ↑ Costa Rica // "World's Air Forces", 1987. page 49 . Date of treatment February 21, 2013.
- ↑ Julio A. Montes. Small Arms of the Costa Rican Paradise // "Small Arms Review", November 2000
- ↑ Armed forces of foreign countries // Foreign Military Review, No. 7 (772), 2011. p. 83-84
- ↑ Carlos LÁSCAREZ S. Moderno helicóptero policial fue presentado por Seguridad Pública // “The Nation” on December 18, 2012
- ↑ Lena Ge. China to Export 6 Y-12E Aircraft to Congo and Costa Rica // "China Aviation Daily" September 30, 2015
- ↑ Erwan de Cherisey. Costa Rica receives Chinese Harbin Y-12s Archived April 30, 2017 to Wayback Machine // "Jane's" October 24, 2016