Military of Peru
Encyclopedia
The Peruvian Armed Forces are the military services of Peru
, comprising independent Army, Navy and Air Force components. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence
, sovereignty
and territorial integrity
against any threat. As a secondary mission they participate in economic and social development as well as in civil defense
tasks.
The National Police of Peru
is often classified as a part of the armed forces. Although in fact it has a different organisation and a wholly civil mission, its training and activities over more than two decades as an anti-terrorist force have produced markedly military
characteristics, giving it the appearance of a virtual fourth military service with significant land, sea and air capabilities and approximately 140,000 personnel. The Peruvian armed forces report through the Ministry of Defense, while the National Police of Peru
, through the Ministry of Interior.
Headquartered in Lima
, it has a strength of 76,228 troops divided in four military regions with headquarters in Piura
, Lima, Arequipa
and Iquitos
. Every military region assigned several brigade
s of which there are different types, including infantry
, cavalry
and armored
. There are also several groups and battalions which operate independently.
The equipment of the Peruvian Army includes several types of tank
s (T-55
and AMX-13
), armoured personnel carrier
s (M-113
, UR-416), artillery
(D30
, M101
, M109
and M114 howitzer
s), antiaircraft systems (ZSU-23-4 Shilka) and helicopters (Mil Mi-2
, Mil Mi-17
).
, Lima
, Arequipa
, Iquitos
and Pucallpa
. It has a strength of around 25,988 troops divided between the Pacific Operations and the Amazon Operations General Commands and the Coast Guard.
The Pacific fleet flagship
is the cruiser BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)
, named for the 19th-century Peruvian Admiral who fought in the War of the Pacific
(1879–1883). The fleet also includes 8 Lupo class
frigates (two built in Peru), 6 PR-72P class
corvettes, 4 Terrebonne Parish class landing ships, 2 Type 209/1100
and 4 Type 209/1200
class German-built diesel submarines (the biggest submarine force in South America), as well as patrol vessels, tankers and cargo ships. Peruvian Navy has also a naval aviation
force, several naval infantry battalions and special forces units.
On May 20, 1929, the aviation divisions of the Peruvian army and navy were merged into the Peruvian Aviation Corps (CAP, Cuerpo de Aviación del Peru). In 1950, the corps was reorganized again and became the Peruvian Air Force (FAP, Fuerza Aérea del Perú).
The Peruvian Air Force is divided into 6 wing areas, headquartered in Piura, Chiclayo
, Lima, Arequipa, Rioja
and Iquitos. With a strength of 17,969 troops, the FAP counts in its arsenal with MiG-29
(interceptor
) and Mirage 2000
(interdictor
/ multirole aircraft).
It also has Su-25
close-support aircraft, Mi-25
attack helicopters, Mi-17
transport helicopters, Aermacchi MB-339
, Embraer EMB-312 Tucano
subsonic training aircraft, and the Cessna A-37B for light attack and COIN missions.
In 1995, the FAP took part in the Cenepa War
against Ecuador
covering operations by the army and navy. After the war, the FAP began acquiring new material, especially MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack fighters which are, along with the Mirage 2000 fighters, the main combat elements of the FAP.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, comprising independent Army, Navy and Air Force components. Their primary mission is to safeguard the country's independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and territorial integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
against any threat. As a secondary mission they participate in economic and social development as well as in civil defense
Civil defense
Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
tasks.
The National Police of Peru
National Police of Peru
The Peruvian National Police is the national police force of Peru. Its jurisdiction covers the nation's land, sea, and air territories. Formed from the merger of the Investigative Police, the Civil Guard, and the Republican Guard in 1988, it is one of the largest police forces in Latin America...
is often classified as a part of the armed forces. Although in fact it has a different organisation and a wholly civil mission, its training and activities over more than two decades as an anti-terrorist force have produced markedly military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
characteristics, giving it the appearance of a virtual fourth military service with significant land, sea and air capabilities and approximately 140,000 personnel. The Peruvian armed forces report through the Ministry of Defense, while the National Police of Peru
National Police of Peru
The Peruvian National Police is the national police force of Peru. Its jurisdiction covers the nation's land, sea, and air territories. Formed from the merger of the Investigative Police, the Civil Guard, and the Republican Guard in 1988, it is one of the largest police forces in Latin America...
, through the Ministry of Interior.
Army
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, it has a strength of 76,228 troops divided in four military regions with headquarters in Piura
Piura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. The population is 377,496.It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro founded the third Spanish city in South America and first in Peru, San Miguel de Piura, in July 1532...
, Lima, Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
and Iquitos
Iquitos
Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...
. Every military region assigned several brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of which there are different types, including infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and armored
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
. There are also several groups and battalions which operate independently.
The equipment of the Peruvian Army includes several types of tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s (T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
and AMX-13
AMX-13
The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1953 to 1985. It served with the French Army and was exported to over twenty-five other nations...
), armoured personnel carrier
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s (M-113
M113 armored personnel carrier
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
, UR-416), artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
(D30
2A18
The D-30, or 122-mm howitzer D-30 , is a Soviet howitzer that first entered service in the 1960s. It is a robust piece that focuses on the essential features of a towed field gun suitable for all conditions...
, M101
M101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
, M109
M109 howitzer
The M109 is an American-made self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s. It was upgraded a number of times to today's M109A6 Paladin...
and M114 howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s), antiaircraft systems (ZSU-23-4 Shilka) and helicopters (Mil Mi-2
Mil Mi-2
The Mil Mi-2 is a small, lightly armored transport helicopter that could also provide close air support when armed with 57 mm rockets and a 23 mm cannon.-Design and development:...
, Mil Mi-17
Mil Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude...
).
Navy
Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Perú) is organized in five naval zones headquartered in PiuraPiura
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. The population is 377,496.It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro founded the third Spanish city in South America and first in Peru, San Miguel de Piura, in July 1532...
, Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Arequipa
Arequipa
Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
, Iquitos
Iquitos
Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...
and Pucallpa
Pucallpa
Pucallpa is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District....
. It has a strength of around 25,988 troops divided between the Pacific Operations and the Amazon Operations General Commands and the Coast Guard.
The Pacific fleet flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
is the cruiser BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)
BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)
BAP Almirante Grau ' is a De Zeven Provinciën-class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy. Completed for the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1953 as HNLMS De Ruyter , it was acquired by Peru in 1973. Since then, it has served as the fleet flagship of the Peruvian Navy...
, named for the 19th-century Peruvian Admiral who fought in the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
(1879–1883). The fleet also includes 8 Lupo class
Lupo class frigate
The Lupo class is a class of frigates built by Cantieri Navali Riuniti for the Italian Navy. Designed as multipurpose warships with emphasis on anti-surface warfare , they have enjoyed some success in the export market, being acquired by the navies of Peru and Venezuela...
frigates (two built in Peru), 6 PR-72P class
PR-72P class corvette
PR-72P class corvettes are French-designed warships in service with the Peruvian Navy. Six units were ordered in 1976 by the Peruvian Navy from the Société Française de Construction Navale . Subsequently, three of them were built by the company's own Villeneuve-de-Garonne shipyard, and the rest...
corvettes, 4 Terrebonne Parish class landing ships, 2 Type 209/1100
Type 209 submarine
The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export in the late 1960s by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany...
and 4 Type 209/1200
Type 209 submarine
The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export in the late 1960s by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany...
class German-built diesel submarines (the biggest submarine force in South America), as well as patrol vessels, tankers and cargo ships. Peruvian Navy has also a naval aviation
Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...
force, several naval infantry battalions and special forces units.
Air Force
The Peruvian Air Force is divided into 6 wing areas, headquartered in Piura, Chiclayo
Chiclayo
Chiclayo is the capital city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located 13 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast and 770 kilometers from the nation's capital, Lima...
, Lima, Arequipa, Rioja
Rioja, Peru
Rioja is the capital of the Rioja Province in the San Martín Region in northern Peru. It is situated to the west of Moyobamba. There are 24 263 inhabitants, according to the 2007 census....
and Iquitos. With a strength of 17,969 troops, the FAP counts in its arsenal with MiG-29
Mikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
(interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
) and Mirage 2000
Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III in the late 1970s for the French Air Force . The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several...
(interdictor
Interdictor
An interdictor is a type of ground-attack aircraft that operates far behind enemy lines, with the express intent of interdicting the enemy's military targets, most notably those involved in logistics. The term has generally fallen from use...
/ multirole aircraft).
It also has Su-25
Sukhoi Su-25
The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975...
close-support aircraft, Mi-25
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
attack helicopters, Mi-17
Mil Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude...
transport helicopters, Aermacchi MB-339
Aermacchi MB-339
The Aermacchi MB-339 is an Italian military trainer and light attack aircraft. It was developed as a replacement for the earlier MB-326.-Design and development:...
, Embraer EMB-312 Tucano
Embraer EMB 312 Tucano
The Embraer EMB 312 Tucano is a two seat turboprop basic trainer developed in Brazil. The prototype first flew in 1980 and initial production units were delivered in 1983. The Tucano family of aircraft became one of Embraer's first international marketing successes, with 600 units produced...
subsonic training aircraft, and the Cessna A-37B for light attack and COIN missions.
In 1995, the FAP took part in the Cenepa War
Cenepa War
The Cenepa War , also known as the Alto Cenepa War, was a brief and localized military conflict between Ecuador and Peru, fought over control of a disputed area on the border between the two countries...
against Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
covering operations by the army and navy. After the war, the FAP began acquiring new material, especially MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack fighters which are, along with the Mirage 2000 fighters, the main combat elements of the FAP.