The South American air forces performs several joint aerial combat training exercises. Among the more important are CRUZEX (pt|Exercício Cruzeiro do Sul) which is hosted by the Brazilian Air Force, salitre (en|Saltpeter) hosted by the Chilean Air Force and ceibo (en|[[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]
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 | |||||||
Cruzex II | |||||||
Salitre I | 2004 26 Sep/10 Oct | Cerro Moreno Iquique | Mirage 50 Pantera, Mirage 5 Elkan, F-5 Tiger III, A-37B Dragonfly, EB-707 Cóndor, KB-707 Águila, LR-35 Learjet, C-212 Aviocar ![]() ![]() ![]() | 57 aircraft | [2] | ||
Ceibo 2005 | 2005 Nov | El Plumerillo Villa Reynolds | ![]() ![]() Mirage 50 Pantera A-37B Dragonfly | 45 aircraft | [3] | ||
Cruzex III | |||||||
Cruzex IV | |||||||
Salitre II | 2009 19-30/Oct | Cerro Moreno Iquique | F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, F-5 Tiger III, EB-707 Cóndor, KB-707 Águila, Beech 99A Petrel, C-212 Aviocar ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() | [4] | ||
Cooperación I | 2010 4-15/Oct | Chile | C-130 Hercules, DHC-6 Twin Otter, C-212 Aviocar, CJ-1, UH-60 Black Hawk, Bell 412, UH-1H Iroquois ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Natural disasters relief training official video | [5] | |
Cruzex V | |||||||
Cruzex VI | |||||||
Cooperación III | 2014 23 Apr/1 May | Perú | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() C-130 Hercules ![]() C-130 Hercules, UH-1H Iroquois ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Natural disasters relief training | [6] | |
Salitre III | 2014 6-17/Oct | Cerro Moreno Iquique | F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon, F-5 Tiger III ![]() ![]() ![]() A-37B Dragonfly | 51 aircraft | |||
Cruzex 2018 | |||||||
Cruzex 2024 |