Cuba, Iran, and North Korea once had powerful air forces, but today, they pose little threat against a modern air force.
Caribbean air forces besides Cuba
According to FlightGlobal, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, St Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and Jamaica all lack combat aircraft (and many lack air forces entirely).
Haiti has become a failed state with gangs overrunning much of the country; even if the country did have aircraft, it is unlikely the recognized government could operate them at this time. Gang violence in the country forced airlines to suspend flights in March 2024 (although the international airport reopened three months later).
Photo: Embraer
Fixed-wing combat aircraft in the Caribbean:
Cuba:
38
Dominican Republic:
8
The only Caribbean island country other than Cuba with combat aircraft is the Dominican Republic, which is listed as possessing eight Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucanos. The Super Tucano is a Brazilian-designed turboprop light attack aircraft able to carry precision-guided munitions and other weapons in low-threat environments.
Greater Caribbean
So, only Cuba and the Dominican Republic have combat aircraft capability in the Caribbean islands. However, the Caribbean region is often considered to include the English-speaking country of Belize in Central America, the English-speaking country of Guyana in South America, and the Dutch-speaking country of Suriname in South America. These countries have much more culturally in common with the Caribbean than the regions they are physically part of.
Photo:Â Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong | US Air Force
However, all three countries still completely lack any fixed wing combat aircraft. That said, all three are listed as possessing a few old helicopters that are used in a combat capacity. Belize possesses a single Bell UH-1 Iroquois. Belize had two UH-1s that had been donated by Taiwan in 2016, but one of them crashed in 2020.
Guyana possesses a single Bell 206 and two Bell 412 (derived from the UH-1) РFlightGlobal lists these as combat helicopters. Finally, Suriname possesses three A̩rospatiale Alouette III SA 316 light utility helicopters, which are also listed as combat helicopters.
Latin American countries with Caribbean islands
Colombia, Venezuela, and Honduras also possess islands in the Caribbean. If these countries were to be considered, then things change significantly as all three have some level of fighter jet capability.
Photo: Guillermo Pis Gonzalez | Shutterstock.com
Honduras fixed-wing combat aircraft:
9x Cessna A-37 Dragonfly 4x Northrop F-5E light fighters
Columbia fixed-wing combat aircraft:
24x Embraer EMB 314 17x IAI Kfir fighter jets
Venezuela fixed-wing combat aircraft:
6x Northrop F-5E light fighters 13x F-16A Fighting Falcons multirole fighters 21x Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker-C/G/H multirole fighters
Honduras has 9 light ground attack Cessna A-37 Dragonflys and four Northrop F-5E light fighters. Columbia has 24 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft and 17 Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets.
Venezuela is the only air force with somewhat modern fighter jets: 6 Northrop F-5E light fighters, 13 remaining F-16A Fighting Falcons, and 21 Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter jets. In the 1980s, Venezuela and the United States enjoyed much better relations than they do today, and it became the first country in Latin America to receive the American F-16 fighter jet. However, it is unclear how many of these aircraft are flight-worthy, let alone combat-worthy.
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Publish date : 2024-10-17 22:33:00
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