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Air Force - Fuerza Aerea Argentina - Organization

The Chief of Staff (Jefe de Estado Mayor General de la Fuerza Aérea, JEMGFA) and the Deputy Chief of Staff (Subjefe de Estado Mayor General, SJEMGFA) exert service leadership through a conventional force structure comprising four major commands, four general staff departments (Personnel, Intelligence, Planning and Logistics) and an airline controlled directly by the SJEMGFA. The entire Air Force upper chain of command (JEMGFA, SJEMGFA, their general staff and the four major commands) are headquartered at "Cóndor" Building in the Buenos Aires' neighborhood of Retiro.

The mission of the Air Operations Command is to plan and conduct training activities for the operational resources and operational support resources, and to execute in due time any airspace operations and special tasks entrusted to it. To training effects, the Air Operations Command has Brigades and Air Bases forming Air Groups and/or Squadrons, as well as Technical Support and Logistical Support Squadrons which allow it to train the personnel to perform the various Airspace Operations and their respective Operational Tasks and Operational Support Tasks.

The FAA Air Order of Battle is built around a number of air brigades, a standardized type of unit which was conceived as the Air Force's essential, self-supporting flight operations unit. Commanded by a a senior, pilot-rated comodoro, all air brigades are formed by at least a flying group (in charge of flying crews and mission planning), a technical group (aircraft maintenance) and a base group (base security and safety, services, anti-aircraft defense, etc.); with large training units (the officers school at Córdoba or the civil pilots training center at Morón) being formed similarly.

All other flying units (test centers, liaison flights, antarctic bases, etc.) are commanded by more junior officers, are not self sufficient as an air brigade and are usually formed by crews and equipped with aircraft borrowed from operational air brigades. A few additional units (maintenance units, ground training centers, special mission groups, etc.) are also known to operate aircraft, either on flying or ground instruction duties.

• I Air Brigade (I Brigada Aérea), BAM El Palomar (Buenos Aires).
  • Air Group No.1 - Transporte (Grupo Aéreo I de Transporte): C-130B/H, KC-130H, L-100-30, F-28 Mk 1000, F-27 Mk 400M/600, Boeing 707-372C/387B/389B.
• II Air Brigade (II Brigada Aérea), BAM General Urquiza (Paraná).
  • Air Group No. 2 - Bombers (Grupo Aéreo 2 de Bombardeo): BAC Canberra B-62/T-64, Learjet 35A, FMA IA-50 Guaraní II
• III Air Brigade (III Brigada Aérea), BAM Reconquista
  • Air Group No. 3 - Fighters (Grupo Aéreo 3 de Ataque): IA-58A Pucará
• IV Air Brigade (IV Brigada Aérea), BAM El Plumerillo (Mendoza)
  • Air Group No. 4 - Fighters (Grupo Aéreo 4 de Caza): IA-63 Pampa, MS 760A Paris, SA 315C Lama
• V Air Brigade (V Brigada Aérea), BAM General Pringles (Villa Reynolds)
  • Air Group No. 5 - Fighters (Grupo Aéreo 5 de Ataque): O/A-4AR Skyhawk
• VI Air Brigade (VI Brigada Aérea), BAM Tandil
  • Air Group No. 6 - Fighters (Grupo Aéreo 6 de Caza): Mirage IIIEA/DA, Mirage 5PA, IAI Finger
• VII Air Brigade (VII Brigada Aérea), BAM Mariano Moreno
  • Air Group No. 7 - Helicopters (Grupo Aéreo 7 de Helicópteros: Hughes 369HE/500D/E, UH-1D/212, 308 Chinook, S-61R, Rockwell 500U Shrike
• IX Air Brigade (IX BRIGADA AEREA), BAM Comodoro Rivadavia
  • Air Group No. 9 - Transport (Grupo Aéreo 9 de Transporte): F-27 Mk 400M/600, DHC-6-200 Twin Otter

Officers	2,300
Non-commissioned officers	9,300
Volunteer Troops	1,500
TOTAL	13,200

Personnel Command (Comando de Personal, COPER) is responsible for Air Force personnel education, training and welfare. It controls all Air Force educational institutions: officer and non-commissioned officer academies, staff colleges, universities, junior/high schools as well as foreign language and general training centers; with initial flying and aircraft mechanic training also taking place under its supervision. It is also responsible for the service's medical and social welfare systems, controls Air Force housing complexes, hotels, hospitals (both fixed and mobile), medical detachments and retirement houses.

The basic function of the Air Regions Command is to exercise the powers provided for in act 17285 "Aeronautical Code" and its amendments according to act 21521, "National Aeronautical Police" and act 12945 "National Meteorology Service". It also manages air traffic, communications, aircraft and personnel registration and certification, the promotion of civil aviation activities, the prevention and investigation of civilian accidents in the national territory and jurisdictional waters and other associated responsibilities, consistent with the country's international commitments within the frame of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). To accomplish its tasks, the Air Regions Command has adopted an adequate organization to carry out the specific functions of each of its areas.

The Material Command provides technical and logistical support for the Argentine Air Force and its main role is to plan and manage the Service's material logistics. Its structure is mainly formed by the following units. Río IV Material Area main role is to implement major maintenance work plans and aviation material research, development, repair and manufacturing activities. Quilmes Material Area: Its main responsibilities are to repair and maintain aircraft, helicopters, engines, propellers, instruments and fittings, electronic equipment, heavy vehicles and automotive vehicles. Palomar Supply Group is very important because it receives and delivers all the materials supplied to the Air Force, from airplane spares through engines, electronic and communication systems, to the individual equipment for each soldier. Córdoba Material Administration Group was created after the privatization of the Córdoba Material Area. Its functions are to control and follow up the work to be performed for the Service by Lockheed Aircraft Argentina S.A.

Government Airlines (Líneas Aéreas del Estado, LADE) is an Air Force component originally tasked with programming and providing scheduled commercial air transport services over undeveloped routes to the more distant corners of the nation. Due to budgetary limitations, by the late 1990s it had largely abandoned its primary role in the last few years and was handling Air Force commercial air transport businesses such as passenger and cargo charters and wet-leases, helicopter rentals, etc. In its prime role as a government-owned, military-run airline and charter operation, LADE only plans scheduled services and provides commercial support personnel and passenger cabin crews but has no fleet of its own. Aircraft and flying crews are actually supplied by COA air transport units as demanded by the airline's operational planners.

The GOA created ANAC, the National Civil Aviation Agency, in March 2007. The full transition from military to civilian control of civil aviation proceeded at a very slow pace. ANAC was initially a shell of an organization, and had almost no budget and little legal or operational authority. Air Force Air Regions Command (CRA) continued to exercise de facto control of most, and certainly the most important, areas of civil aviation. About 80% of CRA's 6000-odd employees were military personnel, generally with much lower salaries than any future ANAC civilian workers would get. Unresolved questions include: will these CRA military personnel be hired by ANAC, and if so, at what salary? Would they be retired from the military first, or be transfered to ANAC?