Uruguayan Air Force The Uruguayan Air Force ( " Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya " or " FAU " ) is one of the three main branches of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the Uruguayan Ministry of Defense . The current head of the force is General of the Air Enrique A . Bonelli . History . Military aviation in Uruguay was born on 17 March 1913 when the Military Aviation Academy ( " Escuela de Aviación Militar " ) was formed at a small airport 50 km from Montevideo . The first aircraft were a Farman Longhorn biplane and a Blériot XI monoplane . As with many other Latin American countries , flight instruction was initially performed by a European ( in this case French ) instructor . Ten army officers formed the select group chosen to be the first Uruguayan military aviators . Among them were Cpt Juan Manuel Boiso Lanza and Lt . Cesáreo L . Berisso . Boiso Lanza was the first fatality of the FAU , dying in a plane crash on 10 August 1918 ; he later became the namesake of Cpt Boiso Lanza Air Base in Montevideo , the current FAU headquarters . Berisso became the first commander of the Air Force flight school and was later the namesake of Gen . Cesáreo Berisso Air Base in Carrasco , the headquarters of Air Brigade I . Along with two other young officers , Adhemar Saenz Lacueva and Esteban Cristi , they gained their military aviator rating in Argentina and Chile and formed the Military Aeronautical School on 20 November 1916 . This school was the only military aviation facility in Uruguay until 1935 . Several European aircraft types were used in fairly large numbers during the twenties , among them sixteen Avro 504 Ks , thirteen Breguet 14 s , five Castaibert 913 - IVs , twenty - eight Nieuport 27 s . These pioneering years saw many air routes opened and an overall increase in the awareness of the military potential of this nascent force . In 1935 the school was transformed into the Military Aeronautics division ( " Aeronáutica Militar " , ) and five units were created as well as several airbases . Typical aircraft of the thirties and forties were European types like the Potez XXV A . 2 TOE , the SPAD S . VII and S . XIII , the de Havilland DH 82A , and the IMAM Ro . 37 ; but this era also saw the transition to aircraft of American pedigree . Beech AT - 11 and Douglas C - 47 transports , Waco JHD and NAA Texan trainers , and NAA B - 25J bombers were used in this period . The arrival of F - 51 Mustang s in the early 50s notably enhanced the capabilities of the air force . There were now nine Aviation Groups and the Military Aeronautics division was officially renamed the Military Air Force ( " Fuerza Aérea Militar " ) on 4 December 1952 . This change in nomenclature was important because it signified the independence of the branch from the army command structure . The new force was reorganized into three commands ( tactical , training , and material ) and a brigade structure was implemented along with a fully staffed headquarters . The Uruguayan Air Force grew from this foundation . Later , some new units were created such as the Aerial Commands , but no radical changes were made . The FAU received its first jets when Lockheed T - 33 s and F - 80 s arrived in 1955 and 1958 . The FAU also employed the de Havilland Chipmunk , using 10 from 1954 to 1962 . The first helicopters were Bell 47 s and Hiller H - 23F s , followed by the venerable Bell UH - 1B Huey s , Eurocopter BO - 105 . Organization . Today the FAU comprises about 3000 personnel organized into three brigades and various support groups . The Uruguayan Air Force also includes Service divisions for Logistics , Communications and Computer Science , Information , Infrastructure , Maintenance , Meteorology , Health , Remote Aerospace Sensors , and Transport . The FAU is involved in search and rescue , disaster assistance , and transportation to remote locations within the country . The Uruguayan Air Force currently has five bases . Air Brigade I is based at Gen . Cesáreo L . Berisso Air Base at Carrasco International Airport ( ) near Carrasco ; Air Brigade II is based at 2nd Lt . Mario W . Parrallada Air Base at Santa Bernardina International Airport ( ) in Durazno ; Air Brigade III , the high command , and the Command School ( " Escuela de Comando y Estado Mayor Aéreo " ) are based at Capitán Boiso Lanza Air Base ( ) in Montevideo ; Air Squadron 7 is based at Ángel S . Adami Airport ( ) , also in Montevideo ; and the EMA is based at Gen . Artigas Air Base ( ) in Pando . The Aeronautics Technical School ( " Escuela Técnica de Aeronáutica " ) is located in Toledo Sur in the Department of Canelones . Rank structure . Officers wear their rank insignia on their sleeves ; the insignia are nearly identical to that used by the RAF and air forces of Commonwealth nations .