Nicaraguan Air Force The Nicaraguan Air Force continues the former Sandinista air units . Before 1979 the Nicaraguan National Guard had some air units ( " Fuerza Aérea de Nicaragua " or FAN ) . Air force . The Nicaraguan air force ( Fuerza Aérea de la Guardia Nacional ) was formed in 1938 . From 1942 small numbers of trainers and transports were acquired from the United States and by 1945 a total of 20 aircraft were on strength . In 1952 a US aviation mission arrived saw an increase of the numbers of trainers and transports delivered followed by combat aircraft such as the P - 38 , P - 51 and P - 47 . For some years the Nicaraguan air force was the strongest in Central America but during the civil war a lot of its pilots defected and much eastern bloc equipment was acquired . When the Sandinistas assumed control in 1979 , the Sandinista Air Force / Air Defense Force ( Fuerza Aérea Sandinista / Defensa Anti - Aérea — FAS / DAA ) inherited only the remnants of the National Guard ' s small air force . Equipment included a few AT - 33A armed jet trainers , Cessna 337 s , and some transports , trainers , and helicopter s . The time required to train pilots and construct airfields precluded a rapid FAS / DAA buildup . Beginning in 1982 , the Sandinistas received from Libya the Italian - made SF - 260A trainer / tactical support aircraft and the Czechoslovakian Aero L - 39 Albatros , a subsonic jet trainer that could be missile - armed for close - in air defense . In addition to light and medium transport aircraft , the air force acquired a fleet of helicopters from the Soviet Union that served as a vital asset in the war against the Contras . They included Mi - 8 and Mi - 17 transport helicopters and later the Mi - 24 , followed by its export variant , the Mi - 25 , a modern armored assault helicopter . After Humberto Ortega revealed that Nicaragua had approached France and the Soviet Union for Mirage or MiG fighter planes , the United States warned against introducing modern combat jets to the region . Although Nicaragua began construction of a new airbase with a longer runway and protective revetments , it did not succeed in acquiring new fighter aircraft . A series of radar sites were constructed to give the Sandinistas radar coverage over most of Nicaragua , with the added capability of monitoring aircraft movements in neighboring countries . A Soviet - designed early - warning / ground - control intercept facility gave the air force the potential to control its combat aircraft from command elements on the ground . After 1990 the FAS / DAA was no longer able to maintain its full aircraft inventory without Soviet support . The personnel complement fell from 3 , 000 in 1990 to 1 , 200 in 1993 . Airbases at Bluefields , Montelimar , Puerto Cabezas , Puerto Sandino , and Managua remained operational . Combat aircraft were reduced to a single mixed squadron of Cessna 337s , L - 39s , and SF - 260As . However , the serviceability of all these aircraft was doubtful . In 1992 a number of helicopters and six radar units were sold to Peru . A small fleet of helicopters , transports , and utility / training aircraft was retained . In 1996 the Nicaraguan air force changed its name from Fuerza Aérea Sandinista to the Fuerza Aérea Nicaragüense ( FAN ) . Much of this inventory is of doubtful of serviceability