Manufacturer catalog

Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana

Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana is Colombia's state air and space force, and its manufacturing context comes from in-service aerospace engineering programs rather than commercial arms production. Public FAC sources identify Colombian personnel, CAMAN maintenance infrastructure, CIAC cooperation, and foreign partners in programs such as the AH-60L Arpia armed Black Hawk conversion and the Calima T-90 primary trainer.

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The organization is primarily an armed service, but it also maintains aviation engineering, certification, maintenance, and modification capacity through units such as the Comando Aereo de Mantenimiento, CAMAN. FAC reporting describes the Arpia as a Colombian armed-helicopter adaptation developed by its own technical personnel, while the Calima T-90 program combined FAC/CAMAN production work with CIAC and Lancair participation to create a Colombian primary trainer fleet.

The Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana name applies where public sources attribute a system to the institution or to FAC units that carried out the modification, production, certification, or fleet-development work. That scope is narrower than Colombia's full aerospace industry and does not replace more specific producers such as CIAC, CAMAN, Sikorsky, or Lancair when sources identify them directly.

Military aviationAircraft modification and modernizationAerospace engineering and certificationRotary-wing attack conversionsPrimary trainer aircraft production support

Notable Systems

AH-60L Arpia, Armed utility / attack helicopter, Aircraft & UAVs

AH-60L Arpia

Armed utility / attack helicopter

FAC reporting describes the Arpia as a Colombian armed Black Hawk adaptation whose design and armament work involved Colombian technical personnel, with later Arpia IV versions adding modern sensors and guided-weapon capability.

Sources: Arpia poster, Black Hawk history, AH-60 fact sheet
T-90 Calima, Primary trainer aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

T-90 Calima

Primary trainer aircraft

The Calima T-90 program replaced older primary trainers through FAC, CAMAN, CIAC, and Lancair work; FAC reporting says CAMAN production delivered the first aircraft in 2010 and completed a 25-aircraft fleet in 2014.

Sources: T-90 fact sheet, Last T-90 Calima delivery, CIAC Calima T-90

Manufacturer History

  1. Military aviation created in Colombia

    FAC institutional history traces Colombian military aviation to Law 126 of 31 December 1919, the origin point for the air arm that later became the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana.

    Sources: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana editorial

  2. First Arpia mission

    FAC reporting says the first Arpia mission took place on 30 January 1996 after Colombian personnel adapted the UH-60 into a fast armed platform.

    Sources: Black Hawk history

  3. T-90 Calima production fleet completed

    FAC reported that the Fuerza Aerea Colombiana and CIAC completed manufacture of 25 Calima T-90 primary trainers, with production work carried out at CAMAN.

    Sources: Last T-90 Calima delivery

  4. Aerospace name adopted

    FAC public communications cite Law 2302 of 2023 as the point at which the institution adopted the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana denomination and emphasized air-and-space development lines.

    Sources: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana editorial

Predecessors
Fuerza Aerea Colombiana
Website links
Official websiteAH-60 fact sheetT-90 fact sheetCIAC Calima T-90 page

Public sources mix the former Fuerza Aerea Colombiana name, the current Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana name, and unit-level attributions such as CAMAN. This profile uses the current institutional name for FAC-led modification, production-support, and certification work, while source notes preserve more specific partner attributions when available.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Official FAC websitePublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports official website, current institutional name, and headquarters contact address in Bogota. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana editorialPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports the institution's 1919 aviation origins, its current Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana denomination under Law 2302 of 2023, and the public framing of air-and-space development lines. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Arpia posterPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports FAC's statement that the Arpia design and adaptation were developed by technical armament specialists of Comando Aereo de Combate No. 5. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Black Hawk historyPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports the Arpia's Colombian adaptation background, the first Arpia mission date, and continuing development into later versions. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • AH-60 fact sheetPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports AH-60 IV mission categories and technical context for the Arpia/THOR armed Black Hawk configuration. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • T-90 fact sheetPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports the Calima T-90 mission, manufacturer listing as CAMAN, CIAC, and Lancair, Colombian origin, and baseline aircraft specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Last T-90 Calima deliveryPublisher: Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana | Note: Supports the FAC-CIAC program structure, 2006 development start, CAMAN production line, first 2010 deliveries, 2014 completion, and 25-aircraft fleet figure. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • CIAC Calima T-90Publisher: Corporacion de la Industria Aeronautica Colombiana | Note: Supports CIAC's Calima T-90 production, composite materials, defense type certificate context, and flight-hour/use background for FAC pilot instruction. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Arpia III Wikimedia imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and reuse context for the Arpia III manufacturer-profile image. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Aircraft & UAVs

Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.

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AH-60L Arpia, Armed utility / attack helicopter, Aircraft & UAVs1964 Colombian Armed ConflictAH-60L ArpiaArmed utility / attack helicopterBuilt in: ColombiaThe AH-60L Arpia is Colombia's armed Black Hawk conversion family, developed around UH-60L and related airframes for attack, escort, reconnaissance, and close-air-support missions. Colombian Air Force reporting traces the first Arpia combat mission to January 1996 near Urrao, while later Arpia IV upgrades added modern sensors, helmet display aids, 70 mm rocket launchers, GAU-19 machine guns, and Spike-family air-to-ground missiles.
T-90 Calima, Primary trainer aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsT-90 CalimaPrimary trainer aircraftBuilt in: ColombiaThe T-90 Calima is a Colombian primary trainer aircraft built through a Fuerza Aerea Colombiana, CAMAN, CIAC, and Lancair program to replace older T-34 Mentor trainers. FAC, CIAC, Lancair, EMAVI, and FAC museum sources frame it as a national composite-aircraft production and training project: 25 to 26 aircraft were manufactured, the type accumulated more than 15,000 flight hours, and a 2019 restricted defense type certificate formalized its military-training design approval.