The South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 air forces performs several joint aerial combat training exercises. Among the more important are Cruzex ( ) which is hosted by the Brazilian Air Force

Brazilian Air Force

The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...

, Salitre ( Saltpeter ) hosted by the Chilean Air Force

Chilean Air Force

The Chilean Air Force is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.-History:The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France...

 and Ceibo ( Erythrina crista-galli

Erythrina crista-galli

Erythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in California...

 flower ) hosted by the Argentine Air Force

Argentine Air Force

The Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...

. The goal is to train together in order to respond to a crisis or integrate into United Nations peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

 operations as a unified team.

The exercises include combat search and rescue

Combat search and rescue

Combat search and rescue are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones.A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, tankers and an airborne command post...

, aerial refueling

Aerial refueling

Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....

 and combined air operations center training opportunities focused on interoperability .

List of operations

All helicopters are normally provided by the host nation and all the participants include different types of support aircraft.

Operation	Date	Air bases	Participants	Observers	Notes	Ref
Cruzex I	1999
Cruzex II
Salitre I	2004 26sep/10oct	Cerro Moreno Cerro Moreno International Airport Cerro Moreno International Airport is an airport in Antofagasta, Chile. It is located north of Antofagasta.- Destinations :... Iquique Diego Aracena International Airport Diego Aracena International Airport is an airport in Iquique, the capital city of the Tarapacá Region in Chile. The airport is located south of the city...	Elkan,F-5  MIII,MV  F-5  F-16
Ceibo 2005	2005 Nov	El Plumerillo Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport , better known as El Plumerillo International Airport, is located northeast of the center of Mendoza, a city in the Mendoza Province of Argentina... Villa Reynolds	MIII,MV,A-4AR   AMX   Elkan   A-37
Cruzex III	2006 Aug/Sep	Anapolis Campo Grande Uberlandia Brasilia Jatai	MIII, F-5, AMX   A-4AR, IA-58   M2000, E-3   A-37   F-16, M50, F-5   A-37		103 aircraft and helicopters. Peru withdrew due to a crash of an A-37 Dragonfly at Porto Velho on the way to Anapolis which killed both pilots.
Cruzex IV	2008 Nov	Natal Natal Air Force Base Natal Air Force Base – BANT is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in Parnamirim, near Natal, Brazil.It shares some facilities with Augusto Severo International Airport.-History:...	F-5,AMX  F-5  F-16  A-37,Pucara  M2000C/D		Argentina withdrew at last minute due to the Congress not authorizing the Air Force's aircraft to leave the country in time.
Salitre II	2009 19/30oct	Cerro Moreno/Iquique	F-16,F-5,  AMX  A-4AR  F-15C  M2000C		The exercise was criticized by Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Cooperacion	2010	Chile			Natural disasters relief training official video
Cruzex V	2010 28oct/19nov	Natal	F-5M,M2000,AMX  F-16C/D  Pucara,A-37  Rafale,M2000-5  F-16C