Suriname Air Force
| Surinaamse Luchtmacht (LUMA) | |
|---|---|
Suriname Coat of Arms
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| Active | 1982 |
| Country | Suriname |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Role | No. 1 Squadron (Transport & Patrol Unit) No. 2 Squadron (Helicopter Wing Unit) No. 3 Squadron (Parachute Airborne Tactical Unit (PATU)) Fire Unit |
| Size | Three squadrons |
| Part of | Military of Suriname |
| Garrison/HQ | Zorg en Hoop Air Force Base |
| Nickname(s) | LUMA |
| Motto(s) | Veni Vidi Vici |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kartodikromo is the Commander of the Air Force |
| Notable commanders |
Major Eddie Djoe, was the first Surinamese with fighter pilot's license on PC-7 and first Air Force Commander of Suriname and Captain John-Marc Arron is the Commander of the new Helicopter Wing |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
The Suriname Air Force or Surinam Air Force (SAF) in Dutch called the Surinaamse Luchtmacht (LUMA) is the air component of the National Army of Suriname (Surinaams Nationaal Leger - SNL).
Upon independence in 1975, the Military of Suriname was turned into the Surinaamse Krijgsmacht (SKM):, Surinamese Armed Forces. On February 25, 1980, a group of 16 junior SKM officers overthrew the Government. Subsequently, the SKM was rebranded as Nationaal Leger (NL), National Army.
In 1982 a small air arm was formed within the Suriname defense force called "Surinaamse Luchtmacht" in short also called LUMA. The first military aircraft of the young air force was a Hughes 500 - Model 369D helicopter, simply registered SAF-100 and being used for light observation tasks. Unfortunately the aircraft was written off in March 1982 killing all four occupants, but from May of the same year the Suriname Air Force was being equipped with four (Pilatus) Britten Norman BN-2B Defenders. Registered with the numbers SAF-001, SAF-002, SAF-003 and SAF-004. Later on during the decade a Cessna 172 Skyhawk (SAF-007), a Cessna 206 (SAF-200) and in 1993 a Cessna T303 Crusader (SAF-008) was acquired. The first official Surinam Air Force Commander from 1983 until 1989 was air force pilot lieutenant Eddie Alenso Savalie Djoe. He was one of the passenger victims of the Surinam Airways Flight 764 accident in June 1989, by then he was already promoted to the rank of Major.
All aircraft of the Surinam Air Force undertake border patrols, utility transport and SAR (Search & Rescue) missions from the main base at Paramaribo - Zorg en Hoop and are occasionally detached to Zanderij - Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, Nieuw Nickerie - Major Fernandes Airfield, Albina Airstrip and Moengo Airstrip. In 1986 anti-government guerrilla activity from the Jungle Commando, headed by Ronnie Brunswijk prompted the government to acquire a pair of Aérospatiale SA.316B Alouette III (SAF-400 & SAF-500) helicopters from the Portuguese Air Force (Portuguese: Força Aérea Portuguesa), formerly registered FAP9350 & FAP9386. In the same year also three Pilatus PC-7's (SAF-111, SAF-112 & SAF-113) were ordered in Switzerland for COIN (Counter-Insurgency) missions. One of the Alouette's crashed and both delivered PC-7s were returned to Switzerland but one was later re-delivered. In 1987 a Bell 205 Iroquois (SAF-300) was acquired from Venezuela and used as a gunship for five years prior to sale to the US as N6594S in 1991. It made a crash in July 1987 due to a mechanical failure killing the American pilot Billy Pearson, seriously injuring the American mechanic and four other Surinamese crewmembers. The helicopter was later repaired and back in action.
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