The President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, recently announced that her government is seeking to acquire two second-hand Boeing 737 NG aircraft for approximately US$54 million.
Currently, the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) has a Boeing 737-200 and a 737-500 (which is also used as a presidential aircraft under registration number FAP-01), which serve with Air Group No. 8, located at the Major General Armando Revoredo Iglesias Base, on the grounds of Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima. Both aircraft are very old and the need for their replacement became evident during the Covid pandemic, and more recently, in the operation to repatriate Peruvian citizens from Israel.
???? Los 42 ciudadanos peruanos evacuados ya están a bordo del avión de la @fapperu que los llevará desde Tel Aviv a Roma. Por orden presidencial, 25 de ellos continuarán viaje hasta Lima y los 17 restantes solicitaron permanecer en Europa.#NuestraMisiónElPerú???????? pic.twitter.com/5bq7rOIifX
— Mindef Perú (@MindefPeru) October 14, 2023
Although the intention to renew the FAP’s fleet of Boeing aircraft was announced by President Boluarte when she disembarked from the presidential plane carrying some of the Peruvian citizens repatriated from Israel, the fact is that the acquisition had already been planned for months by the Peruvian Ministry of Defense.
See also: Peruvian Government plans to acquire Airborne Early Warning Aircraft and New Land Radars
«The acquisition of two Boeing 737-NG announced by President Boluarte will give the Peruvian State an effective transport capacity, given that the Air Force has not renewed its fleet of aircraft of these characteristics for more than 30 years,» said Defense Minister Jorge Chavez Cresta. «Today our Air Force does not have the logistic capacity to accomplish long distance missions. This was evidenced, for example, in 2021 when there was no aircraft that could travel to China to bring the first vaccines,» he added.
La aeronave Boeing 737 de la FAP y sus capacidades en apoyo al Sistema Nacional de Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres y en atención a las demandas del Estado. pic.twitter.com/nyWuEjoUP8
— Fuerza Aérea del Perú (@fapperu) October 19, 2023
Together with the recently acquired KC-130Hs, the future Boeing 737 NGs (name given to the -600, -700, -800 and -900 series) will also be crucial in order to quickly and efficiently perform aeromedical evacuations, transport of rescuers and/or essential goods in the event of disasters and environmental emergencies, which often leave large areas of Peru’s rugged geography isolated by land.
