to the Caribbean island of San Andrés,
near the coast of Nicaragua. Two T-37Cs
and two A-37Bs were sent to patrol the
maritime regions of Serranilla, Roncador
and Quitasueños, after the Nicaraguan
government challenged Colombian
sovereignty in the area. San Andrés remains
an outpost for the FAC: as of mid-March,
last year, six Kfir C10s and the sole Boeing
767-200MMTT could be found there.
In the early 1990s another 12 surplus USAF
T-37Bs supplemented the C-models.
A milestone in recent FAC history was
marked in March 2005, when Lieutenant
Joana Ximena Herrera Cortes became the first
woman in the service’s history to graduate
as a combat pilot after flying the T-37.Change of course
On July 20, 2006, T-37C FAC 2104 crashed
on its return to base after a military parade,
killing two pilots, instructor Lt Herman
Ramirez and Lt Herrera Cortes. Post-accident
studies revealed severe structural issues in
the Tweet and the FAC’s investigative team
concluded these problems caused one of
the wings to become detached. The FAC
General Command was forced to ground
its entire fleet of T-37C and T-37B aircraft.
However, the need to continue transitioning
fighter pilots led the FAC to return four T-37Bs
(FAC 2116 to FAC 2120) to service and it
was later decided to purchase another 16
surplus trainers from USAF stocks. These
jets arrived in Colombia in four separate
batches between 2008 and 2010.Tweets today
Palanquero is host to some of the most
powerful military aviation assets in Latin
America, including frontline Kfir fighters and
AC-47T Fantasma gunships. Meanwhile,
Escuadron de Combate 116 ‘Tango’ currently
operates a fleet of 13 Tweets. Today’s T-37B
students fly approximately 80 missions on
the type, divided across six syllabi. Sorties
range from solo to navigation flights and
encompass around 130 hours on the twin-jet
trainer. Around 24 student pilots are trained in
the Tweet’s fully analogue cockpit each year.At the time of AFM’s visit, Escuadrón 116
had eight pilots – five men and two women- led by Captain Cristian ‘Alacrán’ Cañon
Castro who received his primary training
in the T-41 and T-90. All students are
required to pass six stages to successfully
complete their training with the unit: a ground
operations course, pre-solo, transition/
aerobatics, instrument flight rules (IFR),
night flight training, and cruise flight.
The noisy little Tweet shares the apron and
runway at Palanquero with the J79-powered
Kfir C10/C12 and TC12, the AC-47T, Cessna
208 Grand Caravan, a single IAI Arava and the
FAC’s unique CASA ECN235 signals intelligence
(SIGINT) aircraft. All these assets are assigned
to CACOM-1, commanded by Brigadier
General Pablo Enrique García Valencia.Future
For its age, the T-37 continues to offer
a high rate of availability. The FAC’s
procurement office has yet to formally
begin the search for a new trainer to equip
Escuadrón 116. It’s estimated the Tweet
will reach the end of its service life within
ten years and the current operational status
greatly depends on the availability of spare
parts, together with structural fatigue.
Before long, however, the FAC will have to
search the market for a suitable replacement.
The leading manufacturers of jet trainers have
already begun to offer their products, and
some have had talks with the FAC. Offers
could include the Aero Vodochody L-39NG,
BAE Systems Hawk Mk128, Leonardo
M-345 and M-346 and the Textron AirLand
Scorpion. A new jet trainer is likely to be
required to replace both the T-37 and the A-37
of Escuadrón de Combate 311, providing
dual-use training and attack capabilities.
Colombia’s peace deal with the FARC,
and the push for a similar treaty with the
Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN, National
Liberation Army) guerrilla group might lead
to a reduction in the defence budget, which
would make any future military procurements
uncertain. With no current replacement
programme for the type, Colombia looks set
to fly the Tweet for some years to come.Above: A Tweet resplendent in the late afternoon sun. A ‘sunset’ for the type in Colombia is still some
years away, and the procurement process for a successor has yet to begin. Below: Five T-37s hold on
the threshold before a practice flight to commemorate Colombia’s independence day. Despite its age,
the J69-powered T-37 is still a very capable trainer.The somewhat weathered FAC 2132 returns to a humid Palanquero after a local training mission. AFMColombian Air Force T-37
78 // JUNE 2018 #363 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com