Do Any Caribbean Air Forces Have Combat Aircraft?

Do any countries in the Caribbean
operate fighter jets
? This article will only consider independent Caribbean countries’ air forces (of which the Cuban Air Force is by far the most capable). The US, UK, France, and the Netherlands all retain territories in the Caribbean, making them Caribbean countries of sorts, but these will not be counted. It may surprise many, but during the late Cold War,

Cuba was considered to have the most powerful air force south of the US border
. What is the state of the air forces in the Caribbean today?

Cuba: by far the most powerful in the Caribbean

The Soviet Union generously worked to build up the Cuban Air Force. In the early days – around the 1960s, many Cuban Soviet jets were operated by Soviet pilots, but over time, that changed, and the pilots became Cuban. By the 1980s, the powerful Cuban
Air Force was busy projecting its power and engaged in wars in Africa – particularly in Angola (where it was heavily involved) and Somalia.

Photo: crbellette l Shutterstock

In all, the Cuban Air Force is estimated to have received 36 MiG-15s, around 100 MiG-17s, 11 MiG-19s, 240 MiG-21s, over 112 MiG-23s, and 14 MiG-29s.

But by 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, and by 1991, the Soviet Union was no more. Like North Korea, the Cuban Air Force was immediately neglected without the money or ability to maintain and modernize its air force. The cruel hand of time has destroyed the Cuban Air Force just as surely as any war. The once powerful Cuban Air Force has atrophied over time to the point only a few obsolete fighter jets remain operational.

But even these few fighter jets are more than enough to be by far the most powerful air force in the Caribbean.

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Caribbean air forces besides Cuba

According to FlightGlobal, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, St Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and Jamaica all lack combat aircraft (and many lack air forces entirely).

Haiti has become a failed state with gangs overrunning much of the country; even if the country did have aircraft, it is unlikely the recognized government could operate them at this time.

Gang violence in the country forced airlines to suspend flights in March 2024
(although the international airport reopened three months later).

Photo: Embraer

The only Caribbean island country other than Cuba with combat aircraft is the Dominican Republic, which is listed as possessing eight Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucanos. The Super Tucano is a Brazilian-designed turboprop light attack aircraft able to carry precision-guided munitions and other weapons in low-threat environments.

Greater Caribbean

So, only Cuba and the Dominican Republic have combat aircraft capability in the Caribbean islands. However, the Caribbean region is often considered to include the English-speaking country of Belize in Central America, the English-speaking country of Guyana in South America, and the Dutch-speaking country of Suriname in South America. These countries have much more culturally in common with the Caribbean than the regions they are physically part of.

Photo: Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong | US Air Force

However, all three countries still completely lack any fixed wing combat aircraft. That said, all three are listed as possessing a few old helicopters that are used in a combat capacity. Belize possesses a single Bell UH-1 Iroquois. Belize had two UH-1s that had been donated by Taiwan in 2016, but one of them crashed in 2020.

Guyana possesses a single Bell 206 and two Bell 412 (derived from the UH-1) – FlightGlobal lists these as combat helicopters. Finally, Suriname possesses three Aérospatiale Alouette III SA 316 light utility helicopters, which are also listed as combat helicopters.

Latin American countries with Caribbean islands

Colombia, Venezuela, and Honduras also possess islands in the Caribbean. If these countries were to be considered, then things change significantly as all three have some level of fighter jet capability.

Photo: Guillermo Pis Gonzalez | Shutterstock.com

Honduras fixed-wing combat aircraft:

• 9x Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
• 4x Northrop F-5E light fighters

Columbia fixed-wing combat aircraft:

• 24x Embraer EMB 314
• 17x IAI Kfir fighter jets

Venezuela fixed-wing combat aircraft:

• 6x Northrop F-5E light fighters
• 13x F-16A Fighting Falcons multirole fighters
• 21x Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker-C/G/H multirole fighters

Honduras has 9 light ground attack Cessna A-37 Dragonflys and four Northrop F-5E light fighters. Columbia has 24 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano turboprop light attack aircraft and 17 Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets.

Venezuela is the only air force with somewhat modern fighter jets: 6 Northrop F-5E light fighters, 13 remaining F-16A Fighting Falcons, and 21 Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter jets. In the 1980s, Venezuela and the United States enjoyed much better relations than they do today, and it became

the first country in Latin America to receive the American F-16 fighter jet
. However, it is unclear how many of these aircraft are flight-worthy, let alone combat-worthy.