The Bolivian government authorized the Ministry of Defense, by decree, the acquisition of two multipurpose helicopters in order to deal with disasters and/or emergencies.
Through Supreme Decree N° 5074 published on November 29, the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, authorized the Ministry of Defense to exceptionally purchase two multipurpose helicopters in order to increase the State’s capacity to respond to environmental and human emergencies.
The decree is based on the recognition that in recent years the country has been facing a substantial increase in emergency situations and disasters such as hailstorms, heavy rains, floods, landslides, river overflows, frost, wildfires and droughts, making it necessary to have specialized equipment to deal with them.
The purpose is to «provide the Bolivian Air Force with specialized equipment that will allow it to immediately and timely face the execution of operations in emergency and/or disaster situations, search and rescue, fire control, transportation of people and others that contribute to save lives and preserve the environment».
In summary, Decree No. 5074 will allow the Bolivian Ministry of Defense the direct contracting abroad of two (2) multipurpose helicopters, destined to the Bolivian Air Force, for preferential use in civil defense, disaster relief, emergencies and other activities for the benefit of the Bolivian population.
For the acquisition, the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance, through the General Treasury of the Nation (TGN), was authorized to transfer the necessary resources to the Ministry of Defense, although the amount of the budget to be allocated for the acquisition of the aircrafts was not published.
At the moment it is not known what type of helicopter the Bolivian Air Force (FAB) is looking for to comply with the presidential decree. It currently has a fleet of four light H125/H145 and six medium H215M Super Puma helicopters, all from Airbus Helicopters; as well as 11 classic Bell UH-1H Huey, so it is likely that the new pair of aircraft will have a similar origin, so as not to add a new logistics line.
