Overview
- At a March 15 ceremony at the Las Bajadas Naval Air Base in Veracruz, Navy Secretary Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles led the commemoration with Governor Rocío Nahle present, as a presidential decree established March 15 as Naval Aviation Day.
- The service currently fields 115 aircraft, including 69 fixed-wing planes and 46 helicopters, operating from 10 naval air bases and 22 squadrons with more than 2,200 personnel.
- Officials outlined a modernization plan for the current six-year term that includes transport aircraft, coastal-surveillance helicopters, and unmanned systems, along with upgrades to the Naval Aviation School and training programs.
- Naval aviation supports maritime surveillance, search and rescue, disaster relief, and logistics, with recent missions ranging from flood response in Poza Rica to deliveries of vaccines and medical supplies during the pandemic.
- Commanders highlighted high-tech radars, King Air aircraft with radar and cameras to detect semi-submersibles, and UH-60M Black Hawks equipped with FLIR for night operations as tools to counter criminal tactics and improve rescues.