Cenepa War - Characteristics of The Fighting in 1995

Characteristics of The Fighting in 1995

Several explanations have been brought forward to explain the outcome of the Cenepa conflict. Some of these can be briefly summarized here:

• Logistics. Both during the buildup of forces and during the clashes of January and February, the Peruvian Army found itself at a logistical disadvantage. The fact that all reinforcements and supplies had to be flown in by helicopter from Ciro Alegría base, more than 110 km to the south, meant that, in general, the Ecuadorian forces went into combat better armed and supplied. Moreover, once the shooting war started, the Cenepa valley became a rather dangerous place for the Peruvian Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-17 helicopters, which besides their transport duties also carried out ground-attack missions.

• Force Composition. Right from the very first clashes, the Ecuadorian Army committed Special Forces units all along the combat area. In addition to the paratroopers, the Ecuadorians sent into battle a number of "Iwia" detachments — units composed of tribal people such as the Shuar people, specialized in jungle combat and survival. Until the arrival of some élite counterinsurgency units from the south, the Peruvian forces committed to the battle were composed mostly of young and inexperienced conscripts.

• Terrain. In 1995, the Ecuadorian Army fought on terrain of its own choosing. From the heights of the Condor mountain range, the Ecuadorians had a commanding view of the entire combat area. The Ecuadorian artillery -carefully camouflaged on the reverse slopes of the Condor range- could deliver precise and deadly fire upon attacking Peruvian troops. By the same token, the Ecuadorian antiaircraft batteries and SAMs located on the heights made helicopter low-level flight into the valley a dangerous proposition.

• State of the opposing air forces at the outbreak of the crisis. The war of 1995 came at a bad moment for the Peruvian Air Force. Traditionally one of the strongest air forces in Latin America, the economic crisis that had struck the nation in the 1980s had a negative impact on the readiness of the FAP. At the beginning of January 1995, with a crisis looming on the horizon, the FAP found itself in no shape for a major air war. Most of its fleet of modern Mirage 2000Ps interceptors, bought in the mid-1980s and the backbone of the FAP, was grounded for lack of spare parts and proper maintenance due to lack of funds. Only three Mirage 2000Ps were immediately available for active operations. Its fleet of Sukhoi Su-22M fighter-bombers was in the same situation, with some seven aircraft in flying condition; the lack of preparedness even affected the Cessna A-37B subsonic counterinsurgency and ground-attack aircraft. Although by the end of January the situation regarding operational aircraft had greatly improved, the crisis had probably left its impact on the FAP. Ecuador had also passed through a period of economic crisis of its own, but the FAE had kept in operational status a sizeable part of its fleet of Mirage F.1JAs, IAI Kfir C.2s, and SEPECAT Jaguars, with perhaps some ten Mirages, ten Kfirs, and four or six Jaguars in serviceable condition. Thus, while smaller in total number of planes, the FAE of January 1995 felt qualitatively capable of facing the FAP on equal terms - in striking contrast to the situation during the crisis of 1981, where except for a small number of missions, the FAE had been kept on the ground armed and ready for immediate action, to be committed only in case of a full-fledged war. In 1995 their positions in the Cordillera del Cóndor were well defended due to tactically placed SAMs, and units armed with British-made Blowpipe missiles and Russian-made SA-16 MANPADs. Nevertheless, such defences didn´t stop the continuous raids of the Peruvian Air Force, which lost several aircraft in the effort.