Upon independence in 1975, the Military of Suriname became Surinamese Armed Forces. After a coup on February 25, 1980, the armed forces became the National Army. In 1982 the Suriname Air Force was forced as a division of the Suriname National Army. Its first Commander was lieutenant Eddie Alenso Savalie Djoe, who held the position from 1983 until 1989. In 1982 the Air Force bought its first aircraft, the Hughes 500 - Model 369D helicopter, for patrolling missions, though it soon crashed in March of that year, killing all five crewmembers aboard the plane at the time. Three months later, the Suriname Air Force acquired four PilatusBritten Norman BN-2B Defenders. In 1986 anti-government guerrilla activity from the Jungle Commando prompted the government to acquire two Aérospatiale SA.316B Alouette III helicopters from the Portuguese Air Force, one of which later crashed. Later that year three Pilatus PC-7 planes were ordered for counter-insurgency missions, although only two of the three were delivered, of which one was returned to Pilatus. In 1987 the Suriname Air Force acquired a Bell 205 Iroquois from Venezuela to use as a gunship. It crashed in July of that year due to a mechanical failure, killing the American pilot Billy Pearson, and seriously injuring the American mechanic and the plane's four Surinamese crewmembers. The helicopter was later repaired and put back into action, eventually being sold to the U.S. Air Force in 1991. In the late 1980s a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and a Cessna 206 were acquired, and in 1993 a Cessna T303 Crusader was acquired as well. In 1999, two CASA C-212 Aviocar turbo-prop engined aircraft were delivered, with one of the two having a Bendix RDR-1500 surveillance radar for maritime patrol. In addition to patrol and transport duties, the two aircraft were used to protect Suriname's fishing industry, and participated in governmental anti-narcotics activities. In 2012, due to rising maintenance costs, the two planes were sold to Fayard Enterprises in the United States. By 2014 the whole remaining SAF inventory of six planes was put up for sale. In 2009, the Suriname Air Force ordered three single-engined HAL Chetak planes from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for approximately US$13.4 million, facilitated through a line of credit from India. Mechanics and pilots from the Suriname Air Force were trained in India to operate the new helicopters in 2012 and 2014, respectively. In January 2015, the three helicopters were delivered to Suriname Air Force, which assigned them to the cities of Paramaribo, Nickerie, and Albina. In March of that year, the Defence Minister of Suriname announced that a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter would soon be delivered to the Suriname Air Force, with pilots allegedly already in training to operate it. This never materialized.
