The official predecessor of the Air Force was the Army's Auxiliary Aerial Militia Squadron (Escuadrilla Aérea de la Milicia Auxiliar del Ejército), created during the Mexican Revolution in April 1913 by the Secretary of War and Navy General Manuel Mondragón, who authorized pilots Miguel Lebrija and Juan Guillermo Villasana [es] to test out bomb targets on Campo de Balbuena, the first airport in Mexico, now located in Jardín Balbuena in Mexico City.

[2] The air force exclusively performed reconnaissance missions until 10 May 1913, when Didier Masson and a Joaquín Bauche Alcalde dropped 15 kilograms of dynamite on rebel boats.

[3] On February 5, 1915, the leader of the Constitutionalist Army, Venustiano Carranza, founded the Military Aviation Arm (Arma de Aviación Militar), which would become the current air force.

Colonel Ralph O'Neill was hired to head the restructuring of the Mexican Air Force in 1920, he reported to General Plutarco Elías Calles that most of the aircraft available had to be replaced.

The next step was the formation of classified fighter, bombing, observation and reconnaissance squadrons, as well as the decentralization of Air Force units throughout the country at strategic bases.

O'Neill then set to work with his co-instructors German Fritz Bieler and Frenchman Joe Ben Lievre, using the first intercom known as the "Gosport System", invented by Robert Smith-Barry, in order to give in-air commands.

From 1923 to 1929, Mexico was immersed in a wave of violent territorial, religious and military armed rebellions, which required the new Air Force to quickly deploy support wherever the federal army requested them.

The power tilted back in favor of the federal forces when the United States agreed to furnish the Mexican government with a fleet of new de Havilland DH-4B aircraft equipped with the Liberty motor, armed with Lewis and Vickers machine guns and able to carry bombs.

Only two weeks after making the request, the U.S. government agreed, and several Mexican pilots travelled to Brownsville, Texas, and New York to pick up the new aircraft.

The key victory was decided in late March 1929 at the Battle of Jiménez, Chihuahua, where after several days of air raids, Escobar was defeated by General Calles, taking about 6000 prisoners.

In May 1938, the Governor of San Luis Potosí, General Saturnino Cedillo, declared himself in rebellion and President Lázaro Cárdenas travelled there to personally mount the campaign against the revolt.

Cedillo quickly realized he had no chance in open fields against the air force and ran to the Huasteca Hills, where his men dispersed, abandoning him.

This jet was nicknamed "The Flying Avocado" by Mexican flight crews due to the ovoid shape of its fuselage and the dark green night camouflage adopted by its first units.

Because of its more modern design, an ejection seat system and several other attributes, the T-33 was well liked by most FAM pilots and became a huge success as a patrol and interceptor aircraft.

During the seventies and early eighties an additional 20 or more T-33s were procured by the FAM to replace aircraft lost in accidents and to increase the size of the fleet after the retirement of the Vampires.

On January 1, 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, hundreds of guerrillas from the previously unknown Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) occupied several towns and cities in the southern state of Chiapas.

Units involved included the recently formed 214th and 215th Special Operations Squadrons, equipped with a mix of Bell 212 assault- and MD.530F scout helicopters.

Eventually the Army deployed some 70,000 ground troops and air support proved to be insufficient; hence the decision was taken to considerably expand the FAM's helicopter fleet.

[11][16] Due to high operating costs, lack of parts, and the extreme age of the aircraft, the Mexican Air Force retired all but three F-5s in late 2017.

[17] In early 2019, the Mexican Air Force received repaired engines for their F-5 fighters, as part of an effort to return a handful of the aircraft to operational status.

Because of the ongoing Mexican Drug War, increasing importance has been placed on acquiring airborne surveillance platforms, UAVs, light attack aircraft, helicopters and rapid troop transports.

[19] On 21 February 2021, a Learjet 45XR operated by the Mexican Air Force crashed while taking off from El Lencero Airport in Veracruz, killing all six people on board.

Typically situated within civilian airport facilities, these stations serve to direct, coordinate, and provide logistical support for military air operations occurring within, from, or to their installation.

Military School of Air Force Specialist offers a comprehensive scholarship lasting three years for officer training meteorologists and flight control, obtaining at the graduate level of lieutenant.

The requirements are: In order to be admitted to any school of the Mexican Air Force Academy mentioned above, the applicant should also perform the following tests: physical, medical, cultural, and aviation psychology.