For some years the Nicaraguan air force was the strongest in Central America but after the 1979 civil war most of its US trained pilots defected and thereafter much eastern bloc equipment was acquired.

Beginning in 1982, the Sandinistas received from Libya the Italian-made SF-260A trainer/tactical support aircraft and the Czechoslovakian Aero L-39 Albatros, a subsonic jet trainer that could be missile-armed for close-in air defense.

In addition to light and medium transport aircraft, the air force acquired a fleet of helicopters from the Soviet Union that served as a vital asset in the war against the Contras.

After Humberto Ortega revealed that Nicaragua had approached France and the Soviet Union for Mirage 50 or MiG fighter planes, the United States warned against introducing modern combat jets to the region.

A Soviet-designed early-warning/ground-control intercept facility gave the air force the potential to control its combat aircraft from command elements on the ground.

[4] Previous aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the Aero L-39 Albatros, Antonov An-2, Beechcraft Model 18, Boeing B-17, C-212 Aviocar, Consolidated PBY-5, Consolidated B-24, Douglas C-47, Grumman TBF, Hughes OH-6A Defender,AT-33A, Mikoyan MiG-17, Mikoyan MiG-21, Mil Mi-2, North American P-51 Mustang, North American AT-28D Trojan and SIAI SF-260W.