Rotores de Portugal

The Rotores de Portugal (Portuguese for "Rotors of Portugal") is a helicopter flight demonstration team created in 1976, operated by Squadron 552 (Esquadra 552) of the Portuguese Air Force, based in No 11 Air Base, Beja.

They are the national helicopter display team of Portugal and use three Sud Aviation Alouette III.

As these helicopters were not exclusively used by the team, it started to be a common sight to see Alouette III sporting the special livery while performing the most varied missions, from search and rescue to airmobile assaults exercises.

Even after the suspension of the Rotores de Portugal activity, these helicopters continued to sport their respective livery.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Air Force initiated the deactivation of their remaining Alouette III helicopters, which are being replaced by a smaller number of AgustaWestland AW119 Koala.

Three SA319 helicopters from Rotores de Portugal team