Weapons of the Salvadoran Civil War

The Salvadoran Civil War was a military conflict that pitted the guerrilla forces of the left-wing Marxist-oriented Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) against the armed and security forces loyal to the military-led conservative government of El Salvador, between 1979 and 1992. Main combatants comprised:

• The Armed Forces of El Salvador (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de El Salvador – FAES), which were backed by the United States, Taiwan and Israel, were the official armed defense forces of El Salvador. Subordinated to the Ministry of Defense and Security of the Salvadoran government at the capital San Salvador, the FAES branches were organized as follows:
  • Salvadoran Army (Spanish: Ejército Salvadoreño)
  • Salvadoran Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña)
  • Salvadoran Navy (Spanish: Fuerza Naval de El Salvador)
• Paramilitary security forces:
  • National Guard of El Salvador (Spanish: Guardia Nacional de El Salvador)

• The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (Spanish: Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional), more commonly known by its Spanish acronym FMLN, was an alliance or umbrella organization of five left-wing guerrilla groups created in 1980, which was backed by Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Eastern Bloc countries.

An eclectic variety of weapons was used by both sides in the Salvadoran Civil War. The Salvadoran FAES were equipped with Western-made weapons, mainly American and Israeli in origin, but also included Argentine, Portuguese, French, West German, Yugoslavian and Taiwanese military hardware. During the early phase of the war, the FMLN likewise were largely equipped with Western arms and munitions, though as the war went on, Eastern Bloc weaponry began to play a major role.