Chilean Air Force
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The Chilean Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de Chile, FACH) is the national Air Force or aviation branch of the armed forces of Chile.
History
The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on 20 December 1910 being trained as a pilot in France. Although a school was included, the first officer's were sent to France for their training as well. One of them, Capitán Manuel Ávalos Prado, took command over the Chilean military aviation school that was officially instated 11 February 1913 and remained in command until 1915. The Escuela de Aviación Militar was named in honour of him in 1944 and still carries that name today.
In those early years many aviation milestones were achieved, conquering the height of the Andes was one of the main targets as well as long distance flights. Typical aircraft of that era were Avro 504, Bleriot XI, Bristol M1C, DH.9, and SE.5A. In the following decade the Línea Aeropostal de Chile was created on 5 March 1929 as branch of the military aviation. This postal airline later developed into the airline Línea Aérea Nacional that is still the leading airline in Chile today. Shortly afterwards, on 21 March 1930, the existing aviation elements of the army and navy were amalgamated into a dedicated department: the Subsecretaria de Aviación effectively creating the current independent Air Force. It was initially named Fuerza Aérea Nacional. The international airport of Chile carries the name of LAN's founding father and first commander of the air force, Arturo Merino Benítez.
The first outlines of the organisation of the current air force were visible in 1945 with the inception of Grupo de Transporte No.1 (later renumbered Grupo 10) with two C-45s and a single AT-6 at Los Cerillos. Two years later the first Fuerza Aérea flight to Antarctica was performed. The fifties meant entry into the jet age for the FACh and Grupo 7 was the first unit to receive them in 1954. Chile got its aircraft from both the United States and Europe. The American supply consisted of F-80, T-33, T-34, T-37, A-37 and F-5E for example, whereas the British supplied Hawker Hunters and the French delivered various helicopters and Mirage 50 aircraft.
Industry
Chile also maintains its own aviation industry, ENAER. The design of the T-35 Pillan trainer based on the PA-28 Dakota is the best known example, seeing some export success as well. Furthermore, the assembly of the A-36 / T-36 Halcon (C101) was achieved as well. Performing maintenance on most types in the current inventory and upgrades on F-5E aircraft for example, the industry is of significant importance to the air force.
Future Programmes
The delivery of six new F-16 Peace Puma aircraft from the United States to Chile kicks off a promising era of interoperability between the two nations.
Over the next months, the Chilean air force will receive four additional F-16 C and D model (Block 50) aircraft from the contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. The 10 aircraft sale, munitions and maintenance -- all part of the “Peace Puma” program -- is worth $547 million.
The Air Force worked with the Chilean government, the Chilean air force and the defense contractor to broker the aircraft sale as the latest improvement in the long-term relationship between the two nations’ air forces, said Bruce S. Lemkin, Air Force deputy undersecretary for international affairs.
Included in the purchase are joint direct attack munitions, or JDAMs, AIM-9 heat-seeking missiles, and advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, or AMRAAMs.
The Air Force will conduct F-16 flying training with Chilean pilots. In addition, “train-the-trainer” instruction will enable the Chileans to train their own pilots. The Air Force and contractor will also provide maintenance training, Mr. Lemkin said.
“These are state-of-the-art aircraft and will provide great capability for Chile, and will also provide interoperability with us. These are the same airplanes the U.S. Air Force flies,” he said. “These F-16s will become the centerpiece of a 30-year or more relationship between the U.S. Air Force and the Chilean air force.”
The long-term relationship comes not only from operating common hardware, but also from the experiences of Airmen working together throughout their careers, Mr. Lemkin said.
“We will be training together, operating together, flying together and learning from one another,” Mr. Lemkin said. “There is no substitute for the relationship that results when a captain from the Chilean air force is in F-16 training with a captain from the U.S. Air Force, and 20 years later they are both generals. That becomes the most essential element of an air force to air force relationship -- the human element.”
Together with the purchase of brandnew F-16s, the Air Force has recently purchased 18 refurbished F-16As from the RNAF. hese aircraft have been recently upgraded to F-16MLU standard and have more in common in equipment and capabilities to the F-16C Block 50s than the original F-16A block 5, 10 and 15 stock from where they come. These aircraft will replace the aging Mirage 5 Elkan (Mirsip). A further 10 aircraft from the same source may follow in the near future, making Holland the primary supplier of the Chilean Armed Forces (202 Leopard 1V tanks, 2 "L" Class anti-aircraft frigates, 2 "M" Class multipurpose frigates and the aforementioned fighters).
Order of Battle (2005)
Personnel = 10600 (including 700 conscripts)
Combat Aircraft:
- 6 F-16 Block 50 Fighting Falcon (4 more new on order from General Dynamics and 18 Block 15 purchased refurbished from Holland)
- 13 Mirage 50 ENAER Pantera
- 16 F-5E Tiger III (F5E variant modernized in Israel)
- 21 Mirage 5 Elkan (two lost in accidents)
- 24 A-37 Dragonfly
- 38 CASA C-101
- 1 707 phalcon AEW "Condor"
- 6 P-3 Orion (naval aviation)
- 6 EMB-111 (naval aviation)
- 2 Boeing 707 transports
- 5 Lockheed C-130 Hercules medium transports
- 4 Casa C-212 light transports
- 9 Beech 99
- 3 Cessna Citation
- 12 DHC-6 Twin Otter
- 1 Gulfstream 4
- 14 PA-28
- 20 T-35 Pillán
- 10 Pilatus PC-7 (naval aviation)
- 6 Extra 300 L
External links
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