Military of Chile

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Military of Chile
Military Manpower
Military age	18 years of age
Availability	Males age 15-49: 3,815,761 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	Males age 15-49: 3,123,281 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	Males: 150,084 (2005 est.)
Active troops	86,000 (ranked 46th)
Military Expenditures
Amount	$3.62 billion
Percent of GDP	3.9% of GDP

Chile's armed forces are subject to civilian control exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. Military service of 12 to 24 months is mandatory for all male citizens upon turning 18. This conscription service can be postponed for educational or religious reasons.

Chilean HMMWV with M113A2.

1 Structure
2 Military Expenditures
- 2.1 Major reequipment programs
3 External links

[edit] Structure

Military branches:

Army
Navy (includes Naval Air, Coast Guard, and Marines)
Air Force
Carabiniers of Chile (Spanish: Carabineros de Chile) (National Police)

NB: The Carabiniers normally operate under the Ministry of Interior; However, in times of national emergency, they are considered part of the military.

[edit] Army

Main article: Chilean Army

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army is Gen. Óscar Izurieta Ferrer. The 55,000-person army is organized into six divisions and an air brigade.The army operates Leopard 1V as main battle tank. In the next months the purchase of 136 second hand Leopard 2A4 from the German army is going to be announced.

[edit] Navy

Main article: Chilean Navy

Adm. Rodolfo Codina Díaz directs the 25,000-person Chilean Navy, including 5,200 marines. Of the fleet of 66 surface vessels, only eight are major combatant ships and they are based in Valparaíso. The navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no fighter or bomber aircraft but they have attack helicopters. The Navy also operates four submarines based in Talcahuano.

Capitan Prat on the North Sea

[edit] Air Force

Main article: Chilean Air Force

Gen. Ricardo Ortega Perrier heads 12,500 strong Chilean Air Force. Air assets are distributed among five air brigades headquartered in Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas. The Air Force also operates an airbase on King George Island, Antarctica.

[edit] Police

Main article: Carabineros de Chile

The Chilean police are comprised of a national, uniformed force, the Carabiniers, in Spanish Carabineros, and a smaller, plainclothes investigations force, called Investigaciones de Chile. After the military coup in September 1973, the Chilean national police were incorporated into the Defense Ministry. With the return of democratic government, the police were placed under the operational control of the Interior Ministry but remain under the nominal control of the Defense Ministry. Gen. José Bernales, who directs the national police force of 40,000, is responsible for law enforcement, traffic management, narcotics suppression, border control, and counter-terrorism throughout Chile.

[edit] Military Expenditures

Chilean military expenditures represent approximately 3.9% of GDP. This figure does not include the revenues of state owned copper mines which, according to Chilean Law, are used to support the Chilean military. For the purpose of comparison, in the first 9 months of 2006, state owned copper revenue was USD $971 million. [1]

[edit] Major reequipment programs

Since year 2000, the Military of Chile is undergoing several major reequipment programs that put the country at the top of the military expenses of Latin America [2]

2 Class M frigates ex Dutch Navy
2 Class L (Jacob van Heemskerck) frigates ex Dutch Navy
3 Type 23 frigates ex Royal Navy
2 New built Scorpene class submarines
10 New built Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 50 Fighting Falcon (Peace Puma Program)
18 F-16MLU Fighting Falcon ex Royal Netherlands Air Force
Latest AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM AAM missiles (under Peace Puma program)
136 Leopard II A4 Tanks
202 Leopard I Tanks
136YPR-765 Armoured personnel carrier
5 Eurocopter Dauphin helicopters for naval aviation
20 RGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles the first naval launched system with earth strike capability deployed in Latin America
SM39 Exocets submarine launched antiship missiles
SAM Sea Wolf Block 2
Rafael's Spike Anti-tank guided missile
LAU-117(V3) missiles launch aircraft system
~~An Earth Observation Satellite Program with EADS and French Spot Image~~ Canceled
~~3 Airbus A400M transport aircraft to be delivered between 2018/2022~~ Canceled
40 M163 VADS anti-aircraft defense system guns
HAL Dhruv helicopters [3] [4]
24 Bell AH-1W Attack Helicopters