| Chilean Air Force | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms of the Chilean Air Force |
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| Founded | March 21, 1930 |
| Country | Chile |
| Part of | Chilean Armed Forces |
| Motto | "Quam celerrime ad astra" |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
General del Aire (Air General) Jorge Rojas Avila |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
| Roundel 1918-1930 | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon |
| Electronic warfare |
707 Cóndor AEW&C |
| Fighter | Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon, Northrop F-5E Tiger III |
| Trainer | T-35 Pillán, Super Tucano, T-36 Halcon |
| Transport | UH-1H Huey, Bell 412EP, UH-60 Black Hawk, C-130 Hercules |
The Chilean Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea de Chile, FACh) is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.
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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 (Military Aviation Service of Chile) on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France. Although a school was included, the first officers were sent to France for their training as well. One of them, Captain 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 (Military Aviation School) was named in honor 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 M.1C, DH.9, and SE5a. In the following decade, the (Airmail Line of Chile) Línea Aeropostal de Chile was created on 5 March 1929 as a branch of the military aviation. This postal airline later developed into the airline Línea Aérea Nacional (National Airline) 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 (Department of the Air Force) effectively creating the current independent Air Force. It was initially named Fuerza Aérea Nacional(National Air Force). 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 organization of the current air force were visible in 1945 with the inception of Grupo de Transporte No.1 (First Transport Group), later renumbered Grupo 10, with two C-45s and a single T-6 Texan at Los Cerrillos. 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 Lockheed F-80, Lockheed T-33, Beech T-34 Mentor, Cessna T-37, Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and Northrop F-5E/F for example, whereas the British supplied Hawker Hunters and the French delivered various helicopters and Dassault Mirage 50 aircraft.
The Chilean air force hosted the joint exercise Salitre with other friendly nations.
Ranks and insignia, similar to the Royal Air Force but adapted to suit the origins of the Chilean Air Force, are worn on shoulder collars and cuffs. General officers have the Condor eagle in their shoulder collars while officer cadets have a unique symbol, that of the Aviation School "Captain Manuel Avalos Prado", on their shoulder collars. On the NCOs and enlistees, only Subofficer Majors and Subofficers wear both shoulder and cuff insignia, while Graduate Soldiers wear a double capital letter E (for the Air Force Specialties School "First Sergeant Adolfo Menandier Rojas") on their shoulder collars alongside their unique cuff marking.
The officer ranking system and insignia are similar to the RAF pattern of ranks, save for the General officer ranks, modified to suit the British style ranks, and the Colonel rank.[1] Other ranks with foreign influences are that of Air Brigade General, a general officer rank in the French Air Force, and Air General, a general officer rank in the Spanish Air Force and the Bolivian and Colombian air forces.
| Rank[2] | General Officer | Superior Officer | Chief Officer | Junior Officer | Cadet Officer | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | ||||||||||||
| Sleeve | - | |||||||||||
| Rank | General del Aire | General de Aviación | General de Brigada Aérea | Comodoro | Coronel de Aviación | Comandante de Grupo | Comandante de Escuadrilla | Capitán de Bandada | Teniente | Subteniente | Alférez | Cadete |
| Abbreviation | (C.J.) | (G.D.A.) | (G.B.A.) | (-) | (C.D.A.) | (C.D.G.) | (C.D.E.) | (C.D.B.) | (TTE.) | (STE.) | (ALF.) | - |
| Translation | Air General | General of Aviation | Air Brigade General | Commodore | Colonel of Aviation | Group Commander | Squadron Commander | Flight Captain | Lieutenant | Sublieutenant | Ensign | Cadet Officer |
| Equivalent | Air Chief Marshal | Air Marshal | Air Vice-Marshal | Air Commodore (optional rank for senior Group Captains) |
Group Captain | Wing Commander | Squadron Leader | Flight Lieutenant | Flying Officer | Pilot Officer | Acting Pilot Officer | Officer Cadet |
| Rank | Subofficer Major | Subofficer | Class | Student | Conscripted Soldier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| Sleeve | - | ||||||||
| Rank | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial | Sargento 1° | Sargento 2° | Cabo 1° | Cabo 2° | Cabo | Alumno | Soldado conscripto |
| Abbreviation | (SOM) | (SOF) | (SG1) | (SG2) | (CBO1) | (CBO2) | (CBO) | - | - |
| Translation | Sub-officer Major | Sub-officer | First Sergeant | Second Sergeant | First Corporal | Second Corporal | Corporal | Student | Conscripted Soldier |
| Equivalent | Warrant Officer Class I | Warrant Officer Class II | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Senior Aircraftman (Air Groups and Topography Service), Lance Corporal(Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment, Personnel Command and Logistics) |
Leading Aircraftman | Student NCO | Aircraftman |
Chile also maintains its own aviation industry, ENAER. The design of the T-35 Pillan trainer, based on the Piper PA-28 Dakota, is the best known example, seeing some export success as well. Furthermore, the assembly of the A-36/T-36 Halcon (CASA C-101) was achieved as well. Performing maintenance on most types in the current inventory, such as minor modifications on F-5E aircraft for example, the industry is of significant importance to the air force. ENAER is reported to be in talks with Embraer of Brazil to codesign the first indigenous South American military transport plane.
The delivery of ten new F-16 (6 of C model and 4 of D model) (block 50+) Peace Puma aircraft from the United States to Chile kicks off a promising era of interoperability between the two nations. The 10 aircraft sale, munitions and maintenance—all part of the “Peace Puma” program—is worth $900 million.[5]
The U.S. 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 Lemkin, U.S. Air Force deputy undersecretary for international affairs.
Included in the purchase are joint direct attack munitions, or JDAMs, AIM-9 heat-seeking missiles, AGM-65 Mavericks and advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, or AMRAAMs. The FACh F-16s can also operate Israeli-made Derby and Python IV air-to-air missiles carried by the Chilean Air Force (FACh) F-5E/F Tiger III fleet.
The U.S. Air Force conducted F-16 flying training with Chilean pilots. In addition, “train-the-trainer” instruction enabled the Chileans to train their own pilots. The U.S. Air Force and contractor also provided maintenance training.
“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 brand new F-16s, the Air Force has recently purchased 18 refurbished (MLU program) F-16 block 20 (11 F-16As and 7/F-16Bs) from the Royal Netherlands Air Force. These aircraft have been recently upgraded to F-16 MLU standard and have more in common in equipment and capabilities to the F-16C Block 50s.
a second batch of 18 F-16 MLU T4 (2 for spares) was recently acquired from the Royal Netherlands Air Force to complete 44 F-16.
Recently Chile issued an RFP for new generation helicopter. The contract was awarded to Bell Textron Helicopters Inc. for 12 new Bell 412 helicopters.[6][7] In July 2011, Elbit Systems reported the first export sale of its Hermes 900 UAV to the Chilean Air Force. The Chilean choice followed evaluation of two classes of UAVs. At the high end were the Elbit Hermes 900 and IAI Heron. At the lower (tactical) level were Elbit Hermes 450, and Aerostar from Aeronautics Defense Systems.
The 2015 Chile's air force must decommission the F-5, among the possible candidates to replace tigers are the EF-2000 or MLU F-16.
Personnel = 10,600 (including 700 conscripts)
First Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Los Cóndores" (Base Aérea "Los Cóndores") in Iquique
Second Aviation Brigade with headquarters in Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (Aeropuerto Arturo Merino Benítez) in Santiago
Third Aviation Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "El Tepual" (Base Aérea "El Tepual") in Puerto Montt
Fourth Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Chabunco" (Base Aérea "Chabunco") in Punta Arenas
Fifth Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Cerro Moreno" (Base Aérea "Cerro Moreno") in Antofagasta
Education Division
Health Division
General Hospital of the Air Force
Air Force High Command Prefecture
Maintenance Division
Infrastructure Division
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| Ejército de Chile (Army) Armada de Chile (Navy) Fuerza Aérea de Chile (Air Force) | |||
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