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WCA HONORS AIR FORCE OFFICER WHO REFUSED VACCINE worldchiropracticalliance... | United States Air Force Media ssrsi.org |
The Chilean Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea de Chile, FACh) is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.
[edit] HistoryThe 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 and Northrop F-5E/F for example, whereas the British supplied Hawker Hunters and the French delivered various helicopters and Dassault Mirage 50 aircraft. [edit] Commanders-in-chief
[edit] Industry 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. [edit] Order of Battle (2006-2007)Personnel = 10,600 (including 700 conscripts) [edit] Future Programmes   The delivery of ten new F-16 (6 off C model and 4 off 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[1]. 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-16MLU standard and have more in common in equipment and capabilities to the F-16C Block 50s than the original F-16A/B block 15 stock from where they come. These aircraft replaced the aging 20 Dassault Mirage 5 "Elkan" (Mirsip). A further batch of 16 F-16MLU aircraft from the same source is likely to follow in 2009 $170m[2], making The Netherlands 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). A further procurement of another 18 F-16s from the Netherlands, possibly to replace the ageing F-5E/F fleet, has been confirmed to be close to completion by sources on both governments.[3] Recently Chile issued an RFP for a 5.5 tonne, twin engined new generation helicopter. Indian company HAL participated with its HAL Dhruv helicopter, conducting live demonstrations of the aircraft, equipped with an advanced cockpit, an electronic warfare suite and surveillance pods. Four Dhruv helicopters were involved in a wide range of tests with the evaluations reaching a total of 107 hours. The aircraft proved capable of operating in harsh climate conditions and extreme altitudes, simulating search and rescue operations at 12,500 ft above mean sea level with temperatures of two degrees Celsius in Iquique, long distance flights between Santiago and Arica, covering 3600 km as well as carrying out successful ship deck landings at Valparaiso. Several requirements for the Chilean Air Force were met by the Indian helicopter but eventually the contract was awarded to Bell Textron Helicopters Inc. for 12 new Bell 412 helicopters.[4][5]. The air force has signed a contract with ROSOBORONEXPORT for the acquisition of 5 Mil Mi-17V worth 70 million US dollars. This is the first time Chile has acquired Russian military equipment. [edit] OrganizationI Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Los Cóndores" (Base Aérea "Los Cóndores") in Iquique
II Aviation Brigade with headquarters in Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (Aeropuerto Arturo Merino Benítez) in Santiago
III Aviation Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "El Tepual" (Base Aérea "El Tepual") in Puerto Montt
IV Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Chabunco" (Base Aérea "Chabunco") in Punta Arenas
V Air Brigade with headquarters in Air Base "Cerro Moreno" (Base Aérea "Cerro Moreno") in Antofagasta
[edit] Aircraft Inventory
Note: the cargo 707 has been retired from service and the FACh has cancelled the order for the Airbus A310 MRTT. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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