Air warfare branch of Chile's armed forces
Chilean Air Force
|
---|
|
Coat of arms of the Chilean Air Force
|
Founded
| 21 March 1930
; 94 years ago
(
1930-03-21
)
|
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Country
|
Chile
|
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Type
| Air force
|
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Role
| Aerial warfare
|
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Part of
| Chilean Armed Forces
|
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Headquarters
| Edificio Delphos
Cerrillos
,
Santiago
|
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Motto(s)
| Latin
:
Quam celerrime ad astra
"With full speed to the stars"
|
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Colours
|
Indigo
White
|
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March
| Alte Kameraden
|
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Anniversaries
| 21 March (Air Force Day)
|
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Equipment
| 180 aircraft
|
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Engagements
|
|
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Website
| www
.fach
.cl
|
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|
Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force
| General del Aire
Hugo Rodriguez Gonzalez
|
---|
Notable
commanders
| Arturo Merino Benitez
Marmaduke Grove
Gustavo Leigh
Fernando Matthei
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|
Roundel
| |
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Fin flash
| |
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Flag
| |
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Electronic
warfare
| E-3D
|
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Fighter
| F-5
,
F-16
,
|
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Helicopter
| Bell 206
,
Bell 412
,
S-70
,
UH-1H
,
UH-60
,
|
---|
Reconnaissance
| Elbit Hermes 900
|
---|
Trainer
| A-29
,
T-35
,
SR-22
,
GB1
|
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Transport
| B-737
,
B-767
,
C-130
,
C-212
,
CJ-1
,
DHC-6
,
Gulfstream V
,
L-35
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Tanker
| KC-130
,
KC-135
|
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Military unit
The
Chilean Air Force
(
Spanish
:
Fuerza Aerea de Chile (FACh
) is the
Air force
of
Chile
and branch of the
Chilean military
.
History
[
edit
]
The first step towards the current FACh is taken by
Teniente Coronel
training as a pilot
[
citation needed
]
in
France
. Although a local academy was created, the first officers were sent to France for their training as well. One of them,
Captain
Manuel Avalos Prado, took command over the Chilean military aviation school, which was officially established in February 1913, and remained in command until 1915. The Military Aviation School (
Escuela de Aviacion Militar
) 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 (
Linea Aeropostal de Chile
) was created on 5 March 1929 as a branch of the military aviation. This postal airline later developed into the National Airline (
Linea Aerea 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 Department of the Air Force (
Subsecretaria de Aviacion
) effectively creating the current independent Air Force. It was initially named National Air Force (
Fuerza Aerea Nacional
). The international airport of Chile carries the name of Lan's founding father and first commander of the air force, Air Commodore Arturo Merino Benitez. Its baptism of fire was in the 1931 sailors' rebellion in Coquimbo, where Air Force attack aircraft and bombers and 2 transport planes converted into bombers contributed to its failure.
The first outlines of the organization of the current air force were visible in 1945 with the inception of Transport Group 1, later renumbered Group 10, with two
C-45s
and a single
T-6 Texan
at Los Cerrillos. Two years later the first FACh 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.
During the
military coup d'etat
on September 11, 1973, the Chilean Air Force conducted Operation Silence, Hunters from the 7th Aviation Squadron destroyed several transmission antennas belonging to pro-government radio stations. After accomplishing their mission, the aircraft performed attack runs on the presidential residence at Las Condes and the
presidential palace
, a pilot mistakenly opened fire on the Air Force Hospital when attacking the residence, no casualties were reported.
The Chilean air force hosted the joint exercise
Salitre
with other friendly nations in 2014.
[1]
It also participated in several United Nations peacekeeping missions overseas in 5 occasions.
The Chilean Air Force reported one of its C-130 Hercules transport aircraft carrying 38 people en route to
Antarctica
missing
on December 9, 2019. The aircraft was on its way to Antarctica’s King George Island to provide logistic support to a military base when radio contact was lost.
[2]
On 11 December 2019, aircraft debris was located 18 miles South of where the plane last made contact and no survivors were found. The cause of the crash is unknown.
[3]
Commanders-in-chief
[
edit
]
Order of battle
[
edit
]
Personnel = 10,600 (including 700
conscripts
)
[
citation needed
]
Office of the Commander in Chief
Combat Command of the Air Force
[
edit
]
First Air Brigade
with headquarters in Los Condores Air Base (Base Aerea Los Condores) in
Iquique
- 1st Aviation Squadron
- 2nd Aviation Squadron
- 3rd Aviation Squadron
- 24th Air Defense Squadron
- 34th Telecommunications Squadron
- 44th Aviation Infantry Squadron
Second Air Brigade
with headquarters in Pudahuel Air Base (
Base Aerea Pudahuel
) in
Santiago
Third Air Brigade
with headquarters in El Tepual Air Base (
Base Aerea El Tepual
) in
Puerto Montt
- 5th Aviation Squadron
- 25th Air Defense Squadron
- 35th Telecommunications Squadron
Fourth Air Brigade
with headquarters in Chabunco Air Base (
Base Aerea Chabunco
) in
Punta Arenas
- 12th Aviation Squadron
- 23rd Air Defense Squadron
- 33rd Telecommunications Squadron
- 19th Antarctic Exploration Squadron
Fifth Air Brigade
with headquarters in Cerro Moreno Air Base (
Base Aerea Cerro Moreno
) in
Antofagasta
- 7th Aviation Squadron
- 8th Aviation Squadron
- 21st Air Defense Squadron
- 31st Telecommunications Squadron
- 41st Aviation Infantry Squadron
Personnel Command
[
edit
]
Education Division
- Air Force School "Captain Manuel Avalos Prado"
- Air Force NCO School "Flight Sergeant Adolfo Menadier Rojas"
- Advanced NCO School
- Air War Academy
- Air Force Polytechnical Academy
- Air Photographic Surveying Service
Health Division
General Hospital of the Air Force
Air Force High Command Prefecture
Logistics Command
[
edit
]
Maintenance Division
Administration Division
Infrastructure Division
The Air Force also maintains the Air Force Special Forces (
Comandos de Aviacion
), comparable to a
United States Air Force Combat Control Team
.
[
citation needed
]
They may be up to 350 strong, and their roles include assault, reconnaissance,
Air Traffic Control
,
Fire Support
, and
Command, control, and communications
.
[
citation needed
]
Aircraft
[
edit
]
Aircraft
[
edit
]
Current inventory
[
edit
]
Industry
[
edit
]
Chile also maintains its own aviation industry,
ENAER
. The design of the
T-35 Pillan
trainer, based on the Piper PA-28R Saratoga, 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. Also, under the Pacer Amstel programme, with initial Dutch support, and later locally ENAER upgraded an F-16 combat jet, which for the Chilean Air Force is an advance for their maintenance of the F-16 fleet (becoming the 5th country to modify their jets under authorization).
Ranks
[
edit
]
- Officers
Rank group
|
General / flag officers
|
Senior officers
|
Junior officers
|
Officer cadet
|
Chilean Air Force
[9]
|
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General de aire
|
General de aviacion
|
General de brigada aerea
|
Comodoro
|
Coronel de aviacion
|
Comandante de grupo
|
Comandante de escuadrilla
|
Capitan de bandada
|
Teniente
|
Subteniente
|
Alferez
|
Cadete
|
- Enlisted
Rank group
|
Senior NCOs
|
Junior NCOs
|
Enlisted
|
Chilean Air Force
[9]
|
|
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No insignia
|
|
Suboficial mayor
|
Suboficial
|
Sargento primero
|
Sargento segundo
|
Cabo primero
|
Cabo segundo
|
Cabo
|
Soldado de tropa profesional
|
Alumno
|
Badges
[
edit
]
Officers
[
edit
]
Officer
[10]
|
Line Corps
|
Badge
|
|
|
|
|
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Arm of service
|
Aviation
|
Engineering
|
Air Defense
|
Telecommunications and Information Technology
|
Administration
|
Air Base
|
Abbreviation
|
(A)
|
(I)
|
(DA)
|
(TI)
|
(AD)
|
(BA)
|
Specialty
|
Aviators
(Fighter, Helicopter) and Air transport officers
|
Aviation engineers
|
Air defense
|
Information and telecommunications engineers
|
Engineers assigned to administrative duties
|
Logistics
|
Officer
[10]
|
Services/Staff Corps
|
Badge
|
|
|
|
|
|
Arm of service
|
Justice
|
Medical Corps
Dental Corps
|
Chaplainancy
|
Bands Service
|
General Services Corps
|
Abbreviation
|
(J)
|
(S) y (SD)
|
(SR)
|
(B)
|
(SG)
|
Specialty
|
Attorneys
and
Judges
|
Doctors
,
Nurses
and
Dentists
of various specialties
|
Chaplains
|
Musicians
|
Professional workers and civilian employees
|
Non-commissioned officers and airmen
[
edit
]
NCOs and airmen of the
[10]
|
Line Corps
|
Services Corps
|
Badge
|
|
-
|
Arm of service
|
Weapons
|
Technical support
|
Administration
|
Combat medicine and surgery
|
Specially
|
Air Defense
Intelligence personnel
Aircrews
|
Maintenance and armaments
Communications, information technology and electronics
Air Operations Support
|
Administrative staff
|
Combat medics and surgeons
|
Officers' cap badges
[
edit
]
Chilean Air Force officers wear the following cap badges in their peaked caps.
Notes
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Hagedorn, Daniel P. (September?October 1996). "Talkback".
Air Enthusiast
(65): 80.
ISSN
0143-5450
.
External links
[
edit
]