| Unit Name: | Chilean Air Force |
| Native Name: | Spanish; Castilian: Fuerza Aérea de Chile |
| Country: |  Chile |
| Type: | Air force |
| Role: | Aerial warfare |
| Command Structure: | Chilean Armed Forces |
| Garrison: | Edificio Delphos Cerrillos, Santiago |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Motto: | Latin: [[Ad astra (phrase)|Quam celerrime ad astra]] "With full speed to the stars" |
| Colours: | Indigo White |
| March: | Alte Kameraden |
| Anniversaries: | 21 March (Air Force Day) |
| Equipment: | 180 aircraft |
| Battles: | |
| Commander1: | General del Aire Hugo Rodríguez González |
| Commander1 Label: | Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force |
| Notable Commanders: | Arturo Merino Benítez Marmaduke Grove Gustavo Leigh Fernando Matthei |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Roundel |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Fin flash |
| Identification Symbol 3 Label: | Flag |
| Aircraft Electronic: | E-3D |
| Aircraft Fighter: | F-5, F-16, |
| Aircraft Helicopter: | Bell 206, Bell 412, S-70, UH-1H, UH-60, |
| Aircraft Recon: | Elbit Hermes 900 |
| Aircraft Trainer: | A-29, T-35, SR-22, GB1 |
| Aircraft Transport: | B-737, B-767, C-130, C-212, CJ-1, DHC-6, Gulfstream V, L-35 |
| Aircraft Tanker: | KC-130, KC-135 |
The Chilean Air Force (Spanish; Castilian: Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh) is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military.
The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Teniente Coronel training as a pilot 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 Ávalos 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 (Spanish; Castilian: Escuela de Aviación 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 (Spanish; Castilian: Línea 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 (Spanish; Castilian: [[Lan (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 Department of the Air Force (Spanish; Castilian: Subsecretaria de Aviación) effectively creating the current independent Air Force. It was initially named National Air Force (Spanish; Castilian: Fuerza Aérea 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 Benítez. 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'état 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]
See main article: article and List of commanders-in-chief of the Chilean Air Force.
Personnel = 10,600 (including 700 conscripts)
Office of the Commander in Chief
First Air Brigade with headquarters in Los Cóndores Air Base (Base Aérea Los Cóndores) in Iquique
Second Air Brigade with headquarters in Pudahuel Air Base (Spanish; Castilian: Base Aérea Pudahuel) in Santiago
Third Air Brigade with headquarters in El Tepual Air Base (Spanish; Castilian: Base Aérea El Tepual) in Puerto Montt
Fourth Air Brigade with headquarters in Chabunco Air Base (Spanish; Castilian: Base Aérea Chabunco) in Punta Arenas
Fifth Air Brigade with headquarters in Cerro Moreno Air Base (Spanish; Castilian: Base Aérea Cerro Moreno) in Antofagasta
Education Division
Health Division
General Hospital of the Air Force
Air Force High Command Prefecture
Maintenance Division
Administration Division
Infrastructure Division
The Air Force also maintains the Air Force Special Forces (Spanish; Castilian: Comandos de Aviación), comparable to a United States Air Force Combat Control Team. They may be up to 350 strong, and their roles include assault, reconnaissance, Air Traffic Control, Fire Support, and Command, control, and communications.
See main article: article and List of active Chile military aircraft.
Chile also maintains its own aviation industry, ENAER. The design of the T-35 Pillán 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 Halcón (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).
See main article: Air Force ranks and insignia of Chile.
| Officer[9] | Line Corps | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badge | |||||||
| 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 | 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 | |
| NCOs and airmen of the | Line Corps | Services Corps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badge | colspan=1 | - | |||
| 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 | |
Chilean Air Force officers wear the following cap badges in their peaked caps.
| Rank cap badge[10] | Air Generals and Air Commodores | Colonels and Group Commanders | Ensigns through Squadron Commanders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full dress | ||||||||||||
| Service dress | ||||||||||||
| Rank | Air General | Aviation General | Air Brigade General | Air Commodore | Aviation Colonel | Group Commander | Squadron Commander | Flight Captain | Lieutenant | Sublieutenant | Ensign | |