MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile aquires four new F-16 fighter jets

Four F-16 fighter jets purchased from the United States arrived Tuesday at the Los Cóndores Air Base in Iquique. Two jets arrived earlier this year and another four will join the fleet by the end of 2006 as part of a large-scale renovation of Chile's Air Force.

"This renovation process is vital for the Air Force," said Commander Osvaldo Sarabia. "Our Mirage planes are reaching the end of their life span, their maintenance is becoming increasingly expensive, and these new planes are part of the natural replenishment of this stock."

Ten of the 26 F-16 jets in Chile's fleet will be stationed in Iquique, while the other 16, purchased from Holland, will be based at Antofagasta. The purchase of ten aircraft and supplies from the U.S. was approved in 2001 under then-President Richard Lagos, after the U.S. ended a 20-year ban on the sale of advanced fighter aircraft to Latin America.

The ten Block 50 jets, purchased through contractor Lockheed Martin as part of the "Puma Program," carry a price tag of around US$500 million, along with munitions and supplies. Soaring copper prices have bolstered military spending in Chile, since Chilean law stipulates that the armed forces receive 10 percent of all copper sales by the state-owned Codelco.

Chile spent US$2.8 billion ? 3.5 percent of its GDP ? on the military in 2005, more than any other country in South America. Chile was the second South American nation to purchase an F-16 after Venezuela.

Defense Minister Vivianne Blanlot visited Los Cóndores Monday to take a test flight in one of the two F-16 jets stationed there since the beginning of the year. Blanlot donned an anti-gravity flight suit during her nearly 40-minute long tour with Captain Rodrigo Hidalgo.

"It's really something great, I could not describe it," Blanlot said upon landing. "Clearly the capabilities of this plane are impressive. We are forming a flight crew and are completing a very important task with these planes in the north."

The U.S. will assist in training Chilean pilots, and U.S. Air Force officials hope the Puma Program will mark the start of a long term relationship with the Chilean Air Force.

The Santiago Times - News about Chile