Chile – Managing Information
“Our number one challenge is information technology. The challenge is to reshape the way we face information,” states Chilean Navy First Naval Zone Commander-in-Chief Vice Admiral Kenneth Pugh. “We’re now in an era in which information flows very fast. What we’re working on now is knowledge manage- ment. How do we keep knowledge in the navy? With a free market economy, the booming mining industry and fishing industry are taking our best people. So we’re working to retain our people.”
The Chilean Navy is reshaping itself for the information age and is seeking to learn from (but not copy) the US Navy, which has developed the concept of Information Domination, which involves combining all forms of information, including all forms of intelligence and code-breaking. But inform-ation is not just about fighting and winning. It’s about running the entire navy. “With information, you can do things you couldn’t do before,” he points out. “For example, spares. You can use information to acquire parts quickly, without needing to stock them. Information allows flexibility – you can adjust whatever you need. Acquisition costs and lifecycle costs can be imbedded in all systems. But you need the knowledge.” That knowledge includes the source codes for software.
The Chilean Navy’s fleet includes four conventional submarines, eight frigates, an LSD, two LSTs, two AORs and seven missile boats. The Chilean Navy also has its own air arm, equipped with both fixed wing aircraft (including Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion, Airbus Military C-295 and Embraer P-111 maritime patrol and surveillance aeroplanes) and helicopters (including Eurocopter Cougars in the antiship and antisubmarine roles), as well as a Marine Corps, which reportedly numbers about 5 000. In total, the Chilean Navy is believed to comprise some 25 000 personnel.
The fleet presents challenges as well. “The frigates were acquired [second-hand] from the Dutch and British,” he reports. “The challenge is their midlife update (MLU).” The MLU is a very major refit undertaken when a warship is roughly halfway through its designed lifetime, and usually involves major changes in the computers, sensors and weapons carried by the vessel. “We’re looking for systems that we can integrate on our platforms. We’re looking for open systems, which can be integrated with our other systems, in Chile. We have a shipyard, Asmar, with its own systems integration capability. It is much more cost effective. We do it with missile systems, sensor systems and antisubmarine warfare systems. We’ve done this since the mid-80s. It works for us.”
Chile has also successfully upgraded two of its submarines. The navy is currently upgrading its P-3s and Cougars, including the fitting of new radars. In parallel, the C-295s, which are new aircraft, are being introduced into service. The Chilean Navy also seeks to maintain Asmar’s ship design and building capabilities. “We’ll keep our shipbuilding programme for auxiliary vessels – OPVs, patrol boats, landing craft and auxiliary vessels,” concludes Pugh.
