The Chilean Air Force has an ageing and disparate fixed-wing transport fleet, including the DHC-6 Twin Otter, that needs replacing.
Source: IHS/Gareth Jennings
The Chilean Air Force (Fuerza Aérea de Chile: FACh) is to prioritise its medium-lift recapitalisation efforts, as it seeks to build up those dual-use capabilities that serve both a military and civilian humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) function, a senior service official said on 28 March.
General de Aviación Álvaro Aguirre Warden, president of the FIDAE 2016 Airshow taking place in Santiago, told reporters ahead of the event that the need to acquire new rotary- and fixed-wing medium-lift platforms is now the air force's most important priority, following lessons learned after a number of recent natural disasters in the country.
Most of Chile's helicopters are fielded by the army, but the air force operates a number of ageing Bell UH-1H 'Huey' platforms and Bell 412Eps also. The FACh has released a tender for six to eight platforms to reinforce these helicopters, with Airbus Helicopters, AgustaWestland, Rosoboronexport, and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) set to bid their H215, AW149, Mi-171 'Hip', and Surion respectively.
In terms of fixed-wing medium-lift, the FACh has a disparate fleet that includes ageing CASA C212 Aviocar, DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Lockheed Martin C-130B/C-130B/KC-130R Hercules platforms that in many cases are well past their prime. While no formal tender has yet been submitted, the two companies most likely to compete for the requirement used FIDAE to showcase their respective offerings.
With Finmeccanica and Airbus Defence and Space (DS) set to go head-to-head in Chile, they were both heavily promoting their C-27J Spartan and C295 respectively throughout the event that ran from 29 March to 3 April.
For Finmeccanica, the participation of two recently delivered Peruvian Air Force C-27Js provided an opportunity to explain how their platform might best suit the needs of the FACh. Speaking at the event, vice president of Latin American sales, Fabio Leoni, said that the increased payload from 11 tonnes to 12 tonnes that was afforded by the addition of winglets and an increased power output from the twin Rolls-Royce AE2100-D2A turboprops made it the ideal choice for the 'hot and high' operating conditions typically found in the region.