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'Chile's armed forces' are subject to civilian control exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. Military service of 12 to 24 months is mandatory for all male citizens upon turning 18. This conscription service can be postponed for educational or religious reasons.

Contents

Structure

Army

Navy

Air Force

Police

Military Expenditures

Major reequipment programs

★ 4 Bell 412EP helicopters to replace the ageing UH-1H ★ 2 A310MRTT for transport/refueling duties

Structure

'Military branches:'

★ Army

★ Navy (includes Naval Air, Coast Guard, and Marines)

★ Air Force

★ Carabiniers of Chile (Spanish: ''Carabineros de Chile'') (National Police)
NB: The Carabiniers normally operate under the Ministry of Interior; However, in times of national emergency, they are considered part of the military.

Army

Main articles: Chilean Army

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army is Gen. Óscar Izurieta Ferrer. The 55,000-person army is organized into six divisions and an air brigade.The army operates Leopard 1V as main battle tank. In the next months the purchase of 136 second hand Leopard 2A4 from the German army is going to be announced.

Navy

Main articles: Chilean Navy



Admiral Rodolfo Codina Díaz directs the 25,000-person Chilean Navy, including 5,200 marines. Of the fleet of 66 surface vessels, eight are major combatant ships and they are based in Valparaíso. The navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no fighter or bomber aircraft but they have attack helicopters. The Navy also operates four submarines based in Talcahuano.

Air Force

Main articles: Chilean Air Force

Gen. Ricardo Ortega Perrier heads 12,500 strong Chilean Air Force. Air assets are distributed among five air brigades headquartered in Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas. The Air Force also operates an airbase on King George Island, Antarctica.

Police

Main articles: Carabineros de Chile

The Chilean police are a national, uniformed force, the 'Carabiniers', in Spanish '''Carabineros''', and a smaller, plainclothes investigations force, called '''Investigaciones de Chile'''. After the military coup in September 1973, the Chilean national police were incorporated into the Defense Ministry. With the return of democratic government, the police were placed under the operational control of the Interior Ministry but remain under the nominal control of the Defense Ministry. Gen. José Bernales, who directs the national police force of 40,000, is responsible for law enforcement, traffic management, narcotics suppression, border control, and counter-terrorism throughout Chile.

Military Expenditures

Chilean military expenditures represent approximately 3.9% of GDP. This figure includes the revenues of state owned copper mines which, according to Chilean Law, are used to support the Chilean military. For the purpose of comparison, in the first 9 months of 2006, state owned copper revenue was USD $971 million. [1]

Major reequipment programs

Since year 2000, the Military of Chile is undergoing several major reequipment programs that put the country at the top of the military expenses of Latin America [2]

★ 2 Class M frigates ex Dutch Navy

★ 2 Class L (Jacob van Heemskerck) frigates ex Dutch Navy

★ 3 Type 23 frigates ex Royal Navy

★ 2 New built Scorpene class submarines

★ 10 New built Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 50 Fighting Falcon (Peace Puma Program)

★ 18 F-16MLU Fighting Falcon ex Royal Netherlands Air Force

★ Latest AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM AAM missiles (under Peace Puma program)

★ 118 Leopard II A4 Tanks

★ 202 Leopard I

★ 136YPR-765 Armoured personnel carrier

★ 5 Eurocopter Dauphin helicopters for naval aviation

★ 20 RGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles ''the first naval launched system with earth strike capability deployed in Latin America''

★ SM39 Exocets submarine launched antiship missiles

★ SAM Sea Wolf Block 2

★ Rafael's Spike Anti-tank guided missile

★ LAU-117(V3) missiles launch aircraft system

★ An Earth Observation Satellite Program with EADS and French Spot Image ''Canceled''

★ 3 Airbus A400M transport aircraft to be delivered between 2018/2022 ''Canceled''

★ 40 M163 VADS anti-aircraft defense system guns

★ HAL Dhruv helicopters [3] [4]

★ 24 Bell AH-1W Attack Helicopters ''Canceled''

★ 200+ HMMWV (Some will replace the "AT role" Storm Jeeps. The rest for Recon units).

★ 4 Bell 412EP helicopters to replace the ageing UH-1H

★ 2 A310MRTT for transport/refueling duties

External links ==

★ Ejército de Chile (Army)

★ Armada de Chile website (Navy)

★ Fuerza Aérea de Chile website (Air Force)

★ Carabineros de Chile website

★ Investigaciones de Chile website