The Chilean Air Force (FACh) contracted Lockheed Martin to update its fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. The modernization, valued at US$177 million, will bring Chile's jets to the M6.6 standard.
To the portal Janes, the company said the upgrade includes the installation of NATO's Link 16 datalink and IFF (identification friend or foe) systems, among other undisclosed items. “The M6.6 program will modernize the Chilean Air Force’s entire F-16 fleet, meeting U.S. interoperability requirements and providing a comprehensive, long-term modernization plan.”
The contract was signed through Foreign Military Sales (FMS), a US government system that seeks to facilitate the negotiation and sale of military items and related products. According to the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the work will be carried out in Chile and at Lockheed facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Greenville, South Carolina, with completion scheduled for November 2032.
F-16 in Chile
In the late 1990s, FACh began looking for new fighter aircraft on the market. After a series of evaluations, Santiago signed in 2000 the purchase of 10 factory-new F-16C/D Block 50 fighters for US$500 million. Thus, the F-16 sured the Saab Gripen and F/A-18 Hornet and Chile became the second operator of the model in South America, next to Venezuela.
In October 2005, Chile signed the purchase of a second batch of F-16s for US$150 million, this time consisting of 18 used planes from the Dutch Air Force. The F-16s were updated to the MLU standard, similar to the Block 50. Three years later, the FACh signed the third batch of F-16s, along the same lines as the previous purchase: 18 used planes from the Netherlands.
Chile's F-16s are among the most modern jets operating on the continent. The aircraft can employ AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM and Python IV missiles, JDAM smart bombs and AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. The jets are operated by three squadrons from the Los Condores and Cerro Moreno air bases.
