The Chilean Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Minister of Defence. In recent years and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Armed Forces have become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armed forces in Latin America.[4] The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from Germany, the United States, Brazil, Israel, France, and Spain.
| Chilean Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Fuerzas Armadas de Chile | |
 | |
| Founded | 1810 |
| Service branches |  Chilean Army Chilean Navy Chilean Air Force |
| Headquarters | Santiago |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-chief |  Gabriel Boric |
| Minister of Defense |  Maya Fernández Allende |
| Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | José Nogueira León |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Active personnel | 80,000[1] |
| Reserve personnel | 40,000[1] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | US$5.58 billion (2022)[2] |
| Percent of GDP | 1.9% (2021)[3] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | FAMAE ENAER ASMAR DTS SISDEF DESA LINKTRONIC Detroit Chile |
| Foreign suppliers |  Australia Brazil Canada Czech Republic France Germany Israel Italy Poland Sweden Taiwan United Kingdom United States |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Military ranks and insignia of Chile |
Structure
editArmy
editThe current commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army is General de Ejército Sr. Javier Iturriaga del Campo. The 46,350-person army is organized under six military administrative regions and six divisional headquarters.[1] The forces include one special forces brigade, four armoured brigades, one armoured detachment, three motorized brigades, two motorized detachments, four mountain detachments and one aviation brigade.[1] The army operates German Leopard 1 and 2 tanks as its main battle tanks, including 170+ Leopard 2A4 and 115 Leopard 1.[1] The army has approximately 40,000 reservists.[1]
Navy
editAdmiral Juan Andrés De La Maza Larraín directs the 19,800-person Chilean Navy, including 3,600 Marines.[5] 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 fighters or bomber aircraft but they have attack helicopters. The Navy also operates four submarines based in Talcahuano.
Air Force
editGeneral Hugo Rodríguez González heads 11,050-strong[6] 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.
See also
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f IISS 2019, p. 404.
- ^ Global Firepower. "2022 Chile Military Strength".
- ^ "Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product, 1988-2020" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ Bawden, John R (2016). 'The Pinochet Generation: The Chilean Military in the Twentieth Century'. University of Alabama. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-0-8173-1928-1.
- ^ IISS 2019, pp. 405–406.
- ^ IISS 2019, p. 406.
References
edit- IISS (2019). The Military Balance 2019. Routledge. ISBN 978-1857439885.
- Nevaer, Louis E.V. (26 January 2011). "Latin America Divided Over Ties with China". New American Media. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
External links
edit- (in Spanish) Ejército de Chile (Army)
- (in Spanish) Armada de Chile website (Navy)
- (in Spanish) Fuerza Aérea de Chile website (Air Force)