just a few kilometres from Concón
city, to the north of Valparaiso.
Later the service was augmented
with Sikorsky SH-34J anti-
submarine warfare (ASW)
helicopters, Douglas C-47
transports and Beechcraft T-34
Mentor trainers. All the new
American equipment was received
as part of military co-operation
agreements between Chile and the
US which aimed to provide modern
equipment for its aviation units.
The navy’s turbine era began
with the introduction of the Bell
206 helicopter in the search and
rescue (SAR) role, the Embraer
EMB-110C passenger and
general-purpose aircraft, and the
EMB-111 Bandeirulha which,
in addition to having a limited
attack capacity, was equipped for
maritime surveillance. In 1978,
four CASA C212-200s and ten
Aérospatiale SA319B Alouette IIIs
became operational just before
the culmination of the Beagle
conflict, a long-running border
dispute with Argentina. New
Pilatus PC-7 trainers were added
to the fleet in 1980. With the
receipt of this new equipment
and an increasingly tactical role,
the service was renamed as the
Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation).
By the 1980s, the naval air arm
had grown into a considerably
larger and more powerful force
and was outgrowing its support
infrastructure. As a result,
construction began on a major
new naval base, to become
operational in March 1989, and
which was subsequently named
Base Aeronaval Viña del Mar.
The new airfield also housed
the Aviación Naval headquarters
and, on March 17, 2015, it was
renamed Base Aeronaval Concón.
Today, the Aviación Naval is still
headquartered at Concón, from
where operations with the surface
fleet and submarines, as well as
surveillance and SAR missions, are
co-ordinated and controlled. The
Aviación Naval fleet is under the
command of Rear Admiral Juan
Carlos Pons, who assumed office
at Concón in December 2014.Fixed-wing power
The Escuadrón de Exploración
Aeromarítima VP-1 (Naval
Exploration Squadron) is tasked with
providing security and support to the
surface fleet in anti-submarine, anti-
surface and maritime surveillance
operations. The unit was established
in 1977 as VP-3 and is the main
tactical squadron of the naval air
arm. Thanks to the introduction
of Lockheed P-3 Orions in the
early 1990s, it’s currently one of
the most potent naval aviation
squadrons in the South American
theatre of operations. VP-1
currently operates two Orions,
complemented since 2010 by three
Airbus C295MPA Persuaders for
patrol and transportation missions.
The first of eight UP/P-3As was
delivered to the navy in 1993.
Shortly after delivery to Chile, four
Orions were allocated for ground
training and cannibalisation,
leaving four more fully operational,
though it should be noted
that the ‘operational’ aircraft
delivered to Chile were stripped
of all offensive systems due to
the US embargo on arms sales
in response to General Augusto
Pinochet’s dictatorship in the mid-
1970s. Pinochet’s replacement as
president in March 1990, and the
subsequent transfer of power to a
democratically elected government,
gradually resulted in the lifting
of longstanding US embargoes.
Three P-3s were modernised
under the Imagen (Image) project,
allowing the navy finally to possess
fully equipped operational maritime
patrol aircraft (MPAs). The aircraft
were designated P-3ACH, in which
‘CH’ stands for Chile. The fourth
surviving aircraft was modified
to become a VIP transport.
In recent years the Armada de
Chile has been seeking ways to
keep its ageing P-3s operational.
Following an internationalPacific OceanAtlantic OceanArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileFalkland IslandsPeruParaguaySouth Georgia and the IslandsUruguay
SantiagoConcónIquiqueTalcahuanoPuerto MonttPuerto WilliamsChabuncoAbove: Chile received six UP-3As and two P-3As between 2000 and 2001. Three of these were subsequently converted
to P-3ACH standard, and two are now being upgraded for service until 2037. Cristobal Soto Pino Left: Chile’s fi rst P-295,
in MPA confi guration, was delivered in April 2010, while the other two were outfi tted for ASW, the fi rst being delivered
in April 2011. The ASW version can carry Mk46 Mod 5 lightweight torpedoes. Insert: Rear Admiral Juan Carlos Pons
Jara is commander of the Aviación Naval. He has served with HS-1, HU-1 and HA-1 and has over 3,000 hours of fl ying
experience including as a fl ight instructor on the Bell 206, Bo 105 and Cougar.
http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #361 APRIL 2018 // 63
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