After various images began circulating on social media, the Chilean Army confirmed the arrival of a HIMARS rocket launch system from the United States Army. The presence of this system for the first time in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility is part of the deployment for the bilateral Exercise Southern Fenix 2024, which will focus on the Tarapacá region in northern Chile.
Following a coordination meeting held in Chile last April, where various aspects of Exercise Southern Fenix 2024 were discussed, it was confirmed that a HIMARS rocket artillery system would be part of the U.S. Army’s deployment.
“The goal of Southern Fenix 2024 is to conduct a field training exercise that combines units from the Chilean Army and the U.S. Southern Army in a fictional context of military operations other than war, involving an adversary with unconventional characteristics,” stated Brigadier General Rubén Castillo Herrera, Commander of the 6th Division of the Chilean Army.
Regarding the deployment of U.S. forces in Chilean territory, Southern Command confirmed that the contingent will consist of approximately 200 personnel from the U.S. Southern Army, the 11th Airborne Division, the 75th Field Artillery Brigade, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, the Texas Army National Guard, and the New York Army National Guard.
The Chilean Army is expected to participate with 500 personnel, along with their respective equipment, from the 6th Division, which is based in and operates within the Tarapacá region.
The presence of a HIMARS rocket and missile artillery system from the U.S. Army in Chile for Southern Fenix 2024 adds to similar high-profile operational deployments by the U.S. Armed Forces in the region last year. For example, during Exercise Estrella Austral 2023, the skies over Chile saw the presence of a U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, while in Peru, as part of Exercise Resolute Sentinel 2023, Su-25 Frogfoot aircraft operated alongside A-10C Thunderbolt II attack planes from the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command.
*Cover photo used for illustration purposes.
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