FIDAE 2006: Chile set to buy US KC-135 tanker aircraft
Jose Higuera JDW Correspondent
Chile
Date Posted: 31-Mar-2006
The US government has received an official request from Chile for the sale of "up to three KC-135 tanker aircraft", sources close to the Chilean Air Force in Santiago confirmed to Jane's.
The tail boom-equipped tanker aircraft are needed to support new and second-hand F-16s being acquired from the US and the Netherlands. The Chilean air force currently operates a single Boeing 707 modified for the role and equipped with drogue and hose refuelling equipment.
Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems Assistant Manager, Earl Godby, confirmed the existence of government- to-government negotiations between Washington and Santiago. So far, the US has confirmed that two KC-135s are available for sale to Chile, he added.
The US government is currently forming its price offer for a Foreign Military Sales contract. The offer is expected to be submitted to Santiago in April or early May.
In the meantime, a Chilean Air Force technical delegation is set to visit the facility in Arizona where the retired KC-135s are held in storage.
Godby told Jane's that the KC-135s could be delivered to Chile within the next five months after the deal is signed and that the tanker aircraft will be fully overhauled in the US before delivery. He also confirmed that Boeing has reached an agreement with Chile's ENAER aerospace company to support the local maintenance of the KC-135s.
FIDAE 2006: Santiago revives helicopter acquisition plan
Jose Higuera JDW Correspondent
Chile
Date Posted: 31-Mar-2006
* Buoyed by soaring copper prices, Chile wants to buy 70 additional helicopters
* A combination of new, upgraded and second-hand aircraft may be procured
Chile has reactivated long-standing plans to acquire about 70 new and used military helicopters as soaring international copper prices are expected to feed a USD1 billion surplus into the nation's defence procurement accounts by the end of 2006.
It was decided to re-start the helicopter acquisition after previous plans to buy a single, standard rotary wing aircraft for the armed forces and the Carabineros national police were dropped.
The Army's Comando de Aviación del Ejército is looking to buy around 40 helicopters to replace its SA-330L Puma and AS-332 Super Puma battlefield transport helicopters, as well as around 20 MD 530F armed reconnaissance helicopters currently in service and a number of SA-315 Lamas retired in recent years.
The options for the Puma/Super Puma replacement include newly built Eurocopter NH90s and Mil Mi-17s, as well as second-hand Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawks from US Army surplus stocks. Alternatives to replace the MD 530Fs and the SA-315 Lamas range from the Bell AH-1Z Viper, the Eurocopter Tiger and the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta. Bell is also going to run with its 407 armed reconnaissance helicopter, which has been selected by the US Army.
The Chilean Navy's Comando de Aviación Naval plans to replace its remaining fleet of five, shipborne, Exocet-armed AS-532 Super Puma helicopters - known as Cougars - as well as around 10 ageing Bell UH-57 and BO-105 training and utility helicopters.
The NH90 is considered the natural and preferred option to replace the navy's Super Pumas, with second-hand Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawks running close behind as a cheaper alternative.
AgustaWestland is set to enter the competition with its EH101, proposing it for operation on board the UK-built Type 22 frigate Williams and the three newer Type 23 frigates. In total, the navy needs between eight and 10 helicopters equipped with maritime attack mission systems and weapons for shipboard deployment.
The Chilean Navy has started to address the need for new light utility helicopters by purchasing three refurbished Eurocopter HH-65 Dauphins worth USD10 million. Another five refurbished Dauphins equipped with observation and rescue equipment could be purchased.
Navy plans to buy new training helicopters are being kept on hold, pending the assessment of the results of a pilot plan to settle a joint flight training system and school with the air force.
The Chilean Air Force needs to renew its fleet of around 20 Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopters. The first option being considered is to buy a new machine similar to the European NH90. Alternative solutions include the acquisition of additional Sikorsky UH-60As.
A third alternative, which could be used in combination with a Black Hawk fleet, is to refurbish the Bell UH-1Hs using the life extension and modernisation package offered by Bell Textron. The package, shown at the FIDAE 2006 air show in the form of an upgraded Argentine Army machine, includes an upgrade to the Lycoming T53L engine. The load lifting capability of the helicopters has been increased by nearly 300 kg and they now have greater endurance. Operational costs have been lowered by 42 per cent.
The air force also has a requirement to buy a small number of light utility and liaison helicopters, which could be fulfilled by India's HAL Dhruv.
FIDAE 2006: Mexican Navy looks to advanced jets
Jose Higuera JDW Correspondent
Chile
Date Posted: 31-Mar-2006
The Mexican Navy is setting a higher target for its acquisition of combat jets, looking to advanced alternatives like the Saab JAS-39 Gripen and Sukhoi Su-27, Mexican sources have told Jane's.
According to the sources, the navy's initial aspirations to acquire a batch of the Czech Aero Vodochody L-159 subsonic training and light strike aircraft have been superseded, as the service looks for more capable, advanced and expensive combat jets.
To that purpose, a navy delegation recently visited Sweden for a presentation of the Gripen multirole fighter. Delegations are also set to visit Russia in order to receive presentations and to test the MiG-29 and Su-27.
It is intended that the combat aircraft will support anti-drug and anti-smuggling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The service acquired three Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Command (AEW&C) aircraft from Israel between 2003 and 2004 to increase the surveillance of maritime and air traffic in the area.
As the navy's surveillance capabilities increased, the need for fast jet combat aircraft to perform interdiction tasks against drug-carrying vessels and aircraft became more evident.
The Mexican Air Force cannot be relied on to perform interdiction tasks because of the limited status of its fleet of Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs. Also, there is an almost complete lack of a joint operations doctrine inside Mexico's armed forces. The fact that both services acquired separate airborne early warning assets in the form of a single EMB-145 and the E-2Cs reflects this.
MIGUEL dijo:Che...!!!, en español...¿ nada de nada?
Atte.-
Miguel