Chilean air force receives F-16 Peace Puma
( video da USAF sobre
o Peace Puma Link
1,5MB)
( italics Defesa@Net)
by
Staff Sgt. C. Todd Lopez
Air Force Print News
1/30/2006
- WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The delivery of two new F-16 Peace
Puma aircraft from the United States to Chile Jan. 24 kicks
off a promising era of interoperability between the two nations.
Over the next 10 months, the Chilean air force will receive
eight additional F-16 C and D model aircraft from the contractor
Lockheed Martin Corp. The 10 aircraft sale, munitions and
maintenance -- all part of the “Peace Puma” program
-- is worth $547 million.
The Air Force worked with the Chilean government, the Chilean
air force and the defense contractor to broker the aircraft
sale as the latest improvement in the long-term relationship
between the two nations’ air forces, said Bruce S. Lemkin,
Air Force deputy undersecretary for international affairs.
Included
in the purchase are joint direct attack munitions, or JDAMs,
AIM-9 heat-seeking missiles, and advanced medium range air-to-air
missiles, or AMRAAMs.
The
Air Force will conduct F-16 flying training with Chilean pilots.
In addition, “train-the-trainer” instruction will
enable the Chileans to train their own pilots. The Air Force
and contractor will also provide maintenance training, Mr.
Lemkin said.
“These
are state-of-the-art aircraft and will provide great capability
for Chile, and will also provide interoperability with us.
These are the same airplanes the U.S. Air Force flies,”
he said. “These F-16s will become the centerpiece of
a 30-year or more relationship between the U.S. Air Force
and the Chilean air force.”
The
long-term relationship comes not only from operating common
hardware, but also from the experiences of Airmen working
together throughout their careers, Mr. Lemkin said.
“We
will be training together, operating together, flying together
and learning from one another,” Mr. Lemkin said. “There
is no substitute for the relationship that results when a
captain from the Chilean air force is in F-16 training with
a captain from the U.S. Air Force, and 20 years later they
are both generals. That becomes the most essential element
of an air force to air force relationship -- the human element.”
|
.gif){kind=small}