Summary
Chile has one of the most capable fighter fleets and is upgrading its F-16s.
The largest and modern combat jet fleets in SA: Chile, Peru, and Venezuela.
Brazil excels in light combat aircraft but lags behind in tankers.
Which country in South America has the most capable combat fighter fleet? This is a very difficult question to answer and depends partly on information not widely known (e.g., how many Venezuelan F-16s are operational and how much training the pilots get).
Still, it is clear that Chile has one of the most capable fighter fleets in the region (at least until Brazil and Argentina receive new fighter jets). This article is only about South America and so excludes the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America (Cuba once had the most powerful air force in all of Latin America).
Fighter jets of Chile and South America
The Chilean Air Force is one of only two countries in Latin America to operate a fleet of US F-16s (at least until Argentina and possibly Brazil receive their second-hand F-16s). The only other country to operate F-16s is Venezuela (which purchased them when it had much better relations with the United States). None of Venezuela’s F-16s have been upgraded, and most are not likely to be operational.
Photo: USAF
Chile operates a fleet of 36 operational F-16 AM/BM Block 15/20 MLU fighter jets, and Breaking Defense reported in December 2023 that these would be upgraded to the M6.6 standard. This includes an advanced identification friend or foe capability as well as the Link 16 tactical communications system.
The planned upgrade is expected to be completed by 2032, and the jets are expected to serve the Chilean Air Force until the early 2040s. Chile purchased the F-16s from the Netherlands in two separate batches in 2005 and 2009. All aircraft are believed to be serviceable.
The Colombia IAI Kfirs are old Israeli-made fighter jets reverse-engineered from the French Mirage 5 with various Israeli modifications. These were built by Israel in the 1970s after it was cut off from French jets and before Israel switched fully to US fighter jets.
From the data provided by FlightGlobal, Chile would seem to have the largest and one of the more modern combat fleets of fighter jets (at least until Brazil gets its new fighter jets). Peru and Venezuela also operate significant fighter jet fleets. It’s anyone’s guessing how many of Venezuela’s F-16s and Su-30s are operational; of the 24 F-16s Venezuela received, FlightGlobal lists only 13 remaining.
With ever-aging fighters, Argentina is desperate to receive new aircraft and it seems set to receive 24 old F-16s.
Light combat aircraft of Chile and South America
Photo: InsectWorld l Shutterstock
Not all combat aircraft are fourth-generation multirole fighters like the F-16, Gripen, and Su-30. South American air forces operate a number of light combat aircraft, although these are typically better suited for insurgencies and low-threat environments. Chile only operates 10 Northrop F-5s in this category.
Selected South American Air Forces:
Light combat aircraft:
Argentina:
24x A-4 Fightinghawk; 10x IA 63 Pampa
Brazil:
46x AMX-A/T-1; 30x A-29 Super Tucano; 42x Northrop F-5EM;
Chile:
10x Northrop F-5
Colombia:
24x EMB 314 Super Tucano
Peru:
20x Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
Venezuela:
6x Northrop F-5A
Photo: A.PAES l Shutterstock
Argentina and Brazil have modified or built much of their light combat power (e.g., the A-29 Super Tucano was built by Embraer in Brazil). Brazil operates by far the largest number of the continent’s light combat aircraft. Notably, Peru is listed as still operating twenty old Cessna A-37 Dragonflies.
The type is currently operated by 16 air forces worldwide.
Other notable combat aircraft enablers of South America
Aerial tankers, electronic warfare platforms, and AWACS are important enablers (among many other important enablers) for fighter jet effectiveness. Chile also does reasonably well here, as it received a pair of E-3D Sentry AWACS aircraft from the United Kingdom in 2022. The Sentries will provide them with significant capabilities in this area (E-3 Sentries are what the US Air Force continues to rely on). Only Brazil is listed as having AWACS capabilities thanks to its home-grown Embraer ERJ-145 platform.
Selected South American Air Forces:
AWACS:
Aerial tankers:
Electronic Warfare:
Argentina:
0
2x KC-130 Hercules
1x Learjet 35
Brazil:
5x ERJ-145
2x KC-130 Hercules
0
Chile:
2x E-3D Sentry
3x KC-130 Hercules; 3x KC-135 Stratotankers
0
Colombia:
0
1x 767 MMTT
6x King Air 350 (incl. Army)
Peru:
0
2x KC-130 Hercules
0
Venezuela:
0
1x Boeing 707
1x Merlin IV/Metro
Chile apparently excels on the continent for aerial tankers, with three KC-130 Hercules and three KC-135 Stratotankers. Even though Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country, it apparently only has two KC-130 Hercules tankers – although it also has a single A330 MRTT (KC-30) on order.
Photo: Airbus
Latin American air forces also possess various reconnaissance aircraft in modest numbers and some related assets. Various Latin American countries have helicopters with attack capabilities, but those are outside the scope of this article.
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Publish date : 2024-08-09 01:00:00
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