Chile interested in significant purchase of U.S. weapons and radar systems

Sentinel radar system (Image from DID)

Chile is joining the growing ranks of South American nations seeking to bolster their defense capabilities. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced Chile’s request to purchase a significant number of U.S. arms and radar systems valued at an estimated total of $665 million.

The DSCA notified the U.S. Congress of the purchase request earlier last week.

According to Defpro.com, The foreign military sales (FMS) contracts will primarily benefit Boeing, Raytheon Corporation, and Thales Raytheon Systems. They will include HMMWV-based Avenger fire units and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles—the advanced version of the AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missile—as well as AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems.

Chile intends to use these assets and services to modernise its armed forces and expand its existing air defence architecture to counter threats posed by air attack. According to the DSCA, these systems will contribute to the Chilean military’s goal of updating its capability while further enhancing greater interoperability between Chile and the US and other allies.

In 1958, a tax was introduced on Chilean mining profits, and changes made under the Pinochet regime in the 1970s and 1980s have been directly funding Chile’s military with 10 percent of state-owned copper producer Codelco’s exports since then.

Defense Industry Daily reports that this has been debated recently in Chile because this limits civil control over military expenditure, while the strong ups and downs of copper prices have little to do with the Chilean armed forces’ actual procurement needs.

In another significant agreement between Chile and the U.S., the Pentagon approved the sale of 100 AIM-120C-7 missiles from Holland to Chile, a purchase that could cost about US$145 million.

If Chile completes the deal, it will join Brazil as the only nations in South America to own these kinds of air-to-air missiles, according to The Santiago Times.

The Pentagon said in a statement last week that the sale “will not change Chile's basic military presence in the region… This sale will contribute to U.S. foreign policy and its national safety… It will help improve the security of a friendly country that has been and will continue to be an important force in political stability and economic progress in South America.”

Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil are also in the midst of purchasing significant amounts of military hardware, including jets, tanks and helicopters from Russian, French, and Chinese manufacturers.

Several Latin America observers, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have expressed concern that these purchases are signaling the beginning of a regional arms race—a claim Latin American leaders deny.

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