Restores AEW&C Capability to FACh
The Chilean Air Force (FACh) received its first Boeing E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft on 19 August.
The ex-RAF E-3D Sentry AEW Mk1 aircraft – transferred under an agreement between Chile and the UK – was handed over at a ceremony at Pudahuel air base – home to the service’s II Air Brigade – in the presence of Minister of National Defense, Maya Fernández Allende; FACh Commander-in-chief, Air General Arturo Merino Núñez; and British Ambassador to Chile, Louise De Sousa, among other dignitaries.
Commissioning the aircraft allows Chile to replace the Boeing EC-707 Condor, decommissioned after an operational life of over 25 years, thereby restoring an AEW&C capability to the force. Gen Núñez stated “today is a very important day for the Chilean Air Force, because we recovered a capacity that we had lost with the Condor aircraft, decommissioned due to obsolescence, so the arrival of the Sentry aircraft allows us to maintain control of the airspace and also contribute with our multipurpose means in other types of live operations to support the community.”
Santiago Rivas reporting from Buenos Aires for MON
