- Yes
- No
F-16D Block 50+ (Late)
History:
In 1995 the FACH (Chilean Air Force) launched the “Caza 2000” program that sought the acquisition of a new fourth generation fighter-bomber to replace the old fleet of Mirage 50 Pantera and Mirage 5 Elkan, also because in that same year Peru had acquired the Mig-29 from Belarus so the FACH did not want to be left behind in terms of technological and military capabilities. Another reason for this acquisition program was that they wanted to standardize the Chilean fighter fleet since in the FACH inventory, in addition to the Mirage 50/5, the A-37B Dragonfly specialized in land attack was also used, so it was a logistical problem to operate different models of aircraft.
Chile launched an international competition to find out the options available in the international fighter market, to which France applied with the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 RDY, Sweden with the Saab JAS-39 Gripen and after a strong lobby, the United States with the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D and Boeing-McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet. It is worth mentioning that the United States sought to recover relations with Chile that had been paralyzed for 20 years due to the Kennedy amendment that prevented Chile from buying U.S. weapons when Chile almost went to war with Argentina, which greatly affected relations between Chile and the United States. Thus, between 1996 and 1998, these aircraft were presented in different versions of the FIDAE in Chile (International Air and Space Fair) showing their virtues.
At the beginning Dassault of France had an advantage due to the fact that the FACH used the Mirage 5/50 for several years so there was already experience in the handling of these fighters, also the FACH did not seem interested in the American material because for 1997 the Kennedy amendment was still in place so the American manufacturers could not give all the information required by the FACH. However, this changed in 1997 when American companies pressured the United States government to lift the veto, which happened, thus opening the doors for the purchase of North American war material.
Due to budgetary problems due to the international financial crisis of late 1998 the budget dropped from 600 million dollars to only 300 million so the program was put on temporary suspension waiting for better times, so in 2000 the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 50+ was finally chosen to be the new fighter of the FACH and in 2002 signing the contract for the sale six F-16Cs (851 to 856) and four F-16Ds (857 to 860), all belonging to Block 50+, for an amount of 550 million dollars. Thus, the “Peace Puma” program began and the first F-16C Block 50+ aircraft made its test flight on June 23, 2005 with the registration 851 and later in 2006 the first two F-16D Block 50+ series 858 and 859 arrived in Chile and began to operate this North American model in Chile.
The Chilean F-16 Block 50 belong to the Advanced or Plus (+) variant since they are the latest production versions so they have a series of improvements compared to a standard or early production Block 50, they have a radar updated AN/APG-68(V)9, this radar being the most advanced and powerful of this family of radars, the best feature of this radar is that it has a range 33% greater than the previous version, they also have a better General Electric F110-GE-129 engine of 29,000 pounds of thrust.
The Chilean Vipers have two 102 x 102 mm color cockpit displays, cockpit and exterior lighting compatible with night vision goggles, helmet-mounted cueing system (JHMCS), a digital terrain system, IFF interrogator/transponder, high off-boresight missile compability, Link 16 datalink and OBOGS.
They also have the ALQ-211 (V)4 AIDEWS electronic warfare system from the ITT Exelis company, which was updated to the Block 5.2 configuration to increase the detection and countermeasures capabilities of this system. This electronic defense system is capable of detecting, identifying and disrupting emissions from surface, air and surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles with active or semi-active guidance, which gives the Chilean F-16 Block 50+ extensive protection in environments saturated with ECM and ECCM.
Precisely because they have this advanced system, Chile’s F-16 Block 50+ are also called in some sources as Block 50M, which could mean Modernized since I am not 100% sure that is why they are called M (if anyone knows, can they tell me say in comments)
The Chilean Air Force also requested the arrival of the AIM-120C-7, Boeing GBU-31 JDAM and the AGM-84L Harpoon II, the Raytheon LGB GBU-16, the Rafael Python IV missile and the AN/AAQ lighting pod -28(V) LITENING II. The Chilean F-16s are one of the F-16s of their category with the best weapons in active service in the world. The two-seat F-16D integrated a large spine into the upper part of the aircraft that accommodates avionics for interdiction and deep attack functions, as well as complete avionics in the second cockpit. The spine also houses up to 4 additional countermeasures dispensers (2 per side) of 30 charges each, so in total the F-16D Block 50+ has 240 countermeasures (Chaff/Flare), 4 x 30 in the spine and 4 x 30 on the belly of the fighter.
Initially the paint scheme of the Chilean F-16C/D was different from the other F-16s operated by the rest of the countries, this was a requirement of the Chilean Air Force so for several years they sported a quite beautiful and unique light gray camouflage, this was so until 2017 when the paint scheme was changed to that used by the F-16AM/BM bought second-hand in Holland to standardize the paint scheme of the fleet ,although today you can still see some F-16C/D retaining its original paint scheme although in a worn manner presenting a shiny silver color, possibly being a so-called low visibility variant, the Chilean vipers also have the insignia of the Chilean aviation groups in their paint using the insignia of the FACH aviation group number 3 on the F-16C/D.
Specifications:
- Crew:
- 2
- Armament:
- Primary: one M-61A1 20mm multibarrel cannon with 500 rounds
- Secondary:
- Bombs: Mk.82/83/84 Bombs, Griffin LGB, Opher LGB, GBU-10, GBU-12 Paveway II and III, GBU-31 JDAM, Raytheon LGB GBU-16.
- Rockets: LAU-3A each with 19 FFAR rockets
- Missiles: AIM-120C-5/7 AMRAAM, Rafael Derby, Python IV, AIM-9L/M Sidewinder, AGM-84L Harpoon II, AGM-65F/G Maverick.
- Additional systems: AN/APG-68 (v)9 radar, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), Pod ITT Exelis ALQ-211 (V)4 AIDEWS (Block 5.2 configuration), RF radar wide spectrum electromagnetic jammer, Passive RWR (Radar Warning Receiver), ALE-47 Airborne Countermeasures Dispenser System (240x chaff/flares), Lighting pod AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING II, ALQ-131/ALQ-184
- Dimensions:
- Length: 14.8 m
- Wingspan: 9.8 m
- Height: 4.8 m
- Weight: 8,936 kg
- Maximum takeoff weight: 16,875 kg
- Performance:
- Powerplant: General Electric F110-GE-129
- Thrust: 29,000 pounds
- Maximum speed: 2414 km/h
- Fuel capacity: 7,000 pounds internal, typical capacity, 12,000 pounds with two external tanks
- Range: more than 3221 km ferry range
- Service Ceiling: 15240 m
Photos:
Sources:
- https://investors.lockheedmartin.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lockheed-martin-flies-first-f-16-chile/
- El Pentágono adjudica la actualización de subsistemas del F-16 en dos contratos que mencionan a Chile
- ITT Exelis actualiza sistema de guerra electrónica AIDEWS de los F-16 Block 50M de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile
- https://www.amazon.com/Del-Vampire-Viper-Recargado-Historia/dp/B09J6Z84KN
- ¿Cómo ha evolucionado la Fuerza Aérea chilena? - Noticias Defensa defensa.com Chile
- F-16 Fighting Falcon > Air Force > Fact Sheet Display
- Cazas F-16, los puños de la Fuerza Aérea de Chile
- 10 años de Operaciones de los F-16 Block 50 en la FACH - TallyHo
- https://revistamarina.cl/revistas/2013/4/wunderlich.pdf
- F-16.net - The ultimate F-16, F-35 and F-22 reference
- Arms transfer database
- Janes Radar and Electronic Warfare Systems 2004-2005 (page 514-515)
- Jane’s all the world’s aircraft 2008-2009 (page 804-809)