Chilean Air Force The Chilean Air Force ( ) is the air force of Chile , a branch of the Chilean military . History . The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell , when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile ( Military Aviation Service of Chile ) on December 20 , 1910 , being trained as a pilot in France . Although a school was included , the first officers were sent to France for their training as well . One of them , Captain Manuel Ávalos Prado , took command over the Chilean military aviation school that was officially instated 11 February 1913 , and remained in command until 1915 . The Escuela de Aviación Militar ( Military Aviation School ) was named in honor of him in 1944 , and still carries that name today . In those early years many aviation milestones were achieved ; conquering the height of the Andes was one of the main targets as well as long distance flights . Typical aircraft of that era were Avro 504 , Bleriot XI , Bristol M . 1C , DH . 9 , and SE5a . In the following decade , the ( Airmail Line of Chile ) Línea Aeropostal de Chile was created on 5 March 1929 as a branch of the military aviation . This postal airline later developed into the airline Línea Aérea Nacional ( National Airline ) that is still the leading airline in Chile today . Shortly afterwards , on 21 March 1930 , the existing aviation elements of the army and navy were amalgamated into a dedicated department : the Subsecretaria de Aviación ( Department of the Air Force ) effectively creating the current independent Air Force . It was initially named Fuerza Aérea Nacional ( National Air Force ) . The international airport of Chile carries the name of Lan ' s founding father and first commander of the air force , Air Commodore Arturo Merino Benítez . Its baptism of fire was in the 1931 sailors ' rebellion in Coquimbo , where Air Force attack aircraft and bombers and 2 transport planes converted into bombers contributed to its failure . The first outlines of the organization of the current air force were visible in 1945 with the inception of Grupo de Transporte No . 1 ( First Transport Group ) , later renumbered Grupo 10 , with two C - 45 s and a single T - 6 Texan at Los Cerrillos . Two years later the first Fuerza Aérea flight to Antarctica was performed . The fifties meant entry into the jet age for the FACh , and Grupo 7 was the first unit to receive them in 1954 . Chile got its aircraft from both the United States and Europe . The American supply consisted of Lockheed F - 80 , Lockheed T - 33 , Beech T - 34 Mentor , Cessna T - 37 , Cessna A - 37 Dragonfly and Northrop F - 5E / F for example , whereas the British supplied Hawker Hunter s and the French delivered various helicopters and Dassault Mirage 50 aircraft . The Chilean air force hosted the joint exercise Salitre with other friendly nations . It also participated in several United Nations peacekeeping missions overseas in 5 occasions . Order of Battle . Personnel = 10 , 600 ( including 700 conscripts ) Combat Command of the Air Force . First Air Brigade with headquarters in Los Cóndores Air Base ( Base Aérea Los Cóndores ) in Iquique Second Air Brigade with headquarters in Pudahuel Air Base ( Base Aérea Pudahuel ) in Santiago Third Air Brigade with headquarters in El Tepual Air Base ( Base Aérea El Tepual ) in Puerto Montt Fourth Air Brigade with headquarters in Chabunco Air Base ( Base Aérea Chabunco ) in Punta Arenas Fifth Air Brigade with headquarters in Cerro Moreno Air Base ( Base Aérea Cerro Moreno ) in Antofagasta Personnel Command . Education Division Health Division < br > General Hospital of the Air Force < br > Air Force High Command Prefecture Logistics Command . Maintenance Division < br > Administration Division < br > Infrastructure Division Current inventory . Aircraft . Numbers shown below are derived from open sources , they should be regarded as estimates due to lack of confirmation from official sources . Industry . Chile also maintains its own aviation industry , ENAER . The design of the T - 35 Pillán trainer , based on the Piper PA - 28 Dakota , is the best known example , seeing some export success as well . Furthermore , the assembly of the A - 36 / T - 36 Halcón ( CASA C - 101 ) was achieved as well . Performing maintenance on most types in the current inventory , such as minor modifications on F - 5E aircraft for example , the industry is of significant importance to the air force . ENAER is reported to be in talks with Embraer of Brazil to codesign the first indigenous South American military transport plane . Also , under the Pacer Amstel programme , with initial Dutch support , and later locally ENAER upgraded an F - 16 combat jet , which for the Chilean Air Force is an advance for their maintenance of the F - 16 fleet ( becoming the 5th country to modify under authorization their jets ) . Future Programmes . In July 2011 , Elbit Systems reported the first export sale of its Hermes 900 UAV to the Chilean Air Force . The Chilean Air Force seeks to acquire aircraft trainers to replace A - 36 Halcón . Among the competitors highlights the KAI T - 50 Golden Eagle , BAE Hawk and Alenia Aermacchi M - 346 Master . The service hopes to select a trainer platform and to sign a contract for a batch of 12 to 16 aircraft by 2013 . By 2015 , the Chilean Air Force must decommission the F - 5 Tiger III , among the possible candidates to replace Tigers are the EF - 2000 , F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet or F - 16 Fighting Falcon . Ranks of the Chilean Air Force . Ranks and insignia , similar to the Royal Air Force but adapted to suit the origins of the Chilean Air Force , are worn on shoulder collars and cuffs . General officers have the Condor eagle in their shoulder collars while officer cadets have a unique symbol , that of the Aviation School " Captain Manuel Ávalos Prado " , on their shoulder collars . On the NCOs and enlistees , only Subofficer Majors and Subofficers wear both shoulder and cuff insignia , while Graduate Soldiers wear a double capital letter E ( for the Air Force Specialties School " First Sergeant Adolfo Menandier Rojas " ) on their shoulder collars alongside their unique cuff marking . Officer Ranks ( SS . OO . ) . The officer ranking system and insignia are similar to the RAF pattern of ranks , save for the General officer ranks , modified to suit the British style ranks , and the Colonel rank . Other ranks with foreign influences are that of Air Brigade General , a general officer rank in the French Air Force , and Air General , a general officer rank in the Spanish Air Force and the Bolivian and Colombian air forces . Badges of the Chilean Air Force . Officers ' cap badges . Chilean Air Force officers wear the following cap badges in their peaked caps .