MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Chile
Index
In the past, several types of light aircraft were
developed in
Chile by the FACh-controlled National Aircraft Factory
(Fábrica
Nacional de Aeronaves--FNA), although none of these
entered
production. Starting in 1981, however, the FACh's
Engineering and
Maintenance Wing commenced the development of a variant of
the
Piper 236 Dakota light aircraft as a replacement for the
Beech T34 . The result was the T-35 Pillán two-seater primary
trainer. In
1984 Enaer, the National Aeronautical Enterprise, was set
up in
Santiago as a state enterprise with autonomous management
to handle
this project. Although Enaer's main contracts have been
with the
FACh, by late 1991 it had sold forty Pillán training
aircraft to
the Spanish Air Force, fifteen to the Paraguayan Air
Force, ten to
the Panamanian National Air Service, and sixty to the
FACh. (Those
for the Spanish Air Force were built under license in
Spain under
the name Tamiz.) The FACh proposed ultimately to build up
to 200
Pilláns, mainly in the turboprop version unveiled in 1986
and
originally designated the Aucan.
In a joint venture with Spain, Enaer developed a
version of the
Spanish CASA 101 Aviojet fighter, called the T-36 Halcón
(Falcon),
to replace the Cessna T-37 in the advanced
trainer/light-strike
role. Fifty-six of these aircraft were in service with the
FACh. A
radar-equipped maritime strike version, designated the
A-36M and
armed with the British Aerospace Sea Eagle air-to-surface
missile,
was also developed; it was flown in prototype form in
1992. In 1993
Enaer and the Brazilian Aeronautics Company (Embraer)
signed an
agreement, as partners, to share the risks of the EMB-145
program,
which will produce a minimum of 400 of these jets.
Employing about 2,000 people, Enaer has the capability
to
produce one aircraft per week, although the plant was not
working
to full capacity in early 1992. The engines for the Pillán
and the
Halcón are imported from the United States and Spain,
respectively.
The airframes and most other parts, including such
sophisticated
items as ejection seats, are produced in Chile. Enaer also
manufactures parts for the CASA 235 and the BAe 146.
Enaer's Electronics Division has developed and produced
the
Caiquen I and II early warning radars, which are in full
production. Enaer has also developed the Itata airborne
electronic
intelligence-gathering system, the Medusa radio
interception and
jamming system, and the Eclipse chaff/infrared decoy
launcher.
Data as of March 1994
|
|