In the 1990s, the Fuerza Aerea de Chile (FACh) started to modernise its air force by upgrading existing aircraft such as the Dassault Mirage 5 Elkan and the Mirage 50 Pantera. More recently, it decided it needed a successor to the obsolete Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and the Elkan. According to the head of the FACh, Gen Ricardo Ortega Perrier, the air force needed updating due to the potential threats in the region. Tensions between Chile, Bolivia, and especially with Peru, go back to the 1879-1884 Saltpetre War between these three nations. During this period, Chile annexed large areas of Bolivia and Peru, which were rich in minerals."
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