Summary Chile has one of the most capable fighter fleets and is upgrading its F-16s. The largest and modern combat jet fleets in SA: Chile, Peru, and Venezuela. Brazil excels in light combat aircraft but lags behind in tankers.
Which country in South America has the most capable combat fighter fleet? This is a very difficult question to answer and depends partly on information not widely known (e.g., how many Venezuelan F-16s are operational and how much training the pilots get).
Still, it is clear that Chile has one of the most capable fighter fleets in the region (at least until Brazil and Argentina receive new fighter jets ). This article is only about South America and so excludes the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America ( Cuba once had the most powerful air force in all of Latin America ). Fighter jets of Chile and South America The Chilean Air Force is one of only two countries in Latin America to operate a fleet of US F-16s (at least until Argentina and possibly Brazil receive their second-hand F-16s).
The only other country to operate F-16s is Venezuela (which purchased them when it had much better relations with the United States ). None of Venezuela's F-16s have been upgraded, and most are not likely to be operational. Chile operates a fleet of 36 operational F-16 AM/BM Block 15/20 MLU fighter jets, and Breaking Defense reported in December 2023 that these would be upgraded to the M6.
6 standard. This includes an advanced identification friend or foe capability as .
