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Chilean Navy chief targets 2030 for indigenous frigates

24th May 2021 - 15:50 GMT | by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez in Washington DC

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Almirante Latorre (FFG-14), formerly HMAS Melbourne. (Photo: Chilean Navy)

The Chilean Navy wants domestic industry to be capable of building frigates by 2030 but it is pushing against practical and political obstacles.

Chilean naval planners and government policy-makers recently reiterated calls to build up a domestic shipbuilding capability, although the South American country still lacks the industrial depth to undertake major programmes independently.

Adm Julio Leiva Molina, Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, stated the case in a recent webinar called ‘Construcción Naval Continua’ (Naval Construction Continues), asking: ‘Should we continue to buy [second-hand warships] or should we take a giant leap?’

Since the early 2000s, ASMAR has built four OPV80-class offshore patrol vessels and the oceanographic vessel Cabo de Hornos for the Chilean Navy.

An icebreaker is also under construction as the

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