Chilean army to hold 2022 national tank competition in Antofagasta

From Oct. 3 to 7, the Chilean Army will host a new edition of the National Tank Competition, testing the country’s best crews at the 1st Division training and education facilities in Antofagasta.

This event, unique in South America, has been held since 2016 to evaluate the technical abilities, skills, and training level of commanders, gunners, ammunition, and drivers of the Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 1V maneuver subsystems.

According to the institution, the competition will measure the competencies, skills, and abilities of the various tank crews and the decision-making ability and determination of commanders under combat stress, with surprise factors and unforeseen situations posing additional difficulty.

Teams must pass various tests under combat conditions, such as orientation with a map and compass, cutting tracks, marching with equipment, first aid, forward logistic training, day and night shooting, fire support, and others.

In this edition, the following teams are participating:

the Armored Cavalry School,

the Tank Combat Training Center (Cecombac),

Armored Group N°9 Vencedores of the 1st Armored Brigade Coraceros,

Armored Group N°7 Guías of the 2nd Armored Brigade Cazadores,

Armored Group N°8 Exploradores of the 3rd Armored Brigade La Concepción and

Armored Group N°6 Dragones of the 4th Armored Brigade Chorrillos

SELECTION PROCESS

This tournament was held for the first time in 2016 to select a Leopard 2A4 team to represent the institution in the Canadian Army Worthington Challenge.

The event has been maintained as it allows us to get an overview of the state of training and education of the armored soldiers, which is an important milestone for their units in each military year.

The first edition of the Chilean tournament was won by Cecombac, with the N°7 Guías tank group of the 2ª Brigada Acorazada Cazadores taking second place.

In the second edition in 2017, first place was won by the group N°7 Guías Tank and second place by Cecombac.

The 2018 National Tank Competition was won for the second time by the N°7 Guías Tank Group of the 2nd Armored Brigade Cazadores, and the Leopard 1V category was included this year, with the highest award going to the N°6 Lanceros Tank Group of the 4th Armored Brigade.

The 2019 edition, like the previous ones, was held at the Cecombac facilities in Iquique, at the Pozo Almonte military site of the 2nd Cazadores Armored Brigade, and the Dupliza army site, and the first place was won by the Red 2 team of the N°8 Exploradores tank group of the 3rd Armored Brigade.

This tactical-technical competition was suspended for 2020 and 2021 due to the health emergency caused by the coronavirus.

With information from Infodefensa