In the 1980s, Chile faced an arms embargo driven by the country’s internal political situation and the strong opposition the military regime aroused internationally. This forced closure of access to traditional suppliers, particularly in the United States and Europe, meant severe restrictions on modernizing the Armed Forces, but it also triggered an unexpected positive effect: the rapid strengthening of the national defense industry.
Famae, Asmar and later Enaer were forced to take on more sophisticated tasks that had previously depended on foreign suppliers, from producing ammunition and armored vehicles to building and modernizing ships and aircraft. The need to sustain defense capabilities with the country’s own resources was, in a sense, a “school of autonomy” that left its mark beyond the end of the embargo, giving rise to a defense industry, including the creation of fully private companies.
Today, the global geopolitical situation, marked by permanent tension over Taiwan, the war in Gaza and, above all, the invasion of Ukraine, has created a kind of “de facto embargo” for countries like Chile. This is not about formal sanctions, but about the pressure of international demand, the diversion of supply chains toward the major theaters of conflict and the rising cost of critical components. The major manufacturers’ priority is to supply those directly involved in those scenarios, and Latin America, which already accounts for a small share of the global market, faces growing difficulties in accessing both equipment and technology. It is not political isolation, but simply the law of supply and demand at work.
In this new context, Chile could repeat the lesson of the ’80s: turning adversity into an engine of homegrown innovation. But with one fundamental difference: the challenge is no longer just having enough “hardware” to maintain deterrence capability, since the real strategic competition is being fought on the technological front: command and control systems, integration software, advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity. That is where 21st-century deterrence capability is at stake. And unlike four decades ago, the country today has a much more robust science, technology, knowledge and innovation ecosystem, which is beginning to recognize the opportunity to collaborate with the defense sector on frontier projects.
Developing local defense capabilities is not a closed or exclusive exercise. The technologies generated have clear dual-use potential: the technology that enables Earth observation satellites to do their job also helps improve processes in agriculture and mining; autonomous systems apply to both security and civilian logistics; advances in materials, communications and energy have an impact on multiple productive sectors. The convergence between defense and the real economy can be a powerful catalyst for more diversified and competitive industrial development.
On a more philosophical level, the challenge is not only technical or budgetary, but cultural. The national science and technology ecosystem must grasp the magnitude of the opportunity that is opening up. And defense stakeholders must understand that investing in local technological development is not simply a way to sustain what already exists, but a strategic capability in its own right. Knowledge and innovation are the new frontiers of deterrence, and we have the chance to integrate them as an opportunity to turn an adverse context into a turning point for its future.
Javier Ramírez Ramos
Executive Director, Know Hub Chile
Read the original column at https://opinion.cooperativa.cl/opinion/ciencia-y-tecnologia/transformar-la-adversidad-en-un-motor-de-innovacion-propia/2025-09-30/062918.html
