The author integrated multiple sources and found that the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 38 F-16 fighter jets from Denmark to Argentina, including 32 single-seat F-16AM and 6 two-seat F-16BM fighter jets, with a total amount of US$338 million. According to the latest news It is said that the contract also includes AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and JDAM precision guided bombs.
At present, the main fighter jets of the Argentine Air Force are only 19 A-4R attack aircraft and 6 domestically produced IA-63 fighter jets (actually only at the level of early advanced trainer aircraft). In several of its neighboring countries, the Chilean Air Force has 46 F-16 fighter jets. The Brazilian Air Force has 54 AMX series fighter jets, 46 F-5 series fighter jets, and 7 JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets newly purchased in recent years (a total of 40 jets were ordered). The Argentine Air Force cannot compare with either one in terms of quantity or quality.
As early as 2017, Argentina released a plan to introduce new fighter jets. Until 2019, Argentina took a fancy to South Korea’s FA-50 fighter jets (a fighter version of the T-50 advanced trainer aircraft) and planned to initially purchase 8 aircraft. However, due to The British government suspended the deal due to an arms embargo because the FA-50 fighter jet uses six key components from the UK, including Martin Baker’s ejection seat.
FA-50 fighter
Among the later candidate models, the Argentine Air Force also formulated some reference standards: multi-purpose supersonic fighter, compatible with existing tankers, equipped with AESA radar, tactical data link capabilities, electronic warfare self-defense capabilities, no British-made components, logistical support capabilities, and a variety of weapons systems.
MiG-35
Argentina has set its sights on Denmark’s second-hand F-16 fighter jets, Pakistan’s JF-17 “Fierce Dragon” fighter jets jointly developed by Pakistan’s Pakistan Aviation Alliance and Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, Russia’s MiG-35 “Fulcrum” fighter jets, and India’s Hindustan Aviation’s LAC Tejas fighter jet.
JF-17 “Fierce Dragon” fighter jet
Later, the Russian MiG-35 and the Indian Tejas were eliminated one after another, leaving only the “Fierce Dragon” and second-hand F-16. The Argentine Air Force once organized a delegation to visit the “Fierce Dragon” production lines of Chengdu Aircraft Group and Pakistan Airlines.
Argentine delegation visits JF-17 “Fierce Dragon” fighter production line
The “Fierce Dragon” meets all the requirements set by the Argentine Air Force: transfer of technology to domestic companies in Argentina and cooperation to open production lines, Chinese-made WS-13 engines, Chinese-origin ejection seats, short-range and medium-range air-to-air missiles (over-the-horizon capability) , 90% of the parts are common with the Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 Block 3, and all materials are unrestricted.
Argentine delegation visits Chengdu Aircraft Corporation
As for why the “Fierce Dragon” was eliminated, we can refer to the case of the Egyptian Air Force purchasing Russian Su-35 fighter jets in the past few years. The United States has threatened Egypt through the “U.S. Hostile Countries Sanctions Act”. If Egypt receives fighter jets from Russia, it will be affected by the United States. sanctions, even though more than a dozen Su-35s produced by Russia for Egypt had already rolled off the production line, Egypt still obediently complied, and finally turned to France to purchase Rafale fighter jets. Therefore, the elimination of “Fierce Dragon” is not surprising.
Su-35 fighter jets produced by Russia for Egypt
The F-16 fighter jets currently in service in the Danish Air Force were ordered in the late 1970s. At that time, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands cooperated to introduce a production line of F-16 fighter jets. A total of 77 aircraft were received since 1980. , among which Argentina will purchase this time are 38 MLU (mid-life upgrade) upgraded F-16 combat aircraft, equipped with LINK 16 advanced tactical data link, JHMCS (joint helmet display) and advanced electronic warfare management system, which can be used AIM-120 air-to-air missile AGM-65G air-to-surface missile, and is also compatible with sniper precision pods.
There have been cases of purchasing second-hand F-16 fighter jets before, that is, the F-16 fighter jets Romania purchased from Portugal and Norway had also been upgraded by MLU.
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2023-09-17 06:35:00
