Argentina may return to the club of countries that have fighter aircraft in service. Yesterday, September 17, the portal dailypakistan.com.pk He reported that the Ministry of Defense of Argentina has included the purchase of fighter jets in the spending plan for 2022.
According to the documents, it is planned to purchase 12 JF-17 Block 3 fighters of Chinese-Pakistani production (10 single and 2 double). The stated amount of the potential transaction is $664 million.
JF-17 Thunder Fighter
Image source: ukdefencejournal.org.uk
In the 70s, the Argentine Air Force was armed with some of the most modern aircraft of that time: Mirage III interceptors, IAI Dagger fighters( the Israeli version of the Mirage V), A-4AR Fightinghawks attack aircraft, as well as C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft. However, over the next forty years, the Argentine military department did not purchase new jet aircraft, and the last of the A-4AR Fightinghawks attack aircraft in service were planned to be written off in 2017.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Argentina considered the possibility of purchasing Brazilian-made JAS 39 Gripen fighters, as well as Russian MiG-29s. But due to the difficult financial situation in the country, all tenders for the supply of jet combat aircraft were canceled. To maintain the strength of the country's Air Force, the government also considered the possibility of acquiring light fighters or combat training aircraft, in particular, Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 or Leonardo M-346FT, but these deals were not completed either.
JF-17 Thunder is the Pakistani designation of the aircraft, which has been developed by the Chinese company CAC (Chengdu Aircraft Corporation) with the financial support of Pakistan since the 90s. In China, the machine is known as the Chengdu FC-1 Xiaolong and is built on the basis of copies and modifications of aircraft created on the basis of the Soviet MiG-21.