Argentina: In Denmark, Petri signed the agreement for the F-16s: “It is the most important military purchase since the return to democracy”

16 April 2024 – Today in Denmark, the Minister of Defence, Luis Petri, led the signing of the historic purchase agreement for 24 F-16 combat aircraft, with which Argentina will recover its supersonic interception capacity after many years.

Prior to his visit to the city of Copenhagen, on March 26, Petri received his Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen, to sign a Letter of Intent for the acquisition of these fighter-bombers that will provide the Argentine Air Force with a capable weapons system to deter and control any aerospace threat.

“Today we are completing the most important military aeronautical acquisition since 1983. These are 24 F-16 aircraft that have been modernized and equipped with the best technology, and that today are at the level of the best aircraft that fly in the skies of the South American region and the world,” said Petri, who also spoke with President Javier Milei, who witnessed the event via videoconference.

“With these new aircraft we are taking a momentous step in our defence policy, recovering the supersonic capacity of our aviation and achieving the definitive entry of our Air Force into the technological challenges of the 21st century,” Petri asserted.

Concluding his speech, the minister assured: “Thanks to this investment in defence, I can proudly say that we are beginning to recover our aerial sovereignty and that our entire society is better protected against all those threats that put us to the test.”

It should be noted that these F-16 fighter aircraft will be the backbone of the air defence system in Argentina, a mission that the Mirage aircraft performed for more than 40 years until their decommissioning. The purchase of these aircraft ratifies the government’s decision to promote investment in Defence with the objective of strengthening the capabilities of the military instrument.

The F-16 system acquired from Denmark includes single-seat aircraft, two-seat aircraft for advanced pilot training, weapons and support equipment. This aircraft of North American origin is a multipurpose aircraft capable to perform of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.

The agreement includes the delivery of four flight simulators and eight engine, while spare parts for the aircraft will be guaranteed for five years. In addition, the contract provides for the training of pilots and maintainers who will work on this weapons system.

Minister Petri was accompanied by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigadier General Xavier Julián Isaac, and the head of the Argentine Air Force, Major Brigadier Fernando Luis Mengo and the Secretary of International Affairs for Defence, Juan Battaleme.

Source Argentina Ministry of Defence

Unofficial translation by EDR On-Line

Photo courtesy Danish MoD