Argentine Air Force

The history of the Argentine Air Force begins with the creation on August 10, 1912 of a military aviation school ( Spanish: Escuela de Aviación Militar ). Among the first Argentinean aviation officers was Jorge Newbery , who left the Argentine Navy.

In 1927, the General Directorate of Aeronautics was created to coordinate military aviation in the country. In the same year, the Fábrica Militar de Aviones was founded in Cordoba, which will become the heart of the country's aviation industry. In the 1940s, several air units of the army and navy were created. On February 11, 1944, an aviation command was created. January 4, 1945 the Air Force became one of the armed forces of Argentina, along with the army and navy .

Immediately after the end of World War II , the air forces began the modernization process, new aircraft appeared, such as the Gloster Meteor fighter jet. Thus, they became the first of the air forces in Latin America, equipped with jet aircraft. In addition, Avro Lincoln and Avro Lancaster bombers were acquired, creating a powerful strategic air force in the region. The Air Force, in collaboration with German experts, has begun developing its own aircraft, such as the FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I and FMA I.Ae. 33 Pulqui II , making Argentina the first ^[3] country in Latin America and the fifth ^[4] in the world to independently develop a fighter jet.

In 1952, the Air Force began flying to the Antarctic scientific base.

During the 1970s, the Air Force was equipped with the most modern aircraft at that time, including:

• Mirage III interceptors
• IAI Dagger (Israeli version of Mirage-V),
• A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft,
• transport aircraft C-130 Hercules.

In addition, the FMA IA 58 Pucará was used in significant quantities in the fight against the rebels.

The Falkland War (Malvinas) (Guerra de las Malvinas / Guerra del Atlántico Sur) caused great damage to the air forces, which lost 60 aircraft. Due to the deteriorating economic situation, and distrust of the army, the air force was denied the resources needed to replace military losses. This, combined with a budget cut, has led to a decrease in the activity of the Argentine Air Force.

In the 1990s, the British blockade was officially liquidated and after the failure to obtain the IAI Kfirs or F-16A, 36 A-4M Skyhawk (known as the A-4AR Fightinghawk) were acquired in the United States. These aircraft were supposed to replace the A-4B and A-4C (Bravos and Charlies), which fought during the Falkland War.

The Argentine Air Force is involved in United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. They sent a Boeing 707 in 1991 during the Gulf War.

Since 1994, they have been participating in the UN Air Force (UNFLIGHT) in Cyprus. The Argentine Air Force has also deployed Bell 212 to Haiti since 2005, in accordance with the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

At the beginning of 2005, seventeen senior air force officers, including the chief of staff, Brigadier General Carlos Rode, were fired by President Nestor Kirchner due to a scandal involving the transport of drugs through the Ezeiza International Airport.

The main tasks of the air force at present are the creation of a radar network to control the country's airspace, the replacement of old combat aircraft (Mirage III, Mirage V), as well as the introduction of new technologies.

The coming of the civilian government to power after the Dirty War led to the fact that from the 1980s to the present, the military and special services have been taken under tight state control. Funding was reduced, arms purchases were suspended. This affected the quality of service. In 2013, a deputy of the Argentinean parliament Julio Martinez ( Spanish: Julio Martinez ) prepared a report on the state of the country's military equipment. According to him, only 14 of the 53 Dassault Mirage III fighters, 34 of the 100 IA-58 Pucara attack aircraft, 34 of the 90 Beech B-45 Mentor training aircraft, and 27 (of the 30 purchased) Embraer EMB training aircraft remain in service. -312A Tucano . The technical condition of the aircraft does not allow for ongoing training of the personnel of the flight units. A similar situation is observed in the country's Navy, which became especially noticeable after the destroyer Santisima Trinidad drowned in the Puerto Belgrano military base at the beginning of 2013 ^{[5] [6] [7]} , and during repair exercises off the coast of South Africa in Cape Town, the Espor corvette.

In July 2013, the Air Force, for the first time in several years, received new aircraft - the first four from a batch of ten German training Grob G 120TP . The contract value amounted to 26 million dollars ^[8] . On October 1, 2013, Argentina confirmed its announcement of the purchase of 16 Mirage F.1M fighters from Spain ^{[9] [10]} . The purchase of decommissioned Spanish F.1 for a while will solve the problem of the Air Force fleet during negotiations with China ^[11] on the possible licensed production of JF-17 Thunder fighters at the FAdeA Cordoba aircraft factory ^[12] .

In mid-October 2013, Argentinean Minister of Defense Agustin Rossi announced that in 2014 the country would spend 35 billion pesos (~ $ 6 billion) on defense. This amount includes the development of the new IA-73 Unasur-I training aircraft, the new 6-ton helicopter manufactured by FAdeA, the production of the Pampa-III attack aircraft, and the development and production of new types of unmanned aerial vehicles for the country's air force ^[13] .

The data on the equipment and armament of the Argentine Air Force are taken from the official page of the Air Force ^[14] , as well as from the page of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine . ^[15]

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  Argentine Air Force Identification Badge

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  Sign on keel

Generals and officers

Sergeants and soldiers

• Official page of the Argentine Air Force (Spanish)
• Argentine Air Force on Scramble.nl

• Argentine Navy Aviation
• Argentine Army Aviation