![]() ![]() Nations such as Peru and Venezuela are already using Russian-built combat aircraft, as well as Uruguay, and Bolivia considering Russian or Chinese light fighters to replace their older systems. ![]() If the British do not lift the embargo, South America will fall further and further into Chinese and Russian influence. The position in which I believe is that the British should lift, or at least reduce the severity of, the arms embargo. Argentina, at one point or another, will press on with the recovery of its armed forces, and even today it has various procurement programs in place to restore lost capabilities. ![]() Most British people would immediately reject the offer, having said that, this is where the argument against Argentina becomes shortsighted. The United States is currently appealing to the UK to let them export F-16s to Argentina. Richardson.ĭuring General Richardson’s testimony to the United States Congress, she made an explicit request to Representatives of the Armed Service Committee that the United States should aggressively market the F-16 to Argentina in order to stop Chinese influence in ‘America’s Backyard’, even stating that the US should appeal to the UK to lower the embargo to stop Chinese influence from spreading. Around this time, America had appointed a new SOUTHCOM commander, Gen. To the Argentines, the JF-17 looks promising, as with its cheap price tag compared to the MiG-35 (which the Russians were currently offering), it looked like the best choice. The JF-17 is a Chinese/Pakistani joint venture designed to replace older fighters in the Pakistan Air Force, as well as try and contend with the F-16 on the export market. Which includes the Chinese contender to the F-16, the JF-17 Block III. After the UK had rejected Argentina being able to access dozens ofĪircraft due to their British-built Martin-Baker Ejection Seats, there were only a handful of UK blocks sale of South Korean fighter jets to Argentinaįast forward to 2021. During this time period, The United States made an offer to sell 36+6 F-16A/Bs, unfortunately, due to financial insecurities, the Argentines declined the offer. Later on, in 1998, Argentina would be declared a ‘Major non-NATO Ally’, the sixth nation in the world to receive the title after Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. The United States even maintained an arms embargo on Argentina from the 1970s until the early 1990s due to Argentine assistance during the 1991 Operation Desert Shield, where they committed a destroyer, two corvettes, and a supply ship as part of their efforts. The Air Force was forced to rely on Mirage fighters and older A-4 attackers, both of which were veterans of the Falklands War. For the rest of the 20th century, the embargo showed little to no effect upon the Argentine Armed Forces, however as nations began rearming in the 21st century, Argentina found itself with limited options in terms of its Air Force modernization. MIRAGE INCREDIBLES FULLIf you would like to submit your own article on this topic or any other, please see our submission guidelines.Īfter the Falklands War, the United Kingdom placed a full embargo upon any and all military hardware from reaching Argentina. This is the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the UK Defence Journal. However, all of those aircraft were unable to be selected due to one common factor: British Influence. ![]() And in other cases being offered new fighters such as Sweden’s Saab Gripen, and most famously South Korea’s KAI FA-50. In the subsequent 7 years since then, Argentina has been on the hunt for a successor, with various nations offering up secondhand fighters such as Jordan and Spain offering up Mirage F1s or Israel’s offer of modernized Kfirs. The competition was initiated after the retirement of the French-built Mirage fighter in 2015 due to budget restraints. However, the conflict is not fought against another opponent, but between foreign powers offering various new aircraft to the Argentine Air Force. 40 years since the Falklands War in 1982, conflict has once again been sparked by Argentina. ![]()
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