The first batch of six F-16 A/B Fighting Falcon fighter jets, purchased from Denmark through the Ministry of Defense Air Force, took off on Friday for Argentina and are expected to arrive in the Río Cuarto Physical Area (ARMACUAR) on Friday, December 5. The air base will be the main maintenance center and primary operating base until its eventual transfer to the 6th Air Brigade in Tandil, Buenos Aires Province.
Before landing on Argentine territory, the ships will make two technical stops in Spain and Brazil. First, you will stop at Zaragoza Air Base, at the Spanish Army Air and Space facilities. Meanwhile, the plane will stop later in the Brazilian city of Natal to refuel.
The agreement between Argentina and Denmark stipulates the delivery of 24 F-16 fighter aircraft, manufactured by the American aviation company Lockheed Martin, a process that received mandatory permission from the United States, the country that signed the original agreement with the Danes.
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The cost of the fighter aircraft was approximately 340 million US dollars for the total number of operational units and a set of spare parts on the ground.
The weapons provided by the United States consist of a package valued at $310 million, which includes missiles, reconnaissance capsules, and electronic warfare systems.
Once it arrives on Argentine soil, an official presentation ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, December 6. F-16 fighter aircraft (a combination of single-seat A and two-seat B aircraft for training) are the two-seat aircraft registered M1004, M-1005, M-1007 and M-1008 and the single-seat aircraft M-1009 and M-1020, which fly with the designations CONDR11 to 16.
The six lead units (a mix of single-seat A and two-seat B for training) execute a staggered itinerary that includes on-board refueling and technical stops. The selected route is supervised by pilots from North America and Denmark, along with the first qualified Argentine pilots. In April 2024, then Defense Minister Louis Petrie announced the purchase. The now-elected representative said: “Today we complete the most important military aviation acquisition since 1983. These are 24 F-16 aircraft that have been modernized and equipped with the best technologies, and today they are at the level of the best aircraft flying in the skies of the South American region and the world.” He said this in a video conference with President Javier Miley. He stressed: “With these new aircraft, we are taking a transcendent step in our defense policy, restoring the supersonic capability of our aviation and achieving the final entry of our Air Force into the technological challenges of the 21st century.”
The Defense Ministry confirmed that “these F-16 fighter aircraft will be the backbone of Argentina’s air defense system, a mission that the Mirage aircraft carried out for more than 40 years until their deprogramming. The purchase of these aircraft represents the government’s decision to encourage investment in defense with the aim of enhancing the capabilities of the military instrument.” The F-16 system acquired from Denmark includes single-seat and two-seat modules for advanced pilot training, weapons and support equipment. This aircraft of North American origin has the characteristics of a multi-purpose aircraft with air-to-air and air-to-surface combat missions.