Animal imagery on the fuselage or tail of military aircraft from the world’s various air forces is a tradition that has been used for years to symbolize values or identify each unit with its emblem.
In Argentina, since the Malvinas War, the historical A4s began to use the figure of the falcon on the front, which represents the emblem of Jagdgruppe 5. In this tradition, the six F-16s that the Argentine government purchased from Denmark bear an image of this bird in their tails.
But something caught attention this Saturday when the fighter jets landed on the Río Cuarto runway after a presentation flight over the city of Buenos Aires.
Someone approached one of the planes and carefully glued a copy of a lion in the colors of light blue and white to the fuselage. The animal with which President Javier Milei is identified and which he himself describes as his personal image.
video
The F-16 has a distinctive emblem on its fuselage: the head of a lion in light blue and white.
The President boarded this plane, accompanied by his sister Karina and the outgoing Defense Minister Luis Petri, the main person responsible for the arrival of the Danish planes on Argentine soil. From there, the president euphorically welcomed the participants in the military event.
Where did the initiative come from to put the Albiceleste lion sticker on the F-16? Although it is not clear who suggested it, official sources confirmed that it was “in honor of the president.”