The arrival of the F-16 fighters purchased by the government from Denmark after paying 300 million US dollars has already reached the final stage. The arrival of the aircraft is supported by official publications that occur almost daily, especially those promoted by Defense Minister Louis Petrie. The first batch of these combat aircraft includes 6 units Last week, they actually set up a base in Zaragoza, Spainin the itinerary It will end in Argentina next Friday the 5th. The next stop will correspond to the air facilities of the Canary Islands, and then the Atlantic Ocean will be crossed. The first stop in America will be in Natal, Brazil. the F-16 They are moving with logistical support from a Hercules aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 and a US Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker refueling aircraft.
Regarding the date of display of these aircraft, The fleet will make landfall at Las Higueras, near Río CuartoIn the province of Cordoba on the aforementioned December 5.
How will the F16 fighters be displayed?
The aircraft is then scheduled to be the F-16 Make a series of passes over Capital Federal on the 6th and 7th. It is proposed to cover sections such as the Avenida de Mayo-Casa Rosada axis. These maneuvers will take place in the morning hours.
Between 7 and 8 there is also the possibility of fighters passing About Mendoza, San Luis and the city of CordobaAlthough there is no official confirmation of these flights yet. Finally, the weapon system It will be officially presented at the Rio Cuarto Military Base on Friday the 12th of this month.
The en route fleet consists of two single-seat F-16AM and four two-seat F-16BM. The total purchase from Denmark was 24 warplanes.
It was recently learned that the six aircraft arriving in the country are already equipped with Have Glass V, a dark gray coating that reduces the radar signature and thus increases the stealth capabilities of the F-16.
“Our pilots from @fuerzaaerea_arg are already flying to Argentina in the first F-16s. The six fighters took off from Skridstrup Air Base, in Denmark, and landed at Zaragoza Air Base, in Spain, to refuel and continue the ferry journey,” Minister Petrie recently posted in his space on the social network X.
In his last posts, he was wearing pilots’ clothes and symbols It emulates the movie saga “Top Gun” made famous by Tom Cruise“The new Argentina feels the need for speed: to launch into a great future, to fly higher, to defend our skies more than ever before,” the official wrote ecstatically.
A few weeks ago, Petrie posted that “the F-16M program includes a historic investment in infrastructure at Rio Cuarto and Tandil, with work not done for decades, to receive and operate the new aircraft.”
In this direction, he stated that “in the Rio Cuarto physical area, the primary operating base of this weapon system, Renovation work on the military platform and corridorsIt is in its final stage and will be ready between the end of October and mid-November.
“In the 6th Air Brigade in Tandil, we opened the F-16 Tactical Simulation Center and are progressing on the Technical Education Center, the hangars, the Olympic perimeter fences, the control center and the warehouse retrofit,” he concluded.
Concerned about the condition of military facilities
The mention of the works being carried out at the base that will host the F-16s is not a coincidence: in October, the Air Force General Staff distributed a document in which it was stated that the department responsible for providing logistics and maintenance of the runways and hangars suffers from serious operational deficiencies.
This region suffers from a lack of investment. It has outdated machinery and is unable to ensure the correct operation of the take-off areas.. The report set the goal of “restoring full response capacity for critical infrastructure maintenance and reducing accidents on runways and heliports throughout the national territory.”
The report in question, seen by iProfesional in the first days of October, details, for example, that “the construction group of the Palomar Logistics Area (ALP) is experiencing serious operational difficulties due to its inability to carry out adequate maintenance of the runways at the air bases of the Argentine Air Force (FAA).”
It said: “Despite being responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of 25 runways (3,750,000 m2) and 15 helipads (29,452 m2) across the country, the Construction Group (GC) does not have sufficient means to carry out these tasks efficiently, which directly affects Air Force operations.”
“Obsolete machinery and equipment in poor condition prevents the completion of work necessary to repair damage to concrete platforms, taxiways and roads, reducing the operational capacity of air bases. Equipment in poor condition, such as graders, freight cars, trucks, vibrating rollers, bulldozers and road rollers, Their average lifespan is 30 years“It covers high maintenance costs and low production capacity due to its technical obsolescence,” admits the Air Force staff.