At the Tandil air base in the province of Buenos Aires, the Argentine Air Force (FAA) unveiled on Monday night the first Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter acquired from the Royal Danish Air Force.
The two-seat aircraft, however, is not capable of flying and will be used for training pilots and maintenance personnel on the ground.
Incorporated into the FAA’s VI Air Brigade, the F-16 arrives to bring back supersonic capability to Argentina’s air defense after 10 years, when the last Dassault Mirage III fighters were retired.
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In the coming months, 24 F-16 Block 15 MLU (Mid-Life Update) aircraft will arrive in the South American country, which will be used in the country’s air defense, but will also have ground attack capabilities.
At the official presentation in Tandil, the FAA showed the F-16BM with the code name M-1210, armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and a stand-off weapon for precision ground attack.
Deliveries of the second-hand jets are expected to end by the end of 2026, with final assembly and integration being carried out at the FAA Material Park in Río Cuarto, in the province of Córdoba.
In this way, the Argentine Air Force joins Chile and Venezuela as one of the three F-16 operators in South America, replacing the subsonic Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk jets.
Denmark has retired its F-16s from service after receiving the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 5th generation fighter. Part of the fleet will also be handed over to Ukraine.
