How Argentina wants to buy F-16 aircraft from Denmark? | Javier Milli | Ukraine | United States | USA | Lockheed Martin | | the world

Argentina confirmed on Tuesday that he signed a letter of intent with Denmark For the purchase of 24 F-16 fighter jets, which will be furnished by the United States. The business will be worth 303 million dollars. This model of fighter jet is the same one that Ukraine requests for the war it is waging with Russia from the west and for which it has already trained many of its pilots.

Ministry of Defense of Argentina The minister said in a statement Louis Petrie and its Danish counterpart, Troels Lund PoulsenSigned the document in Buenos Aires to proceed with editing.

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The EFE agency reported that defense ministry sources have assured it that more details will be available in mid-April. talk.

“The agreement was sealed with the signing of a bilateral letter of cooperation that will facilitate laying the foundation for future projects between the two countries. With the editing of this planes The final stage of the process begins which is the objective Strengthening the capabilities of military equipment“, Argentina’s Ministry of Defense indicated in the statement.

“We are equipping our forces and restoring the country’s supersonic capability”he added.

Defense Ministry asserted Argentina has not bought these characteristics for 30 years And “it is imperative to restore the capabilities of the armed forces.”

EFE agency published that recent efforts Argentina Failed to rearm the armed forces because the country weighed a Prohibition of arms imposed by United Kingdom from the end of Falklands WarWhich happened in 1982, making it impossible for the South American nation to get material in which British ingredients.

In 2020, during Govt Alberto Fernandez Ten were attempted to be acquired KAI F-50 Fighting Eagle supersonic aircraft from South Korea, but negotiations broke down due to spare parts being manufactured in the United Kingdom.

For his part, the Defense Minister Denmark Also Talked about business. “I had a very productive meeting with my Argentinian colleague, J Expressed great satisfaction at becoming a member of the F-16 family of nations around the worldPaulsen said in a statement.

He added that in addition to the 24 fighters that will be sold to Argentina, Denmark will donate another 19 F-16 aircraft from its fleet to UkraineAccording to CNN.

CNN explained The United States government assisted in negotiations between Argentina and Denmark and earlier approved the sale of these planes.

“United States welcomes Argentina to F-16 family of nations,” Celebrated the American Embassy in Buenos Aires through its social networks.

Denmark No is in the process of replacing its fleet F-16 For the new F-35, which is a more advanced aircraft with greater combat capabilities, CNN said. Both aircraft models are manufactured by an American company Lockheed Martin.

The planes that will be sold to Argentina are “constantly” updated and “mostly correspond to the latest version of the aircraft F-16 With regard to equipment and weapon systems,” according to Denmark. They are equipped with 20-millimeter cannon and stations to carry bombs, rockets and missiles.

What is the F-16 aircraft like?

According to the CNN News Network, the F-16 fighters They are single engine multi purpose jet aircraft.That means it can be used in air-to-air or ground attack missions.

They started flying in the 1970s And the US Air Force calls them “Relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system”.

In 2019, each unit cost 62 million of dollars And the cost per flight hour is about $25,000.

These ships They are ready to fly at speeds of over 2,400 kilometers per hour or Mach 2.

F-16 uses what is known as radiation detection Identify anti-aircraft defense systems.

It was the first combat fighter designed to withstand the 9th turn. Today, nearly 47 years after its production began, There are up to eight evolutionsFrom the F-16A of 1979 to the F-16C/D block of 1994.

It is estimated that there are approximately 2,200 active F-16 aircraft in a total of 25 countries. It is the most popular combat aircraft on the planet with 15% of the world fleet.

Thus, many relatively cheap second-hand aircraft are available in addition to their spare parts. replace.

“There is a surplus of F-16 in the West, offering immediate availability and well-established logistics routes,” Robert Hopkins, a military aviation author and former US Air Force pilot, told CNN.

General characteristics:

• the wings: 9.8 m
• length: 14.8 m
• Height: 4.8 m
• weight: 8,940 kg
• Maximum takeoff weight: 16,875 kg
• useful load: Two 907 kg bombs, two AIM-9, two AIM-120 and two 1,088 kg external fuel tanks
• Speed: 2,470 km/h (Mach 2 at altitude)
• Space: 3,222 km
• roof: Above 15 km
• Armament– One M-61A1 20mm multibarrel cannon with 500 rounds, six air-to-air missiles, conventional air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and electronic countermeasures pods
• crew: One and two in the F-16D

Argentina does not have supersonic combat aircraft After the retirement of its Mirage III fighters in service in 2015, that has not changed to this day, CNN reported.

A March 2023 US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report warned “Training maintenance personnel can take months or yearsDepending on the desired level of competence. An airplane requires 16 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight timeDetails of a similar report reviewed by CNN.

In terms of pilot training, the biggest complication is not learning to fly, but acquiring combat capabilities. According to experts this process can take years.

F-16s have participated Numerous conflicts, especially in the Balkans and the Middle East: in the Lebanese Civil War, in Operation Peace for Galilee, in the First War in Afghanistan, in Iraq in Operation Desert Storm, in Invasion of Iraq, in Operation Desert Fox, in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom, in the Second Lebanon War, in the recent Syrian Civil War, and soon to come Ukraine.