The Argentine Air Force officially presented its first F-16BM fighter
The Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, led the ceremony together with aircraft No. 25, which will be used for training. More aircraft are expected at the end of the year.
From the VI Air Brigade in Tandil, Buenos Aires, the Argentine Air Force presented the first F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter acquired from Denmark . It is a two-seater F-16BM Block 10, officially designated as “number 25”, intended for training, instruction and training of pilots, support crews, mechanics and engineers with the new weapons system.
The ceremony began at 8pm on Monday and was headed by the Minister of Defense of the Argentine Republic, Luis Petri . The official was accompanied by the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces (EMCFFAA), Brigadier Xavier Isaac, the Chief of the Air Force, Brigadier Gustavo Javier Valverde, the Chief of the Army, General Carlos Presti and the Chief of the Navy, Rear Admiral Carlos Allievi.
According to the specialized Defense and Security portal Zona Militar , Petri highlighted that “with this weapons system we are making a real technological leap. We are increasing our defensive capabilities . We are also recovering and modernizing each space of this base so that these F-16s can perform at their maximum capacity.”
“For Argentina to become great again, we need strong, trained and prepared Armed Forces,” added the Minister of Defense, also emphasizing that “this is the era in which we understand that a nation cannot defend itself if it is condemned to be subjugated. The era in which national defense is not an expense, but the most important investment to guarantee peace.”
The Argentine Air Force presented the first F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft acquired from Denmark.
With the official presentation of the aircraft, the Argentine Air Force symbolically began the process of incorporating the F-16 weapons system, a process which began in April 2024 with the signing of the agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark for the acquisition of 24 F-16A/B MLU Block 15 aircraft . Looking ahead to the coming months, the training process for pilots and personnel related to the platform is expected to continue, while infrastructure and upgrade works at the facilities of the VI Air Brigade in Tandil and the Río Cuarto Material Area (AMACUAR) also progress.
It is worth mentioning that at the end of this year the reception of the first batch of aircraft in flight condition from the Royal Danish Air Force is expected, which will operate from AMACUAR until the completion of the work to upgrade the VI Air Brigade.
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