Calay News
The French Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the Super Étendard aircraft purchased by Argentina in 2018 have never been able to fly and will not be able to fly. The Argentine government, headed by Mauricio Macri at the time, spent €12.5 million on the purchase of these aircraft, but the current authorities under Alberto Fernandez suspected that the planes were inoperable.
The Argentine Ministry of Defense sent a note to the French Ministry of Defense requesting assistance in obtaining the ejection seats and other essential parts to get the planes operational, but the response was negative. In a letter dated March 17, the head of international development at the French Armament Directorate, Gael Diaz De Tuesta, informed that it was not possible to fulfill this objective despite evaluating all possibilities.
This controversial purchase had already been denounced by the Sindicatura General de la Nación (Sigen) and is being investigated by the Fiscala de Investigaciones Administrativas and the Oficina Anticorrupción. Previous negative technical reports from the Argentine Navy warning about the need to guarantee spare parts before the transaction were not considered in the purchase.
The case could lead to legal action against former officials involved in this purchase, including Mauricio Macri, Patricia Bullrich, Oscar Aguad, and Marcos Pea, among others. The Super Étendard aircraft were purchased for the G20 Summit that took place in Buenos Aires in 2018, but arrived late in May 2019 and were never used.
In addition, the blockade imposed by the United Kingdom on exports to Argentina after the Falkland Islands War in 1982 is still in place and makes it difficult to obtain spare parts for the aircraft. This restriction also affects Argentina’s attempts to re-equip its armed forces, as any components from the UK block operations. The Argentine government has called for an end to this military blockade, pointing to cases in which Britain hindered Argentina’s participation in the acquisition of aircraft from other countries, such as Gripen fighters from Sweden and KAI F-50 Fighting Eagle aircraft from Korea.
