BUENOS AIRES: Argentina has decided to purchase 12 JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan.
According to reports, the South American nation has allocated $664 million in funding in a draft budget presented to congress. “The Government of Argentina has officially included US$ 664 Million in funding for the purchase of 12 PAC JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan in a draft budget for 2022 presented to its Parliament,” it said.
The two nations have had friendly relations for a while. Pakistan has voted in favour of the UN Resolution stipulating that “the continued existence of colonialism is incompatible with the ideal of universal peace held by the United Nations”, which has relevance for the Falklands Islands issue.
The chair of the Pakistan Senate has said of the relationship that “Pakistan and Argentina have very close cooperation in various fields and unanimity of views on international issues”.
The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. The builders say that the JF-17 can be used for multiple roles, including interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and aerial reconnaissance.
If the deal finally goes through it will be a big boost for the Argentine Air Force, which lost most of its fleet during the conflict with British Forces in 1982, when it lost most of its air power.
Argentina has attempted to purchase jets a number of times from various origins, but deals fell through mainly because of the UK arms embargo, and the fact most aircraft have a British model for the ejection of pilots.
Last December, it was first stated that Argentina was considering acquiring JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan. Argentine Air Force (AAF) made a contract with the South Korean aerospace company, KAI, for the procurement of 12 FA-50 fighter jets. South Korea canceled the deal after due to diplomatic compression of UK.
Ties between the UK and Argentina have been stressed since the 1980s after the latter attacked British Overseas Territories (BOTS), namely the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 1982. The move ensued in the 10-week long assumed Falklands War that ended with a British victory.
