Argentina receives U.S. military aircraft amid tension over tour to Russia and China

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Amid the diplomatic tension unleashed between Argentina and Washington due to the scope of Alberto Fernández’s tour to Russia and China, the government will receive this Monday a new delivery of a new fleet of Beechcraft TC-12B Huron aircraft from the United States to re-equip the Air Force.

Through a ceremony led by the Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, Argentina will incorporate the second aircraft of a total purchase of 12 aircraft from the United States that was arranged last year with the Special Fund for Defense.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Argentina

The Beechcraft TC-12B Huron aircraft were acquired from the United States to strengthen the Air Force’s military fleet and are part of a gesture made by Joe Biden’s US administration to Argentina as part of the cooperation in defense matters. These aircraft were purchased for US$16.5 million and will be distributed to the Air Force brigades of Morón, Reynolds (San Luis), Reconquista, Tandil, Paraná, and the Military Aviation School.

Military sources told El Cronista that the Huron is an aircraft with a maximum operational speed of 545 km/h, a range of up to 2,900 km, a flight ceiling of 11,000 meters, a capacity for eight people, and an 850 SHP engine.

The Ministry of Defense emphasized that the arrival of the aircraft from the United States is part of the military re-equipment plan proposed by the government and that it is financed with money from the FonDef, which is made up of 0.65% of the total Current Revenues foreseen for the Consolidated Annual Budget for the National Public Sector for 2022 and 0.80% for the year 2023.

In September last year, when the first Huron was delivered, the US Embassy in Buenos Aires informed that “the US Department of Defense completed the transfer of a TC-12 Huron aircraft to the Argentine Air Force in a ceremony held at the Parana base. It is the first shipment of a minimum of ten transport aircraft that Argentina receives through the Defense Department’s Defense Surplus Articles program”.

“The arrival of the first TC-12 aircraft demonstrates how our countries can work together to strengthen each other. Our goal is to promote strong regional cooperation,” said Chargé d’Affaires MaryKay Carlson.

Thus, they emphasized that “to deepen our bilateral defense cooperation ties, the United States is providing these aircraft, through a grant, while Argentina is financing the costs of preparation, refurbishment, and delivery”. And they detailed that the aircraft, which belonged to the US Navy, would be used by Argentina for logistical and training tasks. The delivery schedule is expected to be completed in 2023.

DIPLOMATIC FRICTION

Although Argentina is analyzing the purchase of other aircraft from China, India, and Russia, the delivery of these US aircraft to the Air Force comes at a time of diplomatic tension with Washington and amid the debt negotiations with the IMF.

The government tried to separate the signals of the acquisition of the Huron aircraft from the friction seen in the last few days with the United States as a result of some discomfort in Washington due to Alberto Fernández’s tour of China and Russia. During the stopover in Moscow, the Argentine president commented to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Argentina must “leave behind the great dependence on the United States and the IMF”.

As El Cronista reported last Friday, these statements made by Alberto Fernández did not go down well in Washington and, on the contrary, they caused the Biden administration to be very tense. The US Embassy in Buenos Aires said they would make statements. But it was learned that a State Department official was upset with the Argentine President’s remarks.

Yesterday, Alberto Fernández had lunch at the Casa Rosada with Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and the Argentine Ambassador in Washington, Jorge Argüello, and, among other things, they analyzed the scope of the US discomfort regarding the ongoing negotiations with the IMF for the payment of the debt. For the time being, they decided not to increase the level of diplomatic tension.

Instead, it was preferred to move forward with “a positive agenda” with the United States. The ceremony for the delivery of the Huron aircraft from the United States to the Argentine Air Force is part of the political scheme now proposed by the president.