The US State Department has approved the transfer of 24 Danish Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Argentina: a move that could limit any Danish F-16 transfer to Ukraine.
A statement issued on X (formerly Twitter) by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs on 11 October read, “Today [Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security] Mira Resnick delivered a letter to [Argentinian Ambassador to the United States] Jorge Argüello approving the transfer of F-16 aircraft from Denmark to Argentina. The transfer reaffirms our close defence ties and steadfast support for Argentina’s air force modernisation efforts.”
The US approval leaves the final decision on an F-16 acquisition with Argentina, which has for years struggled to find a replacement for a dwindling fleet of Douglas A-4AR Fightinghawk attack aircraft that entered service from 1998, of which only around half a dozen are likely to be airworthy. The Argentine Air Force does also operate a small fleet of around seven indigenously produced FAdeA IA 63 Pampa III advanced jet trainers adapted for the light attack role, but this fleet was originally intended to be 40 strong.
Previous Argentine attempts to procure a new fast jet type, including the Korean Aerospace Industries FA-50 and the Chinese/Pakistani-produced CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder, have fallen through. This has been down to a lack of funding but also a UK veto on military exports to Argentina, given the historic tensions between London and Buenos Aires since the 1982 Falklands War. This means that any fighter sold to Argentina must be free of UK components.
The Royal Danish Air Force is in the process of transitioning from a fast jet combat fleet of 30 F-16AM single-seat and 13 F-16BM twin-seat fighters to a fleet of 27 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, the first of which arrived on Danish soil on 14 September.
Denmark has previously indicated it would transfer its retiring F-16s to Ukraine and in August 2023 began training Ukrainian pilots and technical specialists on the F-16, so how many fighters Ukraine ultimately gets will depend on whether Argentina takes up its F-16 offer.
