The five French Sten Etendard planes destined for the Argentine Navy arrived in the country

Everything was planned for Thursday morning, May 9, the Liberian flag bearer "Lily Auerbach" take the port. The ship – which in its warehouses had brought the five military planes – had already reserved a site on the wharf "Ingeniero Andoni Irazusta" of the North Patagonia terminal, corresponding to the port complex of the locality "Ingeniero White". But strike by shipping unions delayed plans and introduces variants of what will be the official reception ceremony of these aircraft.

On Friday, October 10, the labor dispute was defeated and the ship at the stern docked, the unloading of the five machines began. Of a length of 14 meters, a width between the wings of 10 meters and a unit weight of about 6 tons, They were stored in two of the ship's four warehouses after being packaged and vacuum packed.

Newly arrived equipment includes 5 planes designed for naval combat, in its "Modernized" version, plus several batches of spare parts that will be partially used for the repackaging of aircraft and a latest-generation flight simulator for training pilots and mechanics in this "weapon system" (by weapon system) it is understood that the whole which composes the ships as well as their elements of artillery and control).

The arrival of the planes is the end of the first phase of a long negotiation with the French government which has had several twists, basically behind the existing budget restrictions to finish strengthening the purchase. The material arrived several months, ready to be shipped from a French port terminal, pending full payment.

the $ 15 million who took the purchase, it will now be added others about 5 million of the same currency for packaging certification and flight condition operations performed by the Joint Airworthiness Directorate. The tasks that were to be entrusted to FAdeA (Argentine Aircraft Factory) will eventually be entrusted to the aeronautical technicians of the Argentine Navy and will be carried out at the naval base "Comandante Espora" located near the naval base "Puerto Belgrano". , the largest military colony of the Argentine Navy.

Naval Aviation Repowering

The arrival of the "SUE" (such military name of these aircraft) comes to breathe a fresh breath of fresh air for naval aviation operations, Severely decimated in recent years by the obsolescence of existing equipment and a zero unit renewal policy. In fact, at present, most of the navy's air fleet consists of two turboprop aircraft, a reconnaissance aircraft, an anti-aircraft -submarine, two basic training units and several helicopters.

The Super Etendards that are incorporated, "although they are deprogrammed units of the Air Force of France because of their antiquity will be fully re-propelled into the country, because its structure, by its state of conservation, allows many years of activity, "said the Ministry of Defense.

In this sense, in the portfolio led by Oscar Aguad, we note that the construction of 3 modern ocean patrol boats (OPV) for maritime patrol tasks has also begun in France. As in the case of SUE, both operations are carried out according to the "from one state to another" modality, which guarantees the transparency of contracts.

The delay in the arrival of planes because of the trade union conflict has closed the way to the ceremony scheduled last Thursday at Ingeniero White, but leaves open the almost firm possibility that Mauricio Macri himself will give "welcome" to the plane during the May 17 celebration of the 205th anniversary of the Argentine Navy.

The Central Ceremony will be held at the Naval Base of Puerto Belgrano and work is underway on the idea that the Chief of the Executive attends the Troops Magazine and the Parade to later visit the base of the commander of the naval force Espora and officially entrusted to the navy the 5th "SUE".

Meanwhile, within the navy, the actualization of the incorporation of these aircraft is considered a This is a huge step towards the beginning of the re-examination of the role of the armed forces in the interest of the political clbad. Although some units used were incorporated during the previous administration, they are essentially logistical and do not allow to perform operational tasks.

The badysis of the future of the submarine force remains unresolved. "It is not that we thought to eliminate the activity of this navy arm, but we still have to complete the badysis of what is most convenient for the future, if we continue to repair what we have or make other decisions, "said the president. officials consulted.