Argentina Buying 12 Beechraft Texan Trainer Aircraft

Argentina is buying 12 Beechraft Texan aircraft to replace 24 Embraer EMB-312 Tucano to train its military pilots.

Plans to buy warplanes from abroad, including from Brazil's Embraer or Mig fighters from Russia are unlikely to happen in the immediate future.

"For now, we do not have much budget capacity," Defense Minister Julio Martinez was quoted as saying by Reuters Tuesday.

"We are only buying training aircraft, and just a few, 12." Martinez said after an event commemorating the end of Argentina's latest Antarctica mission.

Martinez did not mention the amount Argentina was spending on the training planes, but acknowledged that the budget was "very small."

The Beechcraft Texan planes will help replace 24 Embraer EMB-312 Tucanos that have been used in the air force training school for decades.

Beechcraft is a subsidiary of Textron Inc making Beechcraft T -6C Texan II planes that are used for training pilots in several countries.

"We will need 12 more, and then we need a lot of other aircraft, medium-sized transport and other kinds of planes," Martinez said.

The training aircraft could also be used for patrolling borders with Paraguay and Brazil to stop drug flights, Martinez added.