Argentina Unveils First F-16 Fighter Jets Procured from Denmark
The transfer is part of a 24-jet package approved by U.S. in 2023 and finalized with Denmark in 2024.
Argentina presented its first six F-16 fighter jets on December 7, with President Javier Milei and Defense Minister Luis Petri leading the ceremony in Buenos Aires.
The aircraft—acquired from Denmark—mark Argentina’s return to supersonic fighter capability after a decade of absence.
The jets arrived on Saturday following a four-leg transatlantic ferry flight supported by U.S. Air Force KC-135 tankers. Four two-seat F-16Bs and two single-seat F-16As completed the journey from Denmark via Spain, the Canary Islands, and Brazil before landing in Río Cuarto, where Milei and Petri received them.
Ahead of the ceremony, the F-16s conducted a low-level flyover of Buenos Aires between 8:00 and 8:45 a.m., passing Casa Rosada, Avenida de Mayo, Avenida 9 de Julio, the Río de la Plata, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, and Puerto Madero before returning to Río Cuarto.
Argentina’s defense ministry describes the F-16 deal as the country’s most consequential military purchase in 40 years. The transfer is part of a 24-jet package approved by U.S. in 2023 and finalized with Denmark in 2024. The remaining aircraft will arrive in three batches, with the final delivery expected in December 2028. The fighters will operate initially from Río Cuarto before relocating to a permanent base in Tandil.
The U.S. has also confirmed a $40 million Foreign Military Financing grant to support a broader $560 million training and sustainment package. It did not clarify whether the transfer includes weapons. A previously approved but incomplete Foreign Military Sales request covered AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles, Mk82 bombs, and GBU-12 Paveway II guided bombs.
The F-16s restore capabilities lost since the retirement of Mirage III jets in 2015. For decades, Buenos Aires attempted to acquire new fighters—including Gripens, Kfirs, and FA-50s—but was blocked by British restrictions on components such as ejection seats and avionics following the 1982 Falklands War. The Danish transfer proceeded because the F-16 uses an American-made ACES II ejection seat.
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