In mid-June, Lt. General Juan Martín Paleo, the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Argentinian Armed Forces, paid an official visit to Islamabad, Pakistan.
While Lt. Gen. Paleo’s visit was to encourage Argentinian-Pakistani defence ties in the general sense, his visit initiated a wider a discussion about Argentina’s new fighter requirement.
Towards the end of 2020, the Argentine Air Force’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier Xavier Isaac, had revealed that the country will consider the JF-17 Thunder. Since then, Argentinian officials assessed the JF-17 and spoke to both Pakistani and Chinese officials on various matters tied to a potential deal.
Moreover, the Argentine government allocated $664 million US in funding for the purchase of 12 modern fighters in its draft budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022.
However, despite seemingly positive signs towards an Argentine JF-17 order, it is unclear if Argentina will ultimately order these aircraft. Besides the country’s now perennial difficulties with committing to a new fighter order, Argentina must weigh the JF-17’s technical gains with its potential geo-political blowbacks.
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