Argentine Air Force unveils first F-16 Fighting Falcon

Argentina's first F-16, a two-seat Block 10 aircraft, at Tandil airbase, Buenos Aires. (Santiago Rivas)

The Argentine Air Force presented its first Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon during a 24 February ceremony in Tandil, Buenos Aires. The F-16BM Block 10 is intended for personnel training in addition to operational flights.

Attending the ceremony was Brigadier Gustavo Valverde, chief of the air force's general staff, who told Janes that 24 additional F-16 Block 15s purchased from Denmark are to be transferred in four ferry flights of six aircraft each, beginning in December 2025 with the arrival of four two-seat F-16Bs and two single-seat F-16As. Royal Danish Air Force pilots are to conduct the ferry flights, although Argentine pilots will occupy the rear seats of the B models.

Reconstruction of the runway, taxiways, and apron at Tandil, home of the air force's 6th Air Brigade, is scheduled to begin in March and will take approximately two years to complete. Because of the reconstruction, F-16s will initially operate from the air force's maintenance hub at Río Cuarto.

For more information, please seeArgentina signs for F-16 fighters .