A group of Argentine aircraft that fought in the Malvinas War and performed remarkably well by sinking two British ships in the 1982 conflict are about to be decommissioned by the Argentine Navy.
These are five French-made Super Étendard fighter jets that were acquired by Argentina in the late 1970s and arrived in our country in 1981, a year before the war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain began.
2nd Naval Fighter and Attack Squadron incorporated into the Navy in the last months of 1981
According to Noticias Argentinas, these aircraft will be decommissioned due to the impossibility of obtaining spare parts to keep them operational and able to continue flying. In fact, the Super Étendards that intervened in the Malvinas have been grounded for quite some time, unable to take off.
Added to this batch of five aircraft are nine more Super Étendards that were included in the initial purchase contract with France but arrived in our country after the Malvinas War, so they did not participate in the conflict.
Then, in 2018, then-President Mauricio Macri toured France, where he purchased five Super Étendard Modernisé aircraft that had recently been retired from the French Navy for a €14 million contract. The problem is that those aircraft were never able to fly in Argentina either.
One of the problems is that France stopped manufacturing certain components, and it was impossible to obtain the Martin Baker Mk 4A ejection seats because they were manufactured in the United Kingdom, which, after the 1982 war, imposed a restriction on the sale of military equipment to Argentina following the Malvinas War.
However, there was the alternative of purchasing them through a company called Task Aerospace, which manufactures these seats without British restrictions. However, the truth is that—as former Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana stated at the time—many French spare parts were also missing, the production of which had been discontinued.
Given this situation, it is almost certain that all Argentine Super Étendard aircraft, both traditional and modernized, will be retired.
The characteristics of the Super Étendard aircraft
Type: Carrier-mounted naval fighter (carry-mounted attack aircraft)
Manufacturer: Dassault Aviation (France)
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 14.31 meters
Wingspan: 9.60 meters
Height: 3.86 meters
Engine: 1 SNECMA Atar 8K-50 turbofan
Maximum speed: Approximately 1,200 km/h (Mach 0.98)
Maximum range: 1,800 km (without in-flight refueling)
Armament: Internal: 2 x 30 mm DEFA 553 cannons. External: Up to 2,100 kg on mounts under the wings and fuselage.
Load capacity: Air-to-surface missiles (mainly AM39 Exocet), conventional bombs, guided bombs, Magic air-to-air missiles, supplementary fuel tanks.
Electronic and technological improvements of the Super Étendard Modernisé
Radar: Thomson-CSF Anemone (more modern than Agave)
Navigation system: INS/GPS (enhanced accuracy)
HUD (Head-Up Display): Modern and multifunctional
Digital displays: Multifunction indicators in the cabin
Night and all-weather attack capability: With designator pods (e.g., Damocles)
Electronic warfare: Enhanced electronic countermeasures, radar warning receivers (RWR), flare and chaff dispensers
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