The firm is one of the largest electronics producers based in Tierra del Fuego, owned by the brother of the Minister of Economy Javier Milei. The operation generates controversy, taking into account that it is the first time that a similar mechanism, shared use between the State and a private sector company, has been used .
Months before learning of an order to the United States from Argentina for the purchase of several aircraft, the Fuegian electronics company Mirgor (owned by the family of the Minister of National Economy, Luis Caputo), had already acquired a Basler BT-67.
Finally, the purchase for which authorization had been requested from the US Pentagon agency was not carried out, but it was announced that the Fuegian manufacturing company will donate the plane for the Antarctic Campaign and will be able to use it for tourism the rest of the time.
The agreement for this transfer of use was made between the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Argentine Air Force, and the Mirgor business group.
In fact, on November 6, 2023, the chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Air Force, Brigadier General Xavier Julián Isaac and the CEO of the MIRGOR SACIFIA company, Eng. José Alonso, had signed a Framework Agreement for Collaboration and Cooperation Institutional.
The methodology of this business has already generated repercussions, because it is an unprecedented case in the form of use of the aircraft that will be used for logistical support missions and relief of crews of the system of the 13 national bases on the white continent. , since the plane is specially designed for operation in polar climates.
On April 18, the DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) reported that the North American State Department approved a request from Argentina for a purchase for 143 million dollars. “It has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to the Government of Argentina of the Basler BT-67 aircraft and related elements of logistics and program support for an estimated cost of $14.3 million,” the information states.
"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by enhancing the security of an important non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in South America," they added in the press release.
However, just a few days later , it was learned that, after the false step of the request for approval to the US Government, the decision of the current Presidency of Argentina is to sign a loan contract for the shared use of an aircraft acquired months before by Mirgor. .
This agreement would allow the private company, based in Tierra del Fuego, to provide Antarctic tourism services in the stages in which they are not used by security forces.
Sources:
mdzol
Argentine News
Aviation Latina
