Argentine President Javier Milei on Saturday lauded the arrival of six F-16 Fighting Falcons, depicting them as “guardian angels” that will boost the country’s military.
The 24 supersonic F-16s, acquired last year from Denmark for approximately $300 million, represent what President Javier Milei’s government hailed as Argentina’s most significant military purchase in half a century.
“After a long wait, I finally have behind me the first six F-16 fighter jets,” Milei declared on the tarmac of the military airbase in Río Cuarto, 600 kilometers west of Buenos Aires.
“Thanks to this significant investment, we will considerably strengthen our air force.”
During a brief ceremony, the president climbed into the cockpit of one of the newly arrived F-16 Fighting Falcons—which had roared in low formation over Buenos Aires earlier that day—flashing a broad smile alongside his sister, Presidential General Secretary Karina Milei, and Defense Minister Luis Petri.
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“Hundreds of thousands of Argentines were able to look up and see their guardian angels in the sky for the first time,” he said.
Announced in April 2024, the modernized Danish jets are destined to become “the backbone of Argentina’s air defense system,” according to the Defense Ministry.
They will replace the aging French Mirage fighters, the last of which were decommissioned in 2015 after forty years of service.
In a statement released Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires described the delivery as “a major step in the country’s efforts to modernize its air capabilities and deepen defense cooperation with the United States.”
The US Embassy in Argentina wrote: The United States supported Argentina throughout the acquisition process, approving the transfer of the U.S.-origin aircraft from Denmark and provided $40 million in Foreign Military Financing to help cover the down payment on the $560 million Foreign Military Sales package, through which the United States will supply training, maintenance, and long-term support. Argentina is providing the remaining funds.
It added: Today’s delivery is the first of four batches. Six additional aircraft will arrive each December through 2028, bringing the total to 24 F-16s. The jets will operate initially in Río Cuarto before transitioning to their permanent base in Tandil. The arrival of the F-16s strengthens Argentina’s air-defense capabilities and supports operations coordination with the United States and other NATO partners, reflecting a long-term commitment to cooperation between Argentina and the United States.
As previously reported by EurAsian Times, Argentina formally unveiled its first F-16 Fighting Falcon several months after President Javier Milei’s government abandoned plans to acquire brand new Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Block III Thunder jets in favor of proven, NATO-standard Danish surplus F-16s.
The aircraft—a twin-seat F-16BM bearing the code M-1210—was presented to the public during a nighttime ceremony on February 24, 2025, at the VI Air Brigade’s Tandil Air Base in Buenos Aires province.
For the event, the jet was displayed fully armed with live AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range and AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles, as well as a precision stand-off weapon for ground-attack missions, symbolically underscoring its multi-role capability.
The VI Air Brigade, which once operated Argentina’s now-retired Mirage III/5 fighters, will become the new home of the F-16 fleet. Argentine Air Force (FAA) officials describe the Fighting Falcon as a generational technological leap, restoring credible supersonic combat capability to a service that has lacked modern fighters since the last Mirage was withdrawn in 2015.
Notably, the first aircraft reached Argentine soil less than ten months after President Milei and Defense Minister Luis Petri announced in April 2024 that Buenos Aires had finalized the $300–338 million deal for 24 ex-Royal Danish Air Force F-16A/B MLU (Mid-Life Update) jets, together with a substantial logistics and training package.
Interestingly, the US had reportedly pitched up to 24 aircraft to Argentina’s neighbour, Colombia (a mix of second-hand Block 50/52s and new Block 70s) for about $4.2 billion, highlighting interoperability with Colombia’s existing U.S.-sourced fleet (e.g., C-130s, Black Hawks).
However, Colombian President tweeted on November 2: The issue of the fury from US government officials, first and foremost, seems to be that I didn’t buy the second-hand F16s which the USA offered me, but instead opted for the brand-new Gripens from Sweden.
Later in November 2025, the Colombian Government signed a deal with Saab for 17 Gripen E/F fighter jets, trashing the F-16 offer. Neighbor Brazil has already purchased 36 JAS 39 Gripen jets and built an assembly plant for the fighters in the country in partnership with SAAB
Via: ET Desk with AFP Inputs
