The acquisition is intended to sustain Argentina’s ability to protect its airspace. A separate agreement with the United States provides personnel training, logistics support and weapons for the aircraft.
The Lockheed Martin-built fighters flew to Argentina under their own power, with technical stops in Europe, the Canary Islands and South America. U.S. Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft provided aerial refueling support.
The transfer followed the same approach used for the first batch. Argentina also has a non-flying F-16 airframe used as a training aid, in addition to the 12 delivered fighters.
Argentina signed the intergovernmental support agreement with the United States in December 2024. Its maximum value was $941 million, covering training, logistics and armaments.
The weapons package included a small batch of AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM missiles and GBU-12 Paveway II guided bombs. The U.S. agreement complements the separate aircraft acquisition from Denmark.
Argentina became the third South American country to purchase aircraft from the F-16 family, following Venezuela and Chile. Peru has signed an intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance in recent months for newly built F-16C/D Block 70 fighters.
Argentina’s acquisition of used fighters may provide a basis for continued cooperation and a future purchase of newly built aircraft from the same family, according to the report. That prospect remains a possibility rather than an announced procurement decision.
