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Argentina will only begin the transition period to integrate F-16 fighter jets, purchased secondhand from Denmark, into its Air Force in January 2026. That is one year and nine months after signing the acquisition deal. And this refers only to the first six of 24 jets, preparations for which are now in their final stage, according to Zona Militar. Before that, the country had received only one F-16BM Block 10 for technician training. According to plans, Argentina's operational use of F-16s will start closer to late 2026. The delivery of all 24 aircraft will stretch until 2028, with six aircraft arriving annually. This means it will take over four years to fully implement the program to strengthen the Argentine Air Force with used fighters.

All of this is happening with full support from the program's stakeholders. Argentine pilots and technicians are being trained by the private U.S. company Top Aces, which avoids bottlenecks in government training centers. Denmark, under the contract, is responsible for transporting the jets, as well as providing spare parts and upgrade elements. These peacetime timelines are quite telling, especially compared to Ukraine's fast-track integration and combat deployment of F-16s. The irony is that the very same used F-16s strengthening Argentina were originally meant to reinforce Ukraine's Air Force. But 24 of Denmark's F-16s — out of 44 (around 30 airwothy) became hostages to U.S. decisions.

Argentina urgently needed to renew its fleet, which consisted of about 20 A-4 Skyhawks in highly questionable flight condition. With Western fighters both too expensive and facing long delivery times, China aggressively pushed its Chengdu JF-17s on favorable credit terms. To block Beijing from gaining a foothold in South America's defense market, Washington insisted on the F-16 deal. But instead of U.S. F-16s, it was Denmark's fleet originally pledged to Ukraine that was redirected. Finally, in April 2024, a binding agreement was signed for Denmark to sell 24 F-16s to Argentina for $320 million only about $13.3 million per jet. However, the U.S. placed the cost of refurbishment and modernization at up to $941 million, offering a credit line to cover it.

The competition, as it so often does between large powers, is playing out through a defense industrial decision: Namely, whether Buenos Aries buys second-hand Danish F-16 A/B Fighting Falcons or newly-made Chengdu JF-17 Thunder Block Three fighters from China. ... Meanwhile, multiple local outlets say Washington is putting pressure on Buenos Aires to pick the F-16 in order to deny China an expanded footprint in Latin America. Concern about China increasing its footprint in Latin America is hardly a secret. In August, US Southern Command head Gen. Laura Richardson spelled it out clearly, saying Chinese investment in the region means Beijing is “on the 20-yard line of our homeland, or we could say that they’re on the first and second island chain to our homeland and the proximity in terms of this region.” “There’s not a Chinese base yet in this hemisphere. But I see with all of this critical infrastructure investment,” Richardson added later, “that there could possibly be someday.”

Americans cannot conceptualize of another country engaging in international politics without building military bases all over the place

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The Chengdu Factor

The continuing motivation to entice Buenos Aires to become the second South America F-16 customer after Chile is “keeping a PRC military presence off the continent. The reason the US F-16 offer is being promoted aggressively is to kill this Chinese JF-17 sale,” a veteran DoD Latin American analyst told Breaking Defense. ... By itself, the jet is no real threat to the US, but this initial JF-17 sale represents the proverbial “camel’s nose under the tent,” the analyst said — a way for China to make inroads in what the US considers its backyard. And naturally, any Chinese jet buy would come with Chinese infrastructure — PRC provided contractors and trainers, at the very least — the kind of footprint Richardson raised concerns about over the summer. If the JF-17 lands in Argentina, the analyst added, it’s possible China would offer a cheap deal for the J-10 fighter, a CAC product with a longer range and payload capacity. Or, potentially, the J-20, a design that incorporates a stealthy, blended-shape and can reach targets up to 1,200 miles from base. Either would benefit China’s goal of having a greater military footprint in the region. “The real nightmare for a number of defense planners in Washington would be a customer in the southern hemisphere that would amount to an operating base for the latest Chinese defense and aerospace platforms in the US’s backyard,” the analyst said.

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The US is walking its own balance. Argentina’s Armed Forces have been almost exclusively aligned with the US in the past century. That “customer intimacy,” as US defense industry marketing personnel describe it, gives Washington an advantage in any procurement. But according to a report from La Nacion, the unspoken quid pro quo is that Buenos Aires would be banking on Washington’s support to resolve its debt repayment problems with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One other potentially tricky issue is the fact Denmark has also pledged F-16s to Ukraine’s defense. Over the last two months, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have all agreed to send some of their aircraft: 19 from the Royal Danish Air Force (RDAF), 42 from the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) and possibly as many as 10 from the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). Satisfying both Argentina and Ukraine’s needs would seem to be difficult, the total number of the DSCA notification for Argentina, plus the 19 promised to Ukraine, would likely exceed the available inventory. Officials familiar with the offers to both air forces state Denmark will be allocating aircraft to meet Kyiv’s requirement, as well as the initial tranche offer to Buenos Aires; exactly how this will all shake out eventually remains unclear.