The Argentine Air Force has informed the Ministry of Defence that it will be retiring its fleet of Lockheed Martin (McDonnell Douglas) A-4AR Fightinghawks by 2018 due to the scarcity of replacement parts and high maintenance costs.
The decision follows the recent retirement of the Dassault Mirage fleet (the only supersonic fighter in Argentina’s inventory) and would leave the air force’s combat capabilities limited to the FAdeA IA-63 Pampa armed trainer and IA-58 Pucara counter-insurgency aircraft, with the latter having issues with spare parts for its Astazou engines.
Argentina received a total of 32 A-4M and 4 TA-4F aircraft in the early 1990s and these were upgraded to the A-4AR by Lockheed Martin (mostly in Argentina via a deal that included FAdeA’s transfer to the US company).
IHS Jane’s 360: IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly – Digital, Online and Print Magazine
from DefenseNewz.com http://ift.tt/2aw9noE
via Defense News
No comments: