MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Navy hopes to have Super Etendards ready for joint drills with US carrier

The French-built Super Etendard can reach a speed of Mach 1.3

According to Argentine media, the local Navy hopes to get ready its two French-built Super Étendard jets in time to participate in joint drills when the USS George Washington aircraft carrier reaches the South Atlantic in the coming days.

The French model is dear to Argentine Navy pilots because it was involved in the sinking of British fleet units during the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war, although the current airplanes are not the ones who saw combat back then. They were purchased from France in 2018 under then-President Mauricio Macri but remained air unworthy because the cartridge used to eject the pilot's seat was manufactured in the UK and therefore included in the post-1982 arms embargo. The issue seems to have been worked out now, although it remains unclear whether UK manufacturers were persuaded to release the item or replacements made elsewhere were found.

The Super Étendard Modernisé aircraft registration numbers 31 and 44 are undergoing rigorous tests in preparation for the arrival of the US delegation. They are expected to return to active service once the repairs of the cartridges for the ejection seats are completed. In the meantime, the units are undergoing periodic inspections and maintenance and maintenance work. The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 1605.24 kilometers per hour (Mach 1.3 Mach).

Meanwhile, the Argentine Navy is about to take delivery of two newly-built Cadet Training Boats (known as LICAs for their acronym in Spanish) from the Río Santiago (ARS) shipyards. The facility is also expected to deliver a new floodgate for one of the docks at the Puerto Belgrano base. The delivery ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

”The Navy Cadets and Cadets Instruction Boats (LICA) 'Ciudad de Ensenada' and 'Ciudad de Berisso' which have capacity for 40 crew members among cadets, officers and non-commissioned officers and which are essential for the training of the students of the Naval School who until now received the instruction in a theoretical way and with simulators but did not have these vessels which are central for the instruction in the professional career,“ Río Santiago said in a statement.

The floodgate will allow the dry docking of ships larger than the ones currently admitted. Thus, vessels of up to 240 meters in length that needed to be repaired abroad will be once again eligible for maintenance in Argentina, it was explained.

”By recovering the possibility of doing these works at the Belgrano Port, not only the country will be able to save foreign currency but also to generate it by providing services to private shipping companies' vessels. On the other hand, this naval device will also work as a second security gate in addition to the existing sliding gate that was built at the ARS,” the company said in a press release.

The Río Santiago Shipyard is located in the city of Ensenada in the Great La Plata area. It has an area of thirty-nine hectares in which naval and metal-mechanical activities have been carried out for over 70 years.