Armed Forces: this is the RANKING of the countries with the greatest AIR POWER in LATIN AMERICA

In mid-April, the Argentine Government closed the purchase of 24 F-16 fighter aircraftcoming from the Danish Air Forcein a negotiation agreed with USA.

The Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, was in charge of finalizing the details of the agreement with Denmark. There, in dialogue with President Javier Milei, he considered that it was carried out ““the most important military aeronautical acquisition since 1983.”

In addition, the former vice presidential candidate for Together for Change pointed out that the F-16 fighter were “modernized and equipped with the best technology“and they are one of the best aircraft” that fly in the skies of the South American region and the world.

With the purchase of the supersonic planesthe Armed forces They will obtain greater air power. However, unlike other countries in Latin America, there is still a certain and considerable distance. Where is Argentina?

Armed Forces: how many planes do Latin American countries have?

A report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies detail which are the Latin American countries with best air power in the region and how many operational combat aircraft they have at their disposal.

Despite the purchase of the 24 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraftthe organization did not take into account the recent purchase because they had not yet been incorporated into the Armed forces national.

In that sense, taking into account the 2024 military balance, the list was as follows:

1. Brazil: 185 operational aircraft (47 Northrop F-5 Tiger II supersonic fighters)
2. Mexico: 80 operational aircraft (5 F-5 Tiger II supersonic fighters)
3. Venezuela: 79 operational aircraft (18 F-16 fighters – versions A and B)
4. Chili: 76 operational aircraft (46 F-16 fighters – AM, BM, C and D versions)
5. Colombia: 64 operational aircraft (22 IAI Kfir supersonic fighters)
6. Per: 60 operational aircraft (19 MiG-29 aircraft)
7. Argentina: 22 operational aircraft
8. Honduras: 17 operational aircraft (11 F-5 Tiger II fighters)
9. Cuba: 10 operational aircraft (MiG-29 and MiG-21 supersonic fighters, with combat capability)

Planes: what are the F-16 fighters that the Government bought like?

“With these new aircraft we are taking a transcendental step in our defense policy“said Luis Petri from Denmark, who in turn mentioned that in this way he will recover.”the supersonic capacity of our aviation.”

The F-16 fighters, designed in the 1970s by the company General Dynamicsare combat, compact and multipurpose aircraft. As specified by the United States Air Forceare maneuverable and have great efficiency in air-to-air combat and air-to-ground attacks.

One of its main functions is “locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low-flying aircraft by radar” and, furthermore, ““It can fly more than 860 kilometers.”

F-16 fighter characteristics

• main function: multirole fighter
• Contractor: Lockheed Martin Corp
• power plant: F-16C/D: a Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-200/220/229 or a General Electric F110-GE-100/129
• Propulsion: F-16C/D, 27,000 pounds
• Width: 9.8 meters
• Length: 14.8 meters
• Height: 4.8 meters
• Weight: 8,936 kilograms
• Maximum takeoff weight: 16,875 kilograms
• fuel capacity: 3,175 kilograms; Typical capacity, 5443 kilograms with two external tanks.
• Payload: two 2,000-pound bombs, two AIM-9, two AIM-120, and two 2,400-pound external fuel tanks
• Speed: 1500 mph (Mach 2 at altitude)
• Scope: more than 1740 nautical miles
• Ceiling: above 50,000 feet (15 kilometers)
• Armament: a 20 mm M-61A1 multibarrel gun with 500 rounds; External stations can carry up to six air-to-air missiles, conventional air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions, and electronic countermeasures pods.
• Crew: F-16C, one; F-16D, one or two
• Unit cost: F-16A/B, US$14.6 million; F-16C/D, US$18.8 million
• Initial operational capacity: F-16A, January 1979; F-16C/D Block 25-32, 1981; F-16C/D Block 40-42, 1989; and F-16C/D Block 50-52, 1994