Buenos Aires (EFE).- Argentine President Javier Milei on Saturday presented the country’s first six F-16 fighter jets, purchased from Denmark, in an official ceremony in Córdoba, declaring that “from today, each and every one of us will be a little safer.”
“After an anxious wait, I finally have behind me the first six F-16 fighter jets,” Milei said after the aircraft landed at the Río Cuarto Air Base in Córdoba Province. “With this important investment in military equipment, we will substantially strengthen our Air Force.”
According to the Defense Ministry, the aircraft feature an “advanced electronic warfare system and an unparalleled weapons package,” providing multi-role capabilities that include air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, close air support, dynamic target designation, and surveillance and reconnaissance functions.
Milei described the aircraft as “protective angels” and repeated that the jets will make every Argentine “a little safer.”
He argued it is “time to rethink the real meaning of sovereignty,” adding: “There is no sovereignty without economic prosperity and without military capabilities to defend that prosperity.”
Military shake-up and new defense leadership
During the ceremony, Milei entered the cockpit of one of the aircraft for photographs alongside outgoing Defense Minister Luis Petri, who will soon take a Senate seat, Presidential Secretary General Karina Milei, and Air Force Brigadier Gustavo Javier Valverde.
In his remarks, the president praised the role of the armed forces and celebrated the appointment of Lieutenant General Carlos Presti as the new Defense Minister.
Presti will be the first military officer to lead the ministry since Argentina’s return to democracy.
“The appointment of the new minister is based on his competence,” Milei said. “Logically, the person who knows most about national defense is a military officer.”
He described Presti as “a man of discipline, dedication and courage, who swore to defend with his own life the land where he was born.”
Flight across Europe and low pass over Buenos Aires
The jets departed from Skrydstrup Air Base in Denmark, stopped for refueling in Zaragoza, Spain, and continued to Brazil for another technical stop.
They entered Argentine airspace on Friday afternoon, flown by Argentine Air Force pilots, and were welcomed by Petri in Córdoba.
On Saturday morning, the six jets performed a low-altitude flyover of central Buenos Aires.
Flying in diamond formation, they twice passed over the Obelisk, Argentina’s most iconic monument, where around 500 people cheered and shouted “¡Argentina!”.
They were also spotted from the plaza outside the presidential palace and along the Río de la Plata waterfront.
Argentina signed an agreement with Denmark in Apr. 2024 to purchase 24 F-16s to restore its long-lost supersonic interception capability. The contract is valued at 301.2 million dollars, payable in five annual installments.
In Dec. 2024, Argentina also signed a cooperation deal with the United States, identified by Milei as a key foreign policy ally alongside Israel, to access advanced communications, equipment, and weapons technology for the F-16 program. EFE
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