The United States government has approved the sale of Danish F-16 fighters to Argentina, with the negotiation having been ongoing since the election of Javier Milei in 2023. This decision marks a shift in Argentine Defense Minister Luis Alfonso Petro’s stance towards anti-American policies and is seen as a positive step towards strengthening defense ties between the two countries.
On the Danish side, they have also sold 24 F-16 jets to Ukraine and donated an additional 19 fighter planes. Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish Defense Minister, highlighted that Denmark is currently undergoing a fleet replacement process and that the sale of the F-16s to Argentina was part of this effort.
The purchase of these jets worth US$664 million will significantly reinforce Argentina’s combat fleet, which currently consists of only 12 American attack planes, A-4 Fightinghawks. This move will bring much-needed capabilities to Buenos Aires’ military forces and is likely to be seen as a strategic move in the region.
