Why Argentina Chose Used F-16s Over Tejas and JF-17

Argentina's decision to procure used F-16 fighter jets from Denmark instead of India's LCA Tejas or China's JF-17 was influenced by a combination of factors, primarily focused on operational reliability, maintenance concerns, and perceived technological limitations of the competing aircraft.

Tejas: Concerns over British Components and Operational Readiness​

One major deterrent for Argentina regarding the Tejas was its reliance on British components. Reports highlighted potential challenges in sourcing replacements, leading to extended periods of grounding that could compromise operational readiness. For a country aiming to modernize its air force, ensuring consistent availability and quick turnaround for repairs is paramount.

JF-17: Perceived Inferiority and Maintenance Demands​

The JF-17, despite being a newer model, was viewed as the least capable option. The Chinese engine's lower Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) raised concerns about increased maintenance requirements and potential disruptions to flight operations.

Furthermore, the avionics and radar system offered on the likely export variant of the JF-17 failed to impress the Argentinian Air Force, suggesting technological shortcomings compared to the F-16s.

F-16: A Proven Workhorse with Upgrade Potential​

The F-16s, while used, presented a compelling case for Argentina due to their proven track record, widespread availability of spare parts, and potential for future upgrades.

The F-16 is a well-established platform with a history of successful operations in various air forces around the world. This familiarity and the existing global supply chain for spare parts made the F-16 a reliable choice for Argentina, ensuring minimal downtime and efficient maintenance.

The Verdict​

While the Tejas and JF-17 presented their own advantages in terms of cost and potential for collaboration, Argentina's decision ultimately hinged on prioritizing operational reliability, minimizing maintenance risks, and ensuring access to a technologically advanced platform with upgrade potential.

The F-16s, despite being used, offered a balanced solution that addressed these critical requirements, making them the preferred choice for Argentina's Air Force modernization efforts.

 

[Oleg Olkha]

If Argentina is procuring used F 16s it will be advisable for Argentina to upgrade then to get latest technologies applicable to F 16s.

It can be a piece of cake for F16 with help Israel on the most favorable terms... Regards.

 

[BCharlie]

obviously F16 is the best single engine 4th gen jet of all time, , but the point is Argentina can’t fight with UK any more with F16’s, they couldn’t have bought Tejas also because of various British parts that DRDO/HAL & CO didn’t think about making a local replacement for many decades, the best bet for them would have been J10 which was not offered, in the end Argentina made the best choice.

I thought Tejas was fully local made.. I was wrong; ..indigenous plane.. but now after doing checkouts even tires, brake pads, landing gear, windshield wipers, glass canopy, not to mention engine, latest bvr radar, ecm..s, target acquisition, jammers, cockpit, hud, target & night vision mounted helmets etc etc are imported. of course the frame, fuselage metal & fibre material is locally done.

 

[Mahipal Singh Rawat]

You can start a company for that instead of vomiting gyan here if it would have been that easy

That is the typical mindset we Indians have and for the same reason, we don't count as heavyweight in tech or growth where it really matters because we get irritated whenever we are shown mirrors. Fact remains that LCA has issues and we have terribly failed in making an aircraft. I don't think any country will buy it as our Air Force is not confident about its ability.

 

[BCharlie]

With imports comes good commissions, foreign trips.

so true, even for us.. just look, we import everything.. investigation is needed for their bank accounts in swisse, dubai, uk, france, spain banks etc;.

 

[Mahipal Singh Rawat]

We can make an ejection seat. That isn't much of an issue. However, there is a reason most of the world uses Martin Baker's ejection seats: Quality and scale.

The amount of time, effort, and money that would be required to develop an indigenous ejection seat means there is a very large break-even point. That makes the entire proposal difficult to justify, which is why we haven't embarked on it in earnest yet.

We lost the battle of making a capable flying machine in way back in 1984 when despite it's envisage we have not been able to produce an aircraft in 40 years. Thanks to DRDO, which produces nothing but few basic electronic circuits, PCBs in the name of innovation.

 

[BCharlie]

That is the typical mindset we Indians have and for the same reason, we don't count as heavyweight in tech or growth where it really matters because we get irritated whenever we are shown mirrors. Fact remains that LCA has issues and we have terribly failed in making an aircraft. I don't think any country will buy it as our Air Force is not confident about its ability.

Sirji, we are working on it & soon hopefully & desperately praying to get our Tejas fly worthy combat ready & tested in air combat against F-16s, J-10CEs, F-31s etc. as you know that in 1983, the Government of India established the LCA Tejas project with the initial goal to develop a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing IAF fighters, especially the MiG-21 variants, which had been the mainstay of the IAF since 1963. So, its been only 40 yrs or so.. we will be there soon.

 

[Pink Panther]

I thought Tejas was fully local made.. I was wrong; ..indigenous plane.. but now after doing checkouts even tires, brake pads, landing gear, windshield wipers, glass canopy, not to mention engine, latest bvr radar, ecm..s, target acquisition, jammers, cockpit, hud, target & night vision mounted helmets etc etc are imported. of course the frame, fuselage metal & fibre material is locally done.

Around 40% of the equipments are imported.

 

[BCharlie]

Around 40% of the equipments are imported.

Yes sir agreed, but those are key components to make it fly, leave aside successful combat worthy, without which its just a mockup plane.

 

[White T POISON]

The F-16s are undoubtedly one of the better aircraft out there, but considering they are already used, the Argentine Air Force might face operational readiness issues sooner rather than later anyways. Regardless, they went with whatever deal they thought best, so good on them for that.

It will take a decade for the.tejas to even match the flexibility of the f-16. Our product is just that mature.

 

[Man-ju]

Thank God, had they selected Tejas then our beloved HAL would take atleast 4-5 (that too if no delay happens) years to deliver them to Argentina.

 

[Philippe Picard]

obviously F16 is the best single engine 4th gen jet of all time, , but the point is Argentina can’t fight with UK any more with F16’s, they couldn’t have bought Tejas also because of various British parts that DRDO/HAL & CO didn’t think about making a local replacement for many decades, the best bet for them would have been J10 which was not offered, in the end Argentina made the best choice.

The best of the best, indeed American dallah!

 

[Philippe Picard]

Comes with all US original parts not borrowed parts like in Tejas.

you discredit your own Tejas? Good job. You forget to mention that the Rafale cost 350Mln US! Underpowered old engine... not even a true 4th generation. F-16 pose no threat to your Anglo-saxon master...Imagine if Argentina get the Rafale or the Gripen. Keep going American Dallah, you amuse me.

 

[Philippe Picard]

it was not offered.

even the Chinese plane is better than the overhyped obsolete rafale.

 

[Anant]

By 1944 Germany was already defeated and many scientists fled to the US fearing Russians
Then they built the P-80 using German engineers
designed developed and delivered within 140days by Superior US engineers on their own, only Yankee bootlickers would believe such stories
History is written(edited) by Victors

Nope. Most German scientists only surrendered to the Allies in early 1945, as the German heartland was being overrun. There were relatively few of them who did so in 1944.

Moreover, even if one does run with your assertion, your claim about them developing the P-80 is false. This is because while the prototype was flying within 5 months of the project being officially sanctioned, work had already begun in 1943, when the Me-262's existence was discovered. This has been confirmed by Clarence Johnson (the designer of the aircraft and a legend in his field) in his memoirs. Moreover, a lot of that process was sped up because they took the basic form of the cancelled L-133 jet fighter and worked on from there.

 

[Anant]

Even we shot down F16 with MIG 21. TEJAS could have been a better choice for Argentina, but only due to ejection seat and mid-air refueller(Cobham), Argentina opted for F16, which is decades older than Tejas.

In many ways, the Tejas is an aircraft of the late 1990s that has been upgraded.

Oh, and us shooting down a F-16 with a MiG-21, which to be completely objective is disputed to an extent, is more of an exception rather than the norm.

 

[Ranjeet Singh]

Even India should also consider laser weapon armed F-21/F-16-block-70/72 followed by F-36 because India need single engine fighters most ! But we should first test F-21 over thin air of Himalayas and operate it from DBO air field before making decision to make F-21+F-36 here in India !

 

[Anant]

Sirji, we are working on it & soon hopefully & desperately praying to get our Tejas fly worthy combat ready & tested in air combat against F-16s, J-10CEs, F-31s etc. as you know that in 1983, the Government of India established the LCA Tejas project with the initial goal to develop a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing IAF fighters, especially the MiG-21 variants, which had been the mainstay of the IAF since 1963. So, its been only 40 yrs or so.. we will be there soon.

Boss, there is no denying the Tejas is 25 years behind schedule. The MiG-21s were supposed to have been retired between the early 1990s and 2005 or so. We have kept them flying for another 20 years, for the loss of God knows how many aircraft, and more importantly, how many airmen.

It is one thing to wait for an indigenous development, but HAL and DRDO have made it a routine habit to simply lie about or mis-state their progress and timelines. In doing all that, they have rarely looked inwards to fix the problems.

 

[Anant]

Even India should also consider laser weapon armed F-21/F-16-block-70/72 followed by F-36 because India need single engine fighters most ! But we should first test F-21 over thin air of Himalayas and operate it from DBO air field before making decision to make F-21+F-36 here in India !

Want a warp drive to go with those F-16 Block 70/72s? I mean, if we can add technology that doesn't exist yet, I'd like a warp drive as well. Photon torpedoes also sound good.

Oh, and when are you sending production-ready designs and documentation for the F-36? That aircraft doesn't exist, let alone be offered to India. Hence, your repeated references to it can only mean you have all the documentation and designs. So, please send it over, and we'll get aroundto building them.

 

[Anant]

obviously F16 is the best single engine 4th gen jet of all time, , but the point is Argentina can’t fight with UK any more with F16’s, they couldn’t have bought Tejas also because of various British parts that DRDO/HAL & CO didn’t think about making a local replacement for many decades, the best bet for them would have been J10 which was not offered, in the end Argentina made the best choice.

Argentina couldn't take the Falklands today if they tried, no matter how much they would want to.

The capability gap in 1982 has increased by about two orders of magnitude since then, and if Argentina was to somehow try that nonsense again, the Brits might just about look at re-instating that dead Empire of theirs and spreading it into South America.

Now, in 1982, while Argentina's (or more correctly, Galtieri's) decision to go to war was more directed by wanting to look away from internal problems, had they waited until 1984 or 1985, the Nott reforms would have been implemented, and Argentina would actually have a very decent chance of winning.

Between 1982 and 1984, Argentina would see a fairly sizeable military expansion, while with the Nott reforms, the Brits would have seen their military shrink in size and capability. Then again, politicians are inherently idiots when it comes to military matters.

 

[Anant]

The best of the best, indeed American dallah!

Short of the F-35, there really isn't any better single-engined fighter today than the F-16 Block 70/72. Even so, the F-16 has certain advantages over the F-35, though the F-35 is better in the grand scheme of things.

You can call anyone an American dalal or anything. Unless you actually have facts to support your assertion, said assertion is false.

 

[Mak]

Thank God, had they selected Tejas then our beloved HAL would take atleast 4-5 (that too if no delay happens) years to deliver them to Argentina.

Stop it with the copium, sour grape analysis.

If Argentina had chosen Tejas, HAL would be given the go ahead for extra facilities which in turn would help establish economies of scale and make Tejas cheaper for everyone.

HAL should look to R&D, produce and acquire ejection seats and radomes from within India or else things like this will keep happening.

 

[sanjay]

Though F16 might be the best..but working with american wishes and hanging sword of sanctions can be a hard nut to crack in the time of need

 

[Mohan Ranganathan]

I thought Tejas was fully local made.. I was wrong; ..indigenous plane.. but now after doing checkouts even tires, brake pads, landing gear, windshield wipers, glass canopy, not to mention engine, latest bvr radar, ecm..s, target acquisition, jammers, cockpit, hud, target & night vision mounted helmets etc etc are imported. of course the frame, fuselage metal & fibre material is locally done.

Only label made in India..

 

[Avada kedavra]

From jet engine tech to everything they stole from Germans (Me 262)
Go sell ur lies somewhere else, Yankee bootlicker
Invention of flight itself, since the age of dinosaurs!? 😅

The jet engines were made by the brits first. Frank whittle.
Germans only managed to get it into the air. It was not as valuable as the rockets. That became basis for the entire nuclear deterrence thing.
Yes the wright brothers invented flight in 1906. Didn't u read history books. They were American

 

[Sreedhar Radhakrishna]

Whatever said and done, all the players put up their best product to the customer. Finally it is the customer's choice to finalize a particular product or package, based on their situation.
So good for argentina. However maintenance cost of the F16s are very high. Buying any military hardware from USA comes with lots of end user agreements , limitations in choice of weapons system etc. Argentina won't have the freedom to integrate the weapons of their choice also.
Argentina has got a very good gun from USA, but not any guarantees for the uninterrupted supply of bullets.
So one can know the value of a gun with no bullets.

 

[Fresh Water]

When you buy from the US, you invariably invite the state department to plan situations for you wherein you would need more of their arms. This doesn't mean you are not going to face those situations otherwise, but just that the likelihood of the situation hitting you in the face goes up exponentially.

 

[Shankh Bhattacharjee]

On event of bullying by USA..these will be useless