Official unveiling of Argentina’s first F-16 – sort of
February 25, 2025
The first F-16B Block 10 (M-1210) for Argentina was officially unveiled on 24 February 2025 in a ceremony at Tandil Air Base, the home of VI Air Brigade.
The ceremony was attended by Luis Petri, the Argentine Minister of Defence, Brigadier Xavier Isaac, the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces (EMCFFAA), Brigadier Aníbal Leiva, Commander of Training and Readiness, and Brigadier Gustavo Javier Valverde, Chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Air Force, General Carlos Presti, the Chief of the Army and Rear Admiral Carlos Allievi, the Chief of the Navy, along with VIP guests from the USA and Denmark.
The Minister said that: “With this weapons system we are making a real technological leap. We are increasing our defensive capabilities. We are also recovering and modernizing each space of this base so that these F-16s can perform at their maximum capacity.”
The aircraft unveiled is a non-flier, and will be used for ground training of mechanics and engineers at the newly established Ground Training Centre. We covered the delivery of this aircraft at:
https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/argentina-receives-its-first-f-16-a-non-flying-
instructional-airframe/
The aircraft has a specially painted tail in the colours of the Argentinian flag, and was shown carrying wingtip AIM-120Bs, underwing AIM-9L/Ms and the locally developed FAS 850 Dardo II PGM.
