The Argentine Embassy in China said that Buenos Aires is considering procuring the JF-17 aircraft, with Chinese analysts saying on Wednesday that the fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan is the best choice for Argentina in terms of performance and availability.
US Representative María Elvira Salazar warned last week that Argentina was planning to install a factory of Chinese warplanes in the South American country. The former Spanish-language news anchorwoman of Cuban heritage stressed that President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) had embarked on a deal with the Devil that they would regret sooner than later.
The Government of Argentina is planning to send a military team to China in March to broker the purchase of combat aircraft, for which over US $ 600 million have been allocated as per the 2022 Budget bill, it was reported.
Russia's Ambassador to Buenos Aires Dmitri Feoktiskov met with Defense Minister Jorge Taiana to convey yet again his country's interest in selling military equipment to the South American country, it was reported Friday.
Argentina intends to purchase 12 JF-17A Block III fighters from Pakistan according to a draft budget presented to the nation's congress. The news was disclosed on several media webs, including ukdefensejournal.
A top-ranking delegation from China's National Aero-Technology import-export corporation, CATIC, is currently in Argentina to discuss defense cooperation and with the proposal to offer the Argentine Air Force supersonic capable aircraft, according to InfoDefensa.ar, an Argentine site which specializes in defense industry issues.