Argentina revives possibility of Chinese fighter jet purchase, renewing Beijing’s hopes for JF-17 in South America
- Argentine defence minister and ambassador to China discuss potential procurement of JF-17 fighters and armoured vehicles, according to embassy
- The announcement comes just months after Latin American country’s president pulled plans to buy warplanes
Sabino Vaca Narvaja, Argentina’s ambassador to China, held a meeting with Argentine Defence Minister Jorge Taiana in Buenos Aires recently to discuss plans to cooperate with Beijing on defence, according to a Weibo post by the country’s embassy on Tuesday.
The plan could see Argentina procure JF-17 aircraft along with 8x8 armoured vehicles made by China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) to “meet the needs of the Argentine military to maintain unity and stability”, the embassy said.
“Argentina has to allocate its resources to more important things than the purchase of military aircraft,” Fernandez told the Financial Times in December.
The JF-17 Thunder, jointly produced with Pakistan, is a lightweight single-engine multirole jet with a top speed of Mach 1.6 and combat radius of up to 1,400km (870 miles).