Yesterday, through information that began circulating on social media, following a retweet by the President of the Nation, Javier Milei, news emerged that the aircraft comprising the Presidential Air Fleet would be transferred to the Argentine Air Force (FAA). The news was subsequently confirmed by the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, through a brief statement also published on the social media platform X; however, there has been no official statement from the Ministry of Defense providing further clarity on this decision, considering that this decision falls within its jurisdiction.
As of today, the Presidential Air Group is composed of a variety of aircraft, both fixed-wing and rotary-wing, to transport the President of the Nation on flights nationally, regionally, and internationally. Historically, the aircraft that have formed this group were operated and maintained by personnel of the Argentine Air Force. This situation changed during the presidency of Mauricio Macri, when they began to be piloted by civilian pilots. However, helicopters would continue to be piloted by military personnel from the VII Air Brigade.
As mentioned, to date, neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Air Force have issued statements providing greater clarity on this decision by the President of the Nation, considering that the aircraft would become part of the fleet maintained by the Institution. This is not trivial, as the maintenance and sustainment of these systems would now be carried out with the meager budget allocated to the FAA.
Currently, the Presidential Air Group consists of the following aircraft:
- – Boeing 757-256 “ARG-01” (acquired during the presidency of Alberto Fernández)
– Boeing 737-500 “ARG-02”
– Learjet 60 “ARG-03” (owned by the Air Force but operated by the Presidential Air Group) - Helicopters:
- – 1 Sikorsky S-70C AR
– 2 S-76B Spirit
– 1 Airbus H155B1 (currently operated by the Argentine Federal Police)
If the transfer operation proceeds, it is not clear what the future holds for the recently acquired Boeing 757 configured for VIP transport. Likewise, regarding the Boeing 737, it would allow for an increase in the current fleet, which consists of only one of these aircraft owned by the Air Force (the T-99 “Islas Malvinas”). This is particularly significant considering that the bidding process for a new aircraft was declared “failed” since the offer pre-awarded to the company GECI Española Aerospace Solutions for a amount of 13.48 million dollars presented modifications.
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