The recent official visit of the Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, to the United States, during which he met with his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, brought important developments in the field of bilateral cooperation in the area, as well as regarding the re-equipment of the Argentine Armed Forces. Although all the focus of attention was centered on the signing of the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the 8×8 Stryker wheeled armored vehicles for the Argentine Army, another series of proposals were presented to the National Defense portfolio by the United States.
The most important, and striking due to its scope, would be based on the possibility of transferring heavy transport CH-53G helicopters, which the German Air Force will be retiring soon, as an alternative to equip the Argentine Armed Forces.
As has been reported on several occasions, the Armed Forces have significant requirements for renewing their rotary-wing capabilities through the adoption of new platforms. Regarding the heavy segment, various possibilities have been considered both by the Air Force and the Army, with the goal of recovering the capacity once provided by the Chinook in the past.
Although the aircraft model sought and evaluated is the CH-47F, the inability to obtain available second-hand units has become a limitation when advancing an incorporation plan. Thus, as previously reported, even the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters retired by the United States were evaluated as an option, a possibility that was ultimately discarded by the Argentine Air Force, as confirmed by Brigadier Valverde himself in the recent interview given to Zona Militar.
With this background, and within the framework of the meeting held at the Pentagon between Minister Petri and Secretary of Defense Hegseth, a proposal emerged aimed at equipping the country with a batch of CH-53 transport helicopters. Unlike the CH-46 previously analyzed by the Air Force, these are still in service. Specifically, these are the CH-53G operated by the German Air Force, which will soon begin to be retired with the incorporation of the new Boeing CH-47F Block II.
Briefly reviewing, these large and capable aircraft have a long service history of more than 50 years in the German Armed Forces. Originally, the German Army Aviation Corps (Heer) operated a fleet of up to 110 units of the “G” version, derived from the CH-53D, of which 108 were locally built by VFW-Fokker.
Over the following decades, the aircraft underwent various updates to meet new German requirements, until during the 2010s, as part of the restructuring of the German Armed Forces, the CH-53G were transferred to the German Air Force, which still operates them within the organization of Helicopter Wing 64, based at the Laupheim base, located in the city of the same name in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Among the most recent news, their future replacement has been confirmed through the purchase of 60 new CH-47F Block II helicopters from Boeing, with progress in 2024 in the training and formation of the first German pilots and crews in the United States. According to official announcements, the first units are expected to be delivered to the German Air Force in 2027.
Finally, this proposal must be properly contextualized, since, just as with the possibility of the CH-46 — which were no longer in service — the CH-53G are helicopters with decades of service, and their operation and logistical support are costly.
In the current situation, the Argentine Army has other priorities, such as the future replacement of its current Bell UH-1H Huey/Huey II. Recently, a tender for the acquisition of three UH-60 Black Hawks was cancelled, and so far no new call has been announced to restart the process.
For its part, regarding the Argentine Air Force, the fate of the Mil Mi-171E helicopters remains unknown; they remain stored awaiting the respective inspections.
While a potential incorporation of CH-53G would represent a huge leap in capabilities, in the current budgetary context of the Armed Forces in general, the proposal presented by the United States appears more as a utopia than as a concrete possibility.
*Photographs used for illustration purposes.
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