Nearly two years after their last flight, the future of the Argentine Air Force’s A-4AR Fightinghawk fighter-bombers continues to raise questions amid postponed decisions, budgetary constraints, and growing expectations over time. With the objective of restoring 18 aircraft, current planning aims to preserve the aerospace operational capability of the V Air Brigade, based in Villa Reynolds, San Luis.
However, the recovery plan is unfolding in a context marked by the lack of official definitions, the grounding of the fleet following a tragic accident, and the arrival of the first six F-16 Fighting Falcon AM/BM aircraft, which will redefine the future of national air power in the coming years. According to BAPIN No. 107796, the project includes the acquisition of avionics modules, self-protection systems, onboard subsystems, and component kits for engines and generators.
The stated goal is to maintain a minimum combat capability, despite the aircraft having been grounded since 2024. This initiative, which allocates funds for maintenance and recovery tasks, emerges as a delayed response to a fleet that is not immune to the passage of time and, nearing three decades since its incorporation, lacks clear prospects for a return to active service. During the early years of the current decade, the Argentine Air Force managed to restore and return several units to service. However, the turning point came in July 2024 with the दुर्घنت that claimed the life of Captain Mauro Testa La Rosa while flying an A-4AR during an exercise in Villa Reynolds.
Following that incident, the Air Force ordered a complete suspension of flight operations for the weapons system, pending the conclusions of the Regional Investigation Board. Since then, technical teams from the V Air Brigade have continued conducting ground tests and partial maintenance to prevent structural deterioration of the aircraft, although none are currently airworthy. This sustained effort seeks to preserve technical knowledge and human capital associated with the system, in a context where most financial and logistical resources are concentrated on the F-16 Fighting Falcon program.
The contrast between the two programs is evident. While the F-16s acquired from Denmark are receiving political and financial backing to begin their first flights—scheduled for next March—the A-4AR fleet faces an uncertain outlook. The ongoing BAPIN aims to maintain a minimum level of training and operational capability, but the aging components and obsolete avionics place the aircraft closer to gradual retirement than to sustained recovery.
Meanwhile, as the consolidation of the F-16 system progresses within the Argentine Air Force, the horizon for the A-4AR Fightinghawk remains unclear. The allocation of funds alone does not guarantee their return to service, given the complexity of reactivating a system that is currently inoperative. Ultimately, the future of these fighter-bombers—which have borne the weight of Argentina’s combat aviation since the retirement of the Mirage family in 2015—now faces a reality that demands a transition to a new stage in the country’s air defense posture.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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