The 54th anniversary of the Gendarmería aviation component, held on 27 November at Campo de Mayo (B.A.), marked several new steps in the service’s re-equipment program. The day before the ceremony, three AS-350-B3 Ecureuil were officially accepted by the Servicio de Aviación: GN-928 (c/n 4686), GN-929 (4812) and GN-930 (4871). Furthermore, sources in Spain, Brazil and Argentina confirmed that a Pilatus PC-12/47E transport (GN-812, c/n 1165), which had been first noted outside the factory in Stanz (Switzerland) in August this year, entered Argentine territory via Salta on 1 December flying with Swiss ferry registration HB-FSL.
Following several years away from European skies, the controversial Agrupación Aérea Presidencial flagship, Boeing 757-23A T-01, was again noted flying President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner flew to Europe to pay tribute to Pope John Paul II in the 25th anniversary of the peace treaty signed in 1984 between Chile and Argentina as well as to attend the XIX Ibero-American summit in Portugal. According to assorted reports, their aircraft was noted staging through Rome (Italy), Málaga (Spain) and Lisbon (Portugal) between 28 November and 2 December.
In a 4 December interview, Fuerza Aérea Chief of Staff, General Brigadier Normando Costantino, confirmed plans to further consolidate transport aircraft fleet. Following the acquisition of four Saab SF-340B and modernization of all existing DHC-6 Twin Otter for LADE service, Air Force now looks to strengthen tactical cargo and air refuelling capabilities by maintaining five C-130 Hercules into operational condition. Models that will remain active comprise only the C-130H, KC-130H and L-100-30 variants; since the remaining C-130B airframes have been deemed unserviceable.
He was also emphatic about the definitive retirement of Boeing 707 transports from Argentine Air Force service. Citing huge fuel costs, lack of certified in-country maintenance capabilities and shrinking usage of the type, he said “with those engines, the seven-oh-seven is no longer flying anywhere in the World”. Furthermore, he forecast that neighboring air forces (Brazil and Chile) will continue to operate their Pratt & Whitney JT3D powered examples for no more than a further two years.
Future air transport needs could result in the replacement of the entire C-130 and Boeing 707 fleets with Embraer C-390 cargo aircraft now under development in Brazil. Costantino said studies were under way at the FAA and the Ministry of Defense to participate in the Brazilian development program hoping to get early delivery positions within “four to five years”. This would allow FAA to rebuild and modernise its cargo, air transport and air-refuelling capabilities.
As for the renovation of combat and training aircraft, Costantino said that “replacement plans are readily available” but that the on-going economical crisis has prevented funding to flow so as to initiate said replacement programs. Sizing them as “very large, costly projects”, he said he hoped to see them revive in 2010.
More interesting, though, was the revelation that a Learjet 35A was being purchased in the United States for conversion into an electronic countermeasures platform and that a further example of the photo recconnaisance variant was being put back into flying condition.
In a modest ceremony held in Campo de Mayo on 9 December, the Ejército flying component celebrated the 53rd anniversary of what service historians call its “re-birth” in 1956. Unlike previous “Army aviation days”, commonly celebrated in the second half of November, the 2009 event was held on an unconventional yet meaningful date, since 9 December celebrates the Virgin of Loreto, the Catholic patron for all Argentine flyers.
In line with the spartan spirit of the ceremony, official speeches and announcements were fairly scarce in content and novelty. Army aviation dean, Brigadier General (Ret.) Arturo Grandinetti, decorated the crew of an UH-1H Huey which performed a risky rescue mission to extract andinists from a glacier in Mount Tronador (Mza.). Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Luis Alberto Pozzi, in turn mainly spoke about “Project Hornero”, which is converting a number of UH-1H helicopters to Huey II configuration under Bell and MC Turbine supervision. In private conversations, sources confirmed that Army helicopters will again be deployed to support the Dakar rally between 1 and 17 January 2010.
Though budget restrictions curtailed the traditional Army Aviation air parade, a number of aircraft were noted in static display and elsewhere. “Horneros” (Huey IIs) spotted included AE-464, AE-466 and AE-467, while unconverted Hueys noted were AE-438, AE-441, AE-442, AE-445, AE-446, AE-454, AE-458 and AE-491. OV-1D Mohawks in sight included AE-020 (“10 Años” scheme), AE-025 (SLAR), AE-026 (“Wild boar nose” scheme), AE-027, AE-029 (swapped nose cone made it easy to mistake with AE-023, which is a derelict airframe), AE-038 and AE-039 (new scheme). Other aircraft noted included T-41D Mescalero AE-051, UH-12E AE-358, Sabre 75A AE-175 and Air Force Hughes 369D PGH-03.
Diego Rojo, Esteban Brea, Juliano Damasio, Javier Mosquera, Martín Otero, Andrés Rangugni and Emmanuel Tula contributed to this report, originally published in Aeromilitaria Argentina. DintelGID was also checked. The story was originally published by Aeromilitaria Argentina.
