As we all know, the United States is the world's most powerful military power and the world's largest arms exporter. Not only that, the United States also uses its hegemony to seize the markets of other arms exporting countries. However, with the improvement of China's military strength in recent years, Chinese weapons have also occupied a place in the international arms market.
In particular, the Xiaolong fighter jet jointly developed by China and Pakistan not only has excellent performance in Pakistan , but has also been exported to many countries.
And just recently, the South American country Argentina also plans to purchase Xiaolong fighters. Not only that, Argentina also plans to act as an agent for Chinese fighter jets in South America and sell JF-37 fighter jets to other South American countries.
According to reports, due to the dispute over the sovereignty of the Falklands, Argentina is in urgent need of improving the strength of its air force. However, since the last "Phantom" fighter was retired in 2015, the Argentine Air Force has been lacking a high-performance supersonic fighter.
At present, the Argentine Air Force has only 10 US-made A-4 fighter jets that can take off. However, this type of fighter is seriously aging and its actual combat capability is seriously insufficient. It can no longer meet the requirements of the Argentine Air Force.
Therefore, in September 2021, the Argentine Ministry of Defense allocated US$664 million to purchase 12 high-performance fighter jets. At present, the Xiaolong fighter jet jointly developed by Russia's MiG-29HT4 and China and Brazil is under consideration by Argentina.
In fact, due to British pressure, Argentina has lost the opportunity to purchase high-performance fighter jets from other countries, so currently the MiG-29 and Xiaolong are Argentina's best choices.
According to previous reports, in May this year, an Argentine Air Force delegation visited China, conducted flight tests on a number of Chinese fighter jets, and inspected the Chengdu factory.
In mid-June, Lieutenant General Juan Martin Pareo, head of the Argentine Joint Military Staff, visited Pakistan, triggering speculation that Argentina was about to purchase JF-37 fighter jets.
reported that during his visit to Pakistan, Juan Martin Pareo met with a number of government and military officials in the country, including the Commander of the Pakistan Air Force and the Minister of Defense Production.
According to sources, the Argentine delegation also discussed with Pakistan the possibility of assembling JF-37 fighter jets in Argentina during this visit.
Argentina hopes that after purchasing the Xiaolong fighter jets, it will partially modify the fighter jets in accordance with the needs of the country’s air force. Therefore, the two parties discussed the possibility of China and Pakistan providing parts and assembling the fighter jets in Argentina.
In addition, there is another very important reason why Argentina hopes to establish a production line for Xiaolong fighter jets in the country, that is, Argentina hopes to become the agent of this fighter jet in South America.
Sources revealed that if China and Pakistan agree to establish a production line for Xiaolong fighter jets in Argentina, it will increase the possibility of other South American countries such as Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba to purchase such fighters. sex.
As a result, the Xiaolong fighter will receive a big order. Moreover, these South American countries are very close to the United States and have always been regarded as their backyard by the United States. Therefore, Argentina's move is equivalent to selling Chinese fighter jets to the doorstep of the United States.
But at present, it seems that the possibility of Argentina becoming the agent of Xiaolong fighters in South America is very small. Argentine military experts pointed out that the Argentine Air Force has not yet decided to purchase Xiaolong fighters.
Although representatives of the Argentine military have visited China and Pakistan and conducted flight tests on the Xiaolong fighter jets, this does not mean that the country’s air force has decided to purchase the Xiaolong fighter jets.
First, because Argentina is currently experiencing economic difficulties, it may not have enough funds to purchase fighter jets. The second reason is that Argentina tends to maintain a balance between China and the United States, and once it purchases the JF-19 fighter jets, this balance is likely to be broken.
In addition, Argentina purchased high-performance fighter jets to be more confident when facing the United Kingdom on the Falklands issue.If it purchases the Fierce Dragon fighter jets, the Argentine Air Force will indeed deter the United Kingdom, but this is something the United States does not want to see.
Moreover, if Argentina sells Chinese fighter jets to the doorstep of the United States, it will definitely cause the United States to become anxious about being seized of the arms market, and then retaliate against Argentina.
Therefore, even if Argentina successfully purchases Xiaolong fighters, it will be difficult to become the South American agent of the fighters. But even so, China's weapons will continue to improve, defeat more competitors with absolute strength, have more buyers, and have more shares in the international arms market. The United States' suppression and containment are destined to fail.
