According to a report on the US "Defense News" website on June 25, Lieutenant General Juan Martin Pareo, head of the Argentine Joint Military Staff, and his delegation met with a number of senior Pakistani military and government officials in Islamabad , the two sides discussed the possibility of assembling JF-17 "Thunder" fighter jets in Argentina . Parts and components are supplied by China and Pakistan, and some can be produced locally. Argentina ultimately hopes to obtain approval for major modifications to the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets. ability.
Screenshot of "Defense News" website report
In May this year, the Argentine military delegation arrived in Chengdu, visited the Chengdu Aircraft Manufacturing Factory, had in-depth exchanges with Chinese designers, and experienced FC- 1. The high-simulation simulator of the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jet gave high praise to the performance of this fighter jet.
JF-17 "Thunder" fighter (called " Xiaolong " in China) is a light fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan. The main core components are provided by China, Pakistan is responsible for assembly and production, and the two countries are jointly responsible for overseas development. market. For Argentina, if it wants to purchase the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets and supporting production lines, it needs to negotiate with China and Pakistan respectively to solve a series of problems in the cooperation process. Argentine military delegations visited China and Brazil one after another and expressed their strong desire to purchase "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets, indicating that Argentina's purchase of "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets has entered a substantial stage.
Xiaolong Fighter
The US "Defense News" website stated that in September 2021, Argentina allocated US$664 million to purchase 12 advanced fighters and issued a purchase letter of intent. Later, it received Russian MiG-29, Other Western countries did not participate in Argentina's fighter procurement project due to the obstruction of the United Kingdom. Through a comprehensive comparison of the performance, quotation, after-sales service, etc. of the three fighter jets, coupled with the recent strong sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries, Argentina currently prefers the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jet.
After the Battle of Yingama Island, the Argentine Air Force suffered heavy losses and has not recovered yet. Since the last "Phantom" fighter was retired in 2015, the Argentine Air Force has been extremely short of high-performance fighters , and its main fighter aircraft only has 10 old A-4 attack aircraft . Previously, Argentina wanted to purchase the FA-50 fighter jet made in South Korea, but the United Kingdom refused to sell the matching ejection seats, causing the cooperation to eventually abort. In order to improve its air defense capabilities as soon as possible, the only source of goods currently available for Argentina to choose is China, and the high-quality and low-price "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets have naturally become Argentina's first choice.
Argentine Air Force A-4 fighter jets
Once the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets settle in Argentina, the most worrying one may be the United Kingdom. This is because Argentina can rely on the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jets to attack the British troops stationed in the Malvinas Islands The military posed a serious threat and regained the ability to seize the Falkland Islands.
Since the Battle of the Falkland Islands, Argentina has been unable to launch a new offensive on the Falkland Islands, which is 500 kilometers away. Currently, the United Kingdom has only four "Typhoon" fighter jets, two frigates and a thousand frigates deployed on the island. There are more than one soldier, and these troops have become an insurmountable obstacle for Argentina to regain sovereignty over the Falklands. Therefore, Argentina urgently needs to restore its air force strength and regain its ability to attack the Falklands.
Falklands location map
From the perspective of combat distance, the range and combat radius of the "Fierce Dragon" fighter aircraft are sufficient to meet the needs of the Argentine Air Force. According to public information, the "Fierce Dragon" fighter aircraft carries 4 air-to-air missiles (2 medium-range air-to-air missiles, 2 short-range air-to-air missiles), 3 auxiliary fuel tanks (2 1,100-liter fuel tanks, 1 800-liter fuel tank) (fuel tank), the combat radius can still reach 1,000 kilometers, enough to cover the Falklands, which is 500 kilometers away, and meet Argentina's needs for combating the Falklands.
Fierce Dragon fighter
Secondly, from the configuration point of view, the air combat performance of the "Fierce Dragon" fighter is not inferior to that of the British "Typhoon" fighter.Although the "Fierce Dragon" fighter is a light fighter and cannot be compared with the "Typhoon" fighter in terms of range, combat radius, bomb load, etc., but with its more advanced avionics system and weapon system, the "Fierce Dragon" has Better super range air combat capabilities.
At present, the "Fierce Dragon" fighter aircraft has been upgraded to the latest Block III version and is equipped with the KLJ-7A active phased array radar and new avionics system. The KLJ-7A radar integrates more than 1,000 T/R modules, which is RCS=5㎡The maximum detection range of air targets can reach 170 kilometers, and the overall performance is comparable to the AN/APG-81 radar equipped on the F-35 fighter jet, in terms of detection range, detection accuracy, multi-target processing capabilities, and anti-interference capabilities In other aspects, it is obviously better than the ECR090 pulse Doppler radar equipped on the "Typhoon" fighter, which can give the "Fierce Dragon" fighter the advantage of discovering the enemy first. In addition, the "Fierce Dragon" Block III fighters are also equipped with PL-15E and PL-10E air-to-air missiles. These two air-to-air missiles can allow the "Fierce Dragon" fighters to gain advantages in beyond visual range air combat and close combat. .
Xiaolong Block III configuration diagram
Typhoon fighter
Finally, the anti-ship capability of the "Fierce Dragon" fighter is also very powerful and can pose a fatal threat to British ships. At present, the main anti-ship weapons of the "Fierce Dragon" fighter aircraft are C-802AK and CM-400AKG anti-ship missiles. The C-802AK missile is a high subsonic anti-ship missile with a maximum range of nearly 200 kilometers. This range It has greatly exceeded the range of the British Type 45 destroyer Aster-30 air defense missile; the CM-400AKG missile is a supersonic anti-ship missile with a maximum range of 250 kilometers and a maximum attack speed of Mach 4. It is basically immune The interception of the British Navy 's existing ship-based air defense system can effectively damage the British destroyer and even aircraft carrier . In anti-ship combat mode, the "Fierce Dragon" fighter jet can mount two anti-ship missiles and launch attacks on British ships 200 kilometers away, giving Argentina anti-ship capabilities that far exceed those of the past.
The Xiaolong fighter is equipped with CM-400AKG anti-ship missiles
45 destroyer launches the Ziyuan-30 anti-aircraft missile
After Argentina obtains the "Fierce Dragon" fighter production line, it can carry out repair and maintenance work on the "Fierce Dragon" fighter, so most of Parts and components and all weapon systems are supplied by China, followed by Pakistan, and will not be obstructed by the UK and have no worries. If the Argentine "Fierce Dragon" fighter jet cooperation project can be implemented, then Argentina may purchase more than 12 aircraft, and will order additional orders or produce them locally. This will revive the glory of the Argentine Air Force and make the United Kingdom anxious.
