Central/South American Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

The Chilean to Navy decommissions BMS -42 "Admiral Merino" in January


( defensa.com ) Swedish shipyard construction Karlskrona 45 years and service in the Chilean Navy since 1997, will be decommissioned on January 15 , as confirmed by the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio the Ministry of Defense and Navy Chile. It was designed as a miner and general support vessel , before being modified and modernized in Sweden , providing features that would allow comprehensively fulfill tasks like Mother Ship Submarine .

The ship has provided logistical support during his career the submersible " Thomson ", " Simpsons" , " O'Higgins " and " Carrerra " . According to El Mercurio , the defense minister , Jorge Burgos, has confirmed that at the moment " are not going to buy a new ship to replace it. Let's do the units we have. " Navy sources detailed the newspaper that , depending on where they operate and the type of mission that submarines play the role of "Admiral Merino " can be assumed by units as multipurpose vessel "Sargento Aldea " transport " Achilles " the frigate " Williams " or the ocean patrol "Piloto Pardo " .

Current priorities for the Navy , according to President Michelle Bachelet announced itself during the recently closed fair Exponaval are building a new OPV and what can be called the " launch " project for the Navy provided within yet determined by an icebreaker . Vice Admiral Gian Carlo Stagno specified Canziani us during the event are advertised engineering studies to assume the construction of the new Antarctic ship





I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

tronador II Argentina
[video=youtube;3h8u2JcaaCo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h8u2JcaaCo[/video]ARSAT-1 is Argentina's first designed and developed geostationary satellite
The ARSAT-1 is Argentina first domestically designed and developed geostationary communications satellite, and its construction and successful launching, on Thursday, was defined by the government as “historic.”
ARSAT-1 is Argentina's first designed and developed geostationary satellite — MercoPress

[video=youtube;SC-qrbVsaiM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC-qrbVsaiM#t=15[/video]Argentina has designed a rocket to launch satellites it is the VEX1B Tronador II

[video=youtube;WkfgjPkIO9A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkfgjPkIO9A#t=12[/video]VEX1B Tronador

If Argentina were to ever get Brazilian reconfigured NG Gripens, the closest engine design in size in weight to the F414 is interestingly the Indian GTX Kaveri engine, but that would still need modifications to fit the engine bay of the Gripen on top of the issues affecting its development.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ARGENTINA ON THEIR LATEST SPACE ACHIEVEMENTS! You should be proud!

Equation said:

CONGRATULATIONS TO ARGENTINA ON THEIR LATEST SPACE ACHIEVEMENTS! You should be proud!

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Gracias Amigo!
Argentina was the forth country to place a monkey in orbit. Soviet Union, USA, France, Argentina and Iran.





I will now get back to bottling my Malbec for space missions

montyp165 said:

If Argentina were to ever get Brazilian reconfigured NG Gripens, the closest engine design in size in weight to the F414 is interestingly the Indian GTX Kaveri engine, but that would still need modifications to fit the engine bay of the Gripen on top of the issues affecting its development.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately the Gripen will never appear in service to the FAA in my life time, if ever. The most likely candidate will be the FC-1/JF-17 or used J-10s (I do not believe this will occur).

There is a possibility that MiG-29s could appear, since the Russian Federation may want to poke Britain in the eye over the economic sanction. However the high maintenance cost and lack of availability for service could nix that thought.

There is also the very slim chance that the FAA could make a deal with India for the Tejas, but the abundance of foreign components and slow production rate make this deal improbable.



I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

Mexico may be interested in purchasing Iranian UAVs


(defensa.com) According to the official Iranian news agency, FARS, during the recent visit of an official delegation from Iran Alaeddin Boroujerdi Mexico led by President of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Consultative Assembly of Iran, he met with representatives of the Senate of the Republic of Mexico, this country would have expressed interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Iranian-made.


The visit aimed to revive relations between Mexico and Iran, reviving the Joint Commission between the two countries met in 2001 for the last time. To reach an agreement was reached with Iran in the area of UAVs, Mexico became the second operator in America after Venezuela began operating some systems in 2013 surveillance missions in anti-drug operations, similar mission that could be developed in Mexico.



Moreover, as reported by the state news agency IRNA, Iran has announced the first flight of the UAV reconnaissance manufactured by copying the RQ-170 Sentinel, manufacturer Lockheed Martin, captured in 2011. This was confirmed by the General Amir Ali Hayizadeh Brigade Commander of the Aerospace Division Corps of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The Sentinel was downed with minimum damage electronic warfare unit of the Iranian Army on December 4, 2011, while flying over the city of Kashmar, some 225 km from the Afghan border.

After capture, Iran announced it had achieved valuable information technology aircraft and was working on a process of reverse engineering to manufacture its own defense industry. US, however, says that the security system incorporating the Drone Iran was unlikely to succeed in obtaining information about it.






I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

“Calamitous” state of Argentine Armed Forces equipment

Argentine investigative reporter Jorge Lanata, loathed by the current government of president Cristina Fernandez for his disclosure of the close business links of certain unscrupulous entrepreneurs (or most probably straw-men) who have become millionaires during the Kirchner years, has now exposed the 'calamitous' state of the Argentine armed forces equipment.

(MercoPress) For that purpose Lanata and his program “Journalism for All” travelled to the socially devastated and poverty stricken Haiti, where 400 members of the Argentine forces are stationed as peace contingents under United Nations command.

The Argentine troops in Haiti allegedly complained that they lack bullet proof jackets and the ordnance they have has expired. But according to Lanata despite the Haiti experience, outdated aircrafts and navy vessels that sink while berthed; the government of Cristina Fernandez spends generously in 'non-justified' intelligence gathering to the tune of approximately 76 million dollars, to which must be added undisclosed confidential sums, which are not monitored.
In effect, the Argentine congress intelligence committee made up of members from both houses has ample majority of Kirchnerite members and so far this year have not met once. Furthermore at the end of last year, vice-president Amado Boudou signed a decree increasing intelligence funds for the Army in approximately another 150 million dollars.
The head of the Army is an intelligence officer, Cesar Milani, who has pending court cases related to alleged human rights abuses while a junior officer, including the death of a conscript.

Lanata then mentions that neither the Air Force or the Navy are prepared for the defense of Argentina. Two situations help to illustrate what is happening with the Argentine Navy: the icebreaker Almirante Irizar and pride of Antarctica research has been in repairs since 2007 when it caught fire. It was expected to be back at sea in 2011 but remains unfinished in the Tandanor shipyard. A chartered replacement Russian vessel has cost Argentina so far, anywhere from 50 to 72 million dollars and when Irizar is again sailing it would have demanded an investment of 120 million dollars.

The situation of submarine San Juan is not much different: it has been in repairs for over five years; it was to be back in 2011 but refuses to emerge from the naval base in Mar del Plata.

For the Air Force conditions are equally discouraging, according to the report. There are only 28 combat aircraft in flying conditions, and the 'newest' are five Mirage, not all of them operational and which will have to be decommissioned quite soon.

“If during a parade you see a wing of ten military aircraft, it does not mean the ten are in combat condition” points out Horacio Jaunarena, a former Defense minister.

Lawmaker Julio Martinez revealed that during Argentina's bi-centennial celebrations, “the government decided to cancel the overfly of the Air Force fearing the risk of the obsolete aircraft over Buenos Aires”. Transport aircraft such as the Hercules are running out of flying hours, need maintenance and are used to supply troops in Haiti and the Antarctica bases.

Finally, according to Lanata, in 1990 when Cristina Fernandez daughter Florencia was born, Israel took its Kfir fighters from the first line of combat to the reserve.

“Those aircraft are the ones the Argentine government has pledged to purchase as the latest Argentine combat aircraft”, concludes Lanata's report.


I will now get back to bottling my Malbec