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Argentine SU-24's?


Slater

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28th of December is the "Dia des los Inocentes" which is April fools in many Latin America countries and Spain.

Yep, I fell for that one already when I made a post about this same subject over on the ARC forums a day or so ago. :fool:

I showed my ignorance of Latin American holidays and British media sources at once there. Live and learn.

The story's absence from major outlets like BBC and Reuters should have been a tip off for me. too much relaxing and holiday cheer to blame, I guess.

Edited by upnorth
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So is the story nonsense and a version of an April fool's joke, or is there any substance to this? ...or could it have substance but released on 'April fool's' day to bury it in a form of double bluff?

The thing is, Argentina will be looking to replace their aircraft at some point, they can't go on forever with 1980s equipment. The country is in a sorry state financially but with a few aircraft such as these they could simply irritate. Aircraft in one tranche, missiles quietly in another later on perhaps?

Whilst the talk is of our aircraft carrier being late and unable to fill the gap, surely we wouldn't want to keep such an important and vulnerable asset deployed there for long? It couldn't be relived anyway. We already have an aircraft carrier there, it's called RAF Mount Pleasant. Best defend the islands from within. Can 4 Typhoons really do the job or do we need to deploy more assets?

(removed this bit as 33 year old (and older) politics might be deemed 'too soon'...)

The recent Top Gear episode could so easily have been a huge tourist advertisement worth many millions. If the Argentinians had taken a different attitude I'm sure it would become a new summer tourist destination (in our winter!). If they saw the light on the Falklands and stopped being so hostile we'd probably jointly develop the oil wealth at some point. This coupled with tourism would do wonders for their flagging economy.

Edited by HP42
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There is an underlying truth of sorts. Of course Argentina will still have to pay for any hardware they might aquire, just more political theatrics to try and bypass 'sanctions'. It's quite funny as it's pathetic, the long term 'gainers' are the Russian and Chinese interests taking advantage of foolish/desperate polititians.

Feel sorry for the everyday Argentinian. BTW, does the airforce even have the infrastructure to operate Su-24's?

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It seems odd that, having had their request to purchase Gripens (presumably via the production to be set up in Brazil), the Su-24 would be considered an acceptable alternative. I guess it would make a cost-effective anti-shipping platform if combined with Kh-31 and/or Kh-35 missiles, but so would a Super Étendard armed with Exocet.

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Not a new concept though: during WW2 Argentina was a large supplier of meat to Britain and after the war a number of British aircrafts were delivered as partial compensation for the sums still due to the Latin American country.

Edited by Giorgio N
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It seems odd that, having had their request to purchase Gripens (presumably via the production to be set up in Brazil), the Su-24 would be considered an acceptable alternative. I guess it would make a cost-effective anti-shipping platform if combined with Kh-31 and/or Kh-35 missiles, but so would a Super Étendard armed with Exocet.

There's no point going after ships that aren't there, there's no 'task force' now. The prime target would be to capture the airbase surely? The islands are better defended from the islands themselves rather than from the sea, especially as we have fast jets doing CAP. It all appears a bit odd really. Unless they control the skies there's little point in having the Su-24. I'd like to think the Grippen will be out of their reach as the UK is said to supply 30% of the parts. Even if they do get them, what missile technology would they acquire with them?

Just thinking aloud, can the Su-24 carry cruise missiles? I can think of how they could attempt to take the islands if we were off guard.

I'm doubtful they'd try it on again but best to keep vigilant... :pipe:

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It was an equivalent of an April fools joke!

I think that's almost certainly the case. It simply doesn't stack up. But could many a true word be said in jest?

However, it does raise the question of what the next step is for Argentina. Had the Grippen really been available to them I wouldn't be surprised if they went for it. Perhaps Brazil could sell in time via a third party? Kirtchner is belligerent enough to square up politically, would she do it militarily if the chance arose? I guess the only thing stopping them acquiring new hardware are the current dire financial conditions, the country is 'broke'.

Edited by HP42
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