FMA IA-63 Pampa advanced jet trainer with combat capability, produced in Argentina by Fabrica Militar de Aviones (FMA) with assistance from Dornier of Germany

Under the MoU, the ministries of both sides are expected to explore avenues of working together. Argentina is looking for bargains to restore its military. The two leaders also emphasised that terrorism must be confronted unequivocally and resolutely

India and Argentina signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Defence Cooperation between the two countries at the end of bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Argentina President Mauricio Macri.

Under the MoU, the ministries of both sides are expected to explore avenues of working together. Argentina is looking for bargains to restore its military. With a little bit of innovative thinking, both countries can cooperate to the mutual benefit of both countries.

Highly placed sources have confirmed to FE Online that a high level delegation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is expected to visit Buenos Aires next month for exploring possibilities of cooperating in this sector.

The visiting leader strongly condemned the brutal terrorist attack that took place in Pulwama District of Jammu and Kashmir in which more than 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives and a large number were injured and expressed its solidarity with the families of the sons of India that lost their lives on this brutal terrorist attack.

And according to a joint statement released at the end of talks, the two countries agreed that terrorism poses a grave threat to global peace and stability and noted the need for concerted action by the global community against terrorism. They stressed that there could be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever particularly emphasising the scourge of cross border terrorism.

The two leaders also emphasised that terrorism must be confronted unequivocally and resolutely and also underscored the need to ensure that terrorist organisations do not get access to any WMD or technologies or finances and committed to cooperate in the specialised multilateral fora.

Talking to a select group of journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing visit of President Macri, the visiting foreign minister of Argentina Jorge Faurie said, that “We have resolved to fight this grave challenge to humanity. We too have had terrorists’ attacks in 80s, though not on such a scale as it has happened here in India.”

According to Faurie, “there are possibilities of cooperation in the defence sector of both countries.”

Argentine has IA-63 Pampa-II, and it could offer an opportunity for both sides to work together the minister said. FE ONLINE was the first to report that both India and Argentina could work together to develop trainer aircraft for the Air Forces.

The MoU in Defence is very broad in nature and will be covering issues related to the exchange of officers, training of Armed Forces Personnel and cooperation in joint ventures for military equipment and peacekeeping operations.

The business enterprises have been encouraged to enter into arrangements for co-development and co-production of defence equipment in India, including the transfer of know-how and technologies.

As has been reported earlier, both countries have a well-developed indigenous defence industrial base and there is significant scope for opportunities for both sides to work trainer aircraft, transport aircraft, submarines, and small arms.

Argentina’s defence companies including Fabrica Argentina de Aviones, Astillero Ro Santiago, CITEDEF, INVAP SE, Tandanor and Direccion General de Fabricaciones Militares are keen on exploring the Indian market.

Over the decades, through a combination of licensed production of foreign designs and some indigenous research and development, these companies have produced the TAM medium tank, the Pucara combat aircraft, the Pampa jet trainer and the MEKO 140A16 corvette.

There is huge scope for joint production, joint development, and maintenance support and overhaul capabilities. Argentina is in desperate need of defence overhauls and modernization. This is particularly the case with its Air Force. Argentina’s Mirage fighters were decommissioned in 2015, creating a gap for fighter aircraft. The army has expressed interest in ordering 20 units of either J-20 or JF-17/FC-10 Thunder aircraft, while the Navy plans to acquire five units of Chinese P18 corvettes. With the country facing economic turmoil, the procurement decision has been deferred, apparently for good.