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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Russia considering Fencers-For-Food deal with Argentina |
| 2015-01-02 |
| Russia and Argentina are eyeing a deal under which Moscow would lease 12 Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer aircraft to Buenos Aires in return for beef and wheat, the London-based paper Sunday Express has claimed. As a result, the British Defence Ministry has reportedly launched a review of the air defenses of the Falkland Islands. In a statement, the MoD said it regularly reviews the military situation around the south Atlantic islands and would adjust force levels on the Falklands to meet any new threat posed by Argentina. Doug Barrie, the senior air analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and an expert on Russian aircraft and weapons, said that even with only four Typhoons, the British would come off better. Barrie said just how effective the Su-24 would be in the hands of the Argentine Air Force depended on the weapons package that came as part of any deal with the Russians. "The Su-24 is not what Argentina needs. They have competent crews but they need a multi-role platform not a single-role air-to-surface aircraft, which is expensive to fly and expensive to maintain," he said. The Argentine Air Force is known to be in the market for a fighter jet to replace the obsolete fleet of Skyhawk and Mirage III aircraft it has operated for several decades. The possible sale of second-hand Mirage 2000 and Kfir aircraft have been discussed. Most recently a possible sale of Saab Gripen aircraft was raised by Argentina, but any possibility of that deal taking off was rapidly scotched by the British government. British companies supply about 30 percent of the new Gripen NG model. Russian jets or the Chinese FC-1/JF-17 are often touted as potential platforms for the Argentine Air Force. The hard-up Argentine government won parliamentary approval recently for an economic and investment deal with China. In 2010, Moscow and Buenos Aires signed a deal under which Russia delivered two Mil Mi-17 helicopters to the country's Air Force, marking Argentina's first purchase of Russian military hardware. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #5 Energy closed up today. I continue to see indications that cheap oil is a temporary phenomena. One analyst reportedly said higher fuel prices could actually "snap back." Now that the holidays are over, producers are said to be scheduling production cutbacks and layoffs. It will be interesting to see what happens. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-01-02 16:58 |
| #4 What is going to happen to Argentina when beef and wheat prices drop like oil did? See possibly same situation with China loans to Venezuela. Lots of free beef and wheat to service the debt. Russia and China: the new loan sharks. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2015-01-02 15:53 |
| #3 Actually in Spanish speaking countries the "Joke Day" is not April 1st, but "Innocent's day" on December 28th |
| Posted by: JFM 2015-01-02 08:40 |
| #2 Just out of curiosity: how many T bones for Su-24? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-01-02 02:48 |
| #1 Argentine Argentine minister denies leasing of Russian combat aircraft https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/argentine-minister-denies-leasing-russian-combat-aircraft/ |
| Posted by: Daffy Angaigum8797 2015-01-02 00:52 |