The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina)
[. This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA".] is the
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It is one of the three branches of the
Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic
The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are ...
, together with the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and the
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
.
The
Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory in 1814 at the
Battle of Montevideo over the Spanish fleet during the
war of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List o ...
.
History
1810-1909
![Guillermo Brown 1865](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Guillermo_Brown_1865.jpg)
The Argentine Navy was created in the aftermath of the
May Revolution
The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
of May 25, 1810, which started the
war for independence from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The navy was first created to support
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
in the
Paraguay campaign
The Paraguay campaign (1810–11) of the Argentine War of Independence was the attempt by a Buenos Aires-sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the royalist Intendency of Paraguay for the cause of May Revolution. In Paraguay ...
, but those ships were sunk by ships from Montevideo, and did not take part in that conflict. Renewed conflicts with Montevideo led to the creation of a second fleet, which participated in the capture of the city. As Buenos Aires had little maritime history, most men in the navy were from other nations, such as the Irish-born admiral
William Brown, who directed the operation. As the cost of maintaining a navy was too high, most of the Argentine naval forces were composed of
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s.
Brown led the Argentine navy in further naval conflicts at the
War with Brazil and the
Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata
The Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata was a five-year-long naval blockade imposed by France and Britain on the Argentine Confederation ruled by Juan Manuel de Rosas. It was imposed in 1845 to support the Colorado Party in the Urugu ...
.
In the 1870s the Argentine Navy began modernizing itself. At the close of the century, the force included:
* 5
armoured cruisers
* 4 coastal defence
ironclads
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...
* 3 second-class, high-speed, British-built
cruisers
* 7 modern small cruisers and
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
s
* 4
destroyers
* 22
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s
The most powerful ships at this time included the Italian-built and her sister ships: , , and , each at over 6,000 tons. Three older ironclads, , , and dated from the 1880s and early 1890s.
The navy's ships were built primarily in Italy, Britain, France, and Spain, and were operated by over 600 officers and 7,760
seamen. These were supported by a battalion of
marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and an artillery battery.
1910-1982
![Argentine Rivadavia Class Battleship 1912](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Argentine_Rivadavia_Class_Battleship_1912.jpg)
A naval arms race between Argentina, Brazil and Chile, the most powerful and wealthy countries in South America, began when the Brazilian government ordered three dreadnoughts, battleships. The first,
Minas Geraes, was commissioned into the
Brazilian navy
)
, colors= Blue and white
, colors_label= Colors
, march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco''
, mascot=
, equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
1910.
For most of both world wars, Argentina was
neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
, only
declaring war on the Axis in March 1945. In 1940 Argentina's navy was ranked the eighth most powerful in the world (after the European powers, Japan, and the United States) and the largest in Latin America. A ten-year building programme costing $60 million had produced a force of 14,500 sailors and over a thousand officers. The fleet included two
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
-era (but modernized) American-built s, three modern cruisers, a dozen British-built destroyers, and three submarines, plus minelayers, minesweepers, coastal defence ships, and gunboats. A
naval air force
The Naval Air Force ( vi, Binh chủng Không quân Hải quân) is an armed service of the Vietnam People's Navy that has the function of performing tasks at sea or along the coast and islands by means of the air force such as aircraft combat a ...
was also in operation.
In the postwar period,
Naval Aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...
and
Marine units were put under direct Navy command. With Brazil, Argentina is one of two South American countries to have operated two
aircraft carriers: the and .
The Argentine Navy has been traditionally heavily involved in
fishery protection, helping the
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
: most notably in 1966 a destroyer fired on and holed a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
trawler that had refused to be escorted to
Mar del Plata, in the 1970s there were four more incidents with Soviet and Bulgarian ships followed by other incidents such as the
sinking of the Chian-der 3.
The Navy also took part in all
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
s in Argentina through the 20th century. During the
1976 to 1983 dictatorship, Navy personnel were involved in the
Dirty War
The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...
in which thousands of people were kidnapped, tortured and killed by the forces of the military junta. The Navy School of Mechanics, known as
ESMA, was a notorious centre for torture. Among their more well-known victims were the Swedish teenager
Dagmar Hagelin, and French nuns
Alice Domon and
Léonie Duquet
Léonie Duquet (9 April 1916 – 1977) was a French nun who was arrested in December 1977 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and "disappeared". She was believed killed by the military regime of Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla during the Dirty ...
(In October 2007 the Argentine Navy formally handed possession of the school to human rights groups to turn it into a memorial museum).
During this regime, the Navy was also the main supporter of a military solution for the country's two longest-standing disputes: the
Beagle Conflict
The Beagle conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war i ...
with Chile and the Falkland Islands ( es, Islas Malvinas) with the United Kingdom.
Falklands War, 1982
During the 1982
conflict
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
the main Argentine naval fleet consisted of modernised
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
era ships (one
GUPPY
The guppy (), also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, like almost all ...
-type submarine, one British-built carrier, a cruiser, and four destroyers), and newer vessels: two Type 42 destroyers, three French-built corvettes, and one German-built
Type 209 submarine
The Type 209 is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. The original variant (Type 209/1100) was designed in the late 1960s. The class is exclusively designed for ...
. This fleet was supported by several
ELMA tankers and transports, as well an ice breaker and a polar transport ship.
![Super Etendard ARA 204](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Super_Etendard_ARA_204.jpg)
New German
MEKO
The MEKO family of warships was developed by the German company Blohm+Voss. MEKO is a registered trademark. The portmanteau stands for "''Mehrzweck-Kombination''" (English: multi-purpose-combination). It is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding ...
type destroyers, corvettes, and
Thyssen-Nordseewerke (
Type TR-1700) submarines were still under construction at the time.
Despite leading the invasion of the Falkland Islands, the Argentine fleet played only a small part in the subsequent conflict with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. After sank the , the Argentine surface fleet did not venture from a 12-mile (22.2 km) coastal limit imposed by the British because of the threat posed by the Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines (
SSNs).
The Argentine Navy's contributions to the war were principally the initial amphibious assaults on 2 and 3 April;
naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...
Super Étendard
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butto ...
s armed with
Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
missiles, which sank and the ;
Skyhawks, which sank ; and the Marines, with the
5th Marine Corps Battalion defending
Mount Tumbledown. In addition, the Type 42 destroyer , operating off Staten Island, played an important part in the destruction of the British landing ship ''Sir Galahad'' on 8 June,; a land-based Exocet battery outside Port Stanley scored a direct hit on on 11 June; and a Marine Tigercat SAM put a Royal Air Force Harrier (XW 919) out of action on 12 June. Naval aviation also carried out intensive
maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008
Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities.
Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
s, searching to locate the British fleet for the strike aircraft and British submarines for the anti-submarine Sea King helicopters, while their Lockheed L-188 Electra and Fokker F-28 Fellowship transports reinforced the Port Stanley garrison and evacuated the wounded.
The submarine also played a strategic role, nearly sinking the frigate on 10 May, although she scored no hits. The submarine , after a successful resupply mission, was attacked and disabled off
South Georgia, where her crew then surrendered along with the Argentine detachment at
Grytviken
Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...
. She was later scuttled by the British.
Aftermath of the Falklands war
![ARA Almirante Brown D 10 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/ARA_Almirante_Brown_D_10_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The core of the fleet was reformed with the retirement of all the World War II-era and s and their replacement with the
MEKO 360
The MEKO 360 is a class of five ships built in Germany for the Argentine and Nigerian navies. The MEKO 360 was the first version of the MEKO family of vessels built by Blohm und Voss. The type comes in two variants, the MEKO 360H1, comprising one ...
and
140 classes designed by the German shipyard
Blohm + Voss.
Also, the
submarine force greatly reinforced their assets with the introduction of the
Thyssen-Nordseewerke (
TR-1700) class. Although the original programme called for six units with the last four to be built in Argentina, only the two built in Germany were delivered.
The amphibious force was drastically affected with the retirement of their only
LST landing ship and replacement by a modified cargo vessel, the . This situation was expected to improve in 2006 with the delivery by France of the first of the
LPD s but the whole operation was placed on hold by the Argentine Government due to
asbestos concerns. In 2010 France offered the instead.
France also transferred the , now , multi-product replenishment ship (
AOR).
In 1988 the A-4 Skyhawk aircraft were withdrawn, leaving the Super Étendard as the only fighter jets in the navy inventory. The already-paid-for A-4Hs bought in Israel as their replacement could not be delivered due to the embargo imposed by the United States after the war. Instead
IAI used the money to refurbish the
S-2E Trackers to the S-2T Turbo Tracker variant currently in service.
In the 1990s, the embargo was lifted and the
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...
s (civilian aircraft converted for
maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008
Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities.
Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
) were finally retired and replaced with similar
P-3B Orions and civilian
Beechcraft King Air Model 200 were locally converted to the MP variant.
In 2000 the aircraft carrier was decommissioned without replacement, although the navy maintains the air group of Super Étendard jets and S-2 Trackers that routinely operated from the
Brazilian Navy
)
, colors= Blue and white
, colors_label= Colors
, march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco''
, mascot=
, equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
aircraft carrier or
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
carriers when they are in transit in the south Atlantic during
Gringo-Gaucho manoeuvers.
Gulf War and nineties
Argentina was the only Latin American country to participate in the 1991
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
, sending a destroyer and a corvette in a first deployment and a supply ship and another corvette later to participate in the United Nations blockade and sea control effort in the gulf. ''Operación Alfil'' (" en, Operation
hess Hess or Heß may refer to:
* Hess (surname), also ''Heß'' in German, people with the surname Hess
* Hess, Oklahoma, a community in the United States
* Hess Educational Organization, the largest private provider of English instruction in the Rep ...
Bishop"), as it was known, carried out more than 700 interceptions and sailed 25,000 miles in the operations theatre.
From 1990 to 1992, the s were deployed under UN mandate
ONUCA to the
Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca ( es, Golfo de Fonseca; ), a part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
History
Fonseca Bay was discovered for Europeans in 1522 by Gil González de Ávil ...
in Central America. In 1994, the three s participated in
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by t ...
in Haiti.
21st century
In 2003, for the first time, the Argentine Navy (classified as
major non-NATO ally
Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the US Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While the ...
) interoperated with a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
battle group when the destroyer joined the Carrier Strike Group and Destroyer Squadron 18 as a part of Exercise ''Solid Step'' during their tour in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
.
In 2010 the construction of four 1,800 ton
offshore patrol ships was announced, but never started. Instead, Argentina ultimately opted to acquire four
Gowind-class offshore patrol vessels from France. The decision was motivated by the meeting between Argentine President
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previo ...
and French President
Emmanuel Macron at the annual
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
summit in
Davos, Switzerland in 2018. In November 2018, Argentina confirmed the purchase of the patrol vessels. The purchase included the already-built , which in 2016 visited the region on a marketing trip, as well as three new-build vessels. Following their construction in France, all four ships had been delivered to Argentina by 2022.
In October 2012 the Navy's
sail training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...
was seized under court order in Ghana by creditors of Argentina's debt default in 2002.
On 15 December 2012 the UN
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
ruled unanimously that the ship had immunity as a military vessel, and ordered that "Ghana should forthwith and unconditionally release the frigate ARA ''Libertad''"
Four days later ''Libertad'' was released from
Tema
Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populo ...
and arrived to the port of Mar del Plata on 9 January 2013.
The Argentine Navy is under-funded and struggling to meet maintenance and training requirements; as a result, only 15 of its 42 vessels are in a condition to sail. The 2013 defence budget allowed for the 15 operational vessels to each spend less than 11 days at sea, while the submarines averaged just over 6 hours submerged in the whole of 2012.
spent 73 days in late 2012 stranded in South Africa for lack of
spares. The s are short of spares and their ordnance has expired, while the Antarctic patrol ship had been under repair for 10 years because of a fire.
On 23 January 2013 the Type 42 destroyer sank at her moorings after having been mothballed for ten years.
The Argentine Navy participates in joint exercises with other friendly navies including Brazil, United States, Spain, France, Canada, South Africa, Italy, Uruguay, and, since the 1990s, Chile. The exercises are routinely held to develop a common operational doctrine. Every year the Argentine and
Chilean Navies participate in the ''Patrulla Antártica Naval Combinada'' ( en, Joint Antarctic Naval Patrol) to guarantee safety to all tourist and scientific ships in transit within the
Antarctic Peninsula, where the Navy is also directly responsible for maintaining the
Argentine bases there.
On 15 November 2017, the
ARA ''San Juan'' (S-42) stopped communicating during a routine transit to port following a military exercise. A search was launched by
ISMERLO
The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office ("ISMERLO") is an organization that coordinates international submarine search and rescue operations. It was established in 2003 by NATO and the Submarine Escape and Rescue Working Gro ...
, however after 15 days of searching the Argentine Navy declared the end of the rescue operation, and solely focused on the recovery of the submarine—not the crew. 44 personnel were on the submarine when it disappeared.
The final inform made by Argentinian congressmen stated that president Mauricio Macri and his defence minister had political responsibilities about what happened to ARA San Juan.
In 2019, the governments of Brazil and Argentina were working on a transfer deal of the four Tupi IKL209/1400 submarines currently operated by the Brazilian Navy. Two of the Brazlian submarines are currently non operational pending repairs, the other two are still active pending their replacement by the 4 Scorpene type Submarines currently under construction. However, in the early 2000s they had been upgraded with new combat systems by Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors. This gave the submarines the ability to carry and fire the MK 48 MOD 6AT ADCAP Torpedo. Although there are some reservations about the deal, the defense ministers and admirals of the Argentine Navy were enthusiastic about moving forward with it. The submarines were to be repaired and serviced in the Tandanor drydock facility. If the deal moves forward it would allow Argentina to restore its submarine capability which is currently defunct. As an alternative, in 2021 a Russian delegation visited the TANDANOR shipyard and other defence facilities, reportedly also making an offer to supply either the
Improved Kilo-class submarine or the export variant of the
Lada-class submarine to the Argentine Navy.
In July 2022, in the context of Argentina's desire to replace its submarine fleet, defence minister
Jorge Taiana
Jorge Enrique Taiana (born 31 May 1950) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, currently serving as the country's Minister of Defense, since 10 August 2021. Taiana previously served as Foreign Minister in the administrations of President ...
paid a visit to the Naval Group shipyard in Cherbourg to examine the construction procss for the
Scorpène-class submarine
The Scorpène-class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines jointly developed by the French Naval Group (formerly the DCNS) and the Spanish company Navantia. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air-independent p ...
. Minister Taiana also visited Germany for a meeting with his ministerial counterpart, in order to explore the possibility of acquiring German-built submarines, either independently or in tandem with an interim acquisition of the Brazilian Navy's ''Tupi''-class boats. However, it still remained unclear whether Argentina had either the financial resources or the political will to pursue any submarine replacement.
In 2019, Argentina was also pursuing the procurement of four P-3C Orion aircraft from US Navy surplus stocks. Argentina's current fleet of P-3B's are non operational. The package deal was approved in September 2019. The US State Department has cleared the transaction of $78.03m to be carried out as part of a foreign military sale. It includes the delivery of related equipment and services. Argentina will receive four turboprop engines for the aircraft and an additional four turboprop engines. It will also receive communications and radar equipment, Infrared/Electro-optic equipment, and aviation life support systems. The US will provide spares plus repairs, aircraft depot maintenance, and logistical support. Contractors for the deal include Logistic Services International, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins and Eagle Systems. These newer Orions will be up to the latest Orion standard, and provide Argentina with a much needed boost in anti-submarine and maritime surveillance missions. However, in the aftermath of the inauguration of Alberto Fernández as president in December 2019, the deal appeared to be in limbo with the Navy now apparently considering completing the refurbishment of its older P-3B fleet pending the outcome of further discussions around the P-3C acquisition. As of early 2021, it was planned that, after upgrades, the P-3B would be returned to service starting in 2022. In December 2022, it was reported that the refurbishment of the P-3B was proceeding slower than anticipated and while delivery of the first upgraded P-3B had been projected for September 2023, that schedule might now face delays.
In 2020, Argentina national government created an interministerial committee with the objective of reassuring national oceans' sovereignty. In 2020, the Ministry of Defence informed Congress of a desire to acquire a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) as well as two naval transport vessels to increase logistical capacity, including in relation to the country's claims and presence in the Antarctic.
Foreign overfishing is a concern and the Argentine Navy recently captured at least two foreign ships allegedly illegally fishing in the South Atlantic. Partially to address this, a project for the re-focus of two Meko 140-class corvettes on patrol duties was reportedly under development.
It remained to be determined how the several envisaged new-acquisition projects would be funded. For instance, the proposed submarine acquisition from Brazil would require extensive refurbishment of the vessels prior to being ready for renewed operational service with the Argentine Navy. As of the end of 2020, the mooted submarine deal with Brazil had not yet been finalised and the process of refurbishment not yet begun. In 2021, one analyst noted that over the past thirty years the Argentine navy has lost many core capabilities, including its aircraft carrier (along with most of its fixed-wing combat aviation), submarines and area air defence vessels. Most of these seemed unlikely to be reconstituted.
Structure
The Argentine navy has four main commands: High Seas Fleet, Submarine Force, Naval Aviation, and Naval Infantry (Marines).
Sea Fleet
Puerto Belgrano Naval Base
Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Bel ...
( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano, abbreviated ''BNPB'') is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near
Bahía Blanca, about 700 km (435 mi) south of Buenos Aires. Most of the fleet is based there.
Submarine Force
![S31ARASalta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/S31ARASalta.jpg)
The Submarine Force Command ( es, Comando de la Fuerza de Submarinos, abbreviated ''COFS'') was created when the Navy first started using
submarines in 1927. The
Tactical Divers Group is under the submarine force command structure. However, as of 2020 there were no operational submarines in service.
Naval Aviation
![SUEreabasteciendo1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/SUEreabasteciendo1.jpg)
The Naval Aviation Command ( es, Comando de Aviación Naval, abbreviated ''COAN'') is the
naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...
branch. Argentina is one of two South American countries to have operated two aircraft carriers. However, neither remain in service. During the Falkland's War, Argentine naval aviation employed the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard fighter and its Exocet air-to-surface missiles being responsible for the destruction of both
HMS Sheffield as well as the merchant vessel
Atlantic Conveyor. The Super Etendard remains in the naval inventory, but in very small numbers with five refurbished aircraft having been delivered from France in 2019. However, these aircraft await the delivery of key spare parts and, as reported in June 2020, were not expected to be in operational service for a further two years. In early 2022, it was reported that the spare parts problem remained unresolved and the aircraft continued to be kept in storage.
Naval Infantry
![LVTP7-IMARA-17may07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/LVTP7-IMARA-17may07.jpg)
The
Naval Infantry Command () is the Argentine Navy's marine branch. Naval infantry have the same rank, insignia, and titles as the rest of the Navy, and are deployed abroad on
UN peacekeeping missions
This is a list of United Nations peacekeeping missions since the United Nations was founded in 1945, organized by region, with the dates of deployment, the name of the related conflict, and the name of the UN operation.
Peacekeeping, as defin ...
.
Hydrographic Service
The
Argentine Naval Hydrographic Service
The Argentine Hydrographic Service ( es, Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, abbreviated SHN) is the branch of the Ministry of Defense responsible for providing hydrographic services.
Background
Created on January 1, 1879, as ''Oficina Central de Hid ...
( es, Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, abbreviated ''SHN'') provides national
hydrographics services.
Ranks
Officers
Rank insignia consists of a variable number of gold-braid stripes worn on the sleeve cuffs or on shoulder-boards. Officers may be distinguished by the characteristic loop of the top stripe (in the manner of British Royal Navy officers). Combat uniforms may include metal pin-on or embroidered collar rank insignia. Rank insignia is worn on the chest when in shipboard or flying coveralls.
Officers are commissioned in either the Command (line) Corps (those who attend the Escuela Naval Militar- Military Naval College) or the Staff Corps (Professional Officers who only attend a short course in the Naval Academy after getting a civilian degree, except for the Paymasters who instead attend the Naval College).
The Line Corps is divided into three branches: the Naval branch (including Surface Warfare, Submarine Warfare and Naval Aviation sub-branches), the Marine Corps branch, and Executive -Engineering- branch. Line Corps' reserve officers are considered Restricted Line ( ''Escalafon Complementario'' ) officers in any of the Warfare Communities (Surface, Submarine, Marines, Aviation and Propulsion), and can only raise to OF-4 rank ( ''Capitan de Fragata'' ).
All Line Corps officers wear distinctive branch/sub-branch insignia on the right breast. Some Staff Corps officers also wear specialisation badges (Aviation, Surface, Submarine and Marines). Other common insignia is the Naval War College insignia, parachute wings, etc., also worn on the right breast. Medals and Ribbons, if awarded, are worn on the left breast, just above the chest pocket. The rank insignia of Staff Corps' officers is placed over a background colour denoting the wearer's field, such as purple (Chaplains), blue (Engineers), red (Health Corps), white (Paymasters), green (Judge Advocate Officers), brown (Technical Officers, promoted from the ranks) and grey (special branch). The background colour for Command Corps officers is navy blue/black.
Enlisted ratings and Non-Commissioned Officers
Other ranks' insignia (not including Seamen) is worn on either shoulderboards or breast or sleeve patches. Seamen and Seamen Recruits wear their insignia on their sleeves. The shoulderboards denote the wearer's specialty.
Uniform
Beards
Following a global trend, Argentine armed forces have prohibited
beard
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards.
Throughout the course of history, societal at ...
s since the 1920s. This was reinforced in the
Cold War era when they were deemed synonymous with leftist leanings. The only exception were
Antarctic service within the three armed forces as a protection from cold weather, and
submarine service within the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
as a way of saving water. However, shaving was mandatory upon return to headquarters.
In 2000 the Navy broke with this tradition within the Argentine armed forces as Adm. Joaquín Stella, then Navy
Chief of Staff allowed beards for officers with ranks above ''Teniente de Corbeta'' (
Second Lieutenant), according to Section 1.10.1.1 of the Navy Uniform regulations (R.A-1-001). Adm. Stella gave the example himself by becoming the first bearded Argentine admiral since Adm. Sáenz Valiente in the 1920s. Non commissioned officers can wear beards from ''Suboficial Segundo'' rank, and upwards. However, beards were prohibited again in 2016, except for some specific office positions.
Equipment
See also
*
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...
*
Argentine Air Force
"Argentine Wings"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War)
, equipment = 139 aircraft
, equipment_label =
, battles =
* Operation Independence
* Operation Soberanía
* Falkl ...
*
Argentine Naval Aviation
)
Gulf War
, anniversaries =
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, commander1 = President
, commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief
, commander2 ...
*
Argentine Army Aviation
The Argentine Army Aviation ( es, Comando de Aviación de Ejército, AvEj) is the army aviation branch of the Argentine Army. Their members have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the Army.
Along with its primary role of supporting ...
*
Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War
*
List of ships of the Argentine Navy
This list includes all major warships that entered service with the Argentine Navy since being formally established in the 1860s.In 1861 the modern Argentine Republic was born, after the Battle of Pavón. It also includes ships that were purcha ...
*
List of auxiliary ships of the Argentine Navy
*
List of senior officers of the Argentine Navy
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Further reading
* ''Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005–2006''. Ignacio Amendolara Bourdette, , Editor n/a. (Spanish/English text)
External links
*
VideosBravoZulu Official news programme
Fuerzas Navales websiteon Saorbats.com
{{Authority control
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...