The publication of a new Executive Summary corresponding to the last quarter of 2023 revealed that the Argentine Air Force managed to accumulate 31,364 flight hours throughout the year, a figure that, despite being far from the initially planned target, still reflects the effort made by the Argentine Air Force in a particularly challenging context.
As we reported at the end of November 2023, the Argentine Armed Forces had been facing serious budgetary difficulties. This was reflected in the corresponding summary of Physical and Financial Execution published by the National Budget Office of the Ministry of Economy, detailing that the Army General Staff had only managed to execute 68.1% of the current credit by the end of the third quarter.
In the case of the Navy General Staff, the figure reached 67.3%, while the Air Force General Staff barely reached 65.7%.
Compared to the same periods in 2020, 2021, and 2022, it became evident that the budget execution of the Armed Forces at the end of the third quarter of 2023 was the lowest in the last four years, as 71%, 76.2%, and 79.8% were achieved respectively.
In the case of the Argentine Air Force, the percentage also had a direct impact on aerial activity. Although the fourth quarter of 2023 would show a slight improvement over the previous period, accumulating 8,557 flight hours, the total of 31,364 hours fell far short of what was expected in the Air Activity Plan, as a target of 37,580 flight hours had been set.
Unfortunately, the Argentine Air Force could not maintain the increase in its operational activity in 2023 that it had shown in previous years, a situation already reflected in the previous report by detailing that “…At the end of the second quarter, a negative deviation (-24.1%) was recorded in the Air Activity Plan due to the reformulation of the SARM GROB employment contract and the lack of material to carry out the scheduled tasks…“.
Although the Argentine Air Force resumed activity with the Grob 120TP owned by FAdeA, the operational activity cycle could never be increased due to the various limitations that had to be dealt with during 2023. The deficit marked every quarter, resulting in more than 6,000 flight hours below the established target for the year.
Cover Images: Zona Militar
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