In the context of the inauguration and commissioning of the new Petrel Antarctic Base, a Saab 340 aircraft from the Argentine Air Force (FAA) landed yesterday, June 1st, marking a new milestone for Argentina’s presence in Antarctica.
One of the major projects of the Ministry of Defense, during successive administrations, and of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, was the recovery and reconstruction of the Petrel Antarctic Base, which had suffered a fire in the winter of 1974, leading to its evacuation and its conversion into a Temporary Base in 1978.
Thus, starting from Decree 809/2021, funds were approved to drive plans for the reopening of Base Petrel, restoring it to its status as a Permanent Base. The recovery works of Base Petrel include various tasks of refurbishment and enhancement of infrastructure with the aim of making it habitable. These tasks are carried out in several phases by personnel of the Argentine Armed Forces, coordinated and grouped through the Antarctic Joint Command (COCOANTAR).
However, one of the milestones of the recovery is the preparation for operations on the runway of the Antarctic Air Base for various types of aerial operations. With this background, yesterday, a Saab 340 aircraft from the Argentine Air Force successfully landed for the first time, allowing to enhance the connectivity of the Base as a new Logistic Center and strengthening Argentina’s presence in the White Continent.
During a recent interview with the Joint Antarctic Commander, Brigadier General Edgar Calandin, he expressed to Zona Militar the importance of adding a new means of operation in Antarctica, stating: “With the Saab, the people of the Argentine Air Force are conducting a study, which is nearing completion, so that it becomes one of our aircraft that is more economical, more agile, and has greater flexibility to perform medical evacuations when we have a health contingency (…) and, by operating in Marambio, we already know that we have that capability.”
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