Through the shipment of two ejection seats from their Super Étendard jets to the facilities of Martin Baker Argentina (MBA S.A.), located in the Área Material Río Cuarto (AMACUAR), the Argentine Navy continues to make significant efforts for their French-origin fighter-bombers to return to service. The negotiations with the company were highlighted to Zona Militar by Rear Admiral Allievi himself, Chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Navy, in an interview where he provided details on the issues and challenges faced by the aircraft.
Following the insights from that interview, the Chief of the Argentine Navy pointed out four issues that need to be addressed for the Super Étendards to have any possibility of starting test flights. Specifically, Rear Admiral Allievi stated: “… The Super Étendards are a weapons system that is no longer flown anywhere in the world. This aircraft, which was incorporated 5 years ago, currently has 4 technical issues that we are resolving, that we are working on. These are mainly the parachute, the ejection seat, some type of structural fissure that is not relevant but needs to be analyzed for any flight implications, and the engine issue.”
Additionally, regarding one of these issues, he mentioned that “… The engine issue was already initiated last week, all parameters were taken, and those parameters were sent to DIGAMC (Joint Military Airworthiness Directorate), which is the directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that has to approve that the aircraft is in conditions to execute the test flight.”
However, concerning the other three issues, the head of the Argentine Navy confirmed ongoing negotiations with Martin Baker Argentina (MBA S.A.), stating: “Regarding the other three (points), we are negotiating with MBA company based in Córdoba, for them to analyze that ejection seat and ensure the parachute meets the conditions. As for the fissures issue, the technical analysis has been done and it is currently under evaluation to determine if they are normal fissures for an aircraft that is over 30 years old and whether they would affect the flight.”
Based on these developments and information from sources consulted by Zona Militar, it was confirmed that a Beechcraft B-200 from the Naval Aviation Command arrived recently at the facilities of Área Material Río Cuarto. The aircraft transported two Martin Baker ejection seats from the Super Étendards for evaluation based on the parameters previously mentioned by MBA S.A.
Nevertheless, despite this new development, and considering the words of the Chief of the Argentine Navy, the future of the French-origin aircraft, both in their Super Étendard and Super Étendard Modernisé versions acquired in 2019, is still under evaluation. This is especially significant as the country remains the sole operator of these aircraft, and their support and maintenance are becoming increasingly challenging.
*Photographs used for illustrative purposes.
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