As efforts continue to restore the availability of naval aviation assets, the Argentine Navy is pushing forward with the project to recover the Super Etendard/Super Etendard Modernisé (SEM) fighters while preparing for the arrival of the first of four P-3C/N Orion aircraft, acquired from the Royal Norwegian Navy at the end of last year to restore long-range maritime surveillance capabilities for the Naval Aviation Command (COAN).
Regarding the Super Etendard/SEM aircraft of the 2nd Naval Air Attack Squadron, sources close to Zona Militar indicate that the work to be carried out by the company MBA S.A., related to the evaluation and analysis of the ejection seat system, is under scrutiny in the sensitive context following the impact of the loss of the A-4AR Fightinghawk of the Argentine Air Force at the 5th Air Brigade in Villa Reynolds, San Luis Province, which tragically claimed the life of its pilot, Captain Mauro Testa La Rosa.
It is worth noting that the work entrusted to MBA S.A. is part of the project to evaluate the ejection seat, confirmed by the shipment of two Martin Baker seats aboard a COAN Beechcraft B-200 to Rio Cuarto (Córdoba Province), where the company has its facilities. Additionally, the Navy has arranged for the shipment of two oxygen systems to France for a general overhaul, as they are among the most important systems for the pilot’s safety during flight.
During an interview conducted by Zona Militar in mid-July with the Chief of the Argentine Navy General Staff, Rear Admiral Allievi, the naval authority specifically addressed the issue of the ejection seats, stating that “We are negotiating with the company MBA in Córdoba for them to analyze that the ejection seat and the parachute meet the necessary conditions.”
Regarding the set of pyrotechnic cartridges for the ejection seat system, Allievi noted that “Regarding the ejection seat cartridges, CITEDEF gave us a report stating that those cartridges are in good condition. That is the very short-term step. Today, the Navy is analyzing what to do with the Super Etendards, the eleven of them, and what to do with the Super Etendard Modernisés, the five of them.”
Given the impact caused by the loss of the A-4AR and its pilot, the recovery of the SUE/SEM faces a new challenge, highlighting their age, lack of operability for at least a decade (in the case of the SUE, as the SEMs have not flown since their arrival from France in 2019), the lack of availability of some critical components, and the fact that if they were to return to service, they would be the only operational aircraft of their kind in the world. The conclusions of the investigation by the Joint Military Airworthiness Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces will undoubtedly have an impact on COAN.
Awaiting the P-3C/N Orion
After making the initial payments for the acquisition of four P-3C/N Orion aircraft, COAN continues its efforts for their overhaul and commissioning in preparation for the ferry flight that will allow the first unit to operate on Argentine soil. According to sources, in the coming days, a Beechcraft B-200 aircraft will transport survival equipment, which will be part of the first Argentine P-3C Orion, to Punta Indio Base or the 1st Air Brigade in El Palomar. This equipment will then be transferred to the U.S. aboard an FAA C-130 Hercules.
Among the safety equipment are life rafts, essential considering the long flight plan from Florida (USA) to Argentina, along with other auxiliary survival equipment that the aircraft currently do not possess but are part of COAN’s standard equipment.
It is important to note that work on the P-3C/N resumed momentum after resolving the issue with the operability of the AN/APS-137(V)5 radar, which had not been included in the original contract. This system is associated with the EO/IR AN/AAS-36 Infrared Detecting Set (IRDS), AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning System, AN/ALR-66 Electronic Support Measures, AN/ASQ-81 Magnetic Anomaly Detector, AN/USQ-78 Acoustic Processing and Display System, as well as the capability to deploy and operate sonobuoys.
Images used for illustrative purposes only.
You may also like: Airbus Helicopters continues to propose the AS365 N3 Dauphin as the Argentine Navy’s shipborne helicopter
