Argentine Air Force The Argentine Air Force ( , or simply FAA ) is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic . , it had 14 , 600 military personnel and 6 , 900 civilian personnel . History . The Air Force ' s history begins with the establishment of the Argentine Army Aviation ' s Escuela de Aviación Militar ( " Military Aviation School " ) on 10 August 1912 . Several military officers were amongst the pioneers of Argentine aviation , including Jorge Newbery , a retired Argentine Navy officer . The School began to turn out military pilots who participated in milestone events in Argentine aviation , such as the crossing of the Andes mountains . In 1927 the " " ( General Directorate of Aeronautics ) was created to coordinate the country ' s military aviation . In that same year the Fábrica Militar de Aviones ( " Military Aircraft Factory " , FMA ) , which would become the heart of the country ' s aviation industry , was founded in Córdoba . By 1938 – 39 the Argentine air force had about 3 , 200 staff ( including about 200 officers ) , and maintained about 230 aircraft . About 150 of these were operated by the army and included Dewoitine D . 27 and Curtiss P - 36 Hawk fighters ; Breguet 19 , Fairey III and Stearman 76 D1 reconnaissance planes ; Northrop A - 17 , North American NA - 16 , Martin B - 10 heavy combat craft , Focke - Wulf Fw 58 as multi - role planes , and Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra , Junkers Ju 52 , Douglas Dolphin , Curtiss T - 32 Condor II and Fairchild 82 transporters . About 80 were operated by the navy and included the Supermarine Southampton , Supermarine Walrus , Fairey Seal , and Vought Corsair variants , Consolidated P2Y , and Grumman J2F Duck . By the 1940s there were several air units in the Army and the Navy ; the first step towards an independent force came on 11 February 1944 with the establishment of the Aeronautical Command , which would go on to become the Argentine Air Force on 4 January 1945 , an independent force on par with the Army and the Navy . Immediately after the end of World War II , in which the Argentine Air Force took no part , it began a process of modernization , incorporating aircraft such as the Gloster Meteor jet fighter , thus becoming the first air force in Latin America equipped with jet - propelled aircraft . In addition , a number of Avro Lincoln and Avro Lancaster bombers were acquired , creating a powerful strategic force in the region . The Air Force , with former Luftwaffe technician s , also began to develop its own aircraft , such as the Pulqui I and Pulqui II , making Argentina the first country in Latin America and the sixth in the world to develop jet fighter technology on its own . In 1952 the Air Force began flight to supply the Antarctic scientific bases using ski - equipped C - 47 s and establishing Marambio Base on 25 September 1969 . On 11 April 1970 they began landing C - 130 Hercules aircraft , when the TC - 61 commanded by Commodore Arturo Athos Gandolfi was the first airplane to land in Marambio , and the Fokker F - 28 Fellowship presidential aircraft T - 01 " Patagonia " is reported to be the first jet to have landed at Marambio , on 28 July 1973 . and since the 1970s Twin Otter s are also deployed . During the 1970s the Air Force re - equipped itself with modern aircraft , including Mirage III interceptors , IAI Dagger multi - role fighters ( Israeli derivatives of the Mirage V ) , A - 4 Skyhawk attack aircraft and C - 130 Hercules cargo planes . Also , a counter - insurgency airplane , the Pucará , was used in substantial numbers . On October 1973 , The FAA made the first Antarctic flight through 3 continents when a C - 130 flew between Rio Gallegos , Base Marambio , Christchurch Nueva Zelanda and Canberra Australia . The Falklands War ( ) , took a great toll on the Air Force , which lost 60 aircraft . After the war , due to the deteriorating economic situation , international opposition and political distrust of the military , the Air Force was denied the resources needed to replace the war losses . This , coupled with diminishing budgets , led to a period of reduced activity and growing materiel obsolescence . After the war Britain imposed an arms embargo on Argentina , which was discontinued in the 1990s . After attempts to acquire surplus IAI Kfir s or F - 16 As failed for economic and political reasons , the United States sold Argentina 36 A - 4AR Fightinghawk s , a refurbished and upgraded version of the A - 4 Skyhawk s used in the war . The FAA has been greatly involved in United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world . They sent a Boeing 707 to the 1991 Gulf War . Since 1994 the UN Air contingent ( UNFLIGHT ) in Cyprus under UNFICYP mandate is provided by the FAA , having achieved 10 , 000 flight hours by 2003 without any accidents . The FAA has also since 2005 deployed Bell 212 helicopters to Haiti under MINUSTAH mandate . In early 2005 the top seventeen brigadier s of the Air Force , including the Chief of Staff , Brigadier General Carlos Rohde , were sacked by President Néstor Kirchner following a scandal involving drug traffic king through Ezeiza International Airport . Kirchner cited failures in the security systems of Argentine airports ( which were overseen by the National Aeronautic Police , a branch of the Air Force ) and cover - ups of the scandal ; it later became known that many government agencies , among them the Interior Ministry , the Customs Administration and the Secretariat of State Intelligence knew about the drug trafficking . The primary concerns of the Air Force are the establishment of a radar network for control of the country ' s airspace , the replacement of its older combat aircraft ( Mirage III , Mirage V ) and the incorporation of new technologies . The possibility of purchasing surplus French Air Force Mirage 2000C fighters , like the option chosen by the Brazilian Air Force , has been considered . Since the 1990s the FAA has established good relations with its neighbours , the Brazilian and Chilean Air Force s . They annually meet , on a rotation basis , in the joint exercises " Cruzex " in Brazil , " Ceibo " in Argentina and " Salitre " in Chile . In 2007 an FAA FMA IA 58 Pucará was converted to use a modified engine operating on soy - derived bio - jet fuel . The project , financed and directed by the Argentine Government ( " ) , made Argentina the second nation in the world to propel an aircraft with biojet fuel . The purpose of the project is to make the FAA less reliant on fossil fuels . In August 2010 a contract was signed for two Mi - 17E helicopter s , plus an option on a further three , to support Antarctic bases although no official destination form them have been release yet and is possible that they will be assigned to the Argentine Army Aviation . In 2013 Argentina reached an agreement to acquire another 20 second hand Mirage fighter bombers from Spain . Organization . The Argentine Air Force is one of the three branches of the Argentine military , having equal status with the Army and the Navy . The President of Argentina is Commander - in - Chief of all three services . The Air Force is headed by the Chief of the General Staff ( " ) , directly appointed and removed by the President . The Air Force Chief of Staff usually holds the rank of Brigadier General , the highest rank of the Air Force . The Chief of Staff is seconded by a Deputy Chief of the General Staff and three senior officers in charge of the Air Force ' s three Commands : the Air Operations Command , the Personnel Command and the Materiel Command . The Air Operations Command ( ' ) is the branch of the Air Force responsible for aerospace defense , air operations , planning , training , technical and logistical support of the air units . Subordinate to the Air Operations Command are the Air Brigades ( ' ) , the Air Force ' s major operative units . A total of eight Air Brigades are currently operational . Brigades are headquartered at Military Air Bases ( " ( BAMs ) . Each Air Brigade is made up of three Groups , each bearing the same number as their mother Brigade . These groups include : The Personnel Command ( " ) is responsible for the training , education , assignment and welfare of Air Force personnel . Under the control of the Personnel Command are the Military Aviation School ( which educates the future officers of the Air Force ) , the Air Force Non - Commissioned Officer ( NCO ) School and other educational and training units . The Materiel Command ( " " ) deals with planning and executing the Air Force ' s logistics regarding flying and ground materiel . Materiel Command includes " Quilmes " and " Río Cuarto " Materiel Areas ( repairing and maintenance units ) and " El Palomar " Logistical Area . Ranks . Officers Officers wear their rank insignia in their sleeves , in the pattern depicted below . There are also shoulderboards with the same insignia ( albeit in gray ) for the ranks between Ensign and Commodore . General officer s wear different shoulder boards . Enlisted personnel and Non - Commissioned Officers Aircraft inventory . The FAA operates 177 aircraft of various types . This includes 8 fighter aircraft and 31 ground - attack aircraft . In addition the FAA has 32 turboprop aircraft used for Counter - insurgency and close - air - support missions . Developed from Dassault Mirage 5 IAI Finger all the fleet - decommissioned in 2012 .