India and Argentina are strengthening their defense ties and ongoing strategic partnership after the visit of Argentine Defense Minister Jorge Enrique Taiana to India last month. Recently, Francisco Cafiero, Secretary International Affairs of Argentina’s Ministry of Defence, met Indian Ambassador to Argentina Dinesh Bhatia in Buenos Aires to plan the upcoming months’ work for bilateral cooperation in the defense area.
During Taiana’s visit, India and Argentina signed a Letter of Intent on productive cooperation and acquisition of Light and Medium Utility Helicopters for the Argentine armed forces. The discussions between Cafiero and Bhatia centered around maximizing the potential of their strategic partnership for collaboration in defense hardware, technologies, and high-tech equipment.
Taiana, after meeting India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, mentioned plans to deepen agreements and sign a new, content-rich Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance defense cooperation between the two countries. He emphasized the possibility of significant advancements in defense cooperation.
While in India, Taiana visited the BrahMos Aerospace facility in New Delhi and met with the CEO of the Indo-Russian aerospace and defense corporation. Additionally, India’s modern Tejas fighter jet is being considered for Argentina’s order of 12 fighter jets. India is reportedly offering a modified variant of the Tejas Mk1A, potentially giving it an advantage over other contenders like Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jets, South Korea’s FA-50, Russia’s MiG-35, and the US F-16s.
During the Argentine defense delegation’s visit to Bengaluru, Taiana signed a Letter of Intent with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for cooperation and the acquisition of Light and Medium Utility Helicopters for the Argentine armed forces. Argentina expressed interest in incorporating models like the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) through cooperative projects.
This collaboration follows visits and meetings between Argentine defense delegations and HAL, which began in March 2022. In June, a HAL delegation visited Argentina to promote bilateral cooperation in the defense industry. The parties also met with the Argentine Air Force and Army to discuss potential options for combat aircraft and helicopters from India.
An agreement was signed between the Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA) and HAL to explore joint development and commercialization of products. This partnership allows FAdeA to access the Indian and Asian markets while enabling HAL to expand in the Latin American market.
Argentina views India as a partner for military base development and a source for military equipment procurement. Ambassador Hugo Javier Gobbi expressed that talks on procuring Tejas aircraft are progressing, and there is significant interest in helicopters as well. Argentina envisions various projects to enhance cooperation in the defense industry with India.
