Text in portuguese
Argentina, which is also discussing buying JF-17 fighters from China, has opened formal talks with Brazil for the purchase of 24 Gripen NG fighters and six KC-390 airlifters, both locally produced by Embraer.
The business forecast is contained in the joint "Declaration for Democracy and Peace", signed by Brazilian Minister Jaques Wagner and his Argentine counterpart, Agustín Rossi, after their bilateral meeting on Tuesday (7), in the capital of Argentina.
In his first official trip abroad as head of Defense, Jaques Wagner said the choice of Argentina as the first country to visit, and the strategic nature of the alliance with that country, is fundamental to the regional integration of South America. Wagner said it was a political decision that strengthens partnership and cooperation in the defense field.
Before opening the negotiations on the purchase of the 24 Gripen NGs, Agustín Rossi reiterated Argentina’s intention of acquiring six Embraer KC-390 cargo aircraft, a Brazilian program in which Argentina is a development partner.
The Gripen NG fighter, designed by the Swedish multinational Saab AB, will be produced in Brazil. In October 2014, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) signed a contract for the purchase of 36 aircraft – 28 single-seaters and 8 two-seaters.
The fighters will be delivered between 2019 and 2024. The investment amounts to US$5.4 billion. Most of the aircraft ordered by the Brazilian air force (FAB) will be produced in-country, in partnership with Brazilian companies that will benefit from the technology transfer under the contract with the Swedish company.
UNASUR and ZOPACAS
In their joint statement, the defense ministers of the two countries reiterated the importance of maintaining the South Atlantic as an area free of weapons of mass destruction, according to the framework defined by the South Atlantic Zone of Peace and Cooperation (Zopacas) – the United Nations initiative of which Brazil and Argentina, in addition to 22 other countries, are signatories.
Wagner and Rossi and also addressed multilateral cooperation within the South American Defense Council (CDS), an agency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The Argentine minister welcomed the project to establish the South American School of Defense, which will strengthen, among both military and civilians, strategic thinking at the regional level.
Another issue addressed by the Ministers is the Unasur Basic Training Aircraft project, an initiative which aims to coordinate the supply chain of several South American countries as well as strengthening the continent’s defense industrial base.
Wagner and Rossi and also reaffirmed their intention to intensify cooperation in Antarctic logistical support, and for joint work in science conducted in that region.
After the meeting, Agustín Rossi told Argentinian reporters that Brazil and Argentina have a long tradition of "tense and intense" relations in the field of defense, and that the two countries are committed to "deepening them permanently."
Minister Jaques Wagner reiterated that he chose to visit Brazil’s neighbor on his first official trip because the two nations have a "significant partnership in this new concept of defense" of South America. Wagner also used the meeting to invite Agustín Rossi to attend the ceremonial maiden flight of the KC-390 freighter, as technically the aircraft has already made its first flight.
