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49-501: Gringo–Gaucho are a contingent set of maneuvers performed between the Argentine Naval Aviation and United States Navy 's aircraft carriers . The US Navy refers to them as Southern Seas in their last edition. Gringo and Gaucho are linguistic and folkloric designations of long standing, respectively. The Argentine Navy continuously operated an aircraft carrier from 1959 to 1990. When ARA Veinticinco de Mayo

98-520: A lack of funds for training and maintenance has left the Navy in poor condition. In particular their aircraft are dependent on a steady supply of foreign-made spares, which has been reduced by currency controls and import restrictions – for example the Fokker F-28 transports are grounded because of spares getting stuck in customs. Argentina hoped to upgrade ten of its eleven remaining Super Étendard to

147-588: A navy officer, Lt Melchor Escola, graduated as a pilot. On 11 February 1916 the naval air station school Fuerte Barragan was created near La Plata and the anniversary of this is marked as Naval Aviation Day. In September 1917 three naval lieutenants were sent to the US Naval Air Station Pensacola from which they were subsequently deployed to Europe to participate in World War I. COAN was officially established on 17 October 1919 as

196-573: A potential solution to the problem of operationalizing the ejection seat system on the aircraft was being explored with the American company Task Aerospace. However, no decision had been taken as to whether the proposed solution would be pursued. In May 2023 it was initially reported that the aircraft would not be brought into service because of the inability to obtain parts for the Mk 6 ejection seat and due to France's inability to provide other spare parts for

245-452: A sergeant injured, both members of Carabineros, creating a tense atmosphere between Chile and Argentina. The British award of 1902 considered the demands of Chile and Argentina as irreconcilable and previous authorization of both governments draw a boundary between the extreme pretensions of the litigants. In the Laguna del Desierto region, the tribunal set the hito 62 (cornerstone 62) at

294-766: Is based at Naval Airbase Almirante Zar , near Trelew to perform sea control and Search and rescue duties along the Argentine coast from the Uruguayan border to the Antarctic Peninsula . List excludes non-operational aircraft (notably P-3B Orion and Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard) in storage or refurbishment In addition to the Naval aviation, a small air fleet is maintained by the Argentine Coast Guard . For aircraft previously operated by

343-519: Is coordinated by US Naval Forces Southern Command , but unlike the Sao Paulo the Argentine aircraft solely perform touch-and-go landings . CSG-10 and USS George Washington conducted Gringo – Gaucho 2024. Argentine Naval Aviation The acronym CANA is often used in English language bibliographies, but is not correct Spanish usage. COAN's origin can be traced to 22 October 1912 when

392-508: The 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt in which Navy F9F Panthers and F4U Corsairs bombed Argentine Army tanks in defense of the Navy base of Punta Indio. A great change came into effect when the Navy received its first aircraft carrier, ARA  Independencia , in 1959. At the time, her aircraft inventory included the F4U Corsair , SNJ-5Cs Texan and Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Trackers . The Navy also had F9F Panther and F9F Cougar jets but

441-691: The Argentine Army in Río Gallegos . On 9 November they were freed and flew to Chile with an envoy of Presidente Frei, Juan Hamilton (then sub-secretary in the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security ). The Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Gabriel Valdés , on 10 November 1965 called the killing of Merino "an unprecedented and unexcusable act in the history of our boundary disputes." In 1994, an international tribunal awarded almost

490-487: The Dominican Republic ), Illia was nicknamed "the turtle" in both editorials and caricatures, and his rule was vaguely referred to as "slow," "dim-witted" and "lacking energy and decision," encouraging the military to take power and weakening the government even more; Confirmado went further, publicly exhorting the public to support a coup and publishing a (non-scientific) opinion poll touting public support for

539-809: The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) leader José Alonso called a general strike in May, and became a vocal opponent of the president. This antagonism intensified after Perón's failed attempt to return in December, and during 1965, CGT leaders began publicly hinting at support for a coup. The triumph of the Peronists party in the March 1965 elections shook the Argentine Armed Forces, both among internal military factions linked to

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588-464: The River Plate , in the infamous Death flights . In 1978, tension with Chile reached the highest point when the Argentine junta initiated Operation Soberanía . The war was avoided at the last minute by the intervention of pope John Paul II . By 1982, in order to maintain power by diverting public attention from the nation's poor economic performance and exploiting the long-standing feelings of

637-677: The Royal Navy 's HMS  Sheffield and the support ship Atlantic Conveyor . The older A-4Qs also had a role, destroying HMS  Ardent . On the eve of war the Argentine carrier ARA  Veinticinco de Mayo attempted to launch a wave of A-4Q Skyhawk jets against the Royal Navy Task Force after her S-2 Trackers detected the British fleet. However, what might have been the first battle between aircraft carriers since World War II did not occur, as poor winds prevented

686-413: The bombing of Plaza de Mayo . Three aircraft were shot down: one by an Argentine Air Force Gloster Meteor in air-to-air combat and two others by anti-aircraft guns. A Grumman J2F was shot down over the town of Saavedra on 18 September that year. Navy pilots would see combat again during 1962–63 internal military fighting between factions known as Azules y colorados (blue and reds), culminating in

735-664: The Argentine Navy, see List of aircraft of Argentine Naval Aviation . Portions based on a translation from Spanish Misplaced Pages. Laguna del Desierto incident [REDACTED]   Argentina [REDACTED]   Chile The Laguna del Desierto incident occurred between four Chilean Carabineros and between 40 and 90 members of the Argentine National Gendarmerie and took place in an area south of O'Higgins/San Martín Lake on 6 November 1965, resulting in one lieutenant killed and

784-703: The Argentines towards the Falkland Islands ( Spanish : Islas Malvinas ) the Junta ordered an invasion and triggered the ten-week-long Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas ). The naval aviation, suffering an arms embargo since 1978 by US President Jimmy Carter for human rights abuses, was in the middle of the process of replacing their A-4Q Skyhawks with French-built Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards . The planes used AM39 Exocet anti-shipping missiles, also purchased from France, to sink

833-525: The Gendarmerie Squadron "Buenos Aires" from El Palomar Airport to the zone and later, on 3 November, the Gendarmerie Squadron 43 was ordered from Río Turbio to meet the "Buenos Aires" in the same area. They were accompanied by journalists and photographers of the magazine Gente y la Actualidad . On 6 November at 14:00 Major Torres received the order to return to the police station. Two Carabineros, Soto and Villagrán, were ordered to bring

882-786: The Naval Air Service. Over the following years, the COAN operated a variety of aircraft, mainly advanced trainer types imported from the USA including the North American AT-6 , the Beechcraft AT-11 and the Consolidated PBY Catalina . Sikorsky S-51 helicopters joined the service shortly after the war in 1949. The COAN received a baptism by fire on 16 June 1955 when naval airplanes took part in

931-826: The Navy received her second carrier, ARA 25 de Mayo , from the Netherlands. On her voyage home, the British company Hawker Siddeley demonstrated its Harrier GR1 but the Argentines opted for the A-4Q Skyhawk instead. More helicopters were incorporated into the new carrier, the Alouette III and the SH-3 Sea King , and also the more advanced S-2E variant of the Tracker. Cargo planes Fokker F-28 and L-188 Electra modified for maritime patrol were also added. The 1970s surface fleet modernization plan included

980-531: The Navy was also interested in the potential acquisition of additional surplus helicopters from Canada, though it remained to be seen whether such a purchase would be realized. COAN has 5 main airbases ( Spanish: Base Aeronaval (BAN) ): The Fuerza Aeronaval 1 (FAE1) is based at Punta Indio Naval Air Base , near La Plata , Buenos Aires. The Fuerza Aeronaval 2 (FAE2) is based at navy airbase Comandante Espora , near Bahía Blanca and consists of all embarked aircraft. The Fuerza Aeronaval Numero 3 (FAE3)

1029-887: The O'Higgins/San Martin Lake and draw the boundary from there to mount Fitz Roy on the Martínez de Rozas Range awarding Chile the complete valley of Laguna del Desierto. In 1946 an aerial reconnaissance of the United States Air Force , ordered by the Chilean government, revealed that the lake emptied to the Atlantic shores. Chile and Argentina had to redraw their maps. The initially organized labour support for 1963 elected Argentine President Arturo Illia turned to antagonism during 1964, as secret plans for Juan Domingo Perón 's return from exile took shape. Accordingly,

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1078-561: The Peronist movement, and in particular among the large section of the army which remained strongly anti-Peronist. In addition, a campaign against the government was also being carried out by important parts of the media, notably Primera Plana and Confirmado , the nation's leading newsmagazines. Seizing on minimally relevant events such as the President's refusal to support Operation Power Pack ( Lyndon Johnson 's April 1965 invasion of

1127-709: The United States Navy does not maintain regular deployments of aircraft carriers in the South Atlantic it is necessary to wait for one of them to perform a transit within Argentine coastal waters. The opportunities occur when the ships perform a transit around South America to move between the East and West coasts of the United States since they are too large for the Panama Canal . The exercise

1176-464: The aging aircraft. However, the Argentine Navy subsequently issued denials and stated that the process of bringing the aircraft into service had not been abandoned. In early 2024, it was reported that the Navy was still working to restore at least two of the aircraft to flying condition. Argentina was working on a procurement of four P-3C Orion aircraft from US Navy surplus stocks. Argentina's current fleet of P-3B's are non operational. The package deal

1225-561: The carrier was not suitable for operating them, although they were embarked on the carrier during their delivery voyage from the United States to Argentina. The Cougar was the first jet to break the sound barrier in Argentina. These jets would be involved in the general mobilization during the 1965 border dispute between Argentina and Chile but no combat occurred. The naval training force received T-28 Trojans , T-34 Mentors and Aermacchi MB-326 jets which would be later reinforced with

1274-502: The deal went ahead it would still take time to bring the ex-US Navy P-3Cs back into flying condition in the United States. As a result, work on the P-3B upgrade continued even though, in December 2022, it was reported that the refurbishment of the P-3B was proceeding slower than anticipated and while a revised delivery date of the first upgraded P-3B had been projected for September 2023, that schedule might now face delays. In February 2023 it

1323-558: The delivery of key spare parts. In 2021 it was reported that the return of these aircraft to an operational configuration was also encountering problems based on the fact that the ejector seats of the aircraft were the MK6, manufactured by Martin Baker in the UK. In early 2022, it was reported that the spare parts problem remained unresolved and the aircraft remained in storage. As of the end of 2022,

1372-398: The heavily loaded jets from taking off. After the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS  Conqueror sank the cruiser ARA  General Belgrano , the carrier returned to port for safety and her Skyhawks began their attacks from mainland Argentina instead. Navy's T-34s and MB-339s , along with Air Force's Pucarás , were the only combat aircraft based on the islands and an MB-339

1421-482: The horses and the other four men prepared their return. At 16:40 they were surrounded by approximately 90 Argentine Gendarmes. As the Chileans noted the encirclement , they called to negotiate, Argentine forces shot dead Lieutenant Hernán Merino and injured Sergeant Miguel Manríquez. Major Torres, Manríquez and Meza were captured and brought, along with Merino's body, to the barracks of Regimiento N° 181 de Combate of

1470-466: The illegal measure. On 4 October 1965, the Chilean settler Domingo Sepúlveda was instructed by Argentine gendarmes to regularize his settlement by the Argentine authorities in Río Gallegos . On 9 October Sepúlveda went to the Chilean Police station at the O'Higgins/San Martín Lake to denounce the Argentine requirement. On 17 October Carabineros sent a platoon to the zone and built an outpost in

1519-459: The inauguration of Alberto Fernández as president in December 2019, the deal was cancelled with the Navy instead being compelled to refurbish its older P-3B fleet. In 2021, it was reported that the final Grumman Tracker aircraft flew for the last time leaving Argentine fixed-wing naval aviation without an anti-submarine capability, unless and until another option is found. However, other reports suggested that at as of 2022 and 2023 at least one S-2T

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1568-482: The lack of an aircraft carrier, pilot qualification tests took place on the Brazilian Navy carrier São Paulo and/or touch-and-go landings on US Navy carriers when they are in transit within Argentine coastal waters for Gringo-Gaucho manoeuvres. On 2008 the United States transferred four Sea King helicopters to replace the two lost in the fire of the icebreaker ARA  Almirante Irizar . As of 2012

1617-613: The last deployments of ARA 25 de Mayo : the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendards and the Israeli upgraded S-2T Turbo Trackers performed qualifications on her until the ship's final retirement. Argentina was the only South American country to send warships, including embarked Alouette IIIs and cargo planes to the 1991 Gulf War under UN mandate. In 1998, Argentina was granted Major Non-NATO ally status by United States President Bill Clinton . Since 2001, due to

1666-498: The latest Super Étendard Modernisé (SEM) standard using equipment from aircraft retired by France. This came into doubt due to their retirement from French service and because relations with France cooled after the UK intervened to block the sale of Spanish Mirage F1s to the Argentine Air Force. Five refurbished Super Etendard aircraft were finally delivered to the Navy from France in 2019. However, these aircraft awaited

1715-643: The most powerful variant MB-339 . More aircraft entered service during the 1960s, including the C-47 Dakota (which were extensively used in Antarctica including the first national landing on the South Pole made in 1962 by Captain Hermes Quijada who departed from Ellsworth Station ), Sikorsky S-55 helicopters and shore based aircraft P-2 Neptunes for maritime patrol duties. In 1969

1764-615: The property of Juana Sepúlveda and later a six-man reconnaissance patrol was sent to a shelter 8 km farther south. They were major Miguel Torres Fernández, lieutenant Hernán Merino Correa , sergeant Miguel Manríquez, the lance-corporal Víctor Meza Durán and the Carabineros Julio Soto Jiménez and José Villagrán Garrido. On 30 October, Eduardo Frei Montalva and Arturo Illia , presidents of Chile and Argentina, met in Mendoza, Argentina and agreed to revert to

1813-493: The purchase of British destroyers with their complement of Westland Sea Lynx helicopters but their use would be affected by the upcoming events. In 1972 aircraft changed the word Naval to Armada painted on them. In 1976, a Military Junta took power in Argentina and initiated a state-sponsored campaign of violence known as the Dirty War . Naval aviators were used to toss political prisoners (the "disappeared") into

1862-489: The status quo before the Argentine requirement: withdraw the forces, no further buildings for Carabineros or Gendarmerie in the zone. On the Argentine side, on 1 November the operation Laguna del Desierto under the command of Osiris Villegas and Julio Rodolfo Alsogaray , chief of the V Division of the Argentine Army and Director of the Argentine Gendarmerie respectively, brought in several DC-3 flights

1911-452: The whole zone to Argentina. After a refused appeal in 1995, Chile accepted the award. Lieutenant Hernán Merino Correa became one of the best-known and emblematic Carabinero in Chile and the statements about him reveal that the image of the ideal Carabinero, one who embodies heroism, devotion to homeland and self-sacrifice, (even to the point of dying) has been successfully maintained. His body

1960-532: Was able to modernize with the lifting of arms embargoes. P-3 Orions and modified Beechcraft Super King Air were incorporated and Eurocopter Fennecs were bought as the new surface fleet embarked helicopter. New-built Agusta SH-3 Sea Kings for Antarctica arrived and UH-1H helicopters were assigned to the naval aviation to support the Argentine Marines . The navy also received Brazilian MB-326 Xavantes to replace their lost MB-339s. The 1980s saw

2009-507: Was approved in September 2019. The US State Department has cleared the transaction of $ 78.03m to be carried out as part of a foreign military sale. It includes the delivery of related equipment and services. Argentina was to receive four turboprop engines for the aircraft and an additional four turboprop engines. It was also to receive communications and radar equipment, Infrared/Electro-optic equipment, and aviation life support systems. The US

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2058-947: Was brought to Santiago where he was accorded a state funeral and he was interred under the monument to the glories of Carabineros de Chile. The Escuela de Fronteras of Carabineros bears his name, as many other schools and streets in Chile. Under the planning of the Commander of the First Division of the Army, General Julio Alsogaray , a military coup against Argentine president Illia took place on June 28, 1966. General Alsogaray presented himself in Illia's office that day, at 5:00 a.m., and 'invited' him to resign his post. Illia refused to do so at first, citing his role as Commander-in-Chief, but at 7:20, after seeing his office invaded by military officers and policemen with grenade launchers, he

2107-495: Was forced step down. The next day, General Juan Carlos Onganía became the new Argentine President. Both countries gave different accounts of the incident, each accusing the other of initiating the attack. Argentine sources denied the number of 90 members of Gendarmes. No official inquiry on the incident have been ever held by the Argentine government. Michel Morris stated that Argentina had used threats and force to pursue its claims against Chile and Great Britain and that some of

2156-492: Was reported that Argentina was negotiating with Norway to purchase three or four of its surplus P-3Cs. In September 2023, Argentina agreed to buy 3x P-3C ASW/ASuW and 1x P-3N search and rescue aircraft from Norway, the first were to arrive at Trelew Almirante Zar Naval Air Base in October 2023. However, by years end the aircraft had not been delivered due to an Argentine failure to make the required payment. In March 2024, it

2205-413: Was reported that the initial payments had been made. Delivery of the first aircraft took place in September 2024, with the remaining aircraft to follow in 2025. In 2022, the Navy took additional measures to try to retain a viable helicopter fleet by acquiring two additional Sea King helicopters in order to increase overall numbers of operational aircraft of this type. Early in 2023, it was reported that

2254-537: Was retired, it was decided to keep an embarked air group with the hope of operating a carrier again in the future. In order to qualify the pilots, the traditional friendship with the Brazilian Navy allowed Argentine naval aviators to operate from the deck of the Brazilian aircraft carriers Minas Gerais and São Paulo during ARAEX exercises. The only other choice available was with the United States. As

2303-478: Was still flying in the maritime surveillance role and efforts were underway to recover the flying condition of two of these aircraft given the overall lack of maritime surveillance capabilities. In June 2022 it was reported that Argentina was seeking to potentially revive the project to purchase the P-3C from the United States since none of the former P-3Bs were operational. However, it was also reported that even if

2352-477: Was the first aircraft to engage the British landing force during the Battle of San Carlos . During the war the last two SP-2H Neptunes were retired due to airframe attrition and replaced with two leased Brazilian EMB 111 Bandeirantes . Four naval aviators died in the war. Fourteen aircraft were lost, to various causes. In 1983, democracy was restored in Argentina and despite stricter military budgets, COAN

2401-400: Was to provide spares plus repairs, aircraft depot maintenance, and logistical support. Contractors for the deal include Logistic Services International, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins and Eagle Systems. These newer Orions were to be up to the latest Orion standard, and provide Argentina with a much needed boost in anti-submarine and maritime surveillance missions. However, in the aftermath of

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