STOP HOLIDAYING IN SPAIN. SPAIN is selling a fleet of Mirage fighter jets to Argentina in a £10million deal that fuels suspicions over relations between the nations who are both opposed to British territorial possessions, writes Marco Giannangeli. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner approved the deal, which will give Argentina the capability to attack the Falklands with laser-guided bombs. The 20 aircraft sold to the Argentine military are at Spain’s Albacete air base and will be shipped to Tandil air base south of Buenos Aires. Built in France, the multi-role fighter has a top speed of 1,320mph and a range of 500 miles, boosting Argentina’s ability to “pester” the Falklands from its southern air bases. Spain will provide spares and a training simulator and will train the initial batch of Argentine air force pilots selected from the military’s Fuerza Aerea Argentina Grupo 6 de Caza of the 6th Air Brigade. The Ministry of Defence said the Falklands have adequate air protection from two RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. However, a senior RAF source said: “It will take eight months to get them fully operational and then we may get an indication of their intent and if they decide to fly the aircraft into UK air space. “If the Argentines start playing games and escalate the tension we will see more RAF aircraft being deployed to the Falklands.” Last night Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo said: “Spain has always linked Argentina’s claims on the Falklands with its own position on Gibraltar. “Both nations are in economic dire straits and frequently attempt to boost each other’s claims.”
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 09:50:19 +0000
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