Financing becomes a hurdle in Argentina’s quest for new submarines

SANTIAGO, Chile — The Argentine government is moving closer to buying new submarines, eying the acquisition of three Scorpene boats from France’s Naval Group that could cost $2 billion, according to military sources in Buenos Aires.

The latest development in the procurement saga is that a Letter of Intention (LoI) was expected to be signed by middle of October, but negotiations over the financial details are taking more time, these sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

While France is willing to grant favorable credit conditions, Argentina is having trouble satisfying loan guarantees demanded by banks involved in the deal due to the country’s troubled financial history, according to the sources.

The effort to buy new boats is driven by the fact that the Argentine Navy has virtually no serviceable submarine today. ARA San Juan, one of its two TR-1700 type boats built in Germany in the 1980s, was lost in South Atlantic waters near Cape Horn in November 2017. Meanwhile, refitting and upgrade work on sister ship ARA Santa Cruz, which started in 2016, has been suspended since 2020 and is now virtually cancelled.

ARA Salta, an aging German-built Type 209, remains in service only as a platform for basic training, as she boat cannot dive. For more advance specialist training Argentine crews are being currently sent to spend time with the Peruvian Navy.

Vicente García, an independent security and defense analyst based in Montevideo, Uruguay, says the Argentine sea service needs new submarines “without any doubt.” But the government should be mindful of cost, considering that the other military services also have modernization requirements, he added.

In that context, García said, an initial buy of pre-owned boats would make more sense.

Administrative reductions and cuts in social services pushed by President Javier Milei have yet to prove that they can grow the country’s fiscal liquidity, García added.

“Argentina’s country risk assessment remains high and with between 53% and 57% of the population under the line of poverty, there is a potential for social convulsion and political instability, which can lead to a deterioration of the economy.”

As F-16 fighter jets and P-3C maritime patrol aircraft have been recently acquired second-hand from Denmark and Norway, for the Air Force and Navy, respectively, the modernization of the fleet of TAM medium tanks of the Army has also gained momentum this year.

Besides submarines, the current shopping list also includes frigates for the Navy, wheeled armored vehicles for the Army, helicopters for the three services, and a new standard assault rifle.

José Higuera is a Latin America correspondent for Defense News.

智利圣地亚哥——据布宜诺斯艾利斯的军方消息人士透露，阿根廷政府正朝着购买新潜艇的方向迈进，有意从法国海军集团采购三艘鲉鱼级潜艇，预计耗资20亿美元。

据消息人士透露，采购事件的最新进展是，原计划在 10 月中旬签署意向书 (LoI)，但有关财务细节的谈判需要更多时间。这些消息人士因讨论敏感议题而要求匿名。

消息人士称，虽然法国愿意提供优惠的信贷条件，但由于阿根廷糟糕的金融历史，该国难以满足参与该交易的银行所要求的贷款担保。

阿根廷海军急于购置新潜艇，是因为目前该海军几乎没有可用的潜艇。其两艘TR-1700型潜艇之一的“圣胡安”号（ARA San Juan）于2017年11月在南大西洋合恩角附近海域沉没，该艇于上世纪80年代在德国建造。与此同时，其姊妹艇“圣克鲁斯”号（ARA Santa Cruz）的改装升级工程自2016年启动以来一直处于停滞状态，目前实际上已被取消。

“萨尔塔”号是一艘老旧的德国建造的209型潜艇，由于无法潜水，目前仅作为基础训练平台使用。为了接受更高级的专业训练，阿根廷艇员目前正在秘鲁海军接受培训。

常驻乌拉圭蒙得维的亚的独立安全与国防分析师维森特·加西亚表示，阿根廷海军“毫无疑问”需要新型潜艇。但他补充说，考虑到其他军种也有现代化需求，政府应该注意成本。

加西亚表示，在这种情况下，最初购买二手船会更有意义。

加西亚补充说，哈维尔·米莱总统力推的行政削减和社会服务削减措施尚未证明能够增加国家的财政流动性。

“阿根廷的国家风险评估仍然很高，53%至57%的人口生活在贫困线以下，存在发生社会动荡和政治不稳定的可能性，这可能导致经济恶化。”

由于空军和海军最近分别从丹麦和挪威二手购入了 F-16 战斗机和 P-3C 海上巡逻机，陆军的 TAM 中型坦克现代化进程今年也加快了步伐。

除了潜艇之外，目前的采购清单还包括海军的护卫舰、陆军的轮式装甲车、三军的直升机以及一种新的制式突击步枪。

何塞·伊格拉是《防务新闻》拉丁美洲记者。