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.

The 1970s surface fleet modernization plan included 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.pictorial In 1976, a Military Junta took power in Argentina and initiated a state-sponsored campaign of violence known as the Dirty War.

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 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).

[citation needed] The naval aviation, suffering an arms embargo since 1978 by US President Jimmy Carter for human rights abuses,[n 1] 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 the Royal Navy's HMS Sheffield and the support ship Atlantic Conveyor.

[8] 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 the heavily loaded jets from taking off.

[n 2] 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.

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 1980s saw 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.Video 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.

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.

[19] As of the end of 2022, a potential solution to the problem of operationalizing the ejection seat system on the aircraft was being explored with the American company Task Aerospace.

[25][26][27] 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.

[35] 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.

The Fuerza Aeronaval Numero 3 (FAE3) 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.