The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory in 1814 at the Battle of Montevideo over the Spanish fleet during the war of Independence.

As Buenos Aires had little maritime history, most men in the navy were from other nations, such as the Irish-born admiral William Brown, who directed the operation.

Brown led the Argentine navy in further naval conflicts at the War with Brazil and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata.

[6] A naval arms race between Argentina, Brazil and Chile, the most powerful and wealthy countries in South America, began when the Brazilian government ordered three dreadnoughts.

During the 1976 to 1983 dictatorship, Navy personnel were involved in the Dirty War in which thousands of people were kidnapped, tortured and killed by the forces of the military junta, similar to practices which are now known as enforced disappearance.

Among their more well-known victims were the Swedish teenager Dagmar Hagelin, and French nuns Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet (In October 2007 the Argentine Navy formally handed possession of the school to human rights groups to turn it into a memorial museum).

[citation needed] During this regime, the Navy was also the main supporter of a military solution for the country's two longest-standing disputes: the Beagle Conflict with Chile and the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) with the United Kingdom.

[citation needed] During the 1982 Falklands War the main Argentine naval fleet consisted of modernised World War II era ships (one GUPPY-type submarine, one British-built Colossus-class carrier, a cruiser, and four destroyers), and newer vessels: two Type 42 destroyers, three French-built corvettes, and one German-built Type 209 submarine.

After HMS Conqueror sank ARA General Belgrano, the Argentine surface fleet did not venture from a 12-mile (22.2 km) coastal limit imposed by the British.

The Argentine Navy's contribution to the war was principally the initial amphibious assaults on 2 and 3 April; naval aviation Super Étendards armed with Exocet missiles, which sank Sheffield and the Atlantic Conveyor; Skyhawks, which sank HMS Ardent (F184); and the Marines, with the 5th Marine Corps Battalion defending Mount Tumbledown.

In addition, the Type 42 destroyer ARA Santísima Trinidad, operated off Isla de los Estados (en: Staten Island).

[citation needed] The ARA San Luis submarine also played a strategic role, nearly sinking the frigate HMS Arrow on 10 May,[14] although she scored no hits.

The submarine ARA Santa Fe, after a successful resupply mission, was attacked and disabled off South Georgia, where her crew then surrendered along with the Argentine detachment at Grytviken.

The core of the fleet was reformed with the retirement of all the World War II-era Fletcher and Gearing-class destroyers and their replacement with the MEKO 360 and 140 classes designed by the German shipyard Blohm + Voss.

This situation was expected to improve in 2006 with the delivery by France of the first of the LPD Ouragan-class landing platform docks but the whole operation was placed on hold by the Argentine Government due to asbestos concerns.

[18] In 2003, for the first time, the Argentine Navy (classified as major non-NATO ally) interoperated with a United States Navy battle group when the destroyer ARA Sarandí (D-13) joined the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and Destroyer Squadron 18 as a part of Exercise Solid Step during their tour in the Mediterranean Sea.

[citation needed] In October 2012 the Navy's sail training ship ARA Libertad was seized under court order in Ghana by creditors of Argentina's debt default in 2002.

[citation needed] On 15 November 2017, the ARA San Juan (S-42) stopped communicating during a routine transit to port following a military exercise.

[29] The final report made by Argentine congressmen stated that president Mauricio Macri and his defence minister had political responsibilities about what happened to ARA San Juan.

[36] Minister Taiana also visited Germany for a meeting with his ministerial counterpart, in order to explore the possibility of acquiring German-built submarines, either independently or in tandem with an interim acquisition of the Brazilian Navy's Tupi-class boats.

Contractors for the deal include Logistic Services International, Lockheed Martin, Rockwell Collins and Eagle Systems.

[38] However, in the aftermath of the inauguration of Alberto Fernández as president in December 2019, the deal appeared to be in limbo with the Navy now apparently considering completing the refurbishment of its older P-3B fleet pending the outcome of further discussions around the P-3C acquisition.

[40] 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 2020, the Ministry of Defence informed Congress of a desire to acquire a Landing Platform Dock (LPD) as well as two naval transport vessels to increase logistical capacity, including in relation to the country's claims and presence in the Antarctic.

[46] In March 2023, an agreement was signed by Defence Minister Jorge Taiana for the Tandanor and Río Santiago shipyards to develop a multipurpose landing ship for the Argentine Navy.

[53] Subsequently in June 2024, the chief of the Argentine Navy, Vice Admiral Carlos María Allievi, suggested that the idea of converting any additional Espora-class vessels to the offshore patrol role had been abandoned.

For instance, the proposed submarine acquisition from Brazil would require extensive refurbishment of the vessels prior to being ready for renewed operational service with the Argentine Navy.

In 2021, one analyst noted that over the past thirty years the Argentine navy has lost many core capabilities, including its aircraft carrier (along with most of its fixed-wing combat aviation), submarines and area air defence vessels.

During the Falkland's War, Argentine naval aviation employed the Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard fighter and its Exocet air-to-surface missiles being responsible for the destruction of both HMS Sheffield as well as the merchant vessel Atlantic Conveyor.

Efforts to upgrade and retain the Super Etendard in service were initially reported to have been abandoned in 2023 due to a combination of U.K. sanctions impacting the ability to obtain spare parts for the Martin Baker Mk.