A 17-year-old, second-hand Boeing 737-700 Next Generation (NG) is set to join the transport fleet of the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force).
The Argentine Ministry of Defence announced on April 26 that a crew had arrived at Bangor International Airport in Maine to collect the Boeing 737-76N(W) – serial T-99 (c/n 33420, line number 1459) and ferry it to Argentina. The aircraft had already been painted in an overall grey military colour scheme, with FAA titles and markings, together with the name ‘Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands)’ on the nose.
![Argentine Boeing 737-76N(W) [Argentine Ministry of Defence]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/NewArgentine%20AF%20737%20ready%20for%20dly%2026-4-21%20Arg%20MOD.jpg)
In Argentine service, the new aircraft will be operated by I Brigada Aérea’s Grupo 1 de Transporte Aéreo/II Escuadron (1 Air Brigade’s 1 Air Transport Group/2 Squadron), which is based at El Palomar, Buenos Aires. The FAA already employs another 737, a Series 500 aircraft acquired from the country’s national carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas, in 2014.
The new 737-76N(W) was originally delivered to Ethiopian Airlines and was registered as ET-ALQ in April 2004, later joining Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) as SE-RJR, before being retired and flown from Oslo, Norway, to MoD St Athan in Wales for disposal on December 8, 2020. After being sold to the FAA, the aircraft was re-registered as 2-ACSM for its ferry flight to Bangor on February 13, 2021, where it was prepared for delivery to Argentina.
