The Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force, FAA) has officially retired the IA-58 Pucará, but is now examining options for an upgrade to Fénix-standard and a new surveillance role.
Having shot to fame in the Malvinas/Falkland Islands conflict of 1982, the FMA IA-58 Pucará achieved half a century of flying shortly before it was officially retired from Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force, FAA) service on October 4, 2019. The first example made its maiden flight on August 20, 1969, and it went on to become one of the most well-known Latin American military aircraft.
The Pucará was designed for the close air support (CAS) and counter-insurgency mission, finally entering operational service in August 1975, despite already suffering from obsolescence issues and a lack of spares for its Turbomeca Astazou XVI-G engines. Ultimately, 105 examples were manufactured and small numbers of aircraft were operated by Colombia, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay, as well as the primary and final user — Argentina.
In later life, the engine issue worsened to the point that a re-engining project was planned, but it has yet to progress past prototype stage. The final FAA unit, Grupo 3 de Ataque of the III Brigada Aérea, was reduced to …
