Ejército PlatanoHistory -
The Ejército Platano traces its roots in the revolutionary armies of Artigas and San Martín, but formally dates itself to July 21, 1830, when the Cabildo, led by Jefe Bernardino Rivadavia, authorized the formation and upkeep of "an army, sufficient in number to ensure our defense, sufficient in quality to retain our trust, whose members should uphold the values of the Republic." It has kept up to this creed; until 1942, in fact, it was an all-volunteer force. The Ejército Platano has never engaged in open warfare. While occasional border conflicts have occurred, Platinea's strict neutrality has kept it out of war.
Its gear has changed over time. Initially, the Ejército primarily purchased arms from Britain, and styled its uniforms after America. Uniforms were hand-sewn, even after the first sewing machines were introduced in 1870, due to conservatism in the Quartermaster's department. When it received funding to replace its Snider-Enfield rifles (purchased in 1865) in 1883, it elected to purchase Remington rolling-block rifles in lieu of Martini-Henries, marking the beginning of a shift to sourcing arms outside Britain. By 1895, bolt-action rifles were replacing older weapons throughout the world; Platinea, like many other nations, bought a license to produce Mausers chambered in 7x57mm; factories were set up at Rosario to produce the weapons. The same year, with the stigma against machine-sewn uniforms fading, the Ejército Platano received new Singer-sewn uniforms, still made to the old bluecoat patterns first fielded in the 1860s. The artillery arm, which had received limited funding even after the crisis of 1883, was finally updated in 1909 with the purchase of Krupp field guns and Maxim machine guns; doctrine kept machine guns in the artillery corps until 1919, when surplus Chauchats and Vickers Guns were acquired from the American army. Although British-style helmets were adopted, the bluecoat remained the pattern of choice, long after most armies had shifted to some derivative of khaki. In 1933, the Ejército received a major funding boost, and purchased new Italian artillery, machine-guns, and tankettes. Licenses to produce Finnish Suomi sub-machine guns and Lahti antitank rifles were purchased in 1940, with new factories being set up in Montevideo. The first true tanks, 16 Vickers Medium Mk.II tanks, were acquired in 1936; an order for H-35s placed in August 1939 was canceled in September by the French government, forcing the Ejército to design its own tanks. Arsenal Rosario finished development of a modern medium tank, inspired by the American Grant and Sherman tanks and fitted with old Krupp field guns, in March 1945; the first 10
Misi tanks, named after the Quechua for 'cat,' entered service on April 4. Production was cut short when surplus Shermans came available in the winter, but 30 Misi were produced in all. Surplus M3 and M5 halftracks allowed the Ejército to field its first mechanized infantry units in this period. In 1961, having lost the now-independent Armada Aéreo, the Ejército's requests for new weapons for the troops, previously rejected in favor of continued aircraft purchases, were granted; competitive trials between the Soviet AKM, the American M-14 and AR-15, the German G3, and the Belgian FAL led to the selection of the latter, adopted in 1962 as the license-produced Rosario FI 7.62. The same trials saw the Belgian MAG adopted as the AI 7.62 GPMG, replacing the old Breda AI 6.5 LMG and AI 8 HMG. The French AMX-13/105, selected in favor of the Soviet PT-76, the American M41, and an offer from Japan to co-develop and co-produce the Type 61, began moving down the assembly lines of Arsenal Plata in Corrientes in 1964, alongside self-propelled artillery and infantry vehicles based on the same chassis.
Equipment -
The Ejército Platano, like the other branches of the Fuerzas Armadas, relies heavily on locally-produced, foreign-developed equipment, ranging from the Rosario FI 7.62 (FN Herstal's FAL assault rifle), which entered service in the 1960s, to the Arsenal Plata TP-97 Tigre (Degman's M84A4 main battle tank), which finished its production run in 2001.
Major combat vehicles include the Tigre, the PlaFord
VI-83 infantry combat vehicle, the
Arsenal Plata TS-64 Pampa light tank, the
Engesa CB-79 armored car, the
PlaFord VI-70 APC, the
Arsenal Plata VI-64 APC, the
Arsenal Rosario VLC-82 Pampero MRL and the
Kaiser-Rosario OA-64 SPH.
Supply equipment include Unimog trucks and PlaFord M151 MUTT jeeps.
Towed artillery pieces are provided by Arsenal Rosario, in Rosario; these include the
O-77 and O-81 155mm/33 and
O-92 155mm/45 field guns, and the licensed-produced
OC-77 pack 105mm/14 howitzer.
Infantry weapons include the Rosario FI 7.62 assault rifle, FIA 7.62 automatic rifle and FIC 7.62 carbine, the
Toro AI 7.62 machine gun, the
Toro PA-72 submachine gun, the
Toro PS83 pistol, the
Franchi SPAS-15 shotgun, and the Toro FF-84 sniper rifle.
Heavier weapons include the Arsenal Rosario MSS-78 Mathogo and the
Arsenal Corrientes MSS-88 Visacha anti-tank missiles, the
MIA-95 Lance man-portable surface-to-air missile, the Hirtenberger MI 60 and MI-C 60 light mortars, the Hirtenberger MI 81 medium mortar, the Hirtenberger MI 120 heavy mortar, the
Talley Industries/Arsenal Rosario RIS-85 Abogado light anti-tank rocket launcher, and the
Arsenal Montevideo FSR-68 recoilless rifle.
The Ejército Platano controls the air defense belt, 48 batteries of radar-guided Oerlikon cannon set up in installations on the outskirts of the sixteen provincial capital cities.
Armada Platano*History, 1883-1914 -
Until the crisis of 1883, the Armada Platano was a minuscule force, with just a few brigs and schooners to its name. In the wake of the crisis, funding for the Armada shot up, accelerating a naval arms race around the Southern Cone that had started with Peru and Chile. Two
Plata-class pre-dreadnoughts, based on the French
Dévastation, entered service in 1885, joining the monitor
Cabildo (formerly the
USS Dictator, purchased in 1883). By July 1914, the Armada fielded three
Corrientes-class destroyers, a pair of
Garibaldi-class armored cruisers, an
Uruguay-class scout cruiser, and a
Rivadavia-class battleship. Of five
Jujuy-class destroyers ordered, two had been delivered, while the other three were approaching completion; these were to be accompanied by five
Entre Rios-class destroyers to be built by Krupp.
*Two World Wars
The Great War saw the purchase of the remaining three
Jujuys by the French government, while the
Entre Rios-class destroyers were never built. The
Jujuy and
Formosa commissioned in December 1914. In 1915, eight Holland Type 602 submarines being built in the US for the Royal Navy were interned; the British sold two, the
H18 and
H20, to the Armada Platano in 1917. The ex-German dreadnought
Ostfriesland, transferred to America after the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet, was sold to the Armada Platano on July 4, 1921, in lieu of sinking her; she was renamed
Moreno and refit with 12"/50 Bethlehem guns, an American-style secondary armament, and oil-fired boilers. She commissioned with Platinea on February 1, 1922. Three years after this,
Rivadavia was also refit with oil-fired boilers, overhauled machinery, and an improved fire control system. In 1927, the submarine
14 de Mayo, was ordered from OTO in Italy, entering service in 1929. ... On September 1, 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and seized three Platano submarines under construction in Britain. In December, the German pocket battleship
KMS Admiral Graf Spee found herself trapped in Montevideo by neutrality laws and the supposed presence of a large British fleet closing in on the Plate Estuary. Her commander, Captain Langsdorff, was ordered to scuttle the ship, but instead surrendered it to Platano authorities. After negotiations with the British, the Armada Platano kept the ship, renaming it the
Río Plata, and sold the
Rivadavia and
Moreno to the Royal Navy.
Río Plata, with a hand-picked crew, sailed off to Fore River for a year-long refit in January 1940, and returned armed with new 12"/50 guns based on
those planned for the American Alaska-class cruisers, ten 5"/38 DP mounts (replacing the 5.9" secondary and 4.1" AA mounts), and general repairs and refitting.
Río Plata gave the Armada Platano its first radar-equipped ship. ...
*1950s to 1970s
The first postwar ship purchase was the 1952 acquisition of the American cruiser
Brooklyn, renamed the
Belgrano. New
*1980s on
...In 1984, the Armada Platano and the Armada Aéreo Platano had developed independent visions for the future of their branch in the 1990s. The former sought to acquire a larger carrier, such as the French
Foch, a new cruiser, such as the Italian
Andrea Doria, and nuclear submarines; the latter sought to acquire new fighters to replace its aging Tunnans, along with replacement helicopters and new transports. In the budget battles, the Armada Aéreo won out, but when the Armada Aéreo's helicopter replacement program fell through in 1991, and the Armada Platano took the remaining funds for its own use, with a number of purchases considered - including the joint acquisition (with Argentina) of the ex-Soviet carrier
Varyag. Ultimately, 12 Su-22 jet fighter-bombers, four
Parchim-class corvettes, eight
Kondor-class minesweepers, four
Frosch I-class LSTs, nine Mi-14 SAR helicopters, and a battalion's worth of BTR-70 amphibious APCs were acquired. In 2002, the aging
Intrépida-class fast attack boats were replaced by two Israeli
Aliyas, which took on the same names; by this time, the aging cruiser
Belgrano was shifted into the training role.
*Aircraft
Naval Air Corps and Naval Air Arm, 1919-1964 -
The Naval Air Corps, starting with the purchase of four Sopwith Camels in 1919, was the first aviation unit the Fuerzas Armadas Platanas. Though further Camels were not bought, 1920 saw the purchase of 12 Nieuport 28 biplane fighters and 8 Curtiss HS maritime patrol flying boats. In 1925, 20 of Dewoitine's D.21 monoplane fighter were purchased to replace the Camels and Nieuports, while 8 Curtiss Model 37 Falcon scout planes were also brought into service; four years later, the first bombers - 4 Curtiss Model 52 Condor biplanes - were acquired. Four Dewoitine D.26 trainers and 20 D.27 fighters were acquired in 1931, while 30 Curtiss SOC Seagull biplane scout seaplanes were bought between 1935 and 1938, when the Naval Air Corps was transferred to the Ejército's emerging Armada Aéreo. In 1961, when the AAP became an independent branch, the Armada Platano formed the Naval AIr Arm, purchasing 6 Canadair CL-28 patrol bombers and 12 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19P fighters after evaluative trials.
Carrier aviation:
Rivadavia -
The Naval Air Arm got a shot in the arm in 1964, when the Armada purchased the
HMAS Melbourne, an ex-British light carrier that had been damaged in a collision with a destroyer. Over the next two years, the carrier was refit and repaired, and an air group was assembled, training aboard the Argentine carrier
Heroína. The
Melbourne, renamed
Rivadavia, fielded 8 F-9J Cougar jet fighters (out of 20 purchased), 6 S-2E Tracker ASW aircraft (out of 12 purchased), and 2 Westland Wessex HAS31 ASW helicopters (out of 12 purchased) starting in 1966. In 1975, with the
Rivadavia coming due for refit in a year, the Armada began searching for a replacement for the Cougars, evaluating the proposed Sea Harrier FRS.1 (which would have required a ski-jump), the A-4J Skyhawk, the F-8E(FN) Crusader (which would have required a stretched flight deck), and a navalized Mirage V before finally selecting Dassault's proposed Super Étendard; temporarily, a squadron of 12 Étendard IVM strike fighters was acquired from the French Navy. From 1979 to 1992, when it left the Armada Platano, the airgroup of the refit
Rivadavia consisted of 12 Super Étendards (out of 25 purchased) and 6 Trackers (out of nine survivors). To train aircrews, the Naval Air Arm acquired 10 Aerotec Uirapurus in 1975, replacing the aging Texans that had been acquired from the Ejército back in 1961.
Naval aviation:
Mitre and other ships -
When Navantia's BPE design was selected as the replacement for the
Rivadavia, a new airgroup was required. While Yakovlev's proposal to jointly develop their Yak-141 with Plavia and Lockheed Martin was briefly considered, the AV-8S Matador, already in use with the Spanish Navy, was selected for the strike fighter role, with 25 purchased in all. The choice of helicopters, on the other hand, was more complex. Initially, the Armada Platano had used the Westland Wessex as its primary ASW helicopter, starting with the
Rivadavia herself back in 1966; however, when the Armada acquired the
HMCS St. Laurent (renamed the
Segui), a Canadian destroyer in 1974, it also acquired the ship's Sea King helicopter; 10 others were purchased and operated from shore. Meanwhile, the
Reyes-class corvettes, the
Almirante Brown-class destroyers, and the
Belgrano operated SA-316B Alouette-IIIs, while the
Hercules-class [Type 42] destroyer and the
Constitución-class [Leander Batch 2] frigates operated Sea Lynx helicopters. The Armada Platano, seeking to standardize and cut down on maintenance costs, selected the AS-555 Fennec as a replacement for all light ASW helicopters then in service in 1991, retiring the
Segui and the three
Constitución-class frigates the same year. Forty Fennecs were acquired from 1991-1994; the six surviving Sea Kings, refit for the AEW role, were retained in service aboard the
Mitre.
Naval aviation: land-based -
When the Armada Platano sold the
Rivadavia to the scrapyard, it did not sell off its airgroup. In fact, it has not only retained the S-2Es (since refit into S-2T Turbo-Trackers) and Super Étendards, it has even acquired new aircraft: 12 East German Su-22M4 fighters refitted by Thomson-CSF to M5 standards in 1996, 9 ex-Soviet Mi-14 SAR helicopters, Pilatus PC-9M primary trainers and PC-9B target tugs, and two EMD-90 AWACS jets, which use the Israeli Phalcon phased array radar.
*Equipment
1
Mitre-class BPE [CVS]
1
Belgrano-class CA
4
Almirante Brown-class DDG
8
Reyes-class FSG
4
Vibora-class FS
2
Intrépida-class BRAM [FACM]
2
Santa Cruz-class SSK
4
Bahía de Samborombón-class BDT [LST]
8
Cormorán-class MSC
1
Enrique Mosconi-class BAL [AOR]
2
Francisco de Gurruchaga-class ROF [ATF]
25 AV-8S Matador
20 Super Étendard
12 Su-22M5
6 S-2T Tracker
40 AS-555 Fennec
2 EMD-90
6 Sea King AEW.1
9 Mi-14
5 Pilatus PC-9B
10 Pilatus PC-9M
Matra MAA-76 MagoRaytheon MAA-90 Sidewinder {AIM-9L}
Vympel MAA-91 Brujo {R-60M}
Matra MAS-76 Marta {AS-37}
MBDA MAS-80 Exocet {AM39}
Selenia MSA-83 VíboraKBM MSA-91 Dardo {SA-N-5}
MBDA MSS-75 Exocet {MM38}
MBDA MSS-82 Exocet {MM40}
IAI MSS-102 Gabriel {Gabriel Mk.II}
*Naval Infantry
The Batallón de Infantería del Armada Platano, with four infantry companies, a tank company (operating Soviet TS-65s [PT-76s]), an artillery battery (operating LVTH-6s), and support units, consists of 1566 troops in all. [history]
Armada Aéreo PlatanoHistory, 1919-1960s -
The AAP dates back to 1919, when Platinea purchased four war-surplus Sopwith Camels for trials. The 1920s saw the formation of a corps of aviators within the navy, which acquired Dewoitine, Nieuport and Curtiss airplanes. In 1938, after the retirement of its long-serving general-in-chief Augusto Medillo, the Ejército purchased its first aircraft: 15 Curtiss Hawk 75O fighters, designed for rough-field performance. The surviving navy planes were transferred over with the rest of the naval air arm, which would not be reformed until the 1960s. In 1939, Plavia obtained a license to produce Curtiss Hawks domestically, and by 1942, the army's air arm had swelled to 50 Hawks, along with 6 Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers. In 1945, these planes were replaced by 10 war surplus Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers and 40 Hawker Hurricane IV fighters. Plavia's efforts to build an indigenous jet fighter in the early 1950s nearly bankrupted the company; fortunately for it, in 1955, Platinea successfully negotiated a contract for Plavia to build F-86FP Sabres, armed with two Hispano 20mm cannon instead of 6 machine guns. From 1956 to 1959, 100 F-86FP jets were built for Platinea's new Armada Aéreo Platano, which became independent of the Ejército in 1961. The F-86FP proved adequate, but by 1963, when Chile acquired supersonic Super Mystères, the AAP felt compelled to purchase a replacement, selecting the Saab J32B in 1964. Forty were purchased in all; armed with MAA-63 Sidewinders and MAA-67 Falcons, they provided an effective deterrent to any regional opponent of the era.
-History, 1970s on
In 1970, the Armada Aéreo decided to acquire a new transport fleet, replacing the small force of surplus DC-3s; four Lockheed Martin C-130B and eight Aeritalia G.222 transports were purchased over the next two years. In 1974, after competitive evaluations with the Saab 105, the Soko J-20, the BAC Strikemaster, and the North American Rockwell OV-10D Bronco, Fabrica Militar de Argentina's IA-58 Pucará was selected as the Armada Aéreo's new ground attack aircraft; 32 were acquired in all, starting in 1975. Two years later, 20 Beechcraft T-34C Turbo-Mentor trainers were purchased, replacing the T-6 as the primary trainer of the Armada Aéreo. In 1980, the Armada Aéreo began to consider new aircraft to replace the J32Bs, along with new air-to-air missiles to replace the aging Sidewinders and Falcons. A new AAM was selected first, with the Rafael Python-3 beating out the Raytheon AIM-9N, the Matra R550 Magic, the Vympel R-60, and the EOTDC PL-3; with that selection made, tentative Soviet proposals to export the Sukhoi Su-22 or Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
bis were withdrawn, leaving the Dassault Mirage 2000, the General Dynamics F-16 Viper, the IAI Kfir C.2, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, the Northrop F-20 Tigershark, and the Shenyang J-8II. Evaluative trials in 1984 and 1985 led to the selection of the Viper, and astute Platano negotiators won domestic production rights for Plavia. The Lansens they replaced were mostly sold to scrap yards, though two were converted into target tugs. In 1989, the Armada Aéreo purchased two Nord N-2501 Gabriel SIGINT planes from the French Air Force, along with ten new-built Transall C-160NG transports, two configured as tankers. Since then, apart from the 2007 purchase of 13 Super Tucano advanced trainers and 8 Su-29 aerobatics planes, the Armada Aéreo has acquired no new airplanes. After the collapse of the AC-10 program, it has been budgeted funds to purchase new fighters to replace the Vipers.
-Helicopters
The first Armada Aéreo helicopters, 20 Aérospatiale SA-321 Super Frelon heavy transports, were acquired in 1975-1977; these were soon nicknamed Caballos, as they carried the Gauchos of the 1
o Batallón de Caballería Aérea, the first air cavalry unit fielded in Platinea. Over time, as the Battalón grew into a regiment, and later a division, new helicopters were acquired - UH-1N light utility helicopters in 1978-1979, AH-1J-International attack helicopters in 1980, MBB Bo-105CB scout helicopters in 1982, and AS-532UL/AL Cougar medium transport helicopters in 1985. A program to develop new, locally-produced attack and utility helicopters with the cooperation of Argentina, begun in 1984, was ultimately canceled in 1990. The Caballos were retired in 1998, replaced by CH-47Ds.
Current aircraft -
42 Plavia/General Dynamics F-16AP Viper jet fighters
8 Plavia/General Dynamics F-16BP Viper jet lead-in trainers
21 FMA IA-58A Pucará ground attack planes
8 Aeritalia G.222 transport planes
4 Lockheed Martin C-130B Hercules transport planes
8 Transall C160NG transport planes
2 Transall C160NG tanker-transports
2 Nord N-2501 Gabriel SIGINT planes
13 Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano advanced trainers
18 Beechcraft T-34C Turbo-Mentor primary trainers
2 Saab J32D Lansen target tugs
10 Cessna A-182 Skylane utility planes
8 Sukhoi Su-29 aerobatics planes
Current weapons -
Rafael MAA-82 Cobra short-range air-to-air missile
Rafael MAA-97 Cobra-2 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile
Arsenal Montevideo MAS-85 Pescador air-to-surface missile
Future equipment of the Fuerzas Armadas:-The Lyran-Yanitarian AY-144L, designated FIN 6.5 by the Ejército Platano, has been selected to replace the FI 7.62, FIA 7.62, and FIC 7.62.
-The Naval Air Arm of the Armada Platano has acquired 10 Lyran LY908 Warhawk fighter-bombers, supplementing (and ultimately replacing) the Super Étendard.
[WIP]