As we knew, President Macron's South American tour, on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio, was an opportunity for Paris to talk about submarines, and more specifically, Scorpene Evolved submarines.
Indeed, the three countries visited by the French head of state, before going to Rio, had expressed needs to acquire new submarines, as part of the modernization of their naval forces.
As usual, France has remained very discreet in discussions with the leaders of these three countries. However, information is now emerging, and seems to outline a year 2025 just as active as 2024, with three contracts and eight Scorpene Evolved submarines in negotiations for completion.
In this section:
Buenos Aires signs letter of intent for 3 Scorpene Evolved for the Argentine Navy
The negotiations between Paris and Buenos Aires, around the order of 2 or 3 new submarines, have been known for several months. For the Argentine Navy, it is a question of regaining an essential capacity for the security of its 5000 km of coastline and the 1,16 million km² of its exclusive economic zone, since 2020 and the withdrawal of the Santa Cruz submarine.
However, for the last ten years, Argentina has been under severe economic constraints, prohibiting any initiative in this area. After the electoral victory of the ultra-liberal and libertarian Javier Gerardo Milei, in December 2023, he has undertaken reforms as brutal as they are effective from the point of view of public finances, to get the Argentine economy back on its feet.
In fact, by the second quarter of 2024, the Argentine armed forces were once again able to implement certain critical programs, including the acquisition of 24 used Danish F-16 C/Ds with munitions, equipment and services provided by the United States, for just under $1 billion, which was finalized on October 30, 2024.
In the submarine field, Buenos Aires considered two competing offers, the Type 209 NG proposed by the German tKMS, and the Scorpene from Naval Group. According to the regional specialist press, it is therefore the French submarine which would have been imposed, the Minister of Defense Luis Petri and the head of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Carlos Allievi, having signed a letter of intent in this sense for the acquisition of three French ships.
According to the same sources, the submarines would be identical to the Brazilian Riachuelo, a 1,870-ton submerged vessel that is characterized by an autonomy of more than 18,000 km, high speeds and great discretion. For the Argentine Navy, since Argentine needs are very similar to those of Brazil, the choice of this model was natural.
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"Huge ones as brutal as they are effective." Not for everyone:
More than 55% of the population now lives below the poverty line, up from around 42% at the end of 2023. Extreme poverty has also increased, affecting 18% of Argentines. Cuts in subsidies and the privatization of public services have particularly exacerbated social inequalities.
I think we need to be careful when using words. Effective, you say! This has no direct connection with the theme of the article, I admit, but if the situation of Naval Group is encouraging, we need to keep a step back. Best regards. And bravo for this analysis.
I don't think I'm saying anything else with the whole sentence "reforms as brutal as they are effective from a public finance point of view". Brutal -> social destruction. Effective from a public finance point of view, that's also indisputable. Furthermore, I have no sympathy for the libertarian movement. But that's not the subject of the article.
Hello Fabrice, you are right to point out that the subject of the article is not in politics in general. I find that we are slipping too much into political considerations when we are supposed to be talking about DEFENSE policy.
In any case, the Argentinian contract is linked to a financing capacity that will be granted to the country or not depending on its capacity to pay for its investment. And as they say, one swallow does not make a summer and Argentina is not yet stabilized in terms of its finances.
It is important to understand that France will soon have to make decisions of the same type because our social model is collapsing without its current beneficiaries being aware of it.
Only in this way will we be able to restore adequate public services.
Cock-a-doodle-doo, for once let's let our rooster crow on top of our submarine kiosk, it'll be a change from his usual pile of manure.
I hope that these contracts that are coming one after the other will make our Australian friends pale with envy, who are not about to see gold-plated submarines, given the price they are supposed to pay for them. Well, if they ever see one...