If there is one country in Latin America that has a justified need for purchasing new fighter planes, it's Mexico.
The mainstay of the Mexican Air Force is the Northrop F-5 (that of "Top Gun" fame, remember, playing fake MiGs), a thoroughly obsolete aircraft if judged against the air forces of comparable nations. Yet the main target of the Mexican jet is of course not the jets of other country's armed forces, but that of drug smugglers. Even so, given the excessive wear and tear of these planes, acquired in 1982, the cost has shot up substantially: Around 45 million pesos for 2010.
Mexico, notably, has only nine jet fighters in service. Surely one of the absolute lowest in Latin America, if not the world
Will the United States offer help to help modernize Mexico's air force, or push Mexico to buy U.S. replacement fighters? Or, will Caldéron use the occasion to mark his displeasure with lack of progress on initiatives important to Mexico - immigration, flow of guns, etc - and buy non-US?
Alternatives are: U.S.-made F-16 or F/A 18, British Aerospace Hawk, the French Mirage 2000, or even the Russian Mig-29 and Sukhoi-30 - all, to be sure, used.
mexico should invest in building their own.... Turbojet technology is complicated but doable. building a high performance jet will require a wind tunnel. it will also require knowledge of metalurgy (.ie. metal) and i am not talking about Metallica
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as US citizen, I think it is shameful that the US and Mexico do not have a mutual defense agreement that recognizes Mexico as a full partner. Openness between our countries should be much more mutual and supportive, and real initiatives need taking to normalize standards of living in all North America.
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