Argentina’s Navy will retire its Super Étendard and Super Étendard Modernisé aircraft from active service during 2026, ending long-running efforts to return the French-built strike jets to flight status. The decision, folded into the Navy’s Plan Dédalo restructuring programme, closes a chapter for a fleet that has been grounded for years and leaves naval aviation without a direct fixed-wing strike replacement.
The move forms part of a five-year reorganisation of Naval Aviation and shifts attention away from restoring legacy aircraft toward wider modernisation priorities. Recovery attempts had been hampered by technical and logistics problems, preventing the aircraft from returning to operational use despite repeated effort over several years.
The Super Étendard has been associated with Argentine naval aviation for more than four decades and with the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict. The planned withdrawal means the Armada de la República Argentina will permanently end active use of the type this year, although no detailed disposal schedule or replacement aircraft plan has yet been made public.