The new presidential plane must undergo a new inspection and a test flight before arriving in the country.

The new presidential plane will have to cross a second check before becoming ARG 01, the name chosen to replace Tango 01. This week, an official delegation will travel to Louisiana (United States) to certify that the repairs requested in January have indeed been carried out. Despite the setbacks, the government assures that the operation is still in progress and that the plane will be in the country during the month of March.

“Everything is going according to plan, there have only been delays with the suppliers,” said an official source consulted by Infobase.

A month ago, a delegation traveled to the United States to check the plane and detected 54 expired components or with less than 50% useful life inside the cabin. “The 39 passenger oxygen masks located in the upper roof panels were obsolete. By regulation, their replacement was required, ”says an official report to which this media has had access.

Government emissaries also found that the cabin entertainment system has been uninstalled. “It allows the management of the comfort functions, of all the individual passenger screens, of the LED screens installed in the different areas, of the camera with external recording and of the specific functions of the individual screens in the main room”, explains the same report. On this point, the installation and a demonstration of each of the functions have been requested.

Experts sent by the General Secretariat of the Presidency, in charge of the official fleet, also detected minor problems such as stains in the bathrooms, poorly cleaned carpets and drawers that did not close in the master bedroom. “The plane must be impeccable for its delivery,” they warned the government.

This week, the emissaries they will travel again to complete the inspection. The plane has been in a workshop in Louisiana for some time where former President Donald Trump’s private plane, a Boeing 757, and the Air Force 2, the plane that usually carries current Vice President Kamala Harris, are also being repaired.

If there are no unforeseen events, the next step would be he “acceptance flight”. “It’s a short flight to Sarasota, Florida, because the plane is based there, it’s a tax issue,” said a source familiar with the details.

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The next step would be signing the contract. At that time, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which vouches for the process, must transfer the 22,230,000 USD that the government had tabled before the end of the year.

That’s not all. will also be executed a flight to europe to certify the two engines in the ocean crossing, and several procedures are planned to change the registration of the aircraft. The last step would be the new paint with a pattern similar to that already used in the helicopters of the official fleet, in the colors of the Argentine flag.

Although the dates change weekly, the new presidential plane is expected to arrive in the country during the month of March. When it lands, it will already have a new name: ARG 01. The old name, Tango 01, comes from when official planes were flown by the Air Force. Taking advantage of the change of aircraft, it was decided to rename the entire fleet. For airplanes, they have already been reserved from ARG 01 to ARG 09. And for helicopters, it will be from 10 to 20.

Although the purchase operation is well advanced, the government continues to challenge the selling company, C&L Aviation Groupdue to a series of unforeseen events in recent months.

The company is in fact an intermediary who acted from the beginning with a power of attorney. The plane chosen by the government is in the name of Forte Aviation LLC. “The plane belongs to the ex-wife of an Israeli tycoon who decided to sell it because she wasn’t using it,” said one of the officials who has worked with the operation for more than a year.

Although unknown to the Presidency, C&L had already sold to the Air Force a SAAB 340B aircraft there It has ongoing contracts for the supply of parts and the maintenance of the other aircraft of this force.

The sale of Tango 01 is the end of a long process that began under the government of Mauricio Macri. During these four years, there have been several frustrated attempts to purchase another aircraft: the first tender before ICAO fell due to internal government tenders and the second due to the economic reality of the country.

When Alberto Fernández arrived at Casa Rosada, those responsible for the presidential fleet recommended repairing the Tango 01 with an estimated investment between 12 and 15 million dollars. But the ICAO advised against the repair and the option of an “exchange” was retained, that is to say to change the plane for a similar device of the same make and model. In the international call for tenders, only three bidders and only one ticked all the boxes: C&L’s Boeing 757-256.

The new aircraft has the capacity to 39 passengers, a master bedroom with all comforts, and two other guest bedrooms that can be converted into meeting rooms. Unlike the old Tango 01, it can fly nonstop to Europe or the United States.

The aircraft began flying in 2000, was modified to VIP configuration in 2004 and underwent a restyling in 2012. After lengthy negotiations, the government transferred $22,230,000 and also promised to deliver the old Tango 01, valued at nearly $3 million.

The total investment is over $25 milliona risky move in an election year.

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