AAF: Morón AFB 2002 Pictorial

Argentine Air Force

BAM Morón in 2002

SAORBATS

VII Air Brigade - Moron, Buenos Aires - August 2002

All photos by Christian Villada unless otherwise stated


The Cessna 182 registration PG-344 was last seen in service in May 1997. It is currently on display in the INAC park
    

Cessna 182 registration PG-355 with Central Air Region (RACE) markings, without an engine, in a hangar at VII Air Brigade
    



This Cessna A150L PG-395 had civil registration LV-DNA. It is now retired and on display at the entrance to INAC



Piper PA-28-236 (or PA-28D Dakota) registration PG-441 on display at the entrance to INAC. Of the 10 aircraft received by INAC for instrument training, at least 3 were retired.
    


AR-25-235 registration PG-434 of INAC. It is a variant of the Piper PA-25 Pawnee manufactured in Argentina by Chincul. Two examples are used at INAC as crop-spraying trainers
    


Piper PA-34S Seneca III registration PG-312. INAC uses 3 examples for multi-engine training.



The PA-31 Navajo VR-22 is equipped for radio-aid calibration missions, although it is apparently used as a transport at INAC
    


The Gates Learjet 35A is equipped for radio-aid calibration missions. It is operated by Air Group 2
    


C-130H registration TC-65 of Transport Group 1 (G1T), based at El Palomar, Buenos Aires province


IA-58A Pucara A-512 of Attack Group 3 (G3A)
    


A-4AR C-912 of Fighter Group 5 (G5C)
    

B45 Mentor showing its weapons display. The two grey bombs are Sitea INC-50Kg incendiary bombs, which can be filled with kerosene, petrol or JP-1


Part of the B45 armament of the School Air Group (GAE) of the Military Aviation School. On the left is the MA-2A "Experimental" rocket pod for 70 mm FFAR rockets. Slightly further back is an ARM-657-A Mamboreta for 6 57 mm Aspid rockets. In the background is a 7.62 mm Browning M1919A1 machine gun and, a little further forward, an L-10 bomb rack capable of carrying 100Kg with a 50Kg general-purpose bomb
    


Embraer EMB-312 Tucano registration E-130 of the GAE. At the front right is a Mamboreta rocket pod, behind it a SITEA INC-100Kg incendiary bomb and beside the wheel a Browning M1919A1. Hanging from the underwing pylon is a 125Kg general-purpose bomb.
    


At the front right is an Aero 4B practice bomb launcher capable of carrying 8 3-pound bombs. These bomb racks are also used by the Pucara and the Mentor


Weapons display of the IA-63 Pampa EX-01 of the Flight Test Centre (CEV). On the left is a LAU-61/A rocket launcher for 19 70 mm FFAR rockets, then 50, 125 and 250 Kg general-purpose (GP) bombs. At the front is an A/A37B-3 (PMBR) practice bomb dispenser with 3 25-pound Mk. 76 bombs and further to the right a Mamboreta rocket pod. On the outer underwing station is a 50 Kg GP bomb and on the inner station 2 125Kg GP bombs hanging from a TER rack. Note the 30 mm Aero Cuar FAS 460 cannon under the fuselage
    


250Kg FAS-800A fragmentation bomb. It uses a FAS-1020 proximity fuze that detonates by proximity, scattering 38,000 9 mm-diameter anti-personnel balls. For low-altitude release, a CFP retardation tail can be fitted
    

Another view of the FAS 800A. There is another 125Kg version called the FAS-800B


Parachute-retarded FAS-250 bomb. It can be released at high speed from a minimum altitude of 30 metres
    

3 FAS-250s hanging from a TER rack




250Kg FAS-300 cluster bomb. Note the small rockets arranged laterally, which impart the necessary rotation to the bomb for optimum dispersion of its submunitions



The FAS-300 has 2 versions: the FAS-300A is capable of releasing 220 bomblets with impact fuzes, while the FAS-300B has 88 bomblets with delay fuzes of up to 52 hours. It is capable of releasing its submunitions over an area of up to 58,500 square metres
    
FAS-850 Dardos I stand-off bomb. It can be released at 50,000 feet and propelled by a rocket that gives it a range of 15 Km, with a theoretical load of 91 AP or AT bomblets. However, the Dardos I is apparently only the first step towards the Dardos II, which would be a square-shaped winged bomb with GPS guidance
    


The FAS-260 is a parachute-retarded and rocket-accelerated anti-runway bomb, similar in concept to the French BAP-100. It weighs 37 Kg and penetrates 30 cm before exploding. Its minimum release altitude is 80 metres


The FAS-280 is a 34 Kg fragmentation bomb used in conjunction with the FAS-260 to destroy aircraft, personnel and unarmoured or lightly armoured vehicles. On exploding, its outer steel structure fragments into 1,500 pieces, to which are added 4,800 steel balls of 8 and 9 mm capable of piercing armour between 7 and 20 mm thick
    


Bertolina Hnos. LI-9B bomb rack. Up to 9 FAS-280 or FAS-260 bombs can be fitted to it and fired by an intervalometer. The LI-9B is fitted to an underwing station; there is also the LI-18B, which is fitted to a ventral station and is capable of carrying 18 of the aforementioned bombs


The Albatros BSH 02 of the National Aeronautics Museum (MNA) looked truly gleaming


Another aircraft destined for the MNA is this Fokker F-27 Mk.600 registration T-42, which is waiting without engines in a hangar at VII Air Brigade to be restored
    

This Sikorsky S-62 registration H-02 is the MNA's latest acquisition. It was used as presidential transport
    

The H-02 was withdrawn from service after certain structural modifications made to adapt it better to its VIP transport role proved unsuccessful. The helicopter suffered from excessive vibrations in flight, so it was decided to retire it


Bell 212 registration H-87 of Squadron I of Air Group 7 (GA7). This aircraft was originally a UH-1N that served with the Israeli IDF. It was purchased by the FAA, which modified it to Bell 212 standard
    

Hughes 500D registration H-41 in Avispa configuration of GA7
    

Bell UH-1H registration H-11 of Squadron III of GA 7


One of the visitors was this Robinson R44 registration GN-923 of the Gendarmerie. Note the FLIR in the nose for road surveillance
    

Pilatus PC-12N GN-810 of the National Gendarmerie. It serves as an air ambulance and VIP transport
    


CASA C-212M-300 registration PA-71 of the Argentine Naval Prefecture


Weapons of the Command Support Squadron (EAC), the FAA special unit. From top to bottom and left to right can be seen: a 5.56 mm G-41 rifle with 40 mm HK-79 grenade launcher, a 12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun, a 9 mm MP-5 SD6 submachine gun with night sight, a G-33 assault rifle and a 40 mm HK-69 grenade launcher
    

More EAC weapons. At the top are 2 MP-5 A1s with fixed and retractable stocks, and in the middle an MP5-K. Below, from left to right, a 9 mm Browning pistol, a Walter PPK with silencer and an 11.25 mm P9S


The FAMAE S.A.F is in service with the FAA, although it is not clear which unit uses them. In the photo, 2 versions of the SAF beside a Browning HI-POWER pistol


On the left is the seeker head of a Rafael Shafrir Mk.IV missile, on the right that of a Matra R.550 Magic
    


An ELTA EL/M-2001B radar of the type fitted to the IAI Finger IIIA and B of Fighter Group 6 (G6C)
    


Westinghouse AN/TPS-43 surveillance radar of Surveillance and Airspace Control Group 1 (VYCEA)


Ford ambulance of VII Air Brigade
    


Omega P&H crane of the El Palomar Logistics Area. Capable of lifting up to 20 tonnes
    

Igarreta drilling rig on a Scania L11 truck chassis of the El Palomar Logistics Area


Caterpillar 14G motor grader of the El Palomar Logistics Area. It is used for the construction of runways, aprons and taxiways

Malvinas: Enemy's Cluster Bomb

Explosion of Fear

Malvinas: Historias de coraje




At Goose Meadow, the Amphibious Engineer Company was busy assembling so-called cluster bombs or belugas, those that, when opened, release several small bombs.
"Be more careful!" the second-in-command challenged Chief Warrant Officer Marcos Edmundo Quiroga.
"Sir, I'm 41 years old. I've lived long enough, and I don't even have a family to worry about."
A few days later, the group was detonating a bomb at the airport when a red alert sounded: a British air attack was coming. And Chief Warrant Officer Quiroga ran at full speed to the shelters.
"But how?!" "The superior officer teased him. "Haven't you lived long enough?"
"This is different," the non-commissioned officer said with a smile on his face.
There were only three men, and they had to neutralize 900 devices in two days.

Malvinas: The use of cluster bomb by the British forces

The Myth of British Illegality in the Use of Hunting Engineering BL755 Cluster Bombs

During the 1982 Malvinas War, the British invading forces made use of the Hunting Engineering BL755 cluster bomb—a weapon not equipped with anti-personnel charges, but with shaped charges intended to destroy material targets. As such, its use was permitted under international law. Any cluster bomb designed to destroy enemy hardware—be it aircraft, tanks or ships—can be lawfully employed, and continues to be used by many militaries without violating any existing international conventions.

In contrast, cluster munitions such as the French-made Belouga BLG-66 from MATRA, designed to disperse shrapnel specifically to injure or kill human beings, are clearly prohibited. Such bombs were not used by the British in the Malvinas theatre.

That a blast-fragmentation anti-materiel bomb may wound or kill personnel as collateral damage does not make it an anti-personnel weapon per se. This distinction is crucial. Dum-dum bullets or Claymore-type mines—favoured tools of extremist Castro-Guevarist factions that waged genocidal campaigns against Argentina between 1959 and 1990—are examples of explicitly anti-personnel munitions.

The BL755, produced in the United Kingdom, was originally conceived as an anti-tank cluster bomb to counter the overwhelming numerical advantage of Warsaw Pact armoured units over NATO. It contains 147 high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) submunitions, each housed in a pre-fragmented casing that releases approximately 1,400 shards upon detonation. Naturally, these can cause harm to any individual within their effective radius—but that does not qualify them as illegal anti-personnel weapons. For comparison, a single Belouga can release over 200,000 lethal fragments.

To be clear: the use of a BL755 bomb, dispersing 147 submunitions that may each produce around 1,400 fragments, aimed at disabling enemy material across a broad zone of impact, cannot reasonably be equated with a weapon designed solely to maim or kill personnel. The intent and design of the weapon matter under international law.

Yet, ironically, Argentina did possess such anti-personnel cluster bombs in its arsenal—specifically the Belouga BLG-66, supplied by France and seen post-war mounted on aircraft such as the A-4C and Alpha Jet. These were acquired alongside Mirage IIIEA/DA fighters, originally for air superiority roles. The Belougas were tested and operational across several Argentine aircraft, including the A-4B/C and the Super Étendard. There is no confirmed information on whether they were adapted for use in the IA-58A Pucará or the Navy’s A-4Q. Still, Argentine commanders chose not to employ these weapons during the conflict.

In fact, even though Argentine forces had access to incendiary Napalm bombs—deployed on the Malvinas themselves—these too were not used against enemy troops, despite their obvious anti-personnel effects.

For Argentine soldiers subjected to these British weapons, the legality or ethics of their use were of little concern in the moment. A single fragment could wound, mutilate, or kill—but those same soldiers would have employed such weapons without hesitation had it meant surviving or gaining an upper hand. And still, despite possessing bombs with greater destructive power than those used by the British, Argentina chose restraint—out of adherence to the laws of war and a deeply human sense of morality, even in the inhuman context of battle.

Some claim Britain crossed into illegality—not due to the raw power of its bombs, but in the tactical method of their use. The sheer lethality of 147 submunitions and over 200,000 potential fragments raining down on an Argentine infantry company is known only to those who lived it. But the difference between that and a Belouga’s 198,600 extra fragments—a 1,430% increase in destructive capability—puts the argument of proportionality into sharp perspective.

It’s also true that no formal declaration of war was ever issued by either side. The conflict unfolded in fact, not in law, with both nations operating in murky legal waters. Nonetheless, both Argentina and the UK largely respected the humanitarian norms of armed engagement, barring isolated abuses triggered by the brutal chaos of close combat.

Had this been a total war—like the Second World War, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, or Yugoslavia—different thresholds of legitimacy and restraint would likely have applied to both sides.

The Hunting Engineering BL755, developed in the early 1970s with a standard weight of 264 kg, a length of 2.45 m, and a diameter of 419 mm, was manufactured in several variants (BL755, IBL755, RBL755). Beyond the Malvinas, it was also used in the Gulf War and the conflict in the former Yugoslavia by Britain and Germany (now withdrawn from service), and reportedly by Iran, Serbia (possibly reverse-engineered), and India—still in service today on aircraft such as the MiG-27, Jaguar, Sea Harrier, and possibly the MiG-29, HAL Tejas, and Su-30.

To Argentine Malvinas War Veterans, the BL755 remains a haunting symbol of destruction. Though no longer in production, its legacy is etched into the memories of those who faced it. And it remains a testament to the resilience, sacrifice, and moral clarity of Argentine forces, who fought with dignity—even as shadows fell over the South Atlantic skies.