Every war and operation Argentine Army Aviation has flown in
The balloon of 1867 is lineage, not air combat. Operativo Independencia in Tucumán in 1975–1977 cost the army three aircraft and two helicopters by its own count; Wikipedia records that one DHC-6 was apparently shot down by the ERP, and that the campaign introduced disappearances and clandestine camps. Operation Soberanía in 1978 was a deployment without fighting. In the Falklands War (Guerra de Malvinas) Wikipedia credits 601 Army Aviation Battalion with 796 general support flights and records six aviators killed; its two articles count the helicopter losses differently, and both counts are shown. Britain calls the islands the Falkland Islands and Argentina the Islas Malvinas. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From a balloon at Humaitá in 1867 to the helicopters of 1982.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| Paraguayan War (War of the Triple Alliance)the balloon at HumaitáArgentine Army (balloon observation) | 1867 | Paraguay | Observation balloon | |||
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Balloon observation of Paraguayan positions. Wikipedia places the origin of Argentine military aviation on 8 July 1867, when Staff Sergeant Roberto A. Chodasiewicz used an observation balloon during the battle of Humaitá. It is lineage rather than a combat record: the balloon observed, it did not fight. Outcome Not covered by the aviation source checked. Single source.
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| Operativo Independenciathe Tucumán campaignArgentine Army Aviation | 1975–1977 | People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP) | DHC-6 Twin Otter, Piper PA-18, Bell UH-1H | 5 | ||
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Reconnaissance, transport and fire support for the army against the ERP guerrilla. Decree 261/1975, signed by acting president Ítalo Luder, ordered the army to carry out the operations needed for “neutralizing or annihilating” the guerrillas in Tucumán, and the operation ran from 5 February 1975 to 28 September 1977. Army helicopters and light aircraft supported the troops; a Navy Queen Air flew infrared surveillance. Wikipedia’s account also records that the campaign introduced the methods of the later dictatorship — kidnappings, forced disappearances and clandestine camps — and that 656 people disappeared in Tucumán between 1974 and 1979. Outcome The ERP’s rural front was destroyed; the campaign ended on 28 September 1977. The DHC-6 loss is described as ‘apparently’ caused by guerrilla fire. Loss figures are the Argentine military’s; no ERP figures were found. Human-rights findings are as reported by Wikipedia.
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| Operation Soberaníathe Beagle crisis with ChileArgentine Army Aviation | 1978 | Chile (no fighting) | Army helicopters and light aircraft (types not specified) | |||
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Major deployments in preparation for a war that did not happen. Wikipedia records only that Army Aviation performed major deployments during the 1978 crisis with Chile over the Beagle Channel. The planned invasion was cancelled before any fighting. Outcome No war; the crisis passed without fighting. No combat took place; aircraft types and numbers deployed were not found.
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| Falklands War (Guerra de Malvinas)the 1982 South Atlantic conflictArgentine Army Aviation (601 Army Aviation Battalion) | 1982 | United Kingdom | CH-47C Chinook, SA330L Puma, A109Aand 2 more | 796 | ||
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Transport, troop lift and general support for the army garrison on the islands. The army’s 601 battalion moved two Chinooks, three A109s, six Pumas and nine Hueys to the islands and flew 796 general support flights, Wikipedia records, often in bad weather; the army also took over the provincial police’s Bo 105s. HMS Coventry’s Sea Dart shot down Puma AE-505 over Choiseul Sound, killing its crew — named in Wikipedia as Roberto Fiorito, Juan Buschiazo and Raul Dimotta — and the British and Argentine accounts agree on this loss. Another Puma was shot down by a Stinger, the air-arms article says. Most of the rest were destroyed on the ground or captured at the surrender; some captured helicopters were later used by the British Army and others as targets. Zona Militar recalled in 2025 that the Chinooks stayed on the islands and that the army never regained a medium or heavy helicopter force. Outcome Argentine forces on the islands surrendered on 14 June 1982. The sovereignty dispute remains unresolved. Loss counts differ between the two Wikipedia articles and are shown side by side; neither is an official British or Argentine tally. Britain calls the territory the Falkland Islands and Argentina the Islas Malvinas; the UN uses Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- Zona Militar: UH-60 Black Hawk y CH-47 Chinook, las opciones más firmes que evalúa el Ejército Argentino (16 October 2025)Medium and heavy helicopter options: UH-60 (a tender for three suspended), second-hand CH-47F, ex-German CH-53G; Chinooks left on the islands in 1982; Lt Gen Carlos Alberto Presti quoted.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Argentine Army Aviation.