FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones)

Slagorde · Vliegtuigfabrikanten • Argentinië

FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones)

Fábrica Militar de Aviones · Instituto Aerotécnico · Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina SA (LMAASA)

Argentina’s state aircraft works in Córdoba, where two fugitive European designers built Latin America’s first jet fighters and where the Pucará was born before it fought in the Falklands.

1927Opgericht
Samengevoegd in FAdeA in 1995Status
7Vliegtuigen geregistreerd
3Luchtmachteenheden die met dit type vliegtuigen vliegen
Photo: Pasanm79 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
LandArgentiniëOpgericht1927-10-10HoofdkwartierCórdobaStatusSamengevoegd in FAdeA in 1995
Het verhaal

FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones): the company and the aircraft that made its name

An Avro on the Córdoba runway

The Fábrica Militar de Aviones was founded in Córdoba on 10 October 1927, and on 18 July 1928 its first aircraft rolled out for testing: a licence-built Avro 504 Gosport trainer with a 100 hp Gnome engine, good for 140 km/h. Licence production and home designs followed, mostly for the air force. The prefixes on its aircraft tell its story: Ae for the Dirección General de Aerotécnica until 1936, F.M.A. from 1938, and I.Ae. and later IA for the Instituto Aerotécnico from 1943, run in the 1940s by the military engineer Juan Ignacio San Martín.

Dewoitine, Tank and the Pulqui

Perón’s Argentina offered something unusual after 1945: work for European aircraft designers no longer welcome at home. Émile Dewoitine, convicted in absentia in France, led the team behind the I.Ae.27 Pulqui I, which flew on 9 August 1947 as the first jet fighter built in Latin America. The former Focke-Wulf designer Kurt Tank followed with the swept-wing Pulqui II, first flown on 27 June 1950. Only one Pulqui I and five Pulqui II airframes were built; neither went into production.

The Pucará goes to war

The factory’s most famous design came in the 1960s. The twin-turboprop IA 58 Pucará, named after the Quechua word for fortress, first flew on 20 August 1969 as a tough counter-insurgency aircraft able to use rough strips. About 60 had been delivered by 1982, and in the Falklands War they flew from Port Stanley, Goose Green and Pebble Island. Six were destroyed in the SAS raid on Pebble Island on 15 May, but on 28 May two Pucarás shot down a Royal Marines Scout helicopter, the only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the war. 110 were built in all.

Pampa, Lockheed and back to the state

The IA 63 Pampa jet trainer, developed with Dornier, flew on 6 October 1984. Eleven years later President Carlos Menem privatised the factory as a concession to Lockheed Martin, which ran it as Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina, mostly on maintenance and upgrades. In 2009 the state bought it back for about $110 million and renamed it FAdeA after Brigadier San Martín. It has since built new Pampa IIIs, parts for Embraer’s KC-390 and modernised C-130s.

Argentina’s state aircraft works in Córdoba, where two fugitive European designers built Latin America’s first jet fighters and where the Pucará was born before it fought in the Falklands.FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) · verified 2026-10-03
In één oogopslag

FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) in numbers

Het bedrijf

Kortom
Opgericht in 1927

  • Founded in Córdoba on 10 October 1927
  • First aircraft: licence Avro 504 Gosport, July 1928
  • Privatised to Lockheed Martin in 1995
  • Renationalised as FAdeA in 2009

Productie

Het meest bekend om
IA 58 Pucará

  • Pulqui I and II: Latin America’s first jet fighters
  • IA 50 Guaraní II transport: 3 prototypes and 32 production
  • IA 58 Pucará: 110 built 1974–1993
  • IA 63 Pampa jet trainer, still in production

Vandaag

Nu
Continues as FAdeA

  • Fábrica Argentina de Aviones, owned by Argentina’s Ministry of Defence
  • Builds the Pampa III and supports C-130s and Pucarás

De cijfers

IA 58 Pucará built
110
Pucarás delivered by the 1982 Falklands War
ongeveer 60
State buy-back of Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina
about $110 million2009
Het vliegtuig

Every notable FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) aircraft

FMA IA 58 PucaráCounter-insurgency and ground attack · first flight 1969 · 110 built

Photos: Pasanm79 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Vliegtuig Rol Eerste vlucht Gebouwd Status Opmerking
Avro 504 Gosport (licence) Trainer 1928 Gepensioneerd First aircraft built in Argentina
FMA AeC.1 Light monoplane 1931 Gepensioneerd Early indigenous design
FMA I.Ae.27 Pulqui I Jet fighter prototype 1947 1 Gepensioneerd First jet fighter built in Latin America; Dewoitine team
FMA I.Ae.33 Pulqui II Swept-wing jet fighter prototype 1950 4 flying + 1 static Gepensioneerd Designed under Kurt Tank; cancelled
FMA IA 50 Guaraní II Licht transport 1963 3 + 32 Gepensioneerd Retired 2007
FMA IA 58 Pucará Counter-insurgency and ground attack 1969 110 In dienst Falklands War; also used by Sri Lanka
FMA IA 63 Pampa Straaltrainer 1984 In productie Developed with Dornier; Pampa III built by FAdeA
Wie vliegt ermee?

FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) aircraft in the world’s air forces

3 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) types. Eén ervan heeft er nog één in gebruik.

Luchtmacht In dienst Voorheen gevlogen
Argentijnse luchtmacht FMA (FAdeA) IA-63 Pampa III, FMA IA-58 Pucará
Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht FMA IA 58 Pucará
Uruguayaanse luchtmacht FMA IA-58A Pucará
Plaatsen, mensen, archieven

Where FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones) built, who led it, what it achieved

Fabrieken

  • Córdoba works · Córdoba — Site since 1927, now FAdeA

Mensen

  • Juan Ignacio San Martín · military engineer, director of the Instituto Aerotécnico — FAdeA is named after him
  • Émile Dewoitine · designer — Led the Pulqui I team
  • Kurt Tank · designer — Ex-Focke-Wulf; led the Pulqui II

Records en primeurs

  • First jet fighter built in Latin America, Pulqui I, 1947
  • Only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the Falklands War, by two Pucarás, 28 May 1982
Tijdlijn

FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones), year by year

1927

Fábrica Militar de Aviones founded in Córdoba

1928

First aircraft, a licence Avro 504 Gosport, completed

1943

Becomes the Instituto Aerotécnico

1947

First flight of the Pulqui I

1950

First flight of the Pulqui II

1963

First flight of the Guaraní II

1969

First flight of the Pucará

1982

Pucarás shoot down a Royal Marines Scout at Goose Green

1984

First flight of the IA 63 Pampa

1995

Privatised as a concession to Lockheed Martin

2009

Renationalised as FAdeA

De stamboom

Before and after FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones)

Kwam daarnaFAdeAVia the 1995–2009 Lockheed Martin concessionRead the FAdeA page
Vragen en antwoorden

Everything people ask about FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones)

What was the first jet fighter in Latin America?
The FMA I.Ae.27 Pulqui I, built in Córdoba by a team led by Émile Dewoitine, which first flew on 9 August 1947.
What is the Pucará?
A twin-turboprop counter-insurgency aircraft designed by FMA, first flown in 1969. 110 were built and it fought in the 1982 Falklands War.
Did Kurt Tank work in Argentina?
Yes. The former Focke-Wulf designer led the Pulqui II swept-wing fighter at Córdoba, first flown in 1950.
What is FMA called today?
Fábrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA). It was run by Lockheed Martin from 1995 to 2009 and is now state-owned again.

Vervolg de rondleiding

Around FMA (Fábrica Militar de Aviones)

ArgentiniëFAdeAThe Córdoba works that built Latin America’s first jet fighter spent 14 years as a Lockheed Martin subsidiary before Argentina took it back in 2009 and…Read the FAdeA pageDe indexAlle vliegtuigfabrikantenElk bedrijf dat een vliegtuig heeft gebouwd dat door de luchtmacht is gebruikt in de huidige en historische gevechtsorde.Open de lijst
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Geverifieerd op 3 oktober 2026.