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Purchase of used Embraer jet by the Argentine Air Force came under the spotlight of a journalistic investigation pointing to price discrepancies, technical failures, restricted competition among suppliers, and questions about the administrative stages of the international bidding opened in 2025.
The Argentine Air Force purchased a used Embraer ERJ-140LR jet in 2025 for US$ 4.085 million, in a transaction that has been questioned by the Argentine newspaper Clarín for alleged overpricing, possible favoritism, and technical issues with the aircraft.
According to the report, the plane acquired from the American company Regional One had 33,516 flight hours, signs of corrosion, oil and fuel leaks, parts removed from other equipment, and a lack of items considered necessary for operation.
The price difference is one of the points cited by the publication, which compares the contracted value with a market reference of about US$ 2.3 million for a similar aircraft, indicating an additional payment of US$ 1.785 million.
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Quick purchase and suspicion of favoritism
Identified as International Public Bidding 40/03-002-LPU25, the process began on May 6, 2025, and, according to Clarín, was opened to incorporate a medium transport aircraft into the Argentine Air Force fleet.
A few weeks later, on May 30, 2025, defense and aviation specialized portals recorded the public opening of the competition for the acquisition of an Embraer ERJ-140 or ERJ-145, with proposals due by June 13.
The timeline of the procedure appears in the report as one of the elements analyzed by sources consulted by the newspaper, especially because the aircraft was reportedly painted in the colors of the Argentine Air Force before the formal signing of the contract.
According to Clarín, the plane was seen prepared with the institution’s visual identity since 2023, information used by the investigation to support questions about the effective competitiveness of the bidding process.
Bidding had only two companies
The competition received proposals from two companies: Regional One Inc. and Alpha Aviation Group LLC, according to information attributed to the purchase process and reproduced by specialized publications that followed the bidding.
Alpha was disqualified for offering an Embraer ERJ-145MP, a version considered militarized and outside the specifications required in the bid, which left Regional One as the only qualified participant in the final stage.
With the elimination of the competitor, Regional One won the dispute with the offer of an Embraer ERJ-140LR, a model from Embraer’s regional jet family already incorporated by Argentina in previous acquisitions.
The aircraft would be intended to reinforce the transport capacity of the First Air Brigade, based in El Palomar, a unit associated with logistical missions, institutional displacements, and support activities carried out by the Argentine Air Force.
Before this purchase, the Argentine Air Force had acquired two used ERJ-140LR from the same Regional One, in a deal closed for about US$ 6.856 million and completed with the incorporation of the aircraft in 2024.
These two planes received the military registrations T-95 and T-96, within a renewal program that also sought to reduce dependence on older aircraft, such as the Fokker F-28 still associated with Argentine transport aviation.
Technical failures appeared in the United States
The technical condition of the aircraft acquired in 2025 occupies a central part of the Clarín report, which cites an inspection carried out in Springfield, in the U.S. state of Missouri, before the definitive incorporation of the aircraft.
Among the reported problems were rust, corrosion in components, oil and fuel leaks, significant wear on flight controls, absence of accessories in the cabin, and lack of an access ladder for operational use.
The investigation also mentions cannibalized parts, an expression used in the aviation sector when components are removed from one aircraft for use in another, a practice that depends on technical registration and maintenance control to be considered regular.
In the case cited by Clarín, the presence of removed parts appears associated with other maintenance observations, in a set of remarks that led the report to question the overall condition of the contracted equipment.
Another discrepancy mentioned involves the internal configuration of the jet, as, according to publications that reproduced the investigation, the Regional One aircraft had four fewer seats than the aircraft presented by the disqualified company.
Names mentioned in the purchase of the Embraer
The initial purchase request is said to have come from Commodore Pedro Rolando Largel, head of the Air Material Maintenance Department of the Argentine Air Force, according to the documentation and sources cited by the Clarín report.
The publication states, however, that internal sources questioned the officer’s authority to define the operational need to expand the transport capacity of the First Air Brigade and assess the national air connectivity landscape.
According to the newspaper, the decision would be linked to Brigadier Francisco Edgardo Leguiza, commander of Material of the Argentine Air Force and director of the Argentine Aircraft Factory, FAdeA, responsible for validating technical requirements of the tender.
The specifications were attributed to technical consultant Daniel Sergio Burlas, incorporated into the structure by Leguiza under instructions from the then Chief of Staff, Brigadier Xavier Julián Isaac, according to the investigation published by the Argentine newspaper.
Clarín also states that Burlas would have participated in preliminary negotiations with intermediaries and with Regional One for the acquisition of Embraer aircraft, a history related by the report to the purchase of two units in 2023 and a third in 2025.
ERJ-140LR and renewal of the Argentine fleet
The Argentine interest in Embraer’s regional jets had already appeared in previous purchases, as part of a strategy to replenish the transport aviation of the Air Force, especially for logistical routes and support missions.
The ERJ-140LR is a regional jet developed by the Brazilian manufacturer and used by airlines in short and medium-distance operations, configured for passenger transport in regional markets.
The version was used by companies in the United States, including on routes associated with the American Eagle regional network, before some of these aircraft were withdrawn from commercial service and offered on the used market.
The purchase of the first two ERJ-140LRs by Argentina, formalized in 2023 and completed in 2024, was presented by the institution as part of the effort to update its transport fleet.
These aircraft were also used, manufactured in 2003, and went through Regional One before arriving at the Argentine Air Force, according to records released by aviation and defense specialized media.
In the aircraft contracted in 2025, Clarín’s report shifted the focus of the debate to the price paid, the technical conditions found during inspection, and the criteria used to define the winning proposal.
Argentine Air Force under pressure
The publication of the report brought the purchase into the Argentine public debate and put under scrutiny the internal procedures of the Argentine Air Force, as well as the actions of authorities linked to defense policy and the administration of aeronautical material.
According to Clarín, the technical necessity, legal validation, budget availability, and final choice would have passed through different areas of the institution, in an administrative flow that allowed the aircraft’s contracting.
The investigation attributes the assembly of the process that led to the purchase to different internal sectors, but the confirmation of individual responsibilities and any financial damage depends on official investigation by the competent authorities.
So far, public information about the technical failures and administrative questions mainly relies on the Clarín report and reproductions made by press, defense, and aviation outlets.
In the scenario described by the investigation, the acquisition of used aircraft appears conditioned on the verification of price, maintenance, documentation, and real operating conditions, points that became central in the case of the Embraer ERJ-140LR contracted in 2025.
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