Luis Petri revealed that Kirchnerism spent 63 million dollars on a mannequin.

The Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, delivered a major presentation before the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, in which he outlined the main pillars of his administration and launched strong criticism against the previous kirchnerismo administration.

During his speech, Petri reaffirmed the government's commitment under Javier Milei to move toward salary equalization between the Armed Forces and the Security Forces, while denouncing irregularities at the Fábrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA) and defending the recent acquisition of 24 F-16 fighter jets.

One of the most notable points of his presentation was the assessment of the situation inherited at FAdeA. "We received an oversized company, where actresses were hired to give gender talks instead of building airplanes," the minister stated.

As an example of poor resource management, he mentioned the transfer of 63 million dollars for the IA100 Malvinas aircraft project, of which only a mock-up was completed. "This is the most expensive mock-up in history. We built that aircraft ourselves in 15 months of management," he added. He also reported payments for three Pucará Fénix units that were never delivered.

Petri highlighted the current administration's shift toward a policy of military re-equipment, achieved with the purchase of 24 multi-role F-16 jets. In this context, he strongly criticized the opposition: "Kirchnerismo is upset because they didn't buy anything. Debt was approved in Congress, but they didn't buy a single aircraft."

Regarding military personnel salaries, the minister presented a chart illustrating the evolution of the gap between the salaries of the Armed Forces and those of the Security Forces. According to his explanation, that difference went from 17% in 2019 to 63% in 2023.

However, after the Milei Government took office, the gap dropped to 19% by mid-2025. Our goal is to finish the President's term with the Armed Forces and Security Forces at parity," he assured.

Petri also questioned kirchnerismo's ideological approach to Defense. "Our Armed Forces were prepared for a single scenario based on a manipulated interpretation of Defense[...], which stated that they should intervene in the event of any external threat without defining the subject," he pointed out. In this regard, he denounced that "since there was an ideological bias and the Armed Forces were demonized, what they did was have them act under the external threat of another State."

Finally, the head of Defense confirmed that the military deployment in northern Argentina is already underway as part of the "Operativo Roca," which involves the National Gendarmerie and is supported by Decree 1112/2024 and the National Defense Law.

With this action, Milei's government seeks to strengthen the presence of the Armed Forces in strategic areas and add capabilities in logistical support and border control tasks.