US sends 'Sea God' reconnaissance plane to help Argentina find missing submarine

The US Navy announced on November 17 that it was sending a P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft to assist Argentina in searching for the missing submarine ARA San Juan.

US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft. Photo: US Navy.

The search for the missing Argentine submarine has been upgraded to a search and rescue operation, US Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said, but bad weather conditions are making it more difficult to locate the vessel, Reuters reported.

The P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft will join the search effort because its technology can "support the mission in many different aspects, over a large area of ​​ocean," according to an announcement from the US Navy.

The US has also offered to deploy a NASA P-3 spy plane to search for the missing submarine. Other countries that have also offered to assist Argentina include Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, the UK and South Africa.

The Argentine Navy attack submarine ARA San Juan went missing in the Atlantic Ocean on November 17 while traveling from Ushuaia base to the port of Mar del Plata with 44 crew members, including the country's first female submarine officer. The Argentine military launched a large-scale search, saying the San Juan had only problems with its communication system.

Argentina's Defense Ministry announced today that it had received seven failed "satellite calls" on November 18, suspected to have been made by the ARA San Juan to re-establish communication.

According to VNE