Following their retirement from IAF service, the remaining Israeli aircraft were refurbished and exported to the Argentine Air Force in two batches, 26 fighters were delivered in 1978 and 13 more in 1980. In Argentine service, the type was operated under the name Dagger; at its height, Argentina operated a total of 35 "Dagger A" single-seat fighters and four "Dagger B" two-seat trainers. During 1978, the Dagger was used to form a new unit, 6th Air Group; this unit was immediately enlisted with the support of the 8th Air Group (which operated the Mirage IIIEA) and the Peruvian Air Force, who was already an established user of the Mirage 5. The urgency of their initial deployment was a product of the Beagle conflict, a territorial dispute and diplomatic crisis between Argentina and neighbouring Chile during that year.