As of July 2019, the Argentine Air Force and government selected the KAI FA-50 as its interim fighter. It was to be the first step in modernizing the fighter force and replacing the Mirage 3, Dagger, and Mirage 5 fighters that have been retired. It was also anticipated to help in the retirement of the A-4AR Fightinghawk fleet, as they are now aging and becoming difficult to maintain. In 2020, it was reported that as few as six of the Fightinghawk aircraft remained operational. While no specific numbers of aircraft to purchase were given, the media reported that up to 10 FA-50s were in the deal. Despite elections coming in October 2019, the deal had been expected to go through. An Argentine delegation first visited the Republic of Korea Air Force in September 2016. At that time an FAA pilot was able to test fly the TA-50 Golden Eagle operational trainer variant of the FA-50.