The French Navy's air arm, the Aeronavale, has decided to postpone retirement of its Dassault Super Etendard Modernise (SEM) aircraft until mid- to late-2016, complicating the Argentine Navy's efforts to upgrade 10 of its fleet of 11 Super Etendard aircraft to the SEM standard. The Argentine Navy still wants 10 SEM kits for its Super Etendards, but has to date received no indication from France as to how or when this order might be fulfilled. Moreover, military relations between the two states have cooled due to a deal last year between France and the UK that could create roadblocks to France selling the kits - and an updated version of the Exocet missile - to Argentina, which continues to dispute UK sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
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