ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Argentina's meteoric rise and fall as a producer and supplier of missile technology. That rise can be traced to 1979, when Argentina's military government began to develop the Condor I, a "meteorological research" rocket. Various factors motivated Argentina's space and missile programs, and those factors changed over time. Under the military regime, the Condor I and the Condor II programs were driven primarily by security interests. The Argentine military government was concerned with the security threats posed by Chile and Great Britain. In 1978, Argentina nearly went to war with Chile over their competing claims to the Beagle Channel islands. The Condor II program was sanctioned by Argentina's national executive branch through secret decree 604/85 on 9 April 1985. Argentina was an eager participant in the Condor program, at least until 1989. Argentina served as a transshipper of numerous missile-related goods and of technology to Egypt and Iraq.
