Battle for the Falklands. Air Forces

Libro sobre la guerra aérea en Malvinas.

At the outset, the tasks facing the Argentine air arms were rapidly to reinforce their island garrison; to prevent British shipping approaching the Falklands; to base close support aircraft and helicopters on the islands to oppose possible landings; and to safeguard Argentine cities, ports, and military installations against air attack. For Britain, the corresponding tasks were to establish an air bridge between the UK and the staging post of Wideawakeairbaseon Ascension Island (and later, on a smaller scale, from Wideawake to the Task Force); to safeguard Ascension against a possible Entebbe-style attack; to provide ASW (antisubmarine warfare) cover, and later air defence, for the Task Force against attacks expected both from Argentine land bases and from the carrier Veinticinco de Mayo; to support amphibious landings and subsequent ground action on the Falklands; and also to maintain a credible threat of strikes against Argentina, to pin down at least part of their Mirage interceptor force in domestic air defence duties. Argentina had spent freely in the late 1970s to expand her armed forces in the expectation of a war with Chile over control of the Beagle Channel. That dispute had been patched over, leaving the Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina: FAA) one of the strongest in Latin America, well equipped with combat aircraft, and with vast stocks of bombs, rockets, and ammunition. Due to internal security problems, the FAA was also strong in COIN (counter-insurgency) aircraft, with approximately 60 IA.58 Pucava ground-attack aircraft delivered out of the 100 on order. However, the service was not a well-balanced force in terms of equipment, having only seven C-130E/H Hercules transport aircraft, and two KC-130H tankers.


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