Falklands v2.

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Order of Battle (OOB) Argentina Great Britain

Argentina
Argentine Air Force Argentina Navy Argentine Naval Air Forces (COAN) Argentine Army

Note: Only those forces likely to be relevant are included.

Argentine Air Force OOB

Only slightly modernized from 1982 Biggest improvement is replacement of legacy A-4B/C with A-4AR FightingHawks Little or no PGM stores Primarily oriented to a ground support role for the Army, with limited continental air defense role Little or no anti-shipping capability

Primary Aircraft
Dassault Mirage III
50 year old design Optimized for strike role Limited air-to-air capability No BVR missile capability

Primary Aircraft
Dassault Mirage 5
Virtually Identical to Mirage III Only a few on hand Some are Israeli assembled Nesher

Primary Aircraft
McDD/LMT A-4AR FightingHawk
Surplus USMC A-4M modernized Essentially early F-16A avionics installed Optimized for strike role Much more capable then earlier Skyhawks

Primary Aircraft
Lockheed C-130
Only 2 configured as tankers

Argentine Navy OOB

Greatly Modernized since 1982 Oriented toward sea control mission (fisheries and territorial rights) Poor maintenance, few spares, little funding Impressive platforms, but very dubious capability

Primary Ships
Amphibious Shipping Destroyers Corvettes Submarines

Amphibious Shipping
1 Small Assault Transport converted 1 Type 42 Destroyer- converted command ship
Still retains significant combat capability Carries 1 reinforced infantry company Sister ship sank pierside recently With the retirement of the De Soto class LST, Argentina has less assault capability

Destroyers
4 Almirante Brown Class
MEKO 360 Most other users classify as Frigates Only Point Defense Surface to Air Missile Ordnance is out of date Thirty years old

Corvettes
6 Espora Class
General Purpose Patrol Vessels

3 Drummond Class
Older ships

Submarines
2 Santa Cruz Class
Large ocean going boats

1 Type 209
Coastal/shallow water design

All three are German built diesel electric subs Virtually no at-sea/submerged time in the last year, meaning unlikely to be combat ready

Argentine Naval Air (COAN)

11 Super Etendard strike aircraft 4 Ex-US P-3B Orion MPA* 3 S-2T Turbo-Tracker MPA

*Lack of effective Maritime Patrol was a major handicap for Argentina in 1982- If you cant find the enemy, you cant kill him.

Argentine Army OOB

Roughly a three division force Reasonably well equipped by South American standards Not organized along expeditionary lines Divisions are both geographical and tactical units

Argentine Marines OOB

Roughly brigade sized combined arms force One infantry battalion assigned to FMF Two more available Only expeditionary force in Argentine OOB Lacks assault shipping

General Impressions Argentina

Argentine forces are reasonably well equipped by South American standards. But economic issues mean funds for training, operations and maintenance are extremely limited. The Navy force structure is well suited for maintaining sovereignty of Argentine seas, but ill suited for surface action against a well equipped foe. The Argentine Air Force main strike asset, the A-4AR is a significant improvement over previous models. A lack of precision guided weapons means this improvement is largely wasted, however. A lack of assault shipping means any significant Argentina would be hard pressed simply to seize the Falklands, let alone hold them.

Great Britain
Current Falklands Defenses Royal Navy Royal Air Force British Army and Royal Marines Falklands Islands Defense Force

Current Falklands Defenses

After the 1982 War, Great Britain made significant infrastructure improvements to the islands Port Stanley airport replaced by RAF Mount Pleasant Mare Harbor services defenses of the islands

RAF Mount Pleasant

Runway suitable for all military aircraft Four Typhoon fighters 1 VC-10 Tanker 1 C-130 airlift 2 Sea King SAR/Operational Support Radar, anti-aircraft, command and control Mare Harbor supports logistics and serves as safe harbor for Royal Navy

Royal Navy
Has maintained a destroyer or frigate on station since 1982 OPV on station Occasional deployments by RN submarines to region Drawdowns in RN strength mean very limited surge capability

Royal Air Force

Can rapidly reinforce RAF Mt. Pleasant with additional Typhoons for air defense or Tornado GR4 for offensive airpower Far more effective airpower than 30 years ago Offensive and Defensive capabilities far surpass Argentine airpower, but numbers are limited

British Army/Royal Marines

Reinforced Rifle Company Garrison Rapier Missile Detachment for Air Defense Prepositioned Logistics Reinforcing garrison with light infantry is easy Reinforcing garrison with heavy forces very challenging due to lack of shipping and distance

Falklands Island Defense Force

Local militia Almost certainly better trained than 1982, but not likely to be employed as front line troops Best suited for internal security operations, such as guarding facilities, freeing the Army garrison for operations

General Impressions Great Britain

Great Britains forces in the South Atlantic are both far more numerous and better equipped than their counterparts from thirty years ago. The linchpin of the Falklands defense is RAF Mt. Pleasant. As long as Great Britain can keep the airfield operational, they can maintain air superiority over the islands, and deter or defeat any Argentine expedition against them. Should Argentina manage to suppress RAF Mt. Pleasant, Great Britain would be very hard pressed to reinforce or resupply the garrison. With the retirement of the RAF/RN Harrier force, no sea based air superiority is possible. Great Britain would be forced to use other levers of seapower to restore control over the islands.