BLUF
Intelligence, countermeasures, and strategic improvisation played crucial roles in the British multi-domain operations and Anti-Access/Area-Denial air defense.Summary
KEY POINTS:
- The Royal Air Force’s (RAF) extremely long-range strikes surprised the Argentinians and demonstrated British resolve and capability.
- The RAF prevented the Argentine Air Force from using Falkland’s airfields, forcing it to operate from the mainland and limiting its combat operations.
- The joint force amphibious lodgement air defence consisted of three layers:
- Harrier Combat Air Patrol cued by naval horizon radar and near Argentine coast observation posts as the outer layer.
- Naval surface-based medium and short-range missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and ship-borne Blowpipe systems as the middle layer.
- Rapier and Blowpipe surface-to-air missile systems, machine guns, and tracer rounds for the inner defence.
