via the Mirror.
Argentina has launched a new round of sabre-rattling against Britain by buying a squadron of warplanes to be based within striking distance of the Falklands, the Sunday People has revealed.Talk to any Brit about the Falklands and he'll dismiss the threat without serious thought. Well it might be time to get serious now.
President Cristina de Kirchner – who wants the UK to hand over the disputed islands – personally agreed the £145million deal to buy 20 second-hand Mirage F1 jets from Spain.
The 1,453mph aircraft carry a fearsome array of weaponry including smart bombs.
Argentina’s move could force the Ministry of Defence to bolster Britain’s presence in the south Atlantic, even though its budget is to be slashed by £875million in 2015.
Senior officers believe Argentina could now begin a campaign of “pester patrols” – flights towards the Falklands to test RAF responses.
Kirchner is thought to be trying to boost her nation’s military capability in a show of strength before elections which are due in 2015.
But last night a senior RAF source said: “If the Argentines start playing games and escalate the tension, we will see more RAF aircraft being deployed to the Falklands.”
The French-built Mirage F1 has a range of 500 miles – the Falklands are 400 miles east of Argentina.
Proper intel, a surprise attack, long range missiles and the right flight profile and you could literally catch those vaunted Typhoons sitting in their hangers.
After that bit of work is done then its a simple matter to destroy the British version of the LCS that patrols the waterways and you wouldn't have a thing to worry about until a Type 45 shows up to crash the party.
Seriously though the main concern should be the mini alliance that is forming between Spain and Argentina. The connection seems to warrant further investigation to see exactly how deep the defense ties actually are.
