Argentina could soon pose a « serious threat » to the Falklands, defence analysts say. As a close ally to Donald Trump, Buenos Aires under President Javier Milei has purchased 24 American-made F-16 fighter jets that could « overwhelm » the three RAF Typhoons stationed at the Falklands and four naval corvettes from France. In the meantime, Argentina is boosting its military capabilities. At the moment, HMS Forth, a « river class » offshore patrol vessel, is the sole ship protecting the island territory.
Carrying just one 30mm cannon, two mini-guns, and four machine guns, the patrol vessel first sparked media attention when it was delivered to the army in 2018 with 100 defects despite being brand new. Now, Britain is reportedly in negotiations with Argentina about lifting restrictions on selling arms to the South American republic, although the UK Government is disputing the claim.
The apparent thaw in relations has culminated in plans for Mr Milei to travel to Britain next year, making him the first Argentine president to visit since 1998, The Telegraph reported. He has previously argued that Sir Keir Starmer‘s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands demonstrates that the Falklands could « become Argentine again ».
Simon Weston, a veteran of the Falklands conflict, told The Telegraph: « We need to ramp up military capabilities protecting Argentina now. We need to stop having this namby-pamby attitude that an invasion will never happen.
« They said that about Hitler and look what happened. They said that about Putin and look what happened. »
Francis Tusa, a defence analyst, said that Argentina has been rearming for several years and could soon pose a serious threat to the Falklands.
He said: « We have been very blind to the fact that the Argentinians are building up their military. They are in negotiations with several neighbours to buy landing ships. »
However, defence analyst Philip Ingram said that he thought the Falklands was not in immediate danger. Similarly, Lord Alan West, a former head of the Royal Navy, said he was « quite comfortable with what we have protecting the Falklands », including fast jets, troops on the ground and « good intelligence ».
He added: « We have fast jets there and troops on the ground, we get good intelligence at the present. Argentina is making no military threats to the island. Their president has said he wants to take them back diplomatically. »
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