[Alan Fry]

Originally Posted by Hugh

LMAO.

You want to put "what remains of the British Armed forces (after Afg(h)anistan) to be based at the RAF base!".

OK, and I know this may hurt, but how about Mr Reality coming to visit, just this once.

RAF Mount Pleasant can currently hold between 1000 and 2000 personnel, and the current Falkland Islands population (not including the visiting servicepeople) is approx 3000.

Won't it get a bit crowded with 90,000 army personnel, 30,000 TA, 30,000 Navy personnel, 35,000 RAF personnel, 1000 aircraft, 97 active service ships, and all the tanks and artillery?

I meant enough to protect the islands from a full scale invasion from Argentina, RAF Mount Pleasant might a have to be expanded as well

---------- Post added at 10:21 ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

If all concerned actually read the history rather than tub-thumping over the bits of it that support their cause, Uruguay's status as a sovereign nation would be up for debate as well. After all, at the same time as the Falklands were part of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate, so was the territory north and east of the river estuary where Uruguay is now established.

Perhaps we should do as the Argentines argue, and ask the aboriginal peoples of that area what they think of Argentina and Uruguay. Mustn't ask the ethnic Europeans though, they're non-native and therefore they don't count.

I guessing that Argentina will now claim Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia as well then!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy...Do_de_la_Plata

---------- Post added at 10:23 ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

We could mount a very effective defence of the islands with the hardware at our disposal but invasion of hostile territory would be incredibly difficult without carrier-borne aircraft.

If Argentina were to successfully invade, and maintain Mount Pleasant airfield in operational condition, they would have air supremacy over the islands, making an amphibious assault all but impossible.

There would still be options, mind you; the new Daring Class (Type 45) destroyers could set up an aerial defence blockade while our submarine force could set up a picket and deny access to the islands from the sea. But what we would then have would be a siege situation, and one which the Argentines would be better placed to ride out than we would given the inconvenient geography.

We could send a lot of the RAF and Navy to the Falklands, along with the Eurofighters!

---------- Post added at 10:25 ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 ----------

Originally Posted by Tim Deegan

But they will have air superiority, which is all they need to fly troops and equipment in, and to launch air attacks on our ships.

Without the carriers we wouldn't have won last time.

We could also use the P&O and Cunard ships to send in the Army in large numbers!

---------- Post added at 10:26 ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 ----------

We could send some Nulclear Missile Submarines to the Falklands!