all very well as long as we have a free sub that isn't on station in the Med or Indian Ocean / Red Sea, isn't broke or stranded on a sand bank, or refitting

And how far is 20 Tomahawks going to go? And where does it go for refills?

Cruise missiles are a waste of time unless you can deliver them in groups of 100's at a time

"Do you get off on this claptrap? "
No - do you get off on being a short sighted fool?

Fortunately, the reality is that we don't even need a boat down there, although we do need the opposition to believe that we have a boat down there.

What can a sub do? Belgrano.

Why follow the same pattern as done before when all need to do is load up a Cruise liner or two with "Tourists" removing the real ones and keeping them incommunicado for a week while you do a visit.

At this point in time you have your Special Forces ashore to shut down Air Defense capability and watch the rest occur.

Lets face it South Georgia was invaded first by (alledged) scrap metal merchants.

A short sighted fool with several hundred hours operating out of ASI and who wears a Falklands medal. A short sighted fool with a Masters Degree in International Relations. A short sighted fool who has studied and taught military doctrine and tactics...and a short sighted fool who has commanded men and machines all over the globe.

You my friend are embarrasing yourself. Best stick to face thingy

That's Pikeys for you... :}

Well... Let's be honest... This discussion is departing into a fantasy world...

.
Now the Argentine :mad: is saying that the UK will be held responsible if the first Falklans defector is killed - an incident which the :mad: and her cronies are likely to arrange.

Argentina Threatens UK over Nationality Switch

There is no doubt in my mind that the :mad: is wanting to pick a fight. She knows full well that at present we wouldn't so much as send a row boat in their direction and she and her posse are guaging Britain's responses with increasing frequency.

If they don't try another outright invasion they will try something - that much seems apparent!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-k...20kirchner.jpg
Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner (aka the :mad:) wants the 'Malvinas' to be 'returned' to Argentina and which action she believes will engrave her name into Argentina's history.

You would have thought the Argies would have learn't their lesson by now. I hope Kirchner ends up with egg on her face!

My only concern is the fact that the Tories have sold off our carrier fleet which leaves us in dire straits if something does kick off. I'm sure we have a few subs near by.

Ah you mean the "Intelligence" world, now there is an Oxymoron.

TBH shoving lots of people onto Civilian vessels as a means of getting them close to a target never happens :cool: or did I imagine BA149 Kuwait 1990.....

She's a woman... She'll niggle and poke and mess with you till you get peeved enough to do something she can point the finger of blame at you. If we ignore her long enough she'll withhold sex from the entire UK... :rolleyes:

She definitely a brown bagger.

I sincerely hope your assessment is correct but sadly I fear their State Department would not play games like that. It is just totally wrong for them to use that terminology.

Tomawk missiles are a different era to my time playing silly fools, so please forgive this question if it is out of order.

Would we need permission from the US government to fire these missiles, and are we reliant on the GPS system to use them?

As you can guess, I do not trust the current incumbent to honour our so called 'Special Relationship'.

By Air, Land or sea (On it, or under it)

Be prepared for everything, and surprised by nothing. That would be the ideal philosophy of those that are tasked with protecting those islands.

The helpfull Stacker said: "...have some quite useful ground-based radar." :ok:

Jabba TG12 said:
"On unmanned sites subject to known limitations. And, given how often hardware limitations on the older now superceded platforms in the 80's and 90's used to leave holes, the lack of a permanently assigned Area Air Defence DDG potentially exacerbates the situation."

Politely suggest you do your homwork before posting...

Not nearly as much as you are embarrassing yourself. 'Look at me and how clever and heroic I am', do get over yourself mate and stop taking it too seriously.

Perhaps with your Masters in international relations you can get on topic and indulge us with your views on Argentina's intentions for the Falklands? I don't have a Masters, but I did live in Argentina so will be really interested in your informed opinion. :rolleyes:

Is she trying to be another Evita ?

It would be highly embarrassing for the Argies if they did try something
and then got kicked in the teeth again, especially if it escalated and a few
bits of equipment on some of the air bases ended up in pieces. Maybe if
they do try something the UK shouldn't hold back this time and should
try to destroy all the equipment the Argy Armed forces have even if it
is on home soil or in port.

And they could drop of the Falkland Islander who just became an Argy
to live with Vortex :O
.

"Masters in international relations"
= Degree in Self-Importance and B******t

AFAIK the guy who has changed nationality only did it to be closer to his children by an Argentinian woman, and the fact that the Argies made it so difficult for him to do so with a UK passport. The Arg. Government have spun this into some kind of coup, when they have actually forced his hand into abandoning (and upsetting) his home islands.

Spin wins again.....

RichieD:

Equally respectfully, there is only so much homework I can do from 8000 miles away and having been out of the services for 12 years, although still reasonably close to the air defence world until a few months ago.

The 101's do have limitations. The AR3D's in the 80's and 90's also had quite notable limitations, I know. I remember being sat in a 259 cabin for long enough (weeks at a time) because the AR3D was shagged.

The T42 roulement for FI is shared with the caribbean guardship, IIRC, which is coming to an end. There arent many 42's left, and the 45's I dont think have been sent on this roulement yet, although I would happily stand corrected. Any other boat in the area, again though I'll happily stand corrected is not going to have the radar picquet/area air defence capability of a 42.

I'll gladly admit to a degree of speculation and that my homework my be somewhat out of date, but I know what I saw on my often and frequent tours on those sites. I went there often enough. :ugh:

Glojo

As mere mortals, we are not privy to the private conversations between world leaders & who knows what has been said, inferred & assured in private?

But surely if the Obama & the State Dept. hadn't discretely told the UK & Argentina the same message i.e. "We, The US', support peoples right to self determination through the democratic process..." which is commensurate with their line in just about every other recent territorial & political dispute, we would have seen the signs.

Whether it was on the front page of the daily editions of Clarin in downtown BA, or a token, discrete bolstering of CBFFI's in-theatre assets & capabilities, the signs would be there for all to see. But what do we see? Griselda of The Terrahawks making nothing than attacks on the UK's colonial demise & CMTCD doing nothing about it.

And if the self determination debate makes it as far as the UN, with the Kirschner regime making overtures about forcing out imperialistic, colonial forces, then surely they'd know that opens the way for indigenous peoples such as the Atacaman, Fuegian, Patagonan et al to demand their right to self determination under the same motion. Mass demos down Florida Street & in the Parque Colon, I think.

But I bet the Strategy Planners on both sides have noticed one fact that's as obvious as a dog's lipstick. If it looks as though the Argies are assembling a force in Puerto Belgrano or anywhere else & the decision was taken to quit Afghan' & move troops the Falklands very promptly, & you draw a great circle track between the two places, the aforementioned small lump of lava is only a couple of hundred miles off track. In fact, looking at Google Earth, the track takes it right over most of the African countries we've just pledged all that lovely aid to.

For the time being, the Argies will continue to test, probe, sabre rattle, pontificate & cry foul knowing full well we are stretched to the limit. But they also know we went to war once already over this collection of rocks & sheep farmers. And we will do it again. After all if our brave, selfless, underpaid, under equipped, under valued, men & women HAD to fight anywhere on this planet where would the electorate demand they do it? In the poppy fields of Helmand or for safety, security & rights of democratic native English speaking subjects, sharing the same thoughts, ideology, values & Head of State?

Personally, I'd tempt the Argies into trying to make a grab for the Islands with another Astute or two down there tailing any invasion force. The minute they cross the EZ, I'd give the order to sink the transports & Carrier & pound the hell out of them all the way back home. I would only call off the hounds when the Argies agreed to accept the right of the Islanders to determine their own future & that it is NEVER questioned again.

Discuss.

Unashamedly cross posted from RockNet...

http://www.hqrafregiment.net/images/...laughingat.gif

AA

Priceless!!:D

Apologies if I came over all up myself, but I felt the need to establish a little credibility.

As to taking it too seriously,,,that's seems a little illogical. My first post indicated how seriously I took the idea of 747's landing at Wideawake and disgorging argie troops...ie about a seriously as I take most Hollywood action movies.

So am I too flippant or too serious or just too damm old and therefore of no relevance?

Obviously experience, knowledge and qualifications don't count for much with you chaps so I'll jog on by. Have a nice day.

PS

Never claimed to know much about Argentina...just implied (seriously or unseriously) that they ain't gonna invade Ascension Island. I'm quietly confident I'm right.

Tomahawks, in response to a query above.

1. The Brits AFAIK do not need US permission to launch. I seriously doubt the MoD would have bought them with such a string attached.

2. There is GPS and then there is GPS. Depending upon the mod and config of your Tomahawk (and recalling its original design to use preloaded terrain features to arrive at and hit target) I will say with mild confidence that FAA class GPS will get you close enough, at which point the resident maps and map matching function guides the end game target strike.

I won't comment further, for more than OPSEC reasons.

I am a few years out of date on Tomahawk, but my reading on the topic leads me to believe that they've only gotten better, and more flexible, particularly with the new "loiter" mod. No idea which modifications and features have crossed the pond.

DADDY-OH wrote,

The Argentine carrier, Veinticinco_de_Mayo, was retired in the late 1990s and went off to the scrapyard a few years later. The Argentines rejected the Brazilian carrier, Minas Gerais, as a replacement.

TJ

Of course Argentina flying an airliner unannounced to the Falklands and landing without permission has precedence.....

Twice!

So..... do we imagine that Dave adequate resources to meet current challenges Cameron is at all concerned about the possibility of a second go by Argentina at the Falklands? Or is he perhaps, happier to go down in History as the Prime Minister who handed the Falklands back over to Argentina through his own lack of genuine resolve, preferring to be seen as the Tory PM who cared by substantially increase foreign aid?:confused:

Strikes me he "is definitely" going to have to make some kind of revised assessment of the SDSR before too long. Or his fate in the history books will be sealed.:uhoh:

FB:)

TEEEJ

Well find me another target! :ok:

According to Admiral Woodward who was quoted in the Mail today we only have '4 ageing and ineffective Tornados' based at MPA - what happened to the Typhoon?????

I guess the typhoon season begins the end of June and maybe that replaces a far more localised smaller storm with a diameter from 50 metres to approximately 2 kilometres :ok:

Mind you with just four birds the season will never last very long :cool:

Argentina launches naval campaign to isolate Falkland Islands

Argentina has launched a naval campaign to isolate the Falkland Islands that has seen it detain Spanish fishing vessels on suspicion of breaking the country’s “blockade” of the seas around the British territories.

I hope that the Telegraph have been careless in the use 'blokade' when referring to the Argies. A Blockade is a hostile act - qv the Cuban Missile Crisis when the US established a 'quarantine' around Cuba - even they didn't use the word blockade!


The idea of settling retirees to consitute a reserve force in times of invasion or insurrection is nothing new. In the late Georgian and Victorian Eras, 'Fencibles' - retired regular troops - were granted a house, land, weapons, uniform and acoutrements in return for Parading a couple of times a month, and a liability to be mobilised. In spite of the incorrect entry in Wkipedia, they served in Ireland, India and New Zealand with distinction, and units were alseo established in Southern England to repel teh french. Who knows? There's be a fair few ex Servicement who'd fancy living in the FI, raising sheep and carrying a gun.

If they opened it up and decent accomodation I think it would be vastly oversubscribed.

I'd do it. As long as it's the gun I have to take to bed.

WW, don't start pretending you're that picky!! :E

You're not Welsh then Willard. They're the obvious candidates

In retrospect we should have given the residents of Hong Kong the option of moving to the Falklands. Given their entrepenurial skills they could have opened up a whole new commercial gateway to south america
And I'm sure the Argies wouldn't have wanted to absorb a large number of Chinese

Dont worry...
 

If the Argies get beligerent again we can send all our carriers down (suggest scuttleing them as block ships in the River Plate estuary - although that idea didn`t work to well for Adolf). We could lease back the Harriers from the USMC, get the Vulcan back in action, tank both the remaining UK Typhoons to ascention to join up with a Tonker and conscript the Portsmouth ACF into the Marines. This would give us the fighting force necessary to defend our territory. Simples!

And.....We should not forget that the French will kindly be helping in our defence as well (At least, they said they would a while ago....before the latest Euro row) and you know we can trust them....

In the words of Armstrong & Miller ......Keep calm & carry on & sh*t

;)

jamesdevice, was your reference to the Welsh in view of the fact that they lost more men per capita during the war than any other nation from the UK?

"If the Argies get beligerent again"

I hope the UK mines the hell out of Stanley Harbour and other areas to at least make it hard for them.

.

I suspect it is because they are usually on first name terms with both Baaa bara and Maaaa tilda but I could be wrong.

I prefer pheasant plucking but each to their own.