Reply To: SITREP Podcast Ops Center Series 2 finale

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No worries, @aztecjaguar –

Re: the scopes and the outdated state of British equipment:  Well, it depends.  Yes, spending for the British military was being drastically cut.  But these particular units I believe were still pretty well-equipped for the time.  In the video we list how elite these units were, these really were among the best of the best the British military had at the time.  I wouldn’t expect their training, experience, or gear to be widely representative for the UK military as a whole.  The 5th Infantry Brigade in particular was characterized as Britain’s “rapid reaction force” – and the 3rd Commando Brigade perhaps even moreso.  Whether “line” units in commands like BAOR or even back in the UK would have the same level of equipment is highly suspect.

Argentinian kit:  A lot of it was provided by the Americans before the war.  Again, Latin and South America is an area of very sensitive interest to the US, and at the time the Soviets were making inroads in Central America, FARC leftists were on the rise in Colombia, and the War on Drugs was getting started in places like Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru.  Long story short, we needed a lot of friends in the area, and sent them all kinds of gear.  So yeah, things like boots, web gear, support weapons, all the way up A-4 Skyhawks, had come from the US in them id-and-late 70s.

But nothing terribly new.  The British had all the American AIM-9L Sidewinders that enabled non-fighter Harrier strikes planes to compete (and trounce) dedicated air-superiority fighters like the Mirage III EA and Dagger (admittedly these were older aircraft, as well).

As far as infantry equipment, though, the Argentinians were still using the American WW2-era “piss-pot” helmet, in photos the British seem to be wearing their much newer Kevlar.

Did not know about the UK receiving US intelligence from American satellites.  😀

1991 Gulf War and 1982 Falklands War indeed sees some very big jumps.  1991 Gulf War is sometimes characterized as a Iraqi Industrial-Age army against a Coalition Information-Age army.  Yes, the tactical gear and weapons and vehicles have changed a little.  But what’s really changed are the “C-3” (Command, Control, Communications) infrastructure behind the armies and air forces – the first real use of GPS and this little thing we call the “internet”  😀  … of what Schwartzkopf called his “Jedi Knights.”

Those Vulcans indeed are an incredible story.  Talk about “make do and mend.”  😀  Guys on the airfield had to cobble together improvised parts on the airfield out of what they could buy at the local hardware store to get the planes flying again.  And while the Gulf War indeed seems a lot more impressive. We have to remember that that was built up from August 2 1990 to January 15, 1991.  The Falklands War had to be launched basically over a long weekend.

I don’t think the Argentinians ever thought they had the upper hand or underestimated the threat coming at them ONCE the British force set sail.  They of course totally misjudged whether a force WOULD set sail, but once underway they did not take the British lightly.   Non-stop flights from the mainland ferried over troops to Las Islas Malvinas, including recalled reservists, in C130 Hercules, requisitioned Boeing 707s, and even Lear Jets.  They  got something like 15,000 troops in position.   Again, the Argentinian economy was in shambles and they were also still involved in a civil war in the mountains of their own country.