Q&A · 2:21:34-2:22:45

Audacious-class carriers in the Falklands War

Large carriers with airborne early warning and long-range aircraft could deter the invasion or dominate the air campaign.

Question

What if Britain kept two Audacious-class carriers into the 1980s and sent them to the Falklands?

Short answer

They greatly improve air control and may deter Argentina from invading at all.

Notes

Two modernized Audacious-class carriers would bring fixed-wing airborne early warning, longer-range fighters, and a much larger strike group than Hermes and Invincible. That would permit a sustained combat air patrol, earlier detection of Argentine raids, and heavier attacks on positions ashore. British losses from air attack would probably fall sharply. More fundamentally, Argentina timed the invasion for a moment of perceived British weakness, so the continued existence of such carriers might prevent the war from beginning.