An Audacious-class carrier in the Falklands

How would the Audacious class have performed in the Falklands War?

Very well: airborne early warning and Phantoms would greatly reduce the effectiveness of Argentine air attack.

Early warning is the decisive extra capability in this scenario. An Audacious-class ship retained into 1982 could bring Phantoms and a carrier-based airborne-early-warning aircraft such as the Gannet. The warning aircraft would detect incoming raids farther from the task force and give the fighters time and direction to intercept them. Argentine aircraft would therefore be much less likely to approach the Falkland Islands or British ships undetected. The counterfactual highlights the surveillance and command function that the historical force lacked, beyond the value of a larger deck.