The eight Argentine Skyhawks would carry bombs rather than anti-ship missiles, and early-war fuzing problems reduced their likely effect. In open water the two carriers and their escorts could manoeuvre as a compact force, avoiding the land clutter and dispersion that complicated later amphibious operations. Invincible, Sheffield, Coventry, and Glasgow carried Sea Dart; Broadsword and Brilliant supplied Sea Wolf; and 28 Harriers added fighter protection. Even older Sea Cat and Sea Slug systems could force attacking pilots into less favourable approaches. Training in carrier-group exercises such as Springtrain more closely matched this open-water problem than the lightly escorted Northern Flank amphibious drills or the later improvised defence of Bomb Alley.
Chapter · 27:53-33:35
The concentrated carrier group was strongest against Skyhawks
Twenty-eight Harriers and a concentrated escort screen gave the British carrier group a better defensive setting than the later, dispersed fighting around the Falklands.