Raising a radar above a ship moves its horizon farther away and gives more warning of low-flying aircraft or missiles. The airborne early warning capability introduced just after the Falklands fighting drew on research and development completed before the war. Funding had been withheld on the assumption that NATO airborne warning or American carriers would support British operations in the expected region. That saving depended on a geographical restriction the South Atlantic campaign did not meet. The assessment links Falklands deaths to losing airborne warning, larger destroyers, and carrier aircraft that could extend defensive layers farther from the ships. Experience with kamikaze attacks and missile-threat simulations had already demonstrated the value of keeping attackers at a distance. This criticism of force planning accompanies explicit respect for the professionalism of those who fought with the ships available.
Notable Point · 1:00:29-1:03:32
Falklands airborne early warning arrived late despite prewar development
The radar horizon and the late arrival of AEW explain the cost of assuming that allied air cover would always be available.