Falklands air defence depended on sensor distance

Prewar planning emphasized a North Atlantic missile threat, but the fleet still had to find an attacker before any weapon could be brought to bear. Radar and airborne early warning mattered because any defensive system needed enough sensor distance to react. Fighter direction had been critical in the Second World War and remained critical in the Falklands. At the ranges required in 1982, fighter direction depended on airborne early warning. Naval air defence begins as a detection and command problem before it becomes a missile or gun problem.