Illustrious entered service and sailed south with newly adapted Sea King airborne-early-warning aircraft, closing a vulnerability revealed in the Falklands campaign. Her immediate postwar relief deployment turned that improvised capability into a tool for deterrence and reassurance around the islands. Other Sea Kings shifted between ASW, commando transport, and heavy-lift tasks, showing the value of a large and flexible helicopter airframe. The more compact Ka-25 also carried troops, including special-forces insertions, alongside its ASW work, though the Sea King supported a broader range of adaptations.
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Sea Kings made Invincible useful beyond submarine hunting
Rapid AEW adaptation, troop transport, and heavy-lift work gave the Sea King family a breadth of carrier roles demonstrated during and after the Falklands War.