The rapid introduction of helicopter airborne early warning during the Falklands War depended on research completed years earlier. Funding had been withheld because British ships were expected to operate in the NATO North Atlantic area. American carrier aircraft and land-based airborne warning were assumed to provide the necessary coverage there. The wartime work that equipped Illustrious before she sailed south therefore put an existing development into service.
Notable Point · 33:33-34:33
Helicopter early warning and the Falklands funding decision
Previously completed research allowed helicopter airborne early warning to enter service quickly during the Falklands War.