Missiles were effective weapons without being effortless or decisive. Before the Falklands War, some commentary expected aircraft to annihilate the British task force, but logistics, command procedures, timing, and other operational constraints prevented that simple outcome. Sea Wolf proved exceptionally capable in combat and performed better than many sceptics expected a missile system to perform. It still did not match every optimistic marketing claim, which is why test success must be separated from performance inside a real fleet operation.
Notable Point · 1:47:08-1:48:23
Missile claims, combat reality, and the Falklands
Missiles could be very effective in the Falklands while still falling short of optimistic marketing claims and facing real command and timing constraints.