Alliance specialization left an airborne-warning gap

British forces had shed capabilities that allies were expected to supply during a NATO war. Sea Harriers offered effective fighter coverage, but the fleet lacked an organic airborne early-warning platform and a strong reconnaissance capability in the South Atlantic. Helicopter AEW equipment was close enough to readiness that HMS Illustrious sailed south with three AEW helicopters after the fighting. The speed of that postwar installation shows how a modest prewar saving translated into avoidable wartime exposure. Alliance specialization can hollow out a force when governments retain only token quantities or assume another member will always supply the missing layer.