Corporate Lessons? Reflections on Some of the Myths, Anti-Myths Omissions of Britain’s Falklands Air War, 19821

David Jordan

Corporate Lessons? Reflections on Some of the Myths, Anti-Myths Omissions of Britain’s Falklands Air War, 19821

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Although the Falklands conflict ended forty years ago, it is only in recent years that the release of contemporaneous source material has allowed correction of some of the myths and misperceptions relating to the war. The air campaign has been a particular field of contention. This article does not claim to be comprehensive but provides a short review of some of the key issues pertaining to the air war, beginning by considering the nature of the outbreak of the war and the challenges which faced the employment of British air power. It then considers use of Vulcan bombers to attack the runway at Port Stanley airfield in the broader operational context before briefly examining the part played by British carrier-based aircraft and the nature of Argentine air power. It offers a commentary upon aspects of the air war which have been largely missed out from the narrative to date, before concluding with reflections on some of the lessons which emerged from the war, noting that the Falklands conflict demonstrated the risks of a mismatch between the ambition to exercise national power on a wider stage and the capability to actually do so.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	35-53
Journal	Air and Space Power Review
Volume	24
Issue number	1
Publication status	Published - 14 Apr 2022

Cite this

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Corporate Lessons? Reflections on Some of the Myths, Anti-Myths Omissions of Britain’s Falklands Air War, 19821

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