[samiam]

You're right about the A-4 being a good dog fighter. One of them killed a MiG with a rocket over Vietnam. That's like a Harbinger kill on a Dragon. I was mistaken.

The A-4 has no afterburner, though, and it would have a hard time staying on a modern fighter's tail. So since the EFs could easily evade, it's down to the Skyhawk's ability to do sufficient damage to the airfield to make it unusable. And they might just be able to get away with that, because fighters can only carry so many AMRAAMs and bullets.

If they had almost a wing of F-16A MLUs, though, with decent ordinance and logistics, they have a good chance of securing air superiority early on and then making it impossible for naval forces to come near the island. They just haven't bothered to make an investment that would allow them to pose a serious threat, despite considering F-16 and Mirage 2000 purchases.

[karajorma]

I've read some of the history of the islands

And right there you've done more than Sean Penn or pretty much most of the people who comment on the Falklands Islands have ever done.

[samiam]

Kara, do you get moderately angry in political threads often?

[karajorma]

With the exception of people who don't read them, who doesn't?

[Grizzly]

With the exception of people who don't read them, who doesn't?

I do. I get depressions .

[Ravenholme]

Argentina's the PRH and we're Manticore.

Dekker - that is hilarious. I made that exact comment to my father whilst we were together a while ago.

Great minds think alike, or fools seldom differ.

[Dragon]

You're right about the A-4 being a good dog fighter. One of them killed a MiG with a rocket over Vietnam. That's like a Harbinger kill on a Dragon. I was mistaken.

The A-4 has no afterburner, though, and it would have a hard time staying on a modern fighter's tail. So since the EFs could easily evade, it's down to the Skyhawk's ability to do sufficient damage to the airfield to make it unusable. And they might just be able to get away with that, because fighters can only carry so many AMRAAMs and bullets.

The A-4 is a decent dogfighter, but remember that P-51 Mustang also is. It's not like it's incapable of air combat, but just can't compare with modern aircraft. Lack of afterburners and weapons compatibility (especially BVR ordnance) makes it somewhat obsolete. If supported by SAMs, these Eurofighters stationed on Falklands could most likely wipe the floor with most of Argentina's air force.
There's also another thing. Getting that far would require a lot of fuel, so A-4s would have to watch their tanks, or they won't be able to return. Dogfighting can easily empty one's tank in no time.
One EF-2000 can carry 13 missiles and 150 rounds for it's guns. That's enough for at least 14-16 Skyhawks, if the pilot is good.

[samiam]

Ah, the good ol' P-19 Mustang.

Argentina only has 34 Skyhawks, so it's probably better off in a low-altitude, low-speed run with its propeller aircraft hoping their radar blips get mistaken for speedboats or birds. Then they might have a chance at bombing the place.

[redsniper]

P-51 Mustang

P-19 Mustang

How does this even happen?

[IceFire]

I've read some of the history of the islands

And right there you've done more than Sean Penn or pretty much most of the people who comment on the Falklands Islands have ever done.

It's actually an interesting history... some of these folks like Sean Penn should read it

[IceFire]

You're right about the A-4 being a good dog fighter. One of them killed a MiG with a rocket over Vietnam. That's like a Harbinger kill on a Dragon. I was mistaken.

The A-4 has no afterburner, though, and it would have a hard time staying on a modern fighter's tail. So since the EFs could easily evade, it's down to the Skyhawk's ability to do sufficient damage to the airfield to make it unusable. And they might just be able to get away with that, because fighters can only carry so many AMRAAMs and bullets.

The A-4 is a decent dogfighter, but remember that P-51 Mustang also is. It's not like it's incapable of air combat, but just can't compare with modern aircraft. Lack of afterburners and weapons compatibility (especially BVR ordnance) makes it somewhat obsolete. If supported by SAMs, these Eurofighters stationed on Falklands could most likely wipe the floor with most of Argentina's air force.
There's also another thing. Getting that far would require a lot of fuel, so A-4s would have to watch their tanks, or they won't be able to return. Dogfighting can easily empty one's tank in no time.
One EF-2000 can carry 13 missiles and 150 rounds for it's guns. That's enough for at least 14-16 Skyhawks, if the pilot is good.

Assuming every missile hits it's target...yeah

But you're absolutely right. The Typhoon is a top notch combat aircraft...at least by the numbers and there isn't much a Skyhawk can do assuming both pilots are well trained. My money would be on the RAF pilots having the edge but I'm somewhat unaware of what Argentina's training regime is like and how much flight time their combat pilots get.

[samiam]

But you're absolutely right. The Typhoon is a top notch combat aircraft...at least by the numbers and there isn't much a Skyhawk can do assuming both pilots are well trained. My money would be on the RAF pilots having the edge but I'm somewhat unaware of what Argentina's training regime is like and how much flight time their combat pilots get.

They managed to bomb a few British ships with dumb bombs, which is an accomplishment. They didn't score any AA kills, but that's to be expected when fighting Harriers and not having any decent missiles. I would say that the FAA has at least a few good pilots.

[Davros]

Q: how do you get 50 Argentinians into a phone box
A: tell them they own it

[Dragon]

Assuming every missile hits it's target...yeah

Ah, I should have also mentioned that A-4's ECM suite is completely outdated. 
Without burners, it'd be really, really difficult for an A-4 pilot to actually outmanouver an AMRAAM, and it's unlikely it'd be fooled by it's ECM.

[Colonol Dekker]

Q: how do you get 50 Argentinians into a phone box
A: tell them they own it

Tell them it's British

[Mongoose]

Must be a TARDIS then.

[el_magnifico]

Three pages without any reference about killing those bloody Argies who dare to make a diplomatic protest. Looks like this forum has changed a lot since the last time I was around. In a very positive way.

Oh! By the way: Elections were held MONTHS ago, current president won by an astonishing margin, and the economy, I have to admit, is doing quite well. So no, sorry, this is not smoke and mirrors because currently there are no problems to hide.

Q: how do you get 50 Argentinians into a phone box
A: tell them they own it

Oh! You...

[Flipside]

I don't think the UK, or at least the population of it, really want to be banging heads with Argentina any more than any other country, that's part of the problem I suppose, both countries assume that because our Governments say something, that must be the united opinion of the people, and tend to jump to conclusions over it.

I suppose the first step towards having a sensible dialogue about all this is to treat each other like adults, something Sean Penn did not do, and I'm afraid that his sticking his nose in purely for the sake of hurling somewhat out-of-date insults has pretty much galvanized the situation from the point of view of the British public.