Aviação naval argentina na guerra das Malvinas (1982): uma análise do emprego das aeronaves da armada argentina à luz da doutrina da força aérea brasileira

Abstract

The Falklands War was triggered by the military junta in 1982 with the invasion of the islands in Operation Rosario. The purpose of this research is to investigate and present the distribution of the Argentine naval air effort, seeking to answer the research question: How was the Argentine naval air effort distributed during the Falklands War?. The object of study was delimited to the employment of Argentine naval aircraft in operations conducted from ships and land bases against the British fleet and land targets, between April and June 1982. The work adopts an analytical framework, which consists of researching flights and missions to classify them, based on combined quantitative and qualitative assessments, through the lens of the air power tasks defined in the doctrine of the Brazilian Air Force.The analysis reveals that the Aerospace Control task was not actively pursued, corresponding to a minimal direct effort, although the threat posed by its weapons generated indirect effects on British tactics. Furthermore, the Interdiction task, despite a reduced number of sorties, produced considerable tactical and operational effects. This success, however, depended directly on the tasks of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, and Command and Control and Information Systems, which ensured target location and attack coordination. The research reveals a disparity in efforts: while Combat Support represented the vast majority of missions, the Force Protection task was the most ineffective, culminating in the withdrawal of the Argentine fleet after the sinking of the cruiser ARA General Belgrano. It is concluded that, despite tactical successes, the inability to protect its own assets and the lack of balance among the tasks compromised the war effort, demonstrating that the effectiveness of naval air power lies in the synergistic application of all its capabilities.