How did the Royal Navy Protect the British Task Force from Argentine air attacks during the Falklands War?
The British managed to minimize their shipping losses through a combination of layered air defenses and signals intelligence. Type 42 destroyers and Sea Dart missiles provided adequate high-altitude air defense, forcing Argentine pilots to fly at very low altitudes to evade Royal Navy ship-based radar. Royal Navy submarines operating off the coast of Argentina could use electronic sensors in their periscopes to detect electronic signals from Argentine aircraft as they took off. These subs provided the fleet with enough advanced warning to launch Sea Harriers on interception missions. Consequently, an Argentine pilot needed to be ready to dogfight a Harrier, dodge surface-to-air missiles, and then pull off a low-level bombing run. All three of these tasks required a level of training that most Argentine pilots lacked. Argentina ran out of fighter jets before the British ran out of ships.