Argentine air forces in the Falklands War This article describes the composition and actions of the Argentine air forces in the Falklands War ( ) . For an overview of the air forces of the United Kingdom , see British air services in the Falklands War . Background . Despite initiating the war , Argentina had not prepared a plan for the subsequent defence of the islands . The military dictatorship that governed the country at the time regarded the seizure of the Falklands as a political act to obtain a diplomatic bargaining position , and not as an act of war . Consequently they were taken by surprise when the British responded with a large - scale mobilization , and a task force to retake the islands . The Argentine Air Force ( " Fuerza Aérea Argentina " ; FAA ) had never considered the possibility of waging a long - range naval air campaign against a major NATO power . It was not trained or equipped for such a mission . The FAA had only two tanker aircraft to serve the whole air force and navy , and its fighter - bomber Mirage III s and IAI Dagger s were not equipped for aerial refuelling . The FAA ' s training , tactics and equipment were focused on a possible war against Chile , resulting from disputes such as the Beagle conflict . The option to attack Chile was a cause of great concern to the Argentina military during the war . The Chilean armed forces had deployed a significant force to Chile ' s common border with Argentina , and the FAA was forced to reinstate their retired F - 86 Sabre s to bolster Argentina ' s air defences . In Argentina ' s favour , Peru immediately offered its support to the Argentine cause , with the Peruvian Air Force even offering to fly combat missions . This was politely declined by the Argentine government . As the war progressed , Peru and Venezuela sent critical aircraft spare parts to Argentina , urgently needed by the FAA and the Brazilian Air Force leased two EMB111 Bandeirantes maritime patrol aircraft to the Argentine Navy . Finally on June 4 , ten Peruvian Mirage 5 with AS - 30 missiles arrived to Tandil but the war ended before they could be used . Israel Aircraft Industries technicians that were in the country under the 1979 IAI Dagger s contract continued their work during the conflict . By the best estimates , Argentina totaled about 240 planes when the war broke out . About half of those were posted in the interior and along the Chilean border On paper , the twenty sub - sonic British Sea Harriers could easily have been wiped out by the more than hundred Argentine combat planes , including many supersonic jets . The reality was different . The long distances from their bases prevented them from using their top speed or they risked running out of fuel . Although , the Argentines had more aeroplanes than the British Task force , a good number of them were Pucara turboprops . Also , the A - 4 Skyhawk force were dependent on the two available KC - 130 tankers , limiting the amount of aeroplanes that could attack simultaneously . Argentina ' s fleet of A - 4 Skyhawk attack jets was in very poor condition . The arms embargo placed by the United States in 1976 , due to the " Dirty War " , had made most airframes unusable . The involvement of Israel in helping to return the A - 4 to full operational status has been alleged , but has never been confirmed . The small air arm of the Argentine Navy ( " Armada Republica Argentina " ; ARA ) was in the middle of the transition from the A - 4Q Skyhawk to the new Super Etendard . Only five of the Etendard ' s anti - ship Exocet missiles had been delivered at the time of the conflict , at which point an arms embargo prevented the delivery of further shipments . Additionally , the required programming for the missiles to interact with the Etendard ' s computers had not been completed by French engineers when the conflict broke out . France , being an ally of the United Kingdom , recalled all technicians , which left a number of Argentine scientists and electronic engineers to figure out a way to make the missiles take input from the plane ' s computers . Navy pilots , particularly those of the 3rd Naval Fighters Squadron flying " A - 4Qs " were the only trained in the specific art of bombing warships . Air Force pilots trained during April against the two Argentine Type 42 destroyers , similar to those of the British Fleet , and according the Naval officers all the sorties were " shot down " causing great concern to the High Command until the successful May 1 strikes which they proved that aircraft could survive . Finally , Argentine military aviation had never been involved in an international conflict , indeed the last time the Argentine military had been involved in an international conflict was the War of the Triple Alliance more than a century before . In spite of these disadvantages , Argentine air units bore the brunt of the battle during the six - week war , and inflicted serious damage and losses to the naval forces of the United Kingdom . Low - flying jets attacking British ships would provide the world with some of the most sobering and dramatic images of the war . By the end of the conflict , the British forces had come to admire the FAA ' s spirited conduct in the face of an effective air defence network during the hostilities , but as always , air power alone cannot win a war . Admiral Sandy Woodward , the British Task Force commander said : " [ t ] he Argentine Air Force fought extremely well and we felt a great admiration for what they did . " Organisation . The Air units involved in the Falklands War were under the following chain of command : Deployment . Air units moved from home bases to southern facilities . Amid fears about British / Chilean air strikes and / or SAS raids , Argentine aircraft were dispersed in the surrounding areas of their southern airfields , e . g . , several parts of the national route # 3 were used for this purpose . Units . The numbers in bold are the number of aircraft engaged in combat without counting those in reserve , the numbers in brackets are the number of aircraft lost during the war . Argentine Navy . ( Argentine Naval Aviation ) Argentine Army . ( Argentine Army Aviation ) Casualties and aircraft losses . Argentine strike aircraft did not carry air - to - air missiles , with the exception of 8th Air Brigade Mirage IIIEA fighters and 6th Air Brigade Daggers on May 1 . All retained a secondary armament of either 20 mm or 30 mm cannon . 75 fixed - wing aircraft and 25 helicopters . < / div >