Document Showing Secret Technical Aspects of RAF Mount Pleasant in Falkands Leaked

MoD workers are accused of handing Argentina an “invasion handbook” for the Southern Atlantic archipelago after forgetting to encrypt a secret document, and putting it online.
The document details every technical aspect of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) main military facility on the islands.
The Ministry of Defense removed the data from the website after being alerted by the Sunday Express.
The Mount Pleasant Aerodrome Manual, which states it is supposed to be password protected, is intended for RAF pilots and security-screened civilian contractors who need to land at the base, just 30 miles from Port Stanley.
However, the Sunday Express discovered it was openly available to anyone who clicked its link on the homepage of the “British forces overseas: Falkland Islands and Ascension Island” website.
Details revealed include the exact make-up of runways and thickness of concrete, enabling attacking bombers to know precisely which bombs to use for maximum effect, as well as full operating procedures of how the runways are used at any given time, making it easy for an airstrikes to cause maximum disruption by targeting specific sections.
It also boasts the exact GPS coordinate of every facility, color maps illustrating the hardtop covers of the RAF’s Typhoon fighters and advice as to the best approach in different weather conditions – not to mention the name and personal phone number of every senior officer at the base.
The gaffe is particularly embarrassing as it comes just 10 days after Defense Secretary confirmed a review of the islands’ defenses with a £280m boost to be invested in ten years, conceding the dispute with Argentina remained “a live threat”.
mercopress

UK Seeks To Update Falklands Air Defense

Britain is to invest US $268.7 million over the next 10 years strengthening its military presence on the Falkland Islands and has already started looking for a contractor to build a key element of a ground-based air defense (GBAD) system.
Defence Secretary outlined plans to deploy helicopters and upgrade port facilities along with the GBAD system to boost Britain's military on the islands.
Two Chinook support helicopters will be operational by the middle of next year along with communications capabilities for the British headquarters at Mount Pleasant airfield.
A number of projects to replace some of the aging infrastructure are also included in the long-term capability plans, including the refurbishment of Mare Harbour.
The introduction of the Chinooks is a significant capability which will provide reactive, 24/7 tactical mobility, in order to allow a swift and decisive response to any emerging incidents.
The announcement follows a review of the islands' defenses conducted by the MoD over the last 18 months or so.
The British defend the island with a force including four Typhoon jets, an offshore patrol vessel, a ground based air defense system and infantry.
There are about 1,200 soldiers, sailors and airmen based on the Falklands.
Even before the announcement, Britain had already taken a significant step toward updating its air defenses on the Falklands by kick-starting a competition to supply a key element of a new ground-based system.
With an aging Air Force, Argentina poses no threat to the islands. The Argentineans, though, have been trying, so far without success, to modernize a force that consists of Mirage III, Super Entendard and Nesher combat jets.
The Buenos Aires government has always denied media reports that it was in talks to buy or lease Sukhoi Su-24 jets from Russia in a beef-for-fighters barter.
defensenews

UK Bolsters Falkland Defenses to Counter Argentine Air Ambitions

British military capability planners are eyeing a major improvement to ground-based air defenses in the Falkland Islands amid continuing signs that Argentina is looking to update its Air Force with modern strike aircraft.
Argentina and the UK fought a short but bloody war over the British territory in 1982. The dispute received new life recently by Argentinean President Cristina Kirchener's launching a diplomatic war of words in an effort to eject the British.
Now it has emerged that the British have been planning to replace the aging ground-based system on the Falklands with a package including a battle management command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (BMC4I) system, a new missile and a radar.
As recently as December, unconfirmed reports emerged that Buenos Aires was in talks with the Russians over the possible lease of a squadron's worth of Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer attack jets in a move that would threaten Britain's control of the skies locally.
The reports drew a response from the UK Defence Ministry that it would adjust defense capabilities to the appropriate level to address any threats to the disputed islands, which the Argentinians refer to as the Islas Malvinas.
Britain has maintained forces on the island since the war. The force includes four Typhoon jets, Rapier missiles, naval assets and around 1,200 troops.
Last year, the British spent £63 million (US $95 million) for defense of the Falklands.
It is not possible to say when the Falklands system would enter service, as the project, which is fully funded, is in only its assessment phase.
The British effort to bolster its air defense capabilities on the South Atlantic islands comes as Argentina continues efforts to find a way of updating an Air Force that is pretty much flying the same aircraft as it did when it attacked the Falklands.
The financially hard-pressed Argentineans have made several attempts to buy second-hand combat jets, such as the Mirage 2000, without success.
Recently, Buenos Aires signaled interest in acquiring Saab Gripen NG fighters from a production line being set up in Brazil.
That came to nothing after the UK government warned they would block any sale by refusing to approve the export of the substantial amount of British technology used in the fighter.
Although media reports that the Argentineans are looking at the Su-24 have been denied by Buenos Aires, analysts in the UK said an eventual purchase of a credible combat jet could alter the balance of power in the South Atlantic.
defensenews

Argentina buys 16 Mirage F 1 from Spain; half have air-refuelling capacity

Argentina has confirmed the purchase of 16 second hand Mirage F-1 decommissioned from the Spanish Air force in an operation valued at 170 million Euros. The expenditure is contemplated in the 2014 budget bill approved in the Lower House and which awaits debate in the Senate.
The Mirages were decommissioned by the Spanish Air Force at the airbase of Los Llanos in Albacete during a ceremony last June. They had been refurbished in the nineties with improved avionics and firing capacity.
Apparently the Mirage F-1 has a last generation laser inertial system which ensures autonomous navigation of great precision with a GPS and a computer that optimizes besides navigation, the targeting system.
They have a maximum speed of 1.320 kilometres and flight autonomy of 500 miles and of the 16 eight have air fuelling capacity from a Hercules C130, according to the Spanish Air Force.
The Spanish air force is replacing its ageing Mirage with Euro-fighter Typhoons.
The Argentine air force currently has an estimated 25 Mirage 5 and Mirage III with over thirty years in service, some of them fought in the South Atlantic conflict with Britain in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. However according to Argentine sources the aircraft are virtually out of use because of lack of spares and an adequate maintenance.
So far besides the budget confirmation there is no further news, or even when the F-1 will be arriving in Argentina, most probably for the Tandil air base Likewise pilots and technical teams will have to be trained for the incorporations.
mercopress

More info in miragec14

El Ejército del Aire comenzará a negociar esta semana la venta de los Mirage F1M a la Fuerza Aérea Argentina

Argentina comprará nuevos aviones Mirage F1 a España

El Ejército del Aire busca comprador para 19 aviones F-1 antes del 1 de enero

Se hace oficial la compra de Mirage F1 del Ejército de Aire por Argentina /Official:Argentina buys Spanish Mirage F-1

Falklands alert as Argentina strikes £145million deal for 20 Mirage F1 warplanes ex-Spanish Air Force

Argentina may buy Spanish F1Ms to threat the Falkland Islands

Los Mirage F1 del Ejército del Aire ¿de la Base Aérea de Albacete a las Malvinas?

ESPAÑA, CERCA DE VENDER A ARGENTINA LOS MIRAGE F-1 QUE SE 'JUBILAN' EN ALBACETE

¿Los Mirage F-1M mas cerca de Argentina?De nuevo se rumorea que la Fuerza Aérea Argentina va a adquirir 12 Mirage F1

Los Mirage F1 del Ejército del Aire ¿de la Base Aérea de Albacete a las Malvinas?

La prensa británica vincula la posible compra por Argentina de los Mirage F-1 retirados del Ala 14 a una mayor presencia militar en torno a las disputadas islas.
De sobrevolar el Hondo de La Morena a patrullar cerca de la roca Mintay, a más de 10.000 kilómetros. Es el camino que pueden seguir los aviones Mirage F-1 ya retirados de la actividad del Ala 14 y las Base Aérea de Los Llanos, pero todavía operativos y disponibles para poder ser vendidos a las fuerzas armadas de otro país. Por el momento, Defensa sigue manteniendo que los aviones no están vendidos, aunque sí están disponibles para la venta, pero esta semana el diario británico Sunday People y después el The Mirror daba por hecha la operación de venta de 20 aeronaves a Argentina, un país del que ya se ha hablado en relación al interés por estos aviones, sustituidos en Albacete por los modernos Eurofighter.
Prensa argentina también se hacía eco recientemente de posibles avances en las negociaciones de su Ministerio de Defensa para cerrar el contrato de compra de los aviones que han estado destacados en Albacete, y donde pusieron fin a su vida operativa el pasado 23 de junio.
latribunadealbacete

30 años del Bautismo de Fuego de la Fuerza Aérea Argentina-Dagger sobre Malvinas

En mayo de 1982, durante el Bautismo de Fuego de la Fuerza Aérea Argentina, se efectuaron numerosas misiones de guerra contra los buques de la Fuerza de Tareas de la Royal Navy


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Piden explicaciones a Chile sobre la presencia de buque de guerra británico en Valparaíso

El buque “Gloucester” no pudo entrar a Uruguay a abastecerse porque el Gobierno del presidente Mujica se lo impidió, cumpliendo con el acuerdo internacional firmado, con la Argentina en el año 2006. Chile le dio permiso.
El presidente de la Comisión de Defensa de la Cámara de Diputados, Julio Martínez (UCR), pidió al presidente de Chile, Sebastián Piñera, que explique a la Argentina porqué Chile recibió en sus costas a un buque de guerra británico que realizó operaciones militares en Malvinas.
Durante la última reunión de la Unasur, los presidente de la región firmaron una declaración en la que se comprometieron a impedir el ingreso a puertos de buques que enarbolen la bandera “ilegal de las Islas Malvinas”, recordó el legislador.
En tal sentido, según el diputado riojano, el buque “Gloucester” no pudo entrar a Uruguay a abastecerse porque el Gobierno del presidente Mujica se lo impidió, cumpliendo con el acuerdo internacional firmado, con la Argentina en el año 2006.
Sin embargo este barco, que realizó un ejercicio de combate en el atlántico sur ”con el objetivo de defender las islas”, participó en Valparaíso de una exposición naval, según se informó oficialmente.
Al respecto, Martínez expresó: “Estamos muy preocupados e indignados. Creemos que en el Gobierno de Piñera hay muchos resabios pinochetistas, ya ocurrió con la designación del embajador Otero, deben pedir disculpas, porque en Argentina se recuerda con mucho dolor el apoyo que dio Chile a Gran Bretaña durante la guerra". (leer más)
El destructor Tipo 42, con capacidad de 280 hombres y mujeres partió de Reino Unido el 20 de agosto de este año cuyo trabajo de patrullaje finalizara en el mes de febrero protegiendo los intereses británicos alrededor de las Islas Malvinas y Georgia del Sur en el Atlántico Sur”. El "Gloucester", de la Royal Navy, es de la misma clase que el "Sheffield", hundido en la guerra de 1982.
El HMS Gloucester participó del rutinario ejercicio británico en Malvinas denominado "Cape Bayonet" con el objetivo de "defender las Malvinas" ante un ataque argentino.
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Presidenta argentina acusa a Royal Navy de piratería/ Royal Navy are pirates, says Argentina's president

La presidenta de Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, ha criticado mediante su cuenta de Twitter, los planes del Reino Unido para realizar maniobras militares en la zona de Malvinas, y anunció que su gobierno emitirá una queja ante Naciones Unidas por la "Militarización del Atlántico Sur".
El comentario fue luego eliminado, pero fue comentado de manera entusiasmada en su mayoría por miles de usuarios.
Este hecho amenaza con incrementar la tensión en la zona, en la que empresas británicas están iniciando la exploración de bolsas de petróleo y gas. La pasada semana, en el primer incidente de este tipo en cuatro años, un patrullero argentino acusó a un pesquero con base en Malvinas, dentro de las aguas jurisdiccionales de Malvinas, de pesca ilegal, obligándolo a retirarse.
Reino Unido informó a Argentina de que maniobras con misiles son habituales cada seis meses, y que se han realizado durante 28 años.
Kirchner anunció que la reclamación de Argentina por las Malvinas sería permanente, aunque descartó el uso de la fuerza. Las Malvinas estuvieron bajo administración argentina durante un breve periodo de tiempo en 1982.
Al parecer, podría haber unos 700 millones de barriles de crudo en la zona de Malvinas.
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Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner used Twitter, to criticise plans by the Ministry of Defence to carry out military tests in the Falklands region. She announced that Argentina had complained to the United Nations about Britain's "militarisation of the South Atlantic.
Mrs Kirchner wrote: "Royal Navy, occupying colonial force in Falkland Islands, reports military exercise with missiles on the coast of East Falkland."
Her postings were erased, but not before they had been re-posted by hundreds of other Twitter users, many of them Argentines who enthusiastically endorsed the remarks.
The Twitter posts threaten to increase tension between the two countries at a time when British companies are beginning to explore for oil and gas in the region. Last week, in what is thought to have been the first incident of its kind in four years, an Argentine military ship confronted a trawler from the Falklands and accused it of fishing illegally. The Argentine crew contacted the fishermen, who were several miles inside Falklands waters, and demanded their details. The boat, from Port Stanley, eventually moved away.
Britain informed Argentina last week that it planned to carry out missile tests, in what officials have insisted was standard procedure. An embassy spokesman told local reporters: "We are a little taken aback, because these exercises are routine and are carried out every six months. They've been happening for 28 years."
Mrs Kirchner has previously pledged an "eternal fight" to claim the Falklands Islands. However she later ruled out the use of force to take the islands, which were briefly under the control of the then-ruling Argentine military junta in 1982.
Recent tests indicated that there could be about 700 million barrels worth of crude oil under the ocean around the Falklands, which could be worth about £3 billion.
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Ex-combatientes argentinos de Malvinas prostestan por vuelos de Lan Chile a Malvinas

Ex combatientes de Malvinas realizaron una singular en el aeropuerto de Río Gallegos, ante un vuelo de la empresa LAN Chile que hizo escala en esta ciudad, antes de partir rumbo a las islas con medio centenar de pasajeros.
Miembros de la Asociación Civil Combatientes en Malvinas de Buenos Aires exigieron la suspensión inmediata de los vuelos de LAN Chile a Malvinas, al desplegar una bandera y arrojar bombas de humo blanco y celeste, dirigidas a las cabeceras de la pista.
chile-hoy.blogspot.com

TRES AVIONES DE LA RAF CON BASE EN MALVINAS SOBREVUELAN ARGENTINA PREVIA AUTORIZACION

Tres aviones británicos con base en las Malvinas, sobrevolaron el espacio aéreo argentino y aunque inicialmente se advirtió que podría tratarse de una violación del territorio nacional, luego se reconoció que tuvieron autorización oficial.
El ministerio de Defensa y la Fuerza Aérea Argentina expresaron en dos comunicados similares que “no existió violación del espacio aéreo nacional” por parte de aviones ingleses ya que fueron autorizadas a sobrevolar Tierra del Fuego con destino a Punta Arenas, Chile, debido a razones meteorológicas adversas en Malvinas Fuentes de la embajada británica en Argentina informaron el pasado miércoles 26 de mayo de 2010, a las 17 horas, dos aviones DC y un Typhoon de las Royal Air Force fueron “redirigidos rápidamente” hacia Punta Arenas, Chile, porque las condiciones climáticas en el aeropuerto de las islas hacían peligroso su aterrizaje. “Estamos agradecidos con las autoridades argentinas y chilenas por su respuesta rápida ante esta emergencia”, agregó la fuente.
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Submarino Nuclear de la Royal Navy en patrulla por las Malvinas/Royal Navy submarine sent to patrol Falklands

La maniobra viene despues de que una empresa británica anunciara el descubrimiento de petróleo en la zona. La zona de Islas Malvinas podría contener mas de 60 mil millones de barriles de crudo. Este descubrimiento podría hacer crecer la tensión en la zona, en reclamada por Argentina. La presidenta Argentina ha manifestado que las islas están ocupadas por Gran Bretaña ilegalmente y se han alzado voces de protesta en el país.
El HMS Sceptre, fue desplazado a la zona desde su posición en el Sur de África.
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Move comes as British firm said to have struck oil. According to experts, the waters around Falklands could contain more than 60 billion barrels of crude oil. But they also warned the discovery could heighten tension in what already is a political hotspot.
Argentina’s president Cristina Kirchner has argued the islands were illegally occupied by the British, spurring protests in the country.
It was understood the Royal Navy submarine, HMS Sceptre, was ordered to the Falkland Islands from its post on the coast of southern Africa in a bid to step up security in the area. The 5,000 tonne Swiftsure-class vessel is thought to be equipped with Spearfish anti-ship torpedoes.