Background Paper for the Cliairman Jo int' Chiefs of Staff SUBJECT British Options in the Falkland Islands Dispute U 1 PURPOSE for his use POI S U To provide tne Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff with information z u OF MAJOR INTEREST a S jMOFORN Tlie UK will continue to seek a diplomatic solution during the 1eng y transit of tne Royal Navy Task For-ce This effort will likely continue for a wnile after the task 'force is in the area with the latter standing off in a show of farce If some amena5l e compromi se cannot be achi eved withi n a reasona le time nowever london appears intent on military action Its precise measures will De limited oy tne fact that altftough the Royal Navy enjoys a surface force superiority it will Be severely constrained by inadequate air cover and stretched supply li' les ' ft is 4 000 miles to the small US facility on Ascension Island wftere tfie UK does n t maintain a garrison or prestocked supplies The Royal'Air Force will proBably stage some items there for resupply as the task force passes' By liowe-ver tfie distance precludes continuous effective resupply during opera tl ons Tlie B'ri'tisli are looking at tlie possibil ity o'f obtaining base rights closer to the Falklands however there is little Li kel thood af this Brazil and Uruguay have already stated they would not'grant such a request Chile has remained silent Although alarmed that a soccessful Argentina may next turn to tfie disputed Chilean territory in the Beagle Channel Santiago is unlikely to provide logistical support to the Royal Navy However should the British inflict suBstantial damage to the Argentine fleet Chile may become more receptive to a British request be OFORN Biven a decision to take military action the most likely British response vis a blockade of the Falklands The task force's inadequate in ercept capaoility will 5e a major drawback in prev enting Argentine resupply by air In agdition logistic onstraints ill again be an inhibiting factor o in such a war of attrltion Sritish actions against tha Falklands will likely be coupled By an attempt to retake South Georgia This island's distance from the mainland poses great logistics problems for Argentina and gives London an opportunity to achieve a psychological v'ictory c OFORN A third although unlikely option is to engage the - Argentine Navy to gain control of the seas off the Argentine coast However land-base aircraft from Southern Argentina will give Baenos Aires air superiority which may suffice to offset the Royal Navyt s surface force advantage 'Only two submarines Jncluding one nuclear-pbwered are known to be in the task force Should additional SUDS 5e dispatched to augment the force this option would become viable-e d FORN5 A final option is an amphibious landing either apposed near Port Stanley or unopposed elsewhere along the coast The Royal Marine force numbers approximately 2 500 combat troops At least same of these are mountain and arctic qualified However the approach of winter weather will create additional hazards for this option if it is not exe cised quickly JS _ I Cl' i nr p n iq pi-i Lf R'- _ r r _ _c ' t ri' U f 4 Lk r S jJw_ Background Paper for the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff SUBJECT Current Assessment of Forces in the Falkland Islands Dispute U To provide the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff with information 1 U PURPOSE for his use 2 U POINTS OF MAJOR INTE-REST OFORN a Argentine military capabilities The major liaBility of the Argentine forces is low sustainability due to the age and diver's ity of equipment as well as poor log i sti c practi ces Army around 12 brigades Esti ted strength of 85 000 troops tactically oriented Army capabilities include full range of combat arms and combat support units o -- Normal deployment of Army or t ents on perceived Chil ean and Brazilian threats MoDil e air defenses are primari i opera ted by the Amy and include 20-mm through 40-mm air defense guns mobile surface-to-air missiles and Oerlikan Skyguard acquisition and fire control systems -Nayy -- Operational ship strength of 3 submarines carrier and 10 princi pal surfacacombe tant s conscripts who have j st r aircraft personnel strength of some 36 QOO includes nearly 50 percent begun their tra in' ng eyel e Naval capability w 'l1 trail off rapidly when forces are confronted due to low sustainability o although several co batants Nav'aT air defense is provided primar'i1y by A-4 aircraft include ApA guns and Seacat and Sea Dart SAMs Air Force -- Strategic air limited to 10 Canberra 8-6 bombers 8-57 -- Ai r defense is a strength af the Air Farce with 17 Mirage III's and 33-35 Mirage V's Combat radii af these aircraft are believed to be in excess of 650 nautical miles o d by' y __ c n S - - ' - --- _ O'i APQ t1 ' ' -- Tactical assets are 56 A-4 Skyhawks and more than 60 indigenously produced LA-58 Poraras Some A-4s include the rsraeli Shafrir air to-air missile for A-4 aircraft b Two KC 130 tankers provide air-to-air refueling capabilities NOFORNl Argentine military opticrns Defend Argentine territory to include the Falkland Island group Attack the British task force Defore it moves into position off the coast of Argentina Hithdraw from tfie Falkland Islands when the British Fleet arrives The Argentines are more likely to adopt the defend-in-place option They will use submarines to detect and tract the British fleet respond to moves oy the' fl eet out ultimately defend from at tack all territories with its fully mobilized armed forces c OFORN Britisn capabilities - Ascension Island - No POL prestocked -- One aspfialt runway 10 000 X 150 in good condition Some communi cations capa5i 1 ity May send Royal -Royal Marines arine Com ando company o fn British Task Force Thtrd'Comman o appra imately B'ri Ja e -- P anpower 40th 42d and 45tft - 2500-3000 in three cornmandoes-- the witn empnasis on special operations Tralning Basically infantry 42d and 45tfi Commandoes are 50tn mounta i nand arct tc warfa re tr a tned Armament is' sta ndar-d NATO small arms plus three heavier weapons sa c h comma ndo J 9 81-mn -mortars 6 0 5T mm mortars 100 84 12a m antitanR weapons 63 Mil n antitank missiles 18 10S mm Rowitzers Each commando is a lightly equipped infantry unit with a minimum of administrative detail trained for cliff and assault landings and raids or landings on difficult beaches -- Almost no capability for sustained combat operations since their normal deployment anticipates British Army control heavy weapons and adminstrative logistic support A reinforced commando s cabable of limited operations for 30 days relying solely on shipborne supply A major logistics problem lies in second-I tne support for commandoes when in the field -- Ships capa5ilities Royal Navy Task force is forming and will include the following ships some of which deployed on 5 April Antisubmarine warfare carrier Invincible with 5 Sea Harrier V STOL aircraft 9 Sea King nelicopters and twin Sea Dart SAM Helicopter carrier Hermes normally embarks 1 commando 800 men and can embar-k an additional commando in an emergency about 1600 total it can also carry 3213 tons fuel oil 815 tons diesel fuel 51 tons AVGAS 4 LCVP 16 Wessex assault Fieiicopters and 4 Gazelle assault hal icopters one leg is 5 950-nm steaming at 20 Rnots - LPO assault'snip Fearless normally can carry 319 marines an additl onal 700 in an emergency By putti'ng 30 0 on the tank deck can also carry 2300 tons of car-qo 4 LCM l Clii eftain or 2 Centurion tanks in each one 1eg is 500' nm s teami'ng at 17 Rnots 0 Sir Lancelot class logistics lapding ships LSLO each can carry 340 troops laOa tons palletized cargo 120 tons POL 1200 tons fresh water provisions for 28 days for crew and troops and 1 tanks and trucks one leg is 9 800 nm steaming 17 Knots S geided missile -CO - destroyers Seaslug and 2 quad Seacat SAMs Sea Dart 'II 55 capabi 11 ty - t' o 2 County cl ass wi'tfl 2 4 tSl1' guns 4 Exocet SSH 1 twin 3 Siieffteld c l ass Ct pe 421 with 1 4 5 lt o gon and 1 twin 13 frigates 3 Type 22 with 4 Exocet'SSM and 2 6-tobe Sea Wolf SAf 4 Ratliesay cl ass wi'th 2 4 5 2 Type 21 witli 1 4 5 anti-ship weapon 4 Leander class with 11 11 guns and 1 quad' Seacat SSl SA 1 S li J gon 4 Exocet and 1 quad Sea cat SA 1 qoad Seacat and 1 Limbo 1 Fort Class AOE Fort Austin capable of carrying 3500 tODs of armaments victnals -- 1 Hudson Cl ass AO Appl ehea f