It is often erroneously stated that the four Typhoon fighers based in the Falklands can defend those islands from attacks.
There are a number of reasons why this is not the case.
One of those reasons is weather.
The Typhoons have only a single runway to operate from in the Falkland Islands.
That runway is sometimes closed by the often atrocious weather.
Usually the Typhoons manage to land before this happens.
But sometimes they do not.
In those cases the Typhoons must divert to an airbase on the South American mainland.
This requires a great deal of fuel and it is the reason there is a VC10 tanker aircraft in the Falklands to support fighter operations.
When the runway is closed the tanker has enough fuel to get the fighters to the nearest mainland base.
More accurately,to the nearest friendly mainland base.
Landing in Argentina would cause an international incident.
This is why two Typhoons and a VC10 recently found themselves in Punta Arenas,Chile.
To get to Punta Arenas they had to fly through Argentinian airspace.
This article about this incident was published by MercoPress.
