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Vulcan bombers, designed for nuclear raids on Russia, trained night and day in Scotland and Canada for a low level attack hundreds of miles deep into Argentine sovereign territory, a new book has shown. The news is likely to further strain the poor relations between Britain and Argentina that have been at their lowest since in the Falklands War in the lead up to the 30th anniversary of the invasion. The plans were drawn up by Air Commodore Simon Baldwin, who was the wing commander in charge of the last remaining Vulcan squadron in 1982. The officer "was left in...

The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina. Dauntless will set sail for the Falkland Islands in the coming weeks armed with a battery of missiles that could "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," ... The Type 45 destroyer is the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic ship in the world equipped with 48 Sea Viper missiles and the Sampson radar, which is more advanced than Heathrow air traffic control The ship is in a league of its own in...

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina's president, is using her refusal to appoint an ambassador to Britain as demonstration of her hardline on the Falkland Islands, a key plank of her platform for election in October. Tensions over the sovereignty of the Falklands have increased since British companies began drilling for oil in the region just over a year ago. Argentina responded last August by abandoning plans to install a new ambassador in London and reports in Buenos Aires now indicate that none will be appointed this year. Political analysts said the decision suggested that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner could...

BRITISH oil explorer ROCKHOPPER yesterday scored a hat-trick of strikes off the Falkland Islands — leaving Argentina fuming. The firm said a new well proved its Sea Lion field 80 miles off the Falklands coast is BIGGER than expected. And two further big oil hits were made on the way down — as well as a discovery of gas. The strikes will infuriate Argentina's Prime Minister Cristina Kirchner — who slammed Britain last year for trying to exhaust "Argentinian natural resources".

No discussions have been held between Britain and France on whether aircraft carriers could be sent to defend the Falkland Islands, Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said. The Government "have not seen this as necessary", Mr Harvey said, despite the two countries recently agreeing to share carriers as part of a defence cooperation treaty. The deal raised concerns that the UK could be left without carrier strike capability if only a French ship was available and Paris decided it did not want to take part in military action that was not in its national interest. Defence Secretary Liam Fox conceded...

We knew it was only a matter of time until people started talking about the contested Falkland Islands in the wake of Britain’s decision last month to retire its Harrier jump jets, a move that will leave the United Kingdom with no carrier-borne strike fighters for roughly a decade. Now a group of former British admirals have written an open letter to U.K. defense officials, published in The Times newspaper, urging them to reverse their move to retire the Harriers. For the next 10 years at least, Argentina is practically invited to attempt to inflict on us a national humiliation...

The special relationship is over. We gave America years of unwavering support after September 11. And now we see how Barack Obama’s administration repays us. First, Obama declared that America was “neutral” over the sovereignty of the Falklands, ignoring the clear wishes of the islands’ population. And, second, his Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Crowley, snubbed Britain by failing to use their proper name and instead calling them the “Malvinas”. I don’t know where Obama learned about diplomacy, but his stinks. I’m normally pro-American, but Mr Obama’s seeming support for Argentinian aggressors, who have no legitimate claim over the Falklands,...

No Allies, But Plenty of EnemiesWhat are the advantages of being a friend of the U.S. these days?  Almost 30 years after losing a war over the Falkland Islands, Argentina is once again warning Britain that it still wants back what it calls the Malvinas. Argentina is now angry over a British company’s oil exploration off the windswept islands in what it considers its South Atlantic backyard. Although nominally democratic, the unpopular Kirchner government in Buenos Aires has claimed that the sparsely settled islands are a symbolic matter of Spanish-speaking pride throughout Latin America and belong to Argentina because the islands...

THE Navy has intercepted an Argentine warship in our waters in the first head-to-head of the Falklands row. Destroyer HMS York spotted the vessel up to ten miles inside the disputed "oil zone" around the South Atlantic islands. York's crew monitored the progress of the Argie ship, a smaller corvette named ARA Drummond, before radioing her to change course. The Drummond came within just 65 miles of the islands before complying. She was sent packing with no further action taken. Sources insisted her crew made an "innocent navigational blunder" and were embarrassed. ARA Drummond ... 'navigational blunder' But the incident...

The possible transfer to Argentina of a refurbished model of the French manufactured fighter-bomber Super Etendard, which had an outstanding performance during the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict, is under consideration by the French Ministry of Defence, reveals the French publication, Mer & Marine Argentines part of the sophisticated avionics of the Super Etendard Modernized (SEM) model would take place in 2015 when the French navy will de decommissioning their air fleet to be replaced by the new Rafale. However in the event of the operation going ahead it will depend on the availability of SEMs at the moment the French...

President Hugo Chavez delivered a bizarre attack on the Queen when the firebrand Venezuelan leader demanded Britain return the Falkland Islands to Argentina.The outspoken Mr Chavez used his weekly television and radio show Alo Presidente to rally Latin America behind the cause of his Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner by making a direct appeal to Buckingham Palace. "Look, England, how long are you going to be in Las Malvinas? Queen of England, I'm talking to you," said Mr Chavez. "The time for empires are over, haven't you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine people." Still addressing the Queen, he went...

Click here to read their views. ROYAL Navy warships are on standby today after Gordon Brown issued an explicit warning to Argentina that Britain was prepared to defend her territory in an escalating row over access to shipping lanes in the Falklands. As diplomatic tensions became more strained than at any time since the 1982 Falklands war, the Prime Minister last night insisted Britain would make a robust stand against Argentinian encroachment of South Atlantic waters. It comes amid efforts by the South American country to control shipping in the region. Mr Brown said: "We maintain the security of the...

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner has said Britain won a "colonial victory" in the Falklands War that was unacceptable in the eyes of the world. Mr Kirchner was speaking on the 25th anniversary of the end of the conflict over the islands in the south Atlantic, that Argentina calls the Malvinas. Britain retook the islands on 14 June 1982, two and half months after the UK territory was invaded by Argentina. Mr Kirchner vowed the islands would return by "peaceful means". Some 255 British servicemen, more than 650 Argentines and three islanders were killed during the war. No commemorations "The Malvinas...

USHUAIA, Argentina (Reuters) - Argentina will fight on to win sovereignty over the British-controlled Falkland Islands, the government said on Monday, 25 years after a disastrous war for control of the islands. Argentina's ill-fated Falklands campaign is widely seen as a mistake by the discredited military dictatorship ruling at the time. But the centre-left government of President Nestor Kirchner has stepped up Argentina's sovereignty claims over the islands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish, despite Britain's stance that it will only enter talks if the 2,900 islanders want it to. "The Malvinas are Argentine, they always were, they always will...

AN INCREASINGLY anxious UK government is closely monitoring a build-up of Argentinian military strength and a series of confrontations with the RAF close to the Falkland Islands, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. The activity has led Tony Blair's most senior advisers to demand he issues a "hands-off" warning to Buenos Aires. Downing Street is facing growing fears for the future of the islands - which were seized back from Argentinian control in a bloody and symbolic campaign ordered by Margaret Thatcher almost a quarter of a century ago. High-ranking officials in both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office...