The Royal Navy has abandoned major warship patrols of the Falkland Islands because of ship shortages.
Despite an official policy to patrol the South Atlantic, a major British warship has not visited the area for almost seven years, leaving the islands’ defence to a small patrol vessel and four RAF Typhoons, the Telegraph understands.
Rishi Sunak is facing calls to review the Falklands’ security after the new Argentinian government announced plans to buy fighter jets, submarines and warships, raising fears that Argentina could launch a fresh invasion in a “repeat of 1982”.
The area around the Falklands was previously patrolled by a frigate or destroyer with anti-ship and air defence missiles, but Navy bosses have downgraded the islands’ naval protection to HMS Forth, an offshore patrol vessel with one 30mm cannon. Four Typhoon fighter jets remain on the island, but one is not operational.
Defence sources told the Telegraph that the last major warship to be deployed was the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland in 2017.
A Navy source said: “Everything only stretches so far, and we only have so many frigates and destroyers. If things were to hot up, we would look at it again.”
On Jan 15, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that four of the Navy’s 11 frigates are currently out of operational duty, including two that will be scrapped because of a staffing crisis.
New Type 31 and Type 26 frigates are not expected to enter service until at least 2027 and 2028, respectively. A new destroyer, the Type 83, is scheduled to launch in the late 2030s.
Javier Milei, the new Argentinian president, has said that his country has “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands and pledged to force the British Government to release its claim through “diplomatic channels”. The Foreign Office has rebuffed his efforts.
Since taking office last month, Mr Milei has reportedly approved a US-backed deal to acquire 24 F-16 fighter jets from Denmark, and has launched a review into plans to buy three submarines and a stock of warships from France or Germany.