Falklands War veteran Simon Weston has dismissed Argentine President Javier Milei's renewed threats to reclaim the islands as empty rhetoric, arguing Buenos Aires lacks the military capability to mount any invasion. Weston, who survived the sinking of the Sir Galahad in 1982 and lost 22 of his 30-strong platoon, said Argentina's navy remains largely "at the bottom of the sea" and its army has seen little investment, despite Milei's insistence that "winds of change" now favour Argentina's claim. His comments come as military experts likewise conclude that Argentina could not retake the islands by force given Britain's standing garrison there.

Weston noted Argentina's recent purchase of second-hand F-16 jets from Denmark but said the country's forces lack the refuelling capacity to sustain any assault, with the nearest Argentine airfields some 300 nautical miles away. Britain maintains four RAF Typhoon jets and a Sky Sabre air defence system on the islands as a deterrent. Former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe echoed this, noting Argentina no longer has an aircraft carrier equivalent to the General Belgrano used in 1982. Some 255 British servicemen died in the original conflict, in which Argentina's economic crisis was seen as a key trigger for the invasion — a parallel Weston says still applies today.