How would Britain fare against Argentina in a second Falklands war? Four decades on, UK still has military dominance over the South Americans
Tensions between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands have flared again after Argentine president Javier Milei threatened sanctions on companies drilling for oil near the islands and announced plans for a new naval base on Tierra del Fuego. Milei, facing an election within a year and slipping poll numbers, insisted the islanders have no right to self-determination and vowed to use diplomatic, economic and legal means to block drilling at the Sea Lion oilfield, though he stopped short of threatening military force. The renewed rhetoric, more than four decades after Argentina's 1982 invasion prompted a British task force to retake the islands at a cost of 907 lives, has prompted comparisons of the two countries' current military strength.
According to the ATLAS Index, Britain retains a decisive military edge, ranking eighth globally against Argentina's 52nd, with a score of 52.5 versus 29.4 across defence budget, manpower, ground forces, naval power, air power and nuclear deterrence. The UK's defence budget stands at roughly £62 billion, set to rise to £79.1 billion by 2029, dwarfing Argentina's £2.95 billion, while Britain fields around 183,000 active personnel plus 32,000 reserves compared with Argentina's 103,000 active troops and no reserve force. The gap is starkest in air power: Argentina has just 32 combat aircraft against Britain's roughly 171, including modern Eurofighter Typhoons and F-35B Lightning IIs, whereas Argentina still relies partly on ageing A-4 Skyhawks despite efforts to modernise its fleet.
- Milei threatens sanctions and a new naval base over Falklands oil drilling
- Old Falklands dispute resurfaces ahead of Argentina's next election
- UK military vastly outranks Argentina's on budget, troops and air power
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Argentina and the UK have been locked in a long-running dispute over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic that Argentina claims as its own and calls the Malvinas. The row dates back to a 1982 war, when Argentine forces invaded the islands and Britain sent a naval task force to retake them, a conflict that cost 907 lives before Argentina surrendered.
The islands are home to about 3,000 people, most of whom identify as British and wish to remain a UK territory, a position the UK backs on grounds of self-determination. Argentine President Javier Milei has recently revived his country's claim, objecting to oil drilling near the islands and to what he sees as the denial of Argentine sovereignty, while facing domestic political pressures of his own.
Comparisons of British and Argentine military strength resurface periodically whenever tensions rise, as a way of assessing how a repeat of the 1982 conflict might unfold, though no military confrontation is currently under way.