The armies of Argentina and the United Kingdom measured their strength in the spring of 1982, during the 10-week-long war on the Falkland Islands.
The conflict ended with the defeat on the battlefield of Buenos Aires, then led by the military junta spearheaded by General Leopoldo Galtieri.
Argentina suffered much higher losses than the UK during the Falklands War – including the death of 649 soldiers, the sinking of the Belgrano light cruiser and the destruction of 35 fighters.
More than 40 years later, the election on Sunday of populist far-right wing politician Javier Milei has put the spotlight back on the Falklands, a UK overseas territory whose sovereignty is contested by Argentina.
In an electoral TV debate broadcast before the vote, Mr Milei claimed Argentina’s sovereignty over the archipelago “is non-negotiable”.
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While Mr Milei acknowledged the 1982 war had been lost by his country and suggested he would not seek a new invasion to fulfil the dream to annex the islands, his election has sparked concerns for the security of the archipelago.
As the attention is once again on the disputed island, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, Express.co.uk looked into how the British and Argentinian armies compare four decades after the conflict.
Overall, the UK’s military strength is considered bigger than Argentina’s, according to a comparison made by GlobalFirePower.com, a website that has been analysing worldwide armies since 2016.
Britain can count on more military personnel than Argentina when it comes to both people available to be drafted and those deemed fit for service.
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The active personnel in the UK amounts to about 194,000 people – 111,000 more than the soldiers available to Argentina.
Moreover, unlike Argentina, Britain can also count on more than 30,000 reserve personnel, the website said.
Argentina can take advantage of some 20,000 people in paramilitary forces – while similar groups don’t exist in the UK.
Britain also counts approximately 430 more military aircraft than Argentina – despite Buenos Aires’ plan to expand its fleet, as reported in September.
At the time, it was claimed the then Defence Minister had signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of eight AW109 helicopters.
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The UK also has a bigger naval power than Argentina, with London counting 26 ships more than Buenos Aires, according to GlobalFirePower.com.
Among them is also the HMS Forth, deployed this week to the Falklands in replacement of the HMS Medway which served in the area for nine months.
The one branch of Argentina’s army that can seemingly compete with the UK’s – at least when it comes to the number of resources available – is land power.
Buenos Aires is believed to possess dozens more tanks and towed artillery than London, while the UK counts hundreds of thousands more armoured vehicles than those available to Argentina.
The fact the UK is militarily stronger than Argentina is reflected by the fact the British Government allocates several billion more to its defence budget than its Argentinian counterpart, marred by high inflation and economic uncertainty.
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