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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.<\/p>\n
The conflict ended with the defeat on the battlefield of Buenos Aires, then led by the military junta spearheaded by General Leopoldo Galtieri.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In an electoral TV debate broadcast before the vote, Mr Milei claimed Argentina’s sovereignty over the archipelago “is non-negotiable”.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Argentina’s chilling Falklands demand after Rishi Sunak rejected return plans[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> The active personnel in the UK amounts to about 194,000 people – 111,000 more than the soldiers available to Argentina.<\/p>\n Moreover, unlike Argentina, Britain can also count on more than 30,000 reserve personnel, the website said.<\/p>\n Argentina can take advantage of some 20,000 people in paramilitary forces – while similar groups don’t exist in the UK.<\/p>\n Britain also counts approximately 430 more military aircraft than Argentina – despite Buenos Aires’ plan to expand its fleet, as reported in September.<\/p>\n At the time, it was claimed the then Defence Minister had signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of eight AW109 helicopters.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/uk-argentina-army-size-milei-5080133.jpg?r=1700681136690\")
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Rishi Sunak: We won\u2019t negotiate over Falkland Islands[INSIGHT] <\/strong>
Falkland Islands assembly member shuts down new Argentina president Milei[EXCLUSIVE] <\/strong>
Video shows new president’s ‘radical plans’ to scrap government departments[REPORT] <\/strong><\/p>\n\n