The State Department memo said: “Mrs Thatcher, the FCO and the Foreign Office take a dim view of the matter [Argentine] military,” adding that the prime minister’s views “hardened after the ‘Easter Mutiny’ by the Argentine military.” “A recent incident involving Argentine radar ‘jams’ of RAF patrols near Argentine vessels has also caused concern,” he added.
The fleet upgrade was delayed for seven years
In the wake of Colonel Rico’s mutiny, a UK Foreign Office assessment of the political situation in Argentina warned: “Demands on the armed forces continue and are unlikely to abate after the crushing of Rico’s rebellion,” adding that “we must continue to oppose arms supplies that could threaten the Falklands.” But the State Department believed Thatcher’s fears of the military once again seizing power in Buenos Aires were unfounded. “The temporary threat to Argentina’s democracy has subsided,” they insisted. “We will consult on arms transfers that could enhance the military threat [to the Falklands]but the British should not seek to prevent the strengthening of our civil-military relationship with Argentina, which is the best guarantee of democracy in that nation and the security of the Falklands,” he added. Ultimately, however, due mainly to the opposition of the UK government, the proposed sale of further A4 Skyhawk aircraft to Argentina did not proceed. It wasn’t until 1994 that Washington finally agreed to upgrade Argentina’s aging fleet of Skyhawks.
