L4UTY

With the conclusion of hostilities in the South Atlantic, the Argentine government was forced to take a detailed look at the state of its armed forces. While powerful by local standards, the Argentine military was outdated compared to the British forces it had faced and had paid a price accordingly. A detailed modernisation plan was drawn up at the behest of President Illia, based on the amount of (largely second-hand) equipment that could be obtained from the United States. A wish list, based on the nature of equipment the USA was likely to transfer, was drawn up and submitted. The Johnson administration refused to make a decision on this request, but when Richard Nixon came to power in January 1965 the fear of leftist influence took hold and the floodgates opened. The arms deal would be handled by the US Navy, as most of the surplus equipment would come from Navy and Marine Corps stocks. The overall deal was dubbed Operation Pampas. High on Illia’s wish list were radar-equipped