British nuclear sub. Argentina plan to built their first nuclear sub

There is open speculation that the expansion of the Argentine Navy lead by the construction of its first nuclear submarine could prove a threat to Britain’s ability to defend and hold the Falkland Islands.

Argentina developing nuclear-powered submarine

Argentina has announced it is developing a nuclear-powered submarine, leading to fresh warnings that Britain would face an “insurmountable” task if the country invaded the Falkland Islands again. 

Arturo Puricelli, the country’s defence minister, said the project was requested by President Cristina Kirchner and said her presidency would be “recalled by history as the beginning of a great time for Argentina.”

He indicated that a submarine already previously under construction would be the first to be put into operation with nuclear propulsion and suggested that others would follow.

The announcement comes at a time of heightened tension over the sovereignty of the Falklands, which British forces won back in a 10-week war in 1982 following an Argentine invasion.

In June Admiral Sir John “Sandy” Woodward, the head of Britain’s Naval task force in the 1982 war, warned in a letter to *The Daily Telegraph *that defence cuts mean Britain can now do “precisely nothing” to prevent Argentina retaking the islands.

Days later President Kirchner labelled Britain a “crude colonial power in decline” after David Cameron insisted in Parliament that the Falklands should remain British for as long as they want.

Last month Brazil announced it had started work on five new submarines, one of which will be nuclear-powered, in a project seen as necessary due to its discovery of vast offshore oilfields.