The French-built Super-Etendard Argentine fighter-bombers probably approached the British fleet flying at around 575 m.p.h. H.M.S. Sheffield 's radar would in all likelihood have picked them up only as they climbed to identify their target and launch their Exocet air-to-sea missiles. From that moment, the attack that crippled the British destroyer some four minutes later was no longer a matter of daring and courage. It had become a 20th century battle of microchips and computers, of decisions and reactions far too fast for the human brain to make. Says a weapons expert for Jane's Yearbooks, the authoritative military reference volumes: "Today's wars are a battle of computer vs. computer."
Just as the Spanish civil war in the 1930s proved to be a testing ground for arms and strategies later used in World War II, military planners around the world are viewing the battle of the South Atlantic as a trial of high-technology weapons, ships and aircraft never before used in combat. Britain's Sea Harrier, a vertical/short-takeoff and -landing (V/STOL) attack plane, is winning high praise for its maneuverability. The plane can stop dead in midair, turn on a dime and leap straight upward to dodge an oncoming enemy missile. The Harrier's limited striking range (288 miles) and maximum speed (736 m.p.h.), however, make it unsuitable for extended fleet protection and vulnerable to missiles. Perhaps greater attention is being given to a new generation of missiles and bombs. Both sides have their fair share of them—often, ironically, bought from the same source.
The Tigerfish MK 24 torpedo used by the British nuclear submarine H.M.S. Conqueror to sink the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano is typical of the new weapons. Built in Britain, the Tigerfish is 21 ft. long, weighs 3,400 Ibs. and has a range of approximately 20 miles. After launch, it speeds toward its target at about 58 m.p.h., playing out thin wires attached to the submarine's computer and changing direction as the computer dictates.
In the final stages of the attack, when the submarine has determined that the torpedo is heading in the right direction, an automatic homing system takes over and guides the torpedo to its target. The superquiet Tigerfish is "one of the most deadly underwater weapons yet produced," says the Jane's expert. "It is virtually impossible for the target to know that the torpedo is approaching."
The British used another combat-untested weapon to sink one Argentine patrol boat last week and damage another. Lynx helicopters operating from one of the task force's destroyers or frigates fired British-built Sea Skua missiles, air-to-ship weapons that have been deployed by the Royal Navy for less than a year. Many details of the Sea Skua remain secret, but it is a sausage-shaped device, 8 ft. long and weighing about 165 Ibs.