Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said that the RAF\u2019s role in defending the British<\/a> territory was \u201cnon-negotiable\u201d and the air force was prepared to step in at a \u201cmoment\u2019s notice\u201d to protect citizens.<\/p>\n It comes after a leaked Pentagon<\/a> email last week suggested that the US might review its support for the UK’s claim on the disputed Falklands.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, across the UK and globally in places as far away as the Middle East, the RAF is on high alert and ready to defend our country at a moment\u2019s notice,\u201d Mr Smyth wrote in The Times.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom \u2018quick reaction alert\u2019 in UK, scrambled recently against a suspected Russian \u2018Bear\u2019 bomber aircraft which was approaching our airspace from the north, to fighter aircraft based in the Falklands (defending the islands since the 1982 war), to our current Typhoon deployment in Romania as part of Nato\u2019s vital enhanced air policing mission, the RAF\u2019s role in defending airspace is non-negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n The confidential Washington memo, which outlined options to punish Nato allies for a lack of support in the Iran war, hinted at a review of the US\u2019s diplomatic support for \u201cimperial possessions\u201d such as the Falklands.<\/p>\n The islands have been under the administration of the UK since 1833, but have long been claimed by Argentina, whose president, Javier Milei, is a close ally of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n In response to the email, Mr Milei took to social media to say the Falklands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, \u201cwere, are and will always be Argentine.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Argentinian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2264666710.jpg\")
Argentinian president Javier Milei and Donald Trump (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/142062769.jpg\")
The islands are defended by the UK (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n