With an investment of £8.9 million, the Defence Infrastructure Organization (DIO), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, has completed the repaving of taxiways at the Mount Pleasant Military Complex located on the “Isla Soledad” in the Malvinas Islands.
The so-called ‘Alpha Circuit’ allows aircraft situated on the islands to operate from the airfield. The works, carried out by the contracted company Mitie along with personnel from the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI), were crucial for maintaining the regular air bridge from the UK that supplies the base, according to the official statement from the British Ministry of Defence.
The tasks included transporting a complete cement batching plant for over more than 8,000 miles from the UK to the Malvinas Islands, carrying out the repaving of 9,400 m2 in less than a month, removing 3,500 tons of concrete initially placed 40 years ago, and replacing it with stone asphalt filler.
Since its inauguration on May 12, 1985, the Mount Pleasant Military Complex has been the cornerstone of the illegitimate British military presence in the Malvinas Islands. Among the deployed aerial assets are four Typhoon fighter-bombers along with a Voyager tanker aircraft and an Atlas C1 transport aircraft (A400M).
Prior to the deployment of the Typhoon FGR4 in 2009, F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers (since its opening) and Panavia Tornado ADV F.3 aircraft (since 1992) operated from Mount Pleasant. In addition to the aerial assets, the base is equipped with the Sky Sabre anti-aircraft missile system, which will replace the Rapier system present since the Malvinas War in 1982. This system has an effective range of up to 25 kilometers, providing 360° defense against airborne threats in any weather condition, tripling the range of the Rapier, which is up to 8 kilometers.
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