By David Hobbs*
The tactical air element of Australian amphibious ready group, ARG, concept as it is defined in 2020 has much in common with the failed UK ‘tactical air support for maritime operations’, TASMO, concept adopted by the UK Government in the 1970s. This tasked shore-based RAF aircraft, many of them removed from the Fleet Air Arm to justify a political decision to run down the carrier force, to provide the fixed-wing air element of any deployed RN task force. The concept proved to be valueless during the South Atlantic War of 1982 and could never have worked more than 200 nautical miles from the UK coast, if then. If a similar concept could work now, the USA, China, India, Italy and France would have considered it; they have not.
