The FALKLANDS conflict illustrates relevance of the tenets of operational art to the air superiority mission. This analysis will examine the physical, planning and decision making factors that led the belligerents to a pitched air power contest that continued until the last day of the conflict. Theater geography challenged the limits of both side; air forces. The British had structured their military to honor NATO commitments within the European sphere and contribute to stability in the Persian Gulf. Argentina had designed its air force with potential conflicts against South American neighbors in mind. The ad hoc application of forces to an operation for which they were not designed was the key element of the conflict. Inability of either side to establish early, decisive control of the air resulted in a war of attrition that proved costly to both.