RAF Mount Pleasant is a Royal Air Force station in the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The airfield goes by the motto of "Defend the right" and is part of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI). Home to between 1,000 and 2,000 British military personnel, it is about 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, on the island of East Falkland. The world's longest corridor, 2,600 feet (800 m) long, links the barracks, messes, and recreational and welfare areas of the station, and was nicknamed the "Death Star Corridor" by personnel.
Aerial view of RAF Mount Pleasant
Two Panavia Tornado F3 of No. 1435 Flight patrolling the skies over the Falkland Islands.
Typhoon FGR4 of 1435 Flight
A Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 landing at RAF Mount Pleasant in 2009. As of 2024, the Tranche 1 variant of the Typhoon is deployed in the islands.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
Naval confrontation during the 1914 Battle of the Falkland Islands (painting by William Lionel Wyllie)
Government House in Stanley is the Governor's official residence.
Colony of southern rockhopper penguins on Saunders Island
Stanley, now officially a city, is the financial centre of the Falkland Islands' economy.