British Armed Forces Thread

[HMS Astute]

NATO Summit, Wales, UK.​

 

[HMS Astute]

NATO Summit, Wales, UK.​

 

[HMS Astute]

UK 2nd aircraft carrier Prince of Wales to go into service"‹

BBC News - UK aircraft carrier Prince of Wales to go into service



Assembly of 2nd 72,000 tons new carrier "HMS Prince of Wales" begins"‹

Construction of HMS PRINCE OF WALES, the second of two new aircraft carriers for the UK Royal Navy, has moved forward with the docking of two of the ship's largest hull sections – Lower Block 02 and Lower Block 04 - at Rosyth."‹​

 

[HMS Astute]

Royal Air Force aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth have launched the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) for the first time since the Moray base took on the role of defending the UK's Northern airspace. Typhoon jets were scrambled to identify aircraft in international airspace. The aircraft, identified as Russian military 'Bears', did not enter UK airspace.

A Mastiff armoured vehicle onboard a RAF C17 waiting to be returned to the UK from Camp Bastion in July 2014. The Joint Movement Unit personnel take great care in loading their cargo onto the C17 in order not to cause damage to either the cargo or the aircraft itself.

Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (FASGW(H)) and FASGW (Light) missiles will be integrated, tested and installed onto 28 Wildcat helicopters by 2020. Capable of targeting small boats, fast attack craft and targets on land, each airframe is able to carry up to twenty missiles.

Merlin helicopters from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose have been busy near their West Cornwall Base getting to grips with the launching of practice torpedoes.

Lightning shoots across the Afghan sky over troops and vehicles with The Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland (4SCOTS).

Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll is pictured berthed beside the MV Carnival Liberty cruise liner during a visit to Grand Turk in the Caribbean.

The A400M aircraft, when in RAF service, will be named ATLAS and the RAF will take delivery of its first of 22 aircraft in Autumn 2014 with deliveries expected to be complete by 2019.

 

[HMS Astute]

F-35 and Typhoon perform interoperability testing.​

 

[HMS Astute]

Joint Warrior 2014 kicks off

As the fifth largest economy in the world, the UK has responsibilities towards its allies and partners. But Britain also has global ambitions – namely to protect the seaways underpinning the country's prosperity. The Royal Navy plays a crucial role in fostering these enduring and lasting alliances with other nations.

When diplomacy fails, the UK has to be ready to protect its interests and its allies. What's more, as a member of NATO and the UN, the UK also acts to support the enforcement of UN resolutions and come to the aid of our allies. This is where the Royal Navy comes in: we train to go where we're needed – by sea, land or air – and deploy our forces with the aim of restoring peace.

Joint Warrior will feature more than 22 warships and submarines, 52 fixed wing aircraft, and a total of nearly 3,500 personnel from the various participating nations. Participating nations include the UK, US, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, Belgium, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia with the US Navy's Commander Destroyer Squadron 26 assuming overall command of the task group. Coordinating events will be around 150 additional military personnel, many of them Reservists, who will operate from HM Naval Base Clyde for two weeks.

Joint Warrior | Royal Navy




Operation Enduring Freedom : French frigate Courbet, HMS Bulwark and german frigate Schleswig Holstein

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Royal Navy attack sub "HMS Astute" already deployed off coast of Iraq

HMS Astute leaving Gibraltar early this month.

A ROYAL Navy attack submarine is already deployed in the Persian Gulf – The Herald can reveal.

Read more: Royal Navy attack sub already deployed off coast of Iraq | Plymouth Herald​

 

[HMS Astute]

PM visits Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

Prime Minister David Cameron visited the Capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. His visit comes as British Forces come to the end of their time in the country. During his visit the PM met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and their Chief Executive Abdullah. Both leaders held a joint a Press Conference, where they spoke about Britain's involvement within the country and the future of Afghanistan. The PM also traveled to the multinational military base Camp Bastion where he met and spoke to the troops.

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[HMS Astute]

Warmest of Mexican welcomes for HMS Argyll

A full Mexican military band and local dancers came out to meet the British warship as she visited the Central American country.HMS Argyll has visited Veracruz, in Mexico, where she hosted a capability demonstration for dignitaries including the state's Governor, Javier Duarte, and the Regional Naval Commander, Rear Admiral Caballero Rosas. It was an opportunity to focus on the defence and security links between Mexico and the UK.

HMS Argyll's Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Hammond, said: "It has been a delight to bring HMS Argyll to Veracruz and to be a part of the UK's strong relationship with Mexico."Argyll has some of the most modern war fighting technology in the world and it has been a pleasure to show my colleagues in the Mexican Navy what we are capable of and to work with them at sea."

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[HMS Astute]

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[HMS Astute]

4,000 Plymouth jobs safe for five years as £2.6bn contract is awarded

A MAMMOTH £2.6billion defence contract is set to safeguard up to 4,000 jobs in Plymouth until at least 2020.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced details of the contracts awarded to Devonport, and the UK's other two naval bases.

Read more at 4,000 Plymouth jobs safe for five years as £2.6bn contract is awarded | Plymouth Herald




British Army Transports Additional Tanks to NATO Exercise in Eastern Europe

The Kings Royal Hussars is the UK's Lead Armoured Battlegroup operating the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank. The Battle-group will total approximately 1300 personnel, 100 armoured vehicles and 250 other vehicles and will be the UK's biggest armoured deployment in Eastern Europe since 2008. 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh which is also providing personnel and vehicles to the exercise is the Lead Armoured Infantry Battalion in the British Army. The battalion is equipped with the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle, enabling it to move swiftly around the battlefield delivering troops to the heart of the battle. Warriors are due to be transported from Tidworth to Marchwood next week and then onward to Poland.

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[HMS Astute]

Exercise Anakonda with 3PARA and 16th Polish Airborne Battalion

Paratroopers from 16 Air Assault Brigade have built bridges to their Polish counterparts as they train together on a NATO exercise in Poland to practise capturing bridges. Exercise Anakonda has seen A Company, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (A Coy, 3 PARA) work with the Polish 16th Airborne Battalion, 16 Batalion Powietrznodsantowy. The troops have planned and carried out missions side by side, to improve their understanding of the similarities and differences between so that they are better prepared to operate together.The fortnight-long training at Drawsko Pomorski in north-west Poland is part of a programme of joint exercises and immediate assurance measures designed to reassure NATO allies in Eastern Europe. The exercise culminated in a joint parachute assault, with troops jumping from an RAF Hercules and Polish CASA C-295 to capture bridges on the training area.

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[HMS Astute]

The Light Dragoons Train in Ukraine on Multi-National Exercise

The eyes of military personnel from across Europe were on the soldiers of B Squadron, The Light Dragoons this month, when they joined military personnel from around the world on a multi-national exercise.The Light Dragoons returned to their base in Robertson Barracks, Swanton Morley from the Ukraine where the two-week NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) led exercise: Exercise RAPID TRIDENT was held, at the weekend.The multi-national exercise led by the Ukrainian and United States Armies bought together more than 1300 personnel from the 12 nations including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Poland and Romania. Almost 1000 pieces of weaponry, hundreds of combat vehicles and several military aircraft were involved in the Exercise which developed multi-national interoperability as well as enhancing the soldiers' individual skills by learning from their overseas counterparts.

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[HMS Astute]

RAF Tornado GR4 Strike Aircraft Refuel Over Iraq During Operation Shader

A pair of Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 strike aircraft take on fuel from a Voyager tanker high in the skies over Iraq, during Operation Shader.



Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 aircraft have been in action over Iraq today in the fight against ISIL.This action is part of the international coalition's operations to support the democratic Iraqi government.In the course of an armed reconnaissance mission from RAF Akrotiri, 2 Tornados were tasked to assist Kurdish troops in north west Iraq who were under attack from ISIL terrorists.On arriving overhead, the RAF patrol, using the Litening III targeting pod, identified an ISIL heavy weapon position which was engaging Kurdish ground forces.One Paveway IV guided bomb was used to attack the ISIL position.Following this engagement, the patrol identified an ISIL armed pick-up truck in the same area and conducted an attack on the vehicle using a Brimstone missile.An initial assessment indicates that both precision strikes were successful.

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[HMS Astute]

HMS Defender Supports Operations Against ISIL in the Middle East

HMS Defender has arrived on station to provide vital support to a US Navy carrier task group in the Gulf, using her world-class air defence weapon systems to protect the US Navy aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush and her aircraft as they launch airstrikes as part of the international coalition against ISIL.HMS Defender, one of the most advanced warships ever built for the Royal Navy, is operating as a fully integrated part of the carrier strike group. Using her air defence radar and Sea Viper missile system, the ship provides an 'umbrella' of air defence to the Nimitz class aircraft carrier and her escort ships while they patrol the Gulf and launch airstrikes against the terrorist group ISIL.

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[HMS Astute]

RAF Tornado Strike Jets continue striking at the heart of the ISIS in Iraq.

 

[HMS Astute]

Royal Air Force Hand Over Merlin to Royal Navy

Today marked the end of an era for the Royal Air Force and the start of a new one for the Royal Navy as the official handover of the Merlin helicopter took place in a formal ceremony at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire. [/SIZE]The formal Royal parade marked the next stage in the transition of the Merlin helicopter from the Support Helicopter Force to the Commando Helicopter Force, a move that was introduced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Since 2012, aircrew and engineers from the Commando Helicopter Force of the Royal Navy have been integrated into the Merlin Force at RAF Benson; working alongside their Royal Air Force counterparts to absorb over a decade of experience of operating and maintaining the technologically advanced aircraft.

The ceremony was attended by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke of York, the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, and Prince Michael of Kent, Honorary Air Marshal of Royal Air Force Benson. Having been successfully employed on RAF operations in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and capable of carrying up to 24 fully equipped troops, the Merlin is ideally placed to transfer to the littoral role undertaken by the Commando Helicopter Force.

Today the transition programme saw 78 Squadron RAF disband and 846 Naval Air Squadron stand up. 846 NAS will remain at RAF Benson until Spring next year when they and several of the Merlin aircraft will return to the home of the Commando Helicopter Force, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset. Transition will continue at RAF Benson when 845 Naval Air Squadron will stand up in place of 28 (Army Cooperation) Squadron RAF later in 2015. When fully operational, 845 Squadron will also return home to Yeovilton to reunite the fleet. This incremental transition programme ensures that the capabilities the Joint Helicopter Command brings to Defence are fully maintained with the uplift of the Chinook, upgrade of the Puma, retirement of the Sea King and marinisation programme for the Merlin progress.

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[HMS Astute]

Royal Marine Commandos Practice Fighting Skills in Desert Heat

In the Mojave desert sands of California it isn't the just the scorpions, spiders and snakes that can deliver a lethal bite.For it is here that for the last six weeks the Royal Marines of 45 Commando have been honing their skills alongside their Dutch and US counterparts.Based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre (MCAGCC) in 29 Palms, the Commandos have been living out of accommodation similar to air raid shelters while taking part in the annual exercise – Black Alligator.Sergeant Paul McShannon said: "Black Alligator is an annual exercise that the Royal Marines use to hone their basic section level tactics all the way up to a live firing exercise and then the final exercise where everything they have worked on is put to the test."For the Combined Arms Live Firing Exercise (CALFEX) it was Yankee Company that, under cover of darkness, began a 12km 'yomp' over treacherous ground to form up by 5am and plan their assault. Then two hours later, 7 Battery of 29 Commando who are usually based in Arbroath, started engaging enemy positions with 105mm rounds. This was followed by 81mm mortar fire from the mortar line using both high explosive rounds and smoke rounds, while snipers were deployed to take up position and take out high value targets as required.The men of Y Company, who had stood poised and ready for the assault, made the 'break in' at 7.45am by placing an explosive charge. Using the ground to their advantage Y Company were able to put suppressing fire down onto the enemy position as a section of marines swept through, destroying all the enemy. And so, with typical Royal Marine determination, Y Company secured the first objective, leaving it to the Dutch Marines to secure the second.Finally with supporting firepower from M1A1 Abrams Tanks, the Vikings and marines from W Company took the final position as F16s dropped inert 500lb and a 2000lb bombs – their objective completed.

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[HMS Astute]

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[HMS Astute]

CBRN training for troops on Exercise Poison Fist

An exercise using respirators has tested soldiers to the limit in Germany. Exercise Poison Fist saw eight teams from 20th Armoured Brigade take on four different drills around the Sennelager ranges. It's all part of their Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) training, as well as learning key skills for future operations. 1 Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment delivered a progressive and challenging exercise to encourage CBRN skills and awareness.

With any military training, the operation and accuracy of shooting skills are always paramount.

During a simulated chemical attack, soldiers are tested as they are forced to run whilst wearing their protective gear.

A close up of the new respirator, which offers better visibility and with two canisters, more oxygen which enables better breathing capabilities during physical exercise.

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During a test of the new respirator, an instructor uses a military CS Gas canister to offer some reality to drills

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A physical training instructor runs with a section wearing an altitude training mask set to two thousand meters. This will give him a similar reduction in air flow whilst running.

As with many military training protocols, speed and skill are key elements. A soldier needs to ensure they are safe themselves before they can look at assisting others

Scenarios with the new respirators involve a variety of environments.

 

[HMS Astute]

Army's Next Generation Eye in the Sky Takes Flight in Afghanistan

The Ministry of Defence has announced that the Army's next generation of Unmanned Air System (UAS), Watchkeeper, is now fully operational in Afghanistan.This new capability is providing force protection for British troops as they prepare to draw down from Afghanistan by the end of this year.Footage released today shows Watchkeeper carrying out surveillance tasks and gaining situational awareness via its cutting edge cameras and radar capability, a new asset for the UK's Armed Forces.Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, made the announcement on a visit to Kabul alongside Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton – who also visited Camp Bastion where he met the Army personnel and saw Watchkeeper flying operationally.

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