UK Defence: News and Discussions

[Parthy]

Boeing Delivers UK Royal Air Force's 7th C-17 Globemaster III

LONG BEACH, Calif.: The Boeing Company delivered the United Kingdom's seventh C-17 Globemaster III to the Royal Air Force (RAF) today during a ceremony at Boeing's final assembly facility in Long Beach.

"The addition of a seventh C-17 to our fleet is a significant milestone that strengthens our support of operations worldwide, especially in Afghanistan," said Peter Luff, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. "And next year, in May, we'll mark the 10th anniversary of the delivery of the RAF's first C-17, which continues to perform superbly -- anytime and anywhere."

The United Kingdom's fleet of C-17s has logged more than 60,000 flight hours, and this year supported humanitarian and disaster-relief missions to Pakistan, Haiti and Chile. Assigned to 99 Squadron at RAF Brize Norton near Oxford, C-17s provide critical airlift capability for the nation's Joint Rapid Reaction Force. Brize Norton is the RAF's main operating base for strategic air transport and air-to-air refueling.

RAF Air Marshal Kevin Leeson, UK Chief of Materiel (Air) in Defence Equipment and Support, thanked C-17 employees and suppliers for delivering an airlifter that provides "exceptional performance, versatility and reliability."

The C-17 is the world's only tactical airlift aircraft with strategic capabilities that allow it to fly between continents and land on short, austere runways.

"The C-17 provides rapid-response capability for relief missions where no other strategic airlifter can land," said Rick Heerdt, Boeing vice president and C-17 program manager. "We are proud to be your partner on every one of those missions."

Boeing supports the RAF's C-17s through the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership, a Performance-Based Logistics program. The arrangement provides the RAF with the benefits of complete "virtual fleet" access and an extensive support network. The virtual fleet concept enables C-17 customers, especially those with smaller numbers of aircraft, to benefit from worldwide parts availability and economies of scale when purchasing materials.

Boeing has delivered 224 C-17s worldwide, including 20 with international customers. The U.S. Air Force -- including active National Guard and Reserve units -- has taken delivery of 204. Other customers include the Canadian Forces, the Royal Australian Air Force, the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. U.S. President Barack Obama announced this month that India and the United States have reached a preliminary agreement for the Indian Air Force to acquire 10 C-17s.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

http://www.defencetalk.com/boeing-uk-raf-c-17-globemaster-iii-delivery-30182/

 

[Parthy]

Britain to make major changes in Royal Navy's surface fleet

The UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) will make changes to the Royal Navy's surface fleet, which includes the withdrawal from service of HMS Illustrious and the four remaining Type 22 frigates, announced Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

In a written ministerial statement to parliament Wednesday, Liam Fox said that HMS Illustrious will be withdrawn from service in 2014 and HMS Ocean will be retained to provide the landing platform helicopter capability for the longer term, as reported in a news release by the UK MoD.

Four frigates will also be withdrawn from service. These are the remaining Type 22s: HMS Chatham, Campbeltown, Cumberland and Cornwall.

Chatham will be withdrawn from service at the end of January 2011, Campbeltown and Cumberland will follow on 1 April, and Cornwall at the end of April.

HMS Ark Royal will be finally withdrawn from service at the end of this year.

The Bay Class amphibious support ship will be withdrawn from service in April 2011. The Auxiliary Oiler RFA Bayleaf and the Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessel RFA Fort George will also be withdrawn from service in April next year.

The government unveiled the plans in October as part of a sweeping defence review which also included proposals to scrap 17,000 service personnel from the army, navy and air force by 2015, according to media reports.

The Ministry of Defence is facing cuts to its budget of eight percent over the next five years.








http://www.brahmand.com/news/Britain-to-make-major-changes-in-Royal-Navys-surface-fleet/5821/1/13.html

 

[Parthy]

British Harrier bids final farewell

The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, were official retired Wednesday, more than 40 years after they came into service.

The Harrier jets – which took part in operations in Sierre Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, and which is still in service on US warships – flew over their base at RAF Cottesmore in the east Midlands for the last time.

A formation of 16 aircraft took to the skies over Lincolnshire, flying over seven RAF bases, Lincoln Cathedral and the towns of Stamford and Oakham.

The aircraft were first built in 1960 and entered into service with the RAF in 1969, becoming famous for their ability to take off and land vertically and to hover above the ground.

The RAF and Royal Navy Harrier squadrons joined forces in 2000 to form Joint Force Harrier, based at RAF Cottesmore.

"The Harrier is a true icon and stands testament to the innovation and excellence of British design and engineering, and the skill and courage of our airmen. It has had a truly distinguished service with both the RAF and the Royal Navy, from the South Atlantic to the skies over Afghanistan. It now takes its place in history as one of aviation's greats," Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group, Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell, was quoted as saying in an UK MoD news report.

The Illustrious class aircraft carrier, along with the Ark Royal, and the four remaining Type 22 frigates – HMS Chatham, Campbeltown, Cumberland and Cornwal, will be withdrawn from service as a result of the defence review Liam Fox, the defence secretary, announced Wednesday, as per media reports.


http://www.brahmand.com/news/British-Harrier-bids-final-farewell/5817/1/10.html

 

[Parthy]

Last hurrah for the Harrier: Jump jets take to the skies for their final farewell

Flying in a spectacular diamond formation so tight it *appears they are *almost *touching, 16 of Britain's legendary jump jets soar through the wintry skies.

The occasion was billed as a celebration but, for many, the mood was as sombre as the gloomy weather.

On a freezing day heavy with *emotion, the *Harrier — the *revolutionary aircraft that helped Britain defeat Argentina in the Falklands War in 1982 — took to the air for the last time.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338886/Harrier-jets-skies-final-farewell.html#ixzz18H5bJHMo

 

[Parthy]

The last hurrah: Harriers take off from RAF Cottesmore for a series of nostalgic fly-pasts before being decommissioned

 

[Parthy]

 

[ezsasa]

Congratulations @Spitfire9 on this path breaking military reform..
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NEW: Defence officials have been told to state their name, rank and gender pronouns in meetings from now on

Officials have been told to state their preferred gender pronouns in meetings at the Ministry of Defence, where a civil servant acts as a trustee of Stonewall.

Dunni Alao was described as a “fierce proponent” of Stonewall’s agenda when she was announced as a trustee of the lobby group in June.

She is understood to be a civil servant at the MoD, which published an “inclusive language” guide, advising all service personnel, staff and contractors how to discuss sensitive subjects such as gender identity.


The MoD guidance, which appears to lift some sentences verbatim from Stonewall’s glossary of terms, claims that “not all women are biologically female” and advises MoD staff to be careful using the word “female”, in case it “erases gender non-conforming people and members of the trans community”.


It also encouraged MoD personnel to publicise their preferred pronouns on their email signatures, on their social media profiles and at the start of meetings and presentations, in order to make their transgender and non-binary colleagues feel more comfortable.

“By respecting others’ pronouns, you recognise their sense of self and show you respect their gender identity,” said the guide, published by the MoD diversity and inclusion directorate.

The guide continued: “For a cisgender person [whose gender aligns with the sex registered at birth] the risk of sharing your pronouns is minimal. For a transgender or non-binary person, sharing pronouns can be riskier, sparking lengthy conversations or outing a person to their colleagues before they are ready. Cisgender people sharing their pronouns normalises this process and can have a big impact.”

Sharing pronouns originated as a gesture of solidarity with the transgender community but it has become politicised as the conflict continues between those who believe that a person’s self-declared gender identity should be prioritised over biological sex, and others who believe this threatens women’s single-sex spaces such as refuges, changing rooms and prisons.

The MoD confirmed this week that it had paid Stonewall £80,312 over five years, mainly on fees for the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force to join Stonewall’s diversity champions programme.

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[Tshering22]

Boris has been chummying up a lot with PM Modi Ji as both of them shared a lot about solar alliance, so much as to convince the US to join us in the ISA. I wonder where does the defence cooperation with them go from hereon. Some political analysts have called for expanding the 5 EYES to include us, Japanese & South Koreans.

But Japan and South Korea are politically puppet states with semi-autonomous domestic policies. We are a very different entity from either of them. What does UK-India-5-EYES cooperation look like from hereon?

Would individual collaboration be better?

My instinct tells me that joining 5 EYES would be a mistake - even with CCP breathing down our necks.

 

[armortec]

World's most advanced attack submarine HMS Anson joins Royal Navy - News Cinema

The world’s most advanced attack submarine, which can take out land targets up to 1,000 miles away, has joined the Royal Navy fleet. The HMS Anson is armed with 38 Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk Block V cruise missiles, and is worth a whopping £1.3 billion. It is equipped to destroy enemy...

newscinema.in

Latest attack sub HMS Anson inducted into Brit navy.

 

[Soldier355]

The new British Strix UAV with vertical takeoff. The Australian division of the British defense company BAE Systems together with the company Innova evo showed the concept of a military UAV with vertical takeoff. The Strix drone is folded and transported in a container, the weight of the drone is about 650 kilograms. The UAV is capable of operating both in autonomous mode and in remote control mode from the M113 APC, the MQ-28 jet drone, from a ground station or from a helicopter. The drone has a flight range of over 800 km, a combat load of 160 kg, the UAV is armed with various air-to-ground missiles, among them the AGM-114 Hellfire, Brimstone and AGM-179. It is planned that the drone made its first flight at the end of 2023, and in 2026 the UAV will enter service.

 

[Soldier355]

British stratospheric UAV PHASA-35 tested in the USA. The British company BAE Systems has completed testing in the United States of the PHASA-35 stratospheric UAV. During the tests, PHASA-35 climbed to a height of just over 20 km and spent 24 hours there. The PHASA-35 UAV systems are powered by solar panels, so it can stay in the sky for as long as possible without the need to land to charge the batteries, theoretically even a year. The UAV is able to serve as a kind of “flying base station” for mobile operators, helping to cover hard-to-reach places with a cellular network signal and 5G Internet, and the drone will also help establish communications in disaster areas. The drone can also be used for military purposes by equipping it with reconnaissance equipment. Due to the high flight altitude, not all air defense systems will be able to hit the drone. The PHASA-35 UAV weighs only 150 kg, has a wingspan of 35 meters and can carry a 15 kg payload.

 

[Soldier355]

The British Navy has landed an HCMC drone on the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales for the first time. The British HCMC transport drone, created by W Autonomous Systems, was used to land on the aircraft carrier. HCMC drones are equipped with a new autopilot system that does not require the presence of an operator. The HCMC UAV is capable of transporting a payload weighing 100 kg over a distance of up to 1000 kilometers in difficult weather conditions. The HCMC drone can land on unprepared runways and requires a runway of just 150 meters to land and take off, which is just over half the length of the decks of Britain's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. In the future, these UAVs will be used to deliver supplies to the British carrier strike group, replacing the helicopters currently used for this purpose. The Merlin and Wildcat helicopters themselves will be used for their main tasks - detecting submarines or enemy ships.

 

[Soldier355]

The English drone T-600 was equipped with a torpedo, military exercise REPMUS. During the NATO exercise REPMUS in Portugal, the British companies BAE Systems and Malloy Aeronautics, as well as the American company L3 Harris, showed a T-600 drone armed with a torpedo. Earlier, the Ukrainian army also received similar drones. The T-600 electric drone is capable of carrying a payload of up to 200 kg over a range of up to 80 km and reaches speeds of up to 140 km/h. REPMUS is a Portuguese-led exercise aimed at developing unmanned technology. During the exercise, the T-600 drone dropped the Sting Ray anti-submarine torpedo for the first time. In addition to dropping torpedoes, the T-600 drone will be used to evacuate the wounded and deliver cargo to ships.

 

[Soldier355]

Amid the worsening situation with the Houthis in Yemen, British Typhoon fighters attacked two Yemeni Houthi targets in Bani and Abbs with Paveway IV guided bombs. The Paveway IV guided bomb with a modified laser and GPS guidance system has been produced by the American-British company Raytheon since 2008. The pilot of the aircraft can pre-program the operating mode of the bomb fuse. There are three modes in total: air detonation of a bomb over the target, detonation after hitting the target with a time delay, and detonation after hitting the target. The weight of the Paveway-IV bomb is 225 kilograms. The bomb is used by England, the USA, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

 

[Freedom Thru Firepower]

Carrier broken down twice and missiles misfiring, bad days for little wretched island.

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

Dragonfire - UK Laser Directed energy weapon shoots down a drone

 

[Soldier355]

The UK Ministry of Defense presented a video of the first tests of the first generation DragonFire laser weapon. The shooting was carried out in January at a shooting range in Scotland. The purpose of these tests is to help engineers create second-generation combat lasers. They are the ones that will go into service with the British Army. Laser weapons use beam combining technology to create a laser beam with increased power, reduced kill time, and increased effective range. The DragonFire 50kW laser weapon is valued at around £100m, with components sourced overseas. The test footage was published by British Defense Minister Grant Shapps. According to the UK Ministry, one “shot” from such a system costs £10.

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

Laser beam that shoots down drones fitted to Royal Navy ships ‘within five years’

Laser beam that shoots down drones fitted to Royal Navy ships ‘within five years’

The £10 a shot DragonFire weapon is being fast-tracked amid a growing threat of conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine

www.telegraph.co.uk

What is DragonFire weapon, British military laser, expected to be seen on Ukrainian battlefield?

What is DragonFire weapon, British military laser, expected to be seen on Ukrainian battlefield?

The UK defence secretary suggested that a new and innovative British military laser could be used on the Ukrainian battlefield to shoot down Russian drones

www.firstpost.com