(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Dec. 17, 2012)
It is the Disposal Services Authority (DSA) intention to invite expressions of interest in tendering for the Type 22 Frigates (HMS Chatham, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Cumberland and HMS Cornwall) for the following: •Further Use •Sinking for an Artificial reef •Recycling
At this stage the DSA does not require interested parties to specify which Vessel/s they wish to bid for.
It is the DSA intention to award at least one vessel to a UK Ship Recycler; this is in part to secure detailed knowledge of the UK’s capacity to recycle vessels. Any decision to award to a UK Ship Recycling company will be made in accordance with transparent and objective evaluation criteria which will be issued at the Invitation to Tender stage.
All interested parties should note that only Bidders that have completed and passed a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the vessels and allowed access to view the vessel.
The vessels are moored at Portsmouth and will be sold from there.
The DSA are planning on hosting viewings 25th February - 15th March 2013.
As previously requested all bidders intending to undertake inspection of the vessels will be required to wear the correct PPE clothing i.e. steel toecap boots, high vis jackets (overalls optional). Please be assured that if you do not have steel toecap boots on arrival you will be refused access to the vessels.
Only Bidders that have received a copy of the ITT will be allowed access to inspect the vessels.
Bidders should not book travel until they have received a copy of the ITT and understood the requirements.
A copy of the PQQ can be down loaded from the bottom of this page or you can e-mail the DSA’s Commercial section requesting a copy at deslcsls-dsa-comrcl-3b@mod.uk
The closing date for returning the PQQ to the DSA and expression of interest is 17.00 GMT Wednesday 23rd January 2013.
-- HMS CUMBERLAND formally a Warship Frigate F85 was built at Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow UK in 1988 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 23rd September 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CAMPBELTOWN formally a Warship Frigate F86 was built at Cammell Laird ship yard Birkenhead UK in 1987 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 7th July 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CHATHAM formally a Warship Frigate F87 was built at Swan Hunters Shipbuilders in Wallsend UK in 1989, and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 20th October 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
-- HMS CORNWALL formally a Warship, Frigate F99 was built at Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow UK in 1988 and is now lying at HMNB Portsmouth. The vessel ceased service on the 20th October 2011 and is due to be tendered early 2013. All interested parties should beware that only companies that have successfully completed a Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) will be sent an invitation to tender for this vessel.
Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 20 Mar 2014 - 1:12
Citation :
Royal Marines Exercices
Spoiler:
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 20 Mar 2014 - 14:24
Citation :
Camera trouble led to RAF Voyager grounding, investigation finds
The UK Royal Air Force halted operations with its brand-new Airbus A330 Voyager tanker/transports for 12 days last month after a pilot’s improperly-stowed camera became jammed next to one of its side-stick controls in flight and caused a sudden loss of altitude, according to a newly-published report.
“The incident involving Voyager ZZ333 occurred on 9 February 2014 when the aircraft suddenly pitched down while in the cruise at Flight Level 330 (33,000ft),” the UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA) says in an interim report. “Within 27sec the aircraft lost 4,440ft in height, before the self-protection system initiated a recovery back towards controlled flight.” The maximum recorded rate of descent was approximately 15,000ft/min, it adds.
In its 19 March report, the MAA highlights the catalogue of events leading to the incident, which happened in Turkish airspace during a planned non-stop air transport flight between RAF Brize Norton in the UK and Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. The aircraft was carrying nine crew members and 189 passengers.
With the aircraft’s autopilot engaged and while its co-pilot was away from the cockpit in the forward galley, crew members reported feeling a sudden “jolt”, before encountering a sensation of weightlessness as the aircraft rapidly entered a nose-down attitude. “The resulting negative g forces were sufficient for almost all of the unrestrained passengers and crew to be thrown towards the ceiling, resulting in a number of minor injuries,” the report says. “The co-pilot struck the cabin roof, but was able to re-enter the flight-deck through the open door,” it adds.
The two crew members recovered control after the Captain had attempted to disconnect the autopilot, first by pulling back on their side-stick controls and moving the thrust levers to idle, and then by restoring them to take-off and go-around power as the twin-jet returned to a level attitude. The aircraft was then diverted to Incirlik air base in Turkey without further incident.
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“The flight data recorder has shown no indication of system failures which could have led the aircraft to pitch-down,” the MAA says. “Moreover, the Inquiry has found no evidence of unsolved comparable incidents in any A330 variants.”
Instead, it says it is confident that human factors were to blame, pointing to “a digital SLR camera obstruction which was in front of the Captain’s left arm rest and behind the base of the Captain’s side-stick at the time of the event”. The camera body experienced a “significant compression… consistent with having been jammed between the arm rest and the side-stick unit”, it adds. “Analysis of the camera has confirmed that it was being used in the 3min leading up to the event,” while data recorders also note the Captain’s seat being moved forward “at the onset of the event”.
The MAA says it is continuing its Service Inquiry into the incident and “post-occurrence management of the event”, but notes that simulations have successfully replicated the same pitch-down effect after objects have become inadvertently lodged in the same space. “Safety advice has been issued to the RAF and to Airbus to highlight this possibility,” it says.
With its Lockheed TriStar tanker/transports due to be retired on 31 March, the RAF's fleet of AirTanker-provided Voyagers is poised to assume the bulk of the UK's military passenger transport tasks and all in-flight refuelling duties for the service.
http://www.flightglobal.com
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 20 Mar 2014 - 20:39
Citation :
AH-64E looking increasingly likely for UK
Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
19 March 2014
The UK looks increasingly likely to procure the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter, following comments made by a senior government minister on 17 March.
Answering questions in the House of Commons, Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support, and Technology, said that the government is currently considering options to sustain the British Army's Apache fleet until its planned out of service date in 2040.
The 66 WAH-64D Block I helicopters in the UK inventory are rapidly becoming unsupportable, as the US Army and Boeing shift their attention to the AH-64D Block II and AH-64E (formerly known as AH-64D Block III) fleets as operated by the US and most international customers. While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is known to be looking at options to replace the army's current AgustaWestland-Boeing WAH-64D Apache Longbow AH.1 fleet, ministers have previously only spoken about retaining the capability as opposed to retaining the Apache specifically. Options previously touted included the procurement of a new helicopter type altogether.
Given the success of the Apache in Afghanistan and Libya, the British Army has made clear its desire to upgrade its current WAH-64D Block I helicopters with the latest variant AH-64E. Speaking at the IQPC International Military Helicopter conference in London in January, the deputy commander of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), Brigadier Neil Sexton, said that the army "rather hopes" that the AH-64E will be the chosen successor, for fielding before 2020.
Boeing officials have previously told IHS Jane's that AH-64E programme delays incurred by sequestration in the United States were having the unintended consequence of buying the United Kingdom time in making its decision, although a decision will need to be made before too much longer.
The MoD is currently undertaking a capability sustainment programme (CSP) to sustain the UK's attack helicopter capability out to 2040 and beyond, but has declined to say when it will report the findings of this study.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Ven 21 Mar 2014 - 12:23
Citation :
AH-64E looking increasingly likely for UK
The UK looks increasingly likely to procure the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter, following comments made by a senior government minister on 17 March.
Answering questions in the House of Commons, Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support, and Technology, said that the government is currently considering options to sustain the British Army's Apache fleet until its planned out of service date in 2040.
The 66 WAH-64D Block I helicopters in the UK inventory are rapidly becoming unsupportable, as the US Army and Boeing shift their attention to the AH-64D Block II and AH-64E (formerly known as AH-64D Block III) fleets as operated by the US and most international customers. While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is known to be looking at options to replace the army's current AgustaWestland-Boeing WAH-64D Apache Longbow AH.1 fleet, ministers have previously only spoken about retaining the capability as opposed to retaining the Apache specifically. Options previously touted included the procurement of a new helicopter type altogether.
Given the success of the Apache in Afghanistan and Libya, the British Army has made clear its desire to upgrade its current WAH-64D Block I helicopters with the latest variant AH-64E. Speaking at the IQPC International Military Helicopter conference in London in January, the deputy commander of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), Brigadier Neil Sexton, said that the army "rather hopes" that the AH-64E will be the chosen successor, for fielding before 2020.
Boeing officials have previously told IHS Jane's that AH-64E programme delays incurred by sequestration in the United States were having the unintended consequence of buying the United Kingdom time in making its decision, although a decision will need to be made before too much longer.
The MoD is currently undertaking a capability sustainment programme (CSP) to sustain the UK's attack helicopter capability out to 2040 and beyond, but has declined to say when it will report the findings of this study.
http://www.janes.com
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Sam 22 Mar 2014 - 1:18
Marine Reservists UK rest during ski patrol during the exercise in the hills Harstad in northern Norway.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Sam 22 Mar 2014 - 14:46
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Dim 23 Mar 2014 - 18:29
Citation :
Britain's super-sub: Navy unveils James Bond-style mini submarine carried on board HMS Astute which can launch from under water
Attached to the HMS Astute, the mini pod can carry up eight commandos Designed to be as stealthy for covert ops, like counter intelligence Can launch underwater to carry commandos to their destinations covertly Currently the mini sub is attached to the HMS Astute, docked in Gibraltar
By Luke Garratt PUBLISHED: 01:29 GMT, 23 March 2014 | UPDATED: 02:11 GMT, 23 March 2014
The miniature submarine atop the HMS Astute, as manufacturers look on at its installation
The pod can be seen attached to the topside of the nuclear submarine, the HMS Astute, currently off the coast of Gibraltar. In a covert attack, the secret submarine pod will detach from the HMS Astute and head to its destination, absorbing sonar on the way to evade detection. The pod will be in use by Special Boat Service commandos in their covert operations, and the miniature submarine will likely make their activities hard to predict or anticipate.
HMS Astute, one of British Royal Navy's new nuclear powered submarines, lays at dock in Gibraltar on its maiden call
The mini-sub opening its deployment hatch, where the commandos will leave from during their covert operations
Before it was mounted to the top of the HMS Astute, the miniature submarine had to be airlifted by helicopter to seas near its destination, before being picked up later. Now the submarine will move closer to the destination, and plans for deployment and support for the commandos will be more readily available. The miniature submarine, codenamed 'Project Chalfont', has been tested since it was installed in 2012, but this is the first time it will reach active service.
The miniature covert submarine is designed to be as stealthy as possible, and even comes with the ability to absorb sonar to avoid detection
The HMS Astute is the largest attack submarine the Royal Navy has at its disposal, and is the lead ship of its class.
Thanks to air recycling it could theoretically circumnavigate the planet without having to resurface, and its nuclear power system means it will never have to refuel again during its 25-year-service. However, its limit is that it is only able to carry three months worth of food for the 98 crew needed to man it. The miniature submarine's main duties are for counter intelligence, as it allows for incredibly covert ops from discreet locations, and will now be able to deploy while hidden underwater, rather than having to travel by helicopter, which runs the risk of revealing its position.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mar 25 Mar 2014 - 0:16
U.K Mini Super Submarine : Royal Navy unveils mini submarine
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Mer 26 Mar 2014 - 13:28
Citation :
Britain's largest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth nears completion
With 4.5 acres of flight deck and the ability to transport 40 F35B joint strike fighter jets around the world, Britain's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth - due in service in 2020 - will deliver a radical change in the Navy’s capabilities
In exactly 100 days, the Royal Navy’s biggest ever warship will be named by the Queen, who will smash a bottle of champagne on the 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier’s bow and name the vessel after herself.
The ceremony will mark 16 years of work on the £6.2bn project which now employs 10,000 people at 100 firms working in every region of the country.
When the HMS Queen Elizabeth becomes operational in 2020, she will deliver a radical change in the Navy’s capabilities, with her 4.5 acres of flight deck and 40 F35B joint strike fighters able to deliver bombs with pinpoint accuracy hundreds of miles away.
Capt Simon Petitt, the senior naval officer on board, is an engineering specialist who leads 100 or so Navy personnel, working with staff from Babcock, British Aerospace and Thales who form the Carrier Alliance which is delivering the Navy’s new generation of carriers. Although he won’t go to sea in this 280m leviathan when she enters service, he describes his job as “writing the operating manual” for this new class of highly advanced ship.
“What we don’t want is lots of really clever equipment on board and the Royal Navy lagging behind it,” he says.
With a nod to the fact that the budget for the project — which is for two carriers, with the HMS Prince of Wales 20 months behind the first ship — has almost doubled from the initial £3.65bn price-tag, he adds: “We’ve got to make sure we get the most out of this investment … but you do get a lot of ship for your money.”
The HMS Queen Elizabeth’s most notable advance on the Harrier jump-jet carrying Invincible class which preceded her is size — her flight deck is almost three times as big.
“The larger flight deck means we generate 72 [flights] a day, surging to 108 if we have to,” he says. “But it’s not just about jets, we will also bring helicopters on board — for example the Apache which was used in Libya.”
The second difference he highlights is the level of automation, which cuts the “through life” cost of operating the ship because fewer sailors are needed.
One example is the ammunition system. At the touch of a keyboard, missiles and bombs for the aircraft are ordered up from the magazines deep in the ship, moving on computer-controlled sleds up through lifts to near the hangar deck where a human gets hands on them for the first time. Here they have fuses and fins fitted as they are “built” on what Capt Petitt likens to a “Model T Ford” production line, ready to be hung off aircraft.
The result is that just 32 sailors can do the work that once required 200. The HMS Queen Elizabeth needs only 679 crew to sail it, rising to 1,600 when including the personnel to operate its air wing. By comparison, the US Nimitz class carriers require 3,000 sailors to get under way and a further 1,800 to operate their aircraft.
The final major improvement over earlier vessels is the integration of the design. “If you take a destroyer or a frigate, it is a weapon system wrapped up in a ship to transport it around,” says Capt Petitt. “Carriers are different. Although the aircraft are our weapons, the essence to get them operating well is organisation.
“It will take 20 people half a day to replenish this ship. In previous carriers that job would take 100 people two or three days.”
Walking around such a huge vessel it was easy to get lost in its 3,000 compartments across 12 decks — until BAE Systems developed “Platform Navigation”, an encrypted app to guide people around ship. Using software loaded onto an ordinary Samsung smartphone, workers scan QR codes posted over the vessel to provide an on-screen route. Normal satellite navigation cannot penetrate the carrier’s armoured hull.
Mick Ord, managing director at BAE Naval Ships, said: “These are the largest and most powerful warships ever produced for the Navy so we need to keep finding smarter, safer and more efficient ways of working”.
The carrier was built in modules at six shipyards across the UK, which were brought together at Rosyth. You can stand in the ship with one foot in a piece that came from Portsmouth and the other in a module that came from Glasgow.
And putting it together has been no mean feat for the engineers at Rosyth.
“We are talking about tolerances of millimetres here,” says Capt Petitt. “Though it’s not as accurate as the submarines, the volume level means the cost of getting it wrong is immense.” Considering the size of the parts in this giant kit, that is a remarkable achievement — the largest section weighed 11,000 tonnes.
“To put that in perspective,” says Capt Petitt, “that’s bigger than most ships in the Navy. A Type 45 destroyer weighs 8,500 tonnes.”
This is the Blue Riband of British engineering. Tom Gifford, the integration manager responsible for bringing this massive project together at Rosyth, has been building ships for 49 years.
Looking up proudly at this massive vessel, he says he has no doubt about how he will feel once it’s finished. “Relieved,” he says with a smile.
In Defence F-35 interactive graphic Inside the Lockheed Martin F-35B Defence companies bid for £1.5bn military air traffic contract Defence firms bid for £1.5bn air contract HMS Cumberland is seen moored at the docks, on February 24, 2011 in Benghazi, Libya. HMS Cumberland currently part of Operation Deference, which is the name give to the operation to help evacuate British Nationals from Libya Four British warships could become artificial reef British stealth drone to undergo first test flight British stealth drone to undergo first test flight
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 27 Mar 2014 - 14:11
Citation :
Paveway IV service entry imminent for RAF Typhoons
The UK Royal Air Force could be as little as four to five months from having its Paveway IV precision-guided bombs fully qualified through the entire Eurofighter Typhoon flight envelope, for carriage using all six of the aircraft’s under-wing carriage points.
New work by Raytheon UK has lifted the remaining Typhoon and Panavia Tornado GR4 flight envelope restrictions for a weapon that was originally developed for the less aerobatic BAE Systems Harrier GR7/9.
Raytheon UK
Now, Raytheon UK chief weapons engineer T J Marsden says necessary aircraft-level qualification work by Typhoon prime contractor BAE Systems and the Ministry of Defence could be completed within months.
The Ministry of Defence says: “Raytheon UK has successfully completed a re-qualification programme for Paveway IV, and the results are now being assessed by the MoD and partners.”
The RAF's Tornado GR4s also have no restrictions on carriage of up to five Paveway IVs, as used during the Libya campaign in 2011. At that time, the strike aircraft faced “a couple of restrictions” on carriage configuration, says Marsden, who adds that Saudi Arabia also is “interested” in adopting Paveway IV for its Typhoon and Tornado fleets.
Marsden says that while the nimble Typhoon and Tornado put far more stress on carried Paveways than the weapon was designed to withstand, its requalification work showed the bomb to be suitable without modification for even the most extreme manoeuvres by the Typhoon. The work also shows the Paveway IV can be carried without restriction by the Typhoon throughout the weapon’s 20-year storage life.
The Typhoon requalification is an important step in the RAF’s ongoing push to have the aircraft ready to take on the complete range of Tornado air-to-ground mission capabilities, by the time that the venerable type is retired in 2019.
Briefing journalists at Raytheon UK’s Glenrothes, Scotland facility, which is at the end of a 12-month transition period during which it has taken on manufacturing work previously done at Harlow, Essex, the company’s chief weapons engineer added that the MoD has also “expressed a lot of interest” in Paveway IV for its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper fleet. The remotely piloted air system may also get the smaller, MBDA-made Brimstone ground-attack weapon.
Speaking at Glenrothes, Wg Cdr Dicky Patounas, who led the RAF's 3 Sqn during the Libya campaign and flew numerous missions in one of its 10 deployed Typhoons, said flying mixed ships with Tornados proved hugely valuable. In many cases, he said, a Typhoon’s Paveway II laser-guided bombs would have caused unacceptable collateral damage, but flying alongside a Brimstone-equipped Tornado allowed the delivery of a smaller weapon.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Jeu 27 Mar 2014 - 15:44
C'est la suite logique des décisions qui avaient été annoncées au sommet franco-britannique de janvier : Paris et Londres viennent d'annoncer la notification le 26 mars à MBDA d'un contrat de 500 M£ (environ 600 millions d'euros) pour le développement et la production du missile ANL (anti-navire léger), connu outre-Manche sous l'appellation FASGW-H (Future Air to Surface Guided Weapon - Heavy).
Les quantités de missiles commandées n'ont pas été précisées. Le calendrier général de l'opération vise à obtenir de premières livraisons en 2018.
Ce missile est destiné en premier lieu à équiper les hélicoptères navals AW159 Wildcat britanniques. Une capacité opérationnelle complète (FOC) du nouveau missile sur cette machine est attendue à l'horizon 2020, mais aucun contrat d'intégration n'a encore été signé... alors que les premiers Wildcat ont déjà été livrés à la Royal Navy.
Côté français, l'intention de principe est d'équiper les Panther et, peut-être, les NH90-NFH de la Marine nationale. Ici encore, aucun accord n'a été trouvé pour le moment avec Eurocopter pour mener à bien ces chantiers d'intégration.
Pour l'industriel européen MBDA, ce contrat doit permettre de lancer un chantier de spécialisation de ses activités de part et d'autre de la Manche. En clair, cela signifie que certains sites britanniques deviendront fournisseurs exclusifs de certains composants de missiles pour totues les futures productions MBDA, et vice versa pour des centres de compétences installés en France.
Missile subsonique de classe 100 kg, l'ANL devra être capable de traiter un vaste panel de cibles navales et terrestres en zone littorale. Il sera doté d’un autodirecteur infrarouge non refroidi et propulsé dans sa phase initiale par un booster (non largable) dérivé de la munition rôdeuse Fire Shadow, tandis qu’une partie du système de guidage provient de l’air-air Meteor. Les concepteurs de l’engin ont volontairement privilégié une approche modulaire dans l’architecture générale du missile afin de laisser la porte ouverte à des requêtes potentielles de clients export souhaitant, par exemple, une portée accrue ou une intégration sur d’autres plateformes.
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Sujet: Re: Armée Britannique/British Armed Forces Ven 28 Mar 2014 - 12:58
Citation :
Dans le port de Devonport, une frégate britannique tire par erreur une torpille (d’exercice)
Ni dégât, ni blessé ne sont à déplorer après le fâcheux incident survenu à bord de la frégate de type T-23 HMS Argyll le 12 mars au sein de la base navale de Devonport (près de Plymouth). Celle-ci est l’une des trois plus importantes bases navales britanniques, en tant que port d’attache et d’entretien de nombreuses frégates, sous-marins nucléaires d’attaque et navires amphibies. L’une des torpilles du HMS Argyll a malencontreusement été tirée et s’est écrasée dans un wharf. Il s’agissait d’une torpille factice, destinée aux exercices, ne contenant pas de charge explosive. Le ministère britannique de la défense a confirmé l’information et indiqué qu’une enquête a été ouverte. Le HMS Argyll, âgé de 23 ans, est le dernier navire en service du type T-23. Les frégates T-23 sont dotées, entre autres armes, de torpilles légères Sting Ray, mesurant 2,59 mètres de long, 359 millimètres de diamètre, pesant 266 kilos, atteignant la vitesse de 40 nœuds et d’une portée de 11 milles, selon l'ouvrage spécialisé Flottes de combat.
A phased reduction of the UK Royal Air Force’s fleet of Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft has taken its latest step, with two frontline units having been stood down on 28 March.
The service’s 12 and 617 squadrons ceased operations with a disbandment ceremony conducted at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, which from mid-2014 will instead become home to its Eurofighter Typhoon-equipped 1 and 6 squadrons, which are to be relocated from RAF Leuchars.
“Both squadrons have delivered precision air power around the world, whether that be in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground attack or in the intelligence-gathering role. We are proud of our heritage but we look to the future,” says AVM Stuart Atha, Air Officer Commanding the RAF’s 1 Group.
Rex Features
Known as “The Dambusters”, 617 Sqn will be reformed in 2018 as the UK’s first frontline unit to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II. Some personnel from 12 Sqn, meanwhile, will be retained at Lossiemouth to support operations with the Typhoon.
The latest unit retirements leave the RAF with operational Tornado GR4 squadrons only at its Marham base in Norfolk. Its 15 Sqn operational conversion unit for the type will remain at Lossiemouth until 2018, with its last examples currently expected to leave use during 2019.
http://www.flightglobal.com
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Behind the scenes with the British pilots learning to fly F-35 fighter jet which absorbs radar, flies backwards...and costs a cool £100m
British servicemen are learning to fly and maintain the F-35 - dubbed Lightning II - at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida Plane's premiere due at Farnborough air show, Hampshire, and Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire Royal Air Force and Royal Navy will be using 138 of the planes, which cost up to £100million each, starting in 2018 Jets will replace the iconic Harrier jump jet, and not only does it take off vertically - it can also fly backwards The first pilots to use them in full service will be the famous 617 Squadron, formed for the Dambusters raids in WWII
These photos show how British pilots are putting a £100million fighter jet through its paces ahead of its first appearance in British skies this summer.
The first of the UK's F-35s – dubbed the Lightning II by maker Lockheed Martin – are at a giant military airfield in Florida’s Panhandle region, where pilots are practicing flying them backwards, stopping them in mid-air and reaching top speeds of 1.6 times the speed of sound.
The Daily Mail was invited for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes visit at the Eglin Air Force Base to find out how the first three British flyers and their 13 engineers are learning how to operate the F-35, which is recognisable by its sharp-angled design and special coating which makes it hard for enemy radars to detect.
The information these cameras gather can be projected inside the visor of the pilot’s helmet or beamed to other jets in the formation, or commanders on the ground. The helmet also allows the pilot to see ‘through’ the aircraft’s structure to the ground below.
The one downside of all this technology is that pilots joke it removes some of the fun of pure handling skills – in aviation parlance, flying by the seat of your pants.
Group Captain Willy Hackett, a veteran combat pilot who is the UK’s national deputy in the F-35 Joint Program Office, says: ‘I would have a large smile on my face to see the F-35 on the ramp as I walked out to the aircraft. It has to instil confidence in the pilot.’
He adds: ‘Our F-35 pilots will be some of our best educated people on the battlefield. The future F-35 pilots will be very much more systems operators and tacticians now, controlling the inflow of information. The actual flying is second nature.’
On arriving at Eglin, the British personnel complete in-depth academic courses and train in simulators before going on to an introductory 10-hour course to get them used to the F-35. As there is no two-seater jet, unlike previous generations of aircraft, the first time they take off in the aircraft will be the first time they fly it for real.
They then practice take-offs and landings and flying in formation with other aircraft before moving on to air-to-air fighting and attacking ground targets.
There is an equally steep learning curve for the engineers and technicians on F-35.
Sergeant Ken Dorfard, one of the maintainers hand-picked to be the first to go through F-35 training, explains the stealth aircraft has some unique challenges for his people, who must maintain its complex systems.
Dorfard, who joined the RAF in 1991, says: ‘We have special shoes to walk on the aircraft so we don’t damage the surface. The stuff behind the panels is easier to work on thanks to computerisation, but it is harder to access. It’s not that different to a fourth generation jet like the Tornado or Harrier. In some ways the electronic testing takes the fun out of it.’
One of the biggest differences between F-35 and previous fighters is the sheer scale of the computer programming involved. Some eight million lines of computer coding is involved and much of the aircraft’s capabilities depend on this technology being completed on time and working.
‘It is a challenging aspect of the programme,’ says Lockheed Martin’s Mike Rein.
The aircraft’s software will be continually updated during its 50-plus year lifespan.
Once the development work is completed Britain could buy fewer than the 138 aircraft it originally signed up for. With a price tag of up to £100m per jet, the F-35 has attracted some controversy at a time of widespread cuts in defence spending.
But the RAF and Royal Navy are adamant it will be a game-changing aeroplane that will increase British forces’ capabilities on the future battlefield.
The RAF’s famous 617 Squadron – the Dambusters – will be the first British unit to get the F-35 and will be based at RAF Marham in Norfolk from 2018. The squadron was temporarily stood down at the end of March when its Tornado bombers were retired.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
The Light Cavalry role encompasses both mounted and dismounted close combat, and soldiers must be prepared to use all weapons at their disposal, including – if necessary - closing with the enemy with bayonets fixed.
Soldiers from A and HQ Squadrons in Swindon and London recently practiced these drills whilst on a weekend exercise on Salisbury Plain Training Area.
Following lessons under the supervision of reservist instructors, the Squadrons deployed into mounted and dismounted Observation Posts (OPs) across the area, where they tracked the movement of an enemy force infiltrating a border zone. Following a dismounted troop attack at bayonet point, the enemy were forced to withdraw, closely pursued by the mounted troops in their highly-agile and well-armed RWMIK vehicles.
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AN RAF officer has revealed that the Boeing P-8 Poseidon is the top of RAF’s wishlist to replace Nimrod and fill the UK’s maritime patrol capability gap.
Squadron Leader Lloyd Barrett said the Boeing P-8 Poseidon “is the most capable” option but also “the most expensive” and revealed that the Airbus Military C295 and Bombardier Dash are the other off the shelf options being considered to replace the Nimrod which was cancelled in 2010 by the coalition government because of safety concerns.
The revelation came in an interview with local radio in Moray where Nato allies currently operating from RAF Lossiemouth also publicly criticised the UK’s decision to ditch Nimrod in 2010 without a replacement and said it has put more pressure on them to cover the Arctic North.
Lieutenant-Colonel Bjørn Gohn-Hellum told us: “After the UK’s decision to phase out the Nimrod, we in Norway feel we have put more pressure on the Norwegian aircraft to deliver.
“We are now the only NATO airborne intelligence and surveillance asset operating in the region and in the Barents Sea.” Major Ray Towsend, from the Royal Canadian Air Force, added: “We loved working with the nimrods previously. We in Canada have a unique relationship with the RAF.
“We have some RAF personnel imbedded on our aeroplane. So we’re getting the experience of those Nimrod aviators with our crew which is invaluable to us.
“They’re actually in training roles in our squadron in Canada.
“We miss flying with them, but we sure are benefiting from flying with them in our crews.”
Their criticisms reflects those made by the Defence select Committee in the Commons and has led the Ministry of defence to make maritime aircraft replacement a priority in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Squadron Leader Barrett said: “For the exercise it’s not such a problem because the allies step in, in great numbers.
“Outside of Exercise Joint Warrior the Royal Navy does notice not having maritime patrol aircraft on a daily basis to train with.
“We’ve kept a small cadre of individuals with a Nimrod background.
“We have 23 in the United States of America, nine in Canada, five in New Zealand, and four in Australia.
“We’re keeping the experience of how to operate a future maritime or multi-mission patrol aircraft, and then, if which ever government decides to go back into that game and buy a future aircraft, we’ll have a core of people who know how to use them.”
Westminster SNP leader and Defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP said:
“These comments underline the massive MOD mistake of having no maritime patrol aircraft.
“Scotland is a maritime nation and we should have this capability.
“After a ‘Yes’ vote we will fill this gap, which will be good for Scotland, the rest of the UK and allies like Norway.”
http://www.scotsman.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
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Un fait d’armes hors du commun pour un tireur d’élite des Coldstream Guards en Afghanistan
Posté dans Afghanistan, Forces terrestres par Laurent Lagneau Le 02-04-2014
Comment neutraliser 6 éléments hostiles en ne tirant qu’une seule cartouche? Ne chercher pas plus loin : un jeune tireur d’élite du régiment des Coldstream Guards, l’un des plus anciens d’Angleterre, a réussi un tel coup, sans que cela ait fait l’objet d’un communiqué officiel de la part du ministère britannique de la Défense (MoD).
Il aura en effet fallu attendre plus de 3 mois pour que la presse d’outre-Manche revienne largement sur ce fait d’arme hors du commun. En décembre 2013, lors d’une opération dans le sud de l’Afghanistan, un groupe suspect d’une vingtaine d’éléments est repéré dans le secteur de Kakaran par les soldats britanniques alors en place au poste d’observation Sterga 2, qui, construit sur les hauteurs surplombant la rivière Helmand, est équipé de caméras, de radars, d’un ballon de surveillance et de 3 drones.
S’agit-il de taliban préparant une attaque-suicide contre un barrage tenu par leurs camarades où leurs homologues afghans? Tout le laisse à le supposer. Et l’observation de leurs mouvements permet de déceler la présence d’armes. Les troupes britanniques et afghanes reçoivent alors l’ordre de se déployer pour les intercepter. A 9h30, selon l’infographie du Daily Mail, les premiers échanges de tirs commencent.
A plus de 800 mètres de là, un lance-caporal des Coldstream Guards remarque un homme armé portant une sorte de châle se mettre en position de tir. Tireur d’élite, le jeune militaire, dont l’identité n’a évidemment pas été révélée, engage alors cette cible avec son fusil L115A3 Long Range Rifle. « Et le gars a explosé », raconte, le lieutenant-colonel Richard Slack, alors commandant du dispositif britannique, dont les propos ont été repris par plusieurs journaux britanniques. « Il y a eu une pause à la radio et le tireur d’élite a dit : ‘Je crois que je viens de tirer sur un kamikaze », a-t-il ajouté.
Le fait est. L’insurgé pris pour cible portait une ceinture d’explosifs. Et la balle tirée par le lance-caporal a percuté le dispositif de mise à feu, ce qui a provoqué une explosion qui n’a laissé aucune chance à 5 autres assaillants et mis un terme à l’attaque.
Lors d’une précédente mission en Afghanistan, le même tireur a neutralisé un insurgé à une distance de 1.340 mètres, le « record » (si l’on peut parler ainsi) étant détenu par un commando australien, qui a fait mouche à 2.815 mètres, en 2012.
1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment takes part in a live firing exercise alongside the French Foreign Legion at Otterburn.
French soldiers have joined a British battle group for the first time in history for a live firing exercise in Northumberland.
The sounds of gunshots filled the air at Otterburn Training Area as around 400 soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment teamed up a 120-strong party from two regiments of the Foreign Legion.
They worked together, using mortars and practising real life war scenarios, working as if they were trying to seize a position.
Pictures by Brian Gamble; Crown copyright.
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Twenty UK military personnel are currently working with the US Navy’s Boeing 737-based P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft, with several of these also set to receive training on the service’s remotely-piloted Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. Minister for defence personnel, welfare and veterans Anna Soubry says 32 UK personnel are embedded with the maritime patrol aircraft capabilities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Of these, 12 are with units flying variants of the [url=https://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Lockheed P-3 Orion.html]Lockheed P-3 Orion[/url] for the air forces of Australia (two), Canada (six) and New Zealand (four). The remainder of the personnel deployed as part of the MoD’s “Seedcorn” initiative are working with P-8 units at NAS [url=https://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Jacksonville International.html]Jacksonville[/url] in Florida (11) and NAS Patuxent River in Maryland (nine), Soubry says.
While UK personnel are retaining key maritime surveillance skills via the multi-year Seedcorn programme, they are also gaining experience in the use of advanced unmanned air systems, Soubry reveals. One officer at the USN’s Patuxent River test site has already been qualified on the Boeing/Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack UAS, while “four are scheduled to train on the MQ-4C Triton during June-August 2014”, she says. Also referred to as the Integrator, the former is a more capable design than the Boeing/[url=https://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Insitu ScanEagle.html]Insitu ScanEagle[/url] air vehicle now being used by the Royal Navy under an urgent operational requirement deal signed with Boeing Defence UK. Two test examples of the Triton – a development of the high-altitude, long-endurance RQ-4 Global Hawk platform – are due to arrive at the Maryland base within the coming months, with the US service expecting the system to achieve initial operational capability during 2017. Australia in mid-March also confirmed its intention to acquire the MQ-4C to operate alongside its future P-8 aircraft.
The question of whether to acquire a replacement UK maritime patrol aircraft capability is likely to be a key part of the nation’s next Strategic Defence and Security Review, which will be conducted in 2015. Soubry was responding to a parliamentary question by Angus Robertson MP, whose Moray constituency includes Kinloss: the former home of the [url=https://www.flightglobal.com/landingpage/Royal Air Force.html]Royal Air Force[/url]’s BAE Systems Nimrod MR2 fleet. The last of these were retired four years ago, while the replacement Nimrod MRA4 programme was cancelled in October 2010.
The Army’s Household Division is providing a spectacular ceremonial welcome to the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife Mrs Sabina Higgins, as they arrived in Windsor for the first ever Irish State Visit to Britain.
Image by Sgt Steve Blake; Crown copyright
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l'avenir de la base des sous-marins nucléaires de Faslane inquiète Londres
L'inquiétude demeure mesurée, mais elle est bien réelle. Dans les milieux de défense britanniques, des préoccupations s'expriment, à mesure que les intentions de vote montent pour un oui au référendum sur l'indépendance de l'Ecosse, le 18 septembre. Car l'Ecosse est d'importance stratégique : elle abrite de nombreuses installations militaires, dont la base de sous-marins nucléaires de Faslane.
Pour l'heure, il n'y a officiellement aucun « deal » ni plan quelconque sur ce sujet, car la position du gouvernement britannique est de ne pas envisager que le « oui » l'emporte. Cependant, des rapports ont évalué les conséquences possibles, ou, du moins, les nombreuses questions que poserait cette indépendance pour la défense nationale. Un « oui » serait « une menace sérieuse pour la capacité opérationnelle de la dissuasion britannique », et pour le reste, il mettrait « le Royaume-Uni face à la perspective de perdre des personnels, des bases et des équipements vitaux à hauteur d'un douzième de ses moyens », a ainsi conclu la commission de la défense des Communes, dans un rapport publié à l'automne 2013.
En 2013, l’Ecosse comptait plus de 11000 militaires britanniques, 4400 civils, 2200 réservistes et 11500 cadets de la défense, sur 50 sites. D’ici à 2020, Londres a prévu de renforcer ses effectifs dans la région, avec 12500 soldats au total. L’Ecosse abritera à cette échéance une des trois principales bases navales du pays, Clyde-Faslane, où sont stationnés tous les sous-marins britanniques, et l’annexe de Coulport, où sont stockés les missiles. Mais aussi une des trois grandes bases d’avions de combat,à Lossiemouth, et une des sept brigades terrestres. Le Livre blanc écossais prévoit que la province devienne un Etat sans armes nucléaires. Le transfert de responsabilité de ses forces armées aurait lieu en mars2016, et leur quartier général serait basé à… Faslane. Mais les contours d’une défense écossaise autonome restent imprécis. La contribution actuelle de l’Ecosse aux dépenses de défense nationale se monte à 3,3milliards de livres (4milliards d’euros), quelque 10%, selon les estimationsdu Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). La base navale de Faslane fait l’objet d’investissements majeurs. Ses effectifs doivent être renforcés. Elle accueille les nouveaux sous-marins d’attaque Astute et les lanceurs d’engins Vanguard, ainsi que le centre national d’expertise dans le domaine. Construire une nouvelle base, ailleurs au Royaume-Uni, coûterait des milliards et prendrait des années, ont prévenu tous les experts militaires. La difficulté tient aussi au fait qu’il faut désarmer de nombreux vieux navires,un coût énorme. Pourrait-on le partager?
Intégration à l’OTAN L’industrie de l’armement s’inquiète, elle aussi. Elle emploie 15000 salariés en Ecosse, dans 50 entreprises habilitées défense. Le ministère britannique assure l’essentiel de leurs débouchés. Mais si l’Ecosse devient un Etat comme un autre dans l’Union européenne, il n’est pas certain que les exemptions aux règles européennes de la concurrence continuent de s’appliquer au profit des achats de la défense britannique. Autre point, l’avenir des chantiers navals. Le secrétaire à la défense, Phil Hammond, a rappelé aux députés que le Royaume-Uni a toujours construit ses navires de guerre sur son sol, bien que les chantiers nationaux soient plus chers que d’autres, car «il est d’importance stratégique de maintenir une capacité souveraine dans ce domaine». Si l’Ecosse était indépendante, «clairement, cette capacité ne le serait plus». M.Hammond a précisé aux parlementaires qu’il ne serait pas non plus envisageable de garder la maintenance de tels navires dans un Etat indépendant. Le oui aura d’autres implications stratégiques. Selon le gouvernement britannique, qui dit avoir procédé à une analyse juridique, l’Ecosse devra mener une démarche d’intégration à l’OTAN. Londres approuvera-t-elle dans ce cas la demande? Face à la commission de la défense des Communes, M.Hammond a répondu que ce quitus, lui aussi, ne serait pas automatique: «L’attitude du gouvernement relèvera de ses intérêts propres.» Notamment:«Nous regarderons leur position sur le partage du fardeau des équipements de la défense commune, la dissuasion britannique incluse, qui est à 100%inscrite à l’OTAN comme une ressource à même de protéger l’Alliance.»
La même fermeté conduit la défense à considérer qu’une Ecosse indépendante n’aurait pas accès au renseignement que partagent depuis la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale les «Five Eyes»–Etats-Unis, Canada Royaume-Uni, Australie et Nouvelle-Zélande. Selon MalcomChalmers, expert du RUSI, «l’un des sujets les plus difficiles dans la négociation porterait sur les services de renseignement et la coopération en matière de contre-terrorisme». Quant aux soldats, auront-ils le choix ? Apriori, oui. Les Ecossais qui servent l’armée britannique devraient pouvoir continuer à le faire. Les recruteurs de l’«Army» et de la«Navy», en particulier, en ont bien besoin. A condition qu’ils le veuillent.
Mar 18 Déc 2012 - 15:24
Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
