UK Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Three warships built at BAE shipyard in Glasgow for the Royal Brunei Navy are finally to be sold after a long-running legal dispute was resolved. A £600m deal between BAE Systems and Brunei was signed in 1998, resulting in the completion of three coastal patrol frigates by 2004. However the Sultan of Brunei claimed the ships were not as he had ordered, and they remained berthed in Scotstoun.

The arbitration dispute ended in May, allowing the ships to be sold on. Following finalisation of contracts, the ships were able to be handed over to the Royal Brunei Technical Services (RBTS), which is the Brunei's equivalent of the Ministry of Defence.

A spokesman for BAE Systems said that the shipbuilders had been paid for the completion of the ships, and that the ships had now been handed over to RBTS.

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GORDON Brown is preparing to deliver a multi-billion-pound boost to his home nation, with confirmation that Scotland's shipbuilders will help to produce the biggest vessels ever ordered by the Royal Navy.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the Prime Minister is set to put an end to years of delay by announcing the decision on the construction of the two "super carriers" within the next few days.

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Norfolk said:

After all, even if the CVF are ordered by the PM, there's still the matter of building them, and that means subjecting the CVF to the additional complexities of French politics and industry.

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The British Army is currently upgrading about 500 FV430 Mk3 Armored Personnel Carriers with specialty armor and upgraded components (including IED jammer antennas in some cases), in order to equip an armored battlegroup. The intent is to replace many of Britain's overworked, no-air-conditioning Warrior fighting vehicles in theater. While the up-armored "Bulldogs" lack the Warrior's 30mm cannon and blazing speed, they are better protected, have air conditioning, are less hostile-looking to locals, and aren't as apt to tear up local roads due to improved tread designs. These modified FV430s weigh 13 tonnes (28,600 pounds), with a top speed of 44 mph/ 70 kph, and can carry 8 infantry plus a crew of 2. The net result is the replacement of many Land Rovers and Warriors in the Iraqi theater with Mastiff Cougar variants and FV430 Bulldogs, which offer more protection for urban warfare scenarios.

As of July 2007, more than 200 of the upgraded vehicles have already been delivered on time and on budget. Now the UK MoD has confirmed that an order has been placed with BAE Systems Land Systems and their main subcontractor, ABRO, for an additional 400 Bulldog vehicles to be modified to the new standard, bringing the total to 900.

The Bulldogs' improved protection has received positive reviews on the streets of Basra, Iraq. Col. John Ogden is quoted as saying:

"The Mk3, and in particular its up-armoured version Bulldog, has already proved a big hit with the troops and earned high praise in particular from those using it in anger on the streets of Basra. They are making full use of its significantly greater mobility, they feel safe in it, and as one senior commander told me, they have the confidence to stand their ground and fight from it when required."

Even so, a British surge to Iraq is not in the cards. Meanwhile, the Canadians, who are fighting alongside British forces in southern Afghanistan, have been forced to add M113 APCs and even main battle tanks due to the proven inability of their wheeled LAV-IIIs to handle key combat mobility requirements there.

While wheeled additions like the WMIK Land Rovers and Supacat MWMIKs have their place, additional Bulldogs may prove very useful in the Afghan mission. They would give British forces a true all-terrain armored option in the face of a well-supplied enemy operating with impunity from bases in Pakistan.

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The U.K. Ministry of Defence’s changes to logistic support methods for British Harrier and Tornado fast jets have saved more than 1.4 billion pounds ($2.85 billion) since 2001-02, according to an investigation by Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO).

The government watchdog’s report says that although there are risks emerging from the transformation process, the changes to logistics support to date have “represented good value for money.”

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A new chapter in British naval history began today in earnest as HMS DARING, billed as the world's most advanced warship, left the BAE shipyard on the Clyde where she is being completed, to begin her sea trials..

The massive destroyer, the biggest in the Royal Navy since the days of the battle-cruisers, left her berth at the Scotstoun shipyard at 13:00 hrs to proceed downriver to the Firth of Clyde and out to sea where her first series of tests take place.

She is the first of six Type 45's being built at Glasgow, with sections also being built at VT Shipbuilding in Portsmouth. In the early hours of yesterday morning she was assisted out of drydock and berthed at the fitting out quay where earlier today she took on bunkers.

BAE Systems engineers and Royal Navy personnel will conduct the trials and be her permanent crew. The trials and further integration of her weapons systems will take place through to the end of 2008 when she will be handed over to the Royal Navy.

She is the first surface fighting ship to be powered entirely by electricity, enough to power the needs of the Shetland Islands!

Crucially the vessel has a SAMPSON radar and MBDA Principal Anti-Air Missile System ( PAAMS ) missile system which, BAE Systems claims, together can track and destroy a target as small as a cricket ball moving at three times the speed of sound. The radar can track hundreds of targets at a time and the air defence system is many times more effective and powerful than the existing systems on RN ships.

The ships are significantly larger than the Type 42 they are to replace, displacing 7350 tons compared to the older destroyers' 5200 tons.

HMS DARING was launched at the Scotstoun yard on the 1st of February 2006. The second of the series, HMS DAUNTLESS, was launched further up the River Clyde at Govan shipyard earlier this year on the 23rd of January. All of the remaining ships will be launched at Govan and outfitted at Scotstoun. The third of class, HMS DIAMOND is rapidly taking shape on the slipway at Govan and it is believed she will launch in November of this year. Her bow section was delivered from Portsmouth to the Govan yard in May whilst funnel and mast sections were towed up and arrived at the Clyde yard on the 11th of July.

The remaining three vessels will be named DRAGON, DEFENDER and DUNCAN.

The shipyards on the Clyde give employment to over 3000 workers whilst VT employs around 900 workers at its warship building unit in Portsmouth.

Work on the programme has progressed very successfully and BAE Systems' boss Vic Emery praised the Clyde workforce today for their efforts and hailed the start of trials as a major milestone in delivering "the world's most advanced warship".

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A Royal Marine involved in 30 separate firefights with the Taliban, returned home from Afghanistan with just one injury; a perforated eardrum caused by the relentless firing of his machine guns. Cpl John Thompson led numerous exercises during his six months as lead patrolman in convoys of military vehicles and repeatedly came under fire.

Yesterday he was told he had been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his displays of "exceptional bravery and leadership, particularly under fire". His award, second only to the Victoria Cross for military bravery, was one of 62 to Service personnel engaged in operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan between October last year and April this year.

Cpl Thompson, 29, sustained his ear injury in January when his troop was ambushed by 40 or 50 Taliban fighters. "I had just turned to my driver and said I felt we were going to be ambushed," he said. "Sixty seconds later two rocket grenades landed 50 metres away and within seconds another 30 or 40 were fired at us followed by machinegun fire."

Over the next four hours Cpl Thompson, who is married and from Plymouth, fired off 4,500 rounds from his mounted machinegun, two Javelin missiles and 5,000 other machinegun rounds during a prolonged and intense battle. He was repeatedly re-armed whenever his ammunition fell to 10 per cent of his usual total. "The reason I'm here today and why we all came through that alive was the training and the teamwork," he said. "Everyone played their part."

He was described by colleagues as "the sort of bloke you want on your side" and had been selected for the lead position on the regular patrols for his mix of experience, courage and intelligence. But despite the plaudits, he had found it difficult to take in the award. "I opened the letter and all I saw was my name and the words Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. I was shocked and honoured. Everyone does their best in the Marines and I had done my best," he said.

The awards, spread across the Services, mark the courage and character of those involved in the fighting in Afghanistan, which has been described as the most sustained and ferocious combat for British troops since the Korean War.

Brig David Capewell, the commander of 3 Commando Royal Marines, said acts of "supreme bravery and personal courage" were daily events in the country. "I confess to personal astonishment at some of the stories of selfless dedication to duty," he added.

Among these was the Military Cross awarded to a Marine who was sent to Afghanistan just three weeks after completing his training and who then became involved in fierce close combat with two Taliban fighters. Marine Matthew Bispham, 22, was part of an incursion to clear a Taliban stronghold when he and a colleague came under fire from two fighters entrenched in a compound. The men took enemy fire as they first crossed open land and then came face to face with the two heavily armed insurgents. "We literally bumped into them but they had known we were coming. At a time like that, your training just takes over," he said. His colleague was killed in the action but Marine Bispham was able to carry on the fight. All he would say was: "The two Taliban ended up dead."

Capt Graeme McIntosh and Capt Timothy Rushmere, both of the Royal Artillery Regiment, tried to save the life of a colleague after his armoured vehicle was blown up by a mine. The man was beneath the four-tonne machine and the men eventually tried to free him by attempting an amputation of his trapped lower leg using just a penknife. "This was the last resort. It was to no avail and he died there before us," said Capt McIntosh.

The Service personnel are in England awaiting their next deployment. Marine Bispham said: "I wouldn't say I want to go back but when my turn comes I will go."

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A soldier has been awarded the Military Cross for gallantry while on a tour of duty in Iraq earlier this year. Rifleman Jokini Sivo, 25, from Edinburgh, rescued his colleagues after they were attacked by insurgents.

The sniper, of 3 Battalion The Rifles, was awarded the medal for "conspicuous gallantry and leadership beyond the call of duty". Despite being injured in the attack, Rifleman Sivo was said to have acted with disregard for his own safety.

He was the only member of his battalion to receive the award as part of the Operational Honours list, which was made public on Thursday. The citation for his honour, the third highest awarded by the British Army, describes how he and his colleagues came under fire during a security patrol.

Their attackers were armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, which have been responsible for a significant number of British casualties in Iraq. Rifleman Sivo, who is originally from Kadavu in Fiji and joined the British Army in 2000, said the urge to help his comrades get back to safety was far greater than any concern for his own personal safety. He added: "As a British soldier you get taught that when you go through your training. It is just the camaraderie between the soldiers that takes over - we watch each other's backs.

"We were in a fire fight and our call sign came under heavy mortar and small arms fire. One of my colleagues was injured and we had to give covering fire as the troops were retreating back to safety. My battalion is very proud and I think the people back home in Fiji are quite proud too."

Rifleman Sivo said he felt humbled by the honour, and revealed he believed serving in the Army was "the best job in the world." The citation for his medal states: "During a joint security operation lasting for three hours, Sivo and his team were ordered to occupy an isolated and very prominent single-storey check-point building, and engage gunmen.

"This made them an easy target for enemy marksmen. In this exposed position he spotted a rocket-propelled grenade team, with gunmen in support, engaging a Warrior vehicle. He immediately engaged the firers. Sivo led his colleagues with distinction and complete disregard for his own safety in spite of being wounded."

Rifleman Sivo has served in Cyprus, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, The Falklands and Northern Ireland, as well as in Iraq. He plays rugby in the Army in Scotland team.

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