British Military Current Events

[daftandbarmy]

UK's new flagship aircraft carrier arrives at home port

Britain's new flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived at its home port in southern England on Wednesday to great fanfare as tens of thousands jammed the harbour in welcome.

Sailors lined the flight deck as the 3 billion-pound ($3.87 billion) aircraft carrier arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base. The 919-foot (280-meter) vessel has been training at sea since June after setting out from Rosyth dockyard in Scotland.

Two flybys of Royal Navy helicopters added to the pageantry. A band of Royal Marines entertained the crowds, and the families of service members lined the jetty to cheer.

"She is Britain's statement to the world: a demonstration of British military power and our commitment to a bigger global role," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. "The thousands of people across the U.K. who have played a part in building her and her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, should be immensely proud as our future flagship enters Portsmouth."

Fallon said in June that Russia would look at the new carrier with envy, pointing at Russia's "dilapidated" Admiral Kuznetsov carrier. Russia's defence ministry spokesman fired back, dismissing the British carrier as just a "conveniently large sea target" that should stay close to U.S. protection assets.

The carrier is the largest ever for the Royal Navy, and is built specifically for the F-35, the much heralded next generation fighter jet. The military has estimated that by 2023, it will have 24 jets on board.

http://www.timescolonist.com/uk-s-new-flagship-aircraft-carrier-arrives-at-home-port-1.21910926

 

[jollyjacktar]

This is not cool.

4 neo-Nazi group members in British army arrested on terror charges

Men are alleged members of National Action, a organization banned in U.K. and suspected in death of MP Jo Cox

The Associated Press  Posted: Sep 05, 2017 7:45 AM ET| Last Updated: Sep 05, 2017 10:52 AM ET


Four serving members of the army were arrested under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of being members of a banned far-right group, British defence officials and police said Tuesday.

The West Midlands Counterterrorism Unit said officers had arrested four people in central England alleged to be members of the neo-Nazi group National Action.

The group is banned in the U.K., and an official list of banned groups describes it as "virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic."

The force said the men were suspected of "being concerned in the commission, preparation and instigation" of terrorism acts. They were detained as part of a "pre-planned and intelligence-led" operation and there was "no threat to the public's safety." No other details were immediately available.

Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed that the four men are serving members of the army.

"We can confirm that a number of serving members of the army have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for being associated with a proscribed far-right group," the army said in a statement.

The men, aged 22 to 32, were held at a police station. Several properties were raided in connection with the arrests.

The BBC reported that the men are a 22-year-old from Birmingham, a 32-year-old from Powys, a 24-year-old from Ipswich and a 24-year-old from Northampton.

Linked to Jo Cox slaying

National Action was established in 2013 and has been linked to the murder of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox in 2016. The brutal murder, a week before Britain's referendum on European Union membership, shocked the country.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd outlawed the group after an assessment that it was "concerned in terrorism" ahead of the trial of right-wing extremist Thomas Mair, who was convicted and sentenced to life in Cox's murder. A judge said Mair carried out the murder to advance a political cause "of violent white supremacism associated with Nazism."

The Home Office said that at the time, National Action posted tweets lauding Mair's actions.

In a list of banned groups, the Home Office said the group frequently distributed "extremely violent imagery and language" on social media and aimed its propaganda at recruiting young people. It added that the group "seeks to divide society by implicitly endorsing violence against ethnic minorities and perceived 'race traitors."'

Membership or inviting support for National Action is a criminal offence that carries a sentence of up to 10 years.

© The Associated Press, 2017
The Canadian Press

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/britain-nazis-armed-forces-national-action-1.4275162

 

[daftandbarmy]

Ex-British Army soldier, 75, has been quizzed 25 times and held for 84 hours by police probing shooting of an IRA suspect in 1974

Dennis Hutchings, 75, held for 84 and a half hours by police and quizzed 25 times
Police launched new information to solve death of Jon-Pat Cunningham in 1974
Cunningham, 27,  shot dead when soldiers mistook him for IRA suspect on patrol
Hutchings denies attempted murder and will appear at hearing in Belfast today 


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4864064/Ex-British-Army-soldier-75-quizzed-25-times-police.html#ixzz4s3DRPVkx
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[Kirkhill]

British navy warships 'to use Siri' as technology transforms warfare

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/12/british-navy-warships-to-use-voice-controlled-system-like-siri?CMP=twt_gu

Aye. That'll work.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t-XhRumOwo

 

[daftandbarmy]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/12/british-navy-warships-to-use-voice-controlled-system-like-siri?CMP=twt_gu

Aye. That'll work.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t-XhRumOwo

As long as it recognizes 'F+ck'

 

[daftandbarmy]

Armed SAS troops with 'shoot to kill' orders are deployed on London Underground to monitor suspicious passengers

SAS troops and Special Reconnaissance Regiment received special training
They will now work on the London Underground to try prevent terror attacks
Troops will be armed with Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistols on tube network


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4893424/Armed-SAS-troops-shoot-kill-orders-deployed.html#ixzz4t000AC5t
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[Rifleman62]

More Criminal Trials in the future.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Operation Hellfire: Dramatic moment RAF pilots use drone-controlled single missile to stop ISIS public execution 2,000 miles away as it's revealed secret strikes in Iraq and Syria have stopped terror attacks on British soil

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4900738/RAF-pilots-stop-ISIS-public-execution.html#ixzz4tBxswzn8
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[daftandbarmy]

Royal Marines could be for the chop....again


Why Royal, Why Now?

The challenge for the Royal Marines right now is that they look particularly vulnerable targets, with a highly specialised core role that is increasingly unlikely to be used in anger. The RM and the RN have long had a slightly odd, and at times, uneasy relationship. It is often forgotten these days that the role of amphibious warfare isn’t something that really took off until WW2, and that the RM have only been leading on it for about 70 years. Until that point they were arguably merely light infantry embarked on ships and the odd landing party.

https://thinpinstripedline.blogspot.ca/2017/09/the-corps-huh-what-is-it-good-for.html

 

[Karel Doorman]

It seems the Brits face serious cuts    ,this is a list of things that will be sold,(it's a mess in the UK)

- 85 Warthog ATTC's a 565,000 euro a piece
- HMS Ocean a 91 miljoen euro
- HMS Scott (hydrograaf makes maps for the nuclear subs]
- 50 RAF Tucano T1 trainers
- BAE 146 VIPplane
- 6 C-130J's
- 700 support vehicles
- 100 pick-up trucks
- 100 Vector 6 x 6 Pinzgauer's
- 50 Land Rovers
in addition to the list above,a number of(not known how many yet) Spartan, Scimitar, Samson, Sultan and Samaritan vehicles are to be sold aswell. Furthermore a number of gazelle en lynx helicopters will be sold aswell .

That's a serious cut,there's a 20 billion pound defecit (22,5 billion euro) in the budget(National) that has to be corrected,by selling all this equipment amongst other things.(effect of Brexit?)
[Source: Daily Mail ]

 

[daftandbarmy]

It seems the Brits face serious cuts    ,this is a list of things that will be sold,(it's a mess in the UK)

- 85 Warthog ATTC's a 565,000 euro a piece
- HMS Ocean a 91 miljoen euro
- HMS Scott (hydrograaf makes maps for the nuclear subs]
- 50 RAF Tucano T1 trainers
- BAE 146 VIPplane
- 6 C-130J's
- 700 support vehicles
- 100 pick-up trucks
- 100 Vector 6 x 6 Pinzgauer's
- 50 Land Rovers
in addition to the list above,a number of(not known how many yet) Spartan, Scimitar, Samson, Sultan and Samaritan vehicles are to be sold aswell. Furthermore a number of gazelle en lynx helicopters will be sold aswell .

That's a serious cut,there's a 20 billion pound defecit (22,5 billion euro) in the budget(National) that has to be corrected,by selling all this equipment amongst other things.(effect of Brexit?)
[Source: Daily Mail ]

And that's just to make sure the BBC still gets all the tax dollars it needs for its all pervasive, largely irrelevant programming.  ;D

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

HMS OCEAN was due for decommissioning and disposal. This is not an early exit for her. Her commando support duties are to be picked up by HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH.

 

[YZT580]

We should buy her.  Except we don't have enough helicopters to embark a squadron. From her history she has spent the majority of her life doing relief work i.e. after hurricanes and such.  After all she is only 20 years old and has just completed a very expensive refit.  Would provide Justin evidence that we are indeed boosting our military and at a bargain price to boot.

 

[daftandbarmy]

We should buy her.  Except we don't have enough helicopters to embark a squadron. From her history she has spent the majority of her life doing relief work i.e. after hurricanes and such.  After all she is only 20 years old and has just completed a very expensive refit.  Would provide Justin evidence that we are indeed boosting our military and at a bargain price to boot.

Because we have such an excellent track record with buying used British Warships, right?  [

 

[Colin Parkinson]

We should buy her.  Except we don't have enough helicopters to embark a squadron. From her history she has spent the majority of her life doing relief work i.e. after hurricanes and such.  After all she is only 20 years old and has just completed a very expensive refit.  Would provide Justin evidence that we are indeed boosting our military and at a bargain price to boot.

there is a thread here about the pros and cons of buying her

 

[jollyjacktar]

She is going to be going for a stupid price. 

 

[Kirkhill]

Have Federal Fleet Services buy her.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The captain of a Trident nuclear submarine has been stripped of his command over claims that he had an affair with a female junior officer.

•Stuart Armstrong has been relieved of his duties while under investigation
•Sexual and intimate relationships banned on submarines under Royal Navy rules
•Understood the lower ranking female officer has not been suspended
.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4942070/Captain-access-nuclear-trigger-stripped-duties.html#ixzz4uQ0ZbLzS

 

[daftandbarmy]

Ironic....

Army chiefs set to sack 120 full-time reservist soldiers in their careers offices in a bid to fix recruitment crisis

Firm Capita will replace the full-time reserve soldiers with their own civilian employees

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4641666/army-sack-recruitment-reserve-soldiers/

 

[daftandbarmy]

Revealed: catalogue of failings that sank Falklands warship HMS Sheffield

When a nearby ship, HMS Glasgow, did spot the approaching aircraft, the principal warfare officer in the Sheffield’s ops room failed to react, “partly through inexperience, but more importantly from inadequacy”.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/15/revealed-full-story-behind-sinking-of-falklands-warship-hms-sheffield