The US-led coalition's airstrikes on Raqqa in Syria feature in today's Defence news, as do reports that the militant group ISIL have executed Syrian soldiers in Palmyra.
ISIL
The Times and the Guardian both report that the US-led international coalition has launched a barrage of airstrikes on Raqqa, the Syrian city that ISIL has turned into its capital, in one of the biggest aerial bombardments by the allies since the air campaign against the extremists began. The coalition's operation in Raqqa comes after a fortnight of ISIL-linked atrocities around the world, including the slaughter of 38 tourists, 30 of them British, on a beach in Tunisia. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon was reported last week as raising the possibility of Britain joining airstrikes over Syria. The Telegraph also reports that hours earlier, the militant group released images from the Roman theatre in the desert city of Palmyra, purportedly showing the execution of dozens of Syrian government soldiers in the ancient ruins of Palmyra.
Defence Spending
The Times followed yesterday’s Mail on Sunday article today in reporting that the MOD has pledged to review its use of a fleet of cars that is costing £120 million each year. Taxpayers are understood to be footing the bill for an average of 29,000 short-notice trips and 21,000 longer term leases of vehicles each month. Our position from yesterday is set out here.
Royal Navy
A feature article in today’s Telegraph Business section coincides with a year since the Queen smashed a bottle of whisky against the side of Britain's largest warship, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. The piece discusses the innovations that are making the project more efficient, including a single logistics contractor, and a close working relationship between the Navy and industry. Costs of the Carrier programme are now estimated to run to £6.2 billion, with any cost overruns shared between the MOD and contractors.
US F-35
The Times reports that an American test pilot has claimed that the F-35 cannot match the F-16, the plane it is replacing, in aerial combat. The first air combat tests between the F-35 and the F-16 took place in April, when it was acknowledged that a ‘bit more manoeuvrability’ was need. The USAF said it was “too soon to draw any conclusions”, and a spokesman for the F-35 programme said that the leaked report “did not tell the whole story” as the plane in question had not been equipped with all the relevant systems software.
Iran
The Telegraph and The Times both cover the Iranian nuclear negotiations as negotiators from Iran and six world powers edged towards a nuclear deal on Sunday, with both sides mounting a final diplomatic push to seal what could be a transformative agreement. Though the official deadline for negotiations at the end of June has passed, diplomats are closer than ever to agreeing the terms of a deal that would place long-term curbs on Iran's atomic programme in return for an end to crippling international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
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