In today's news of interest for defence the Sunday Telegraph reports that the Prime Minister has called for ground combat roles to be opened up to women, while the Sunday Times leads on a proposed review of police gun use following the Paris attacks.
Women in combat
Women will be allowed to take part in frontline combat, the Sunday Telegraph claims, in an overhaul of the current regulations. Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered the MOD to be ready to welcome female soldiers into "close combat" roles next year, the newspaper writes, and his intervention could see the first women training to serve alongside male troops by next autumn.
Prime Minister David Cameron said:
The Defence Secretary and I are united in wanting to see all roles in our Armed Forces opened up to women in 2016. We've already lifted a number of barriers in our Armed Forces with the introduction of female submariners and women reaching the highest ranks in all Services. We should finish the job next year and open up ground combat roles to women.
In May last year the previous Secretary of State for Defence announced a review of the exclusion of women from ground close combat roles. Following the 2014 review, we welcomed the prospect of opening further military roles to women subject to the outcome of further physiological research.
The physiological research programme is investigating how training regimes can be constructed to allow women to integrate safely, whilst protecting combat effectiveness. It will also deliver improved methods for conducting physical training that will have health benefits for the serving population of men and women.
Military equipment
The Sunday Times reports that Britain's military may struggle to cope with the weaponry of foreign powers and even terrorist groups within 20 years, according to an MOD Future Operating Environment 2035 study.
An MOD spokesperson said:
The document describes the potential environment in which the Armed Forces may find themselves operating in future. This critical thinking is an important part of defence planning and informed the decisions made in the SDSR 2015. That is why we’re investing £178 billion in equipment, £800 million on innovation, and will be able to deploy an expeditionary force of around 50,000 to ensure that our Armed Forces can keep Britain safe.
Forces at Christmas
Various articles cover the welfare of service people and veterans over Christmas. The Sunday Telegraph reports on the charity ‘Style for Soldiers’, with whose help injured Army veterans are finding the confidence to thrive outside the military by receiving designer clothes.
Meanwhile, in an opinion article for the Sun on Sunday, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon asks the public to remember the more than 10,000 servicemen and women who will be working overseas this Christmas. As recently as Friday, RAF Typhoons and Tornados again operated over the Sinjar and Mosul areas of Iraq, suppressing Daesh mortar positions with two Paveway attacks, whilst over Ramadi, Tornado GR4s again supported the Iraqi forces and struck three terrorist positions with Paveway IV bombs.
Read more about the UK's strikes against Daesh here:
Portsmouth
An article in the Mail on Sunday reports that more than £100m is being spent on upgrading Portsmouth Naval Base so that it can accommodate the two new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers. The positive article follows the Defence Secretary’s visit last week that was publicised here.
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