Today’s broadcast headlines are dominated by news that a series of bomb blasts have hit the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, followed by continuing gunfire and reports of further explosions. For Defence there are reports on Trident, counter Daesh air strikes by the RAF and Armed Forces mortgage support.
Counter Daesh operations
The Sun and the Daily Express report on the latest Syria and Iraq strike update published by the MOD yesterday. Reports say the RAF has destroyed a Daesh base in Mosul, Iraq. The Express reports that this was a Daesh HQ for the extremist group’s brutal secret police in Iraq. Both articles carry an MOD line and emphasise that the RAF is ramping up the pressure on Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
You can view all of our air strike updates here.
Armed Forces mortgages
There is coverage today in The Sun and The Star reporting that the big six banks have all committed to make it easier for service personnel to manage their mortgage when they are posted abroad as part of their pledges to the Armed Forces Covenant. Reports state that UK military personnel posted abroad will be able to rent out their homes without getting stung by bank charges and carry a quote from Michael Fallon welcoming the move to ensure a better deal for servicemen and women. The full statement from the Defence Secretary can be seen below.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
Looking after your home and your money can be more of a challenge when deployed on operations or serving abroad. This is a welcome first step from the major banks and financial institutions to help our servicemen and women get a better mortgage deal. I look forward to further pledges from across the financial services sector to support the Armed Forces Covenant after today’s roundtable.
Armed Forces personnel posted overseas will be able to rent out their homes without facing higher mortgage costs or having to change their mortgage. This Armed Forces Covenant commitment, from the UK’s five biggest high street banks and Nationwide, will benefit almost 265,000 people in the UK and abroad, including forces families. More measures will be discussed at the Armed Forces Covenant roundtable this evening aimed at solving the impact of service life on credit history and insurance.
Trident
The Guardian has today reported that the UK’s nuclear deterrent is “besieged by questions about cyber security” and that there are continuing issues around its renewal and programme costs.
The article also incorrectly reports that the new Astute class submarines are replacing the Vanguard class. To clarify, the Astute class are attack submarines, which are nuclear powered but are not the UK’s nuclear deterrent. The Astute class are replacing the Trafalgar class.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
The UK's independent nuclear deterrent is the ultimate guarantee of our nation's safety which is why the government is committed to maintaining it. We estimate costs will amount to around 0.2% per year of government spending. We are confident that the deterrent remains safe and secure. Submarines operate in isolation by design, and this contributes to their cyber resilience. We take our responsibility to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent extremely seriously and continually assess the capability of our submarines to ensure their operational effectiveness, including against threats from cyber and unmanned vehicles.
Mortars
Daily Mirror reports that troops can no longer fire mortars at full range in training as the noise breaks health and safety rules. The paper states that soldiers are given ear defenders but health and safety staff say even these do not guarantee protection.
For clarification, there is no ‘safety ban’ on 81mm mortar live firing, but there is a restriction on the maximum charge that can be used when firing the 81mm mortar. Options to mitigate the effect of impulse noise on soldiers is being investigated and future trials will assess different options.
The MOD’s position is carried in the article and can be seen below.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
We keep our health and safety policies under constant review and are committed to ensuring Service personnel have appropriate protection during both training and operations. Training exercises have been redesigned to maximise the learning experience within noise level restrictions. This still allows mortar crews, mortar fire controllers and exercising troops to train and practise the operational employment of the weapon system.
Nigeria
The Sun carries a short piece referencing the UK training team that are deploying to Nigeria today as part of the ongoing effort to train local forces to combat Boko Haram. The article notes the Defence Secretary’s announcement last month that the UK would increase training to help Nigeria tackle the extremist group.
More on the deployment can be seen here.
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