In today’s defence-related news there’s coverage that the UK will deploy soldiers from the Light Dragoons to a NATO mission in Poland and reports from Al Asad in Iraq.
Poland
There is coverage in The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and The Sun of the announcement trailed ahead of today’s UK/Poland Summit that the UK will deploy 150 soldiers to Poland in April 2017 to provide reassurance against Russian aggression. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was interviewed on the BBC, ITV and Sky and reaffirmed support to Poland and NATO, also calling for European countries to increase their defence spending to meet the 2% NATO target. The Daily Telegraph carries an Op Ed from the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, reaffirming Poland’s commitment to working with the UK on defence and security, including ensuring the resilience of the Middle East and North Africa and the security of Eastern Europe.
Iraq
Following a visit to the UK training team at Al Asad Airbase in Anbar Province for media organised by the MOD, The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Sun and Daily Mail all feature an interview with Major General Rupert Jones, the Deputy Commander of the US led Coalition, who gave an update on progress against Daesh and the key role that the UK is playing in training Iraqi security forces involved in operations to retake Mosul.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said,
Iraqi forces have Daesh on the back foot, including in Mosul. They are retaking territory, hitting its finances and striking its leadership. Our training at Al Asad, and elsewhere, is helping Iraqi forces to liberate Mosul, and UK-trained forces are contributing to this fight.
Challenger 2
The Daily Mirror claims that Britain is set to have fewer battle tanks than Serbia under plans to cut front line numbers by a third. The move to replace 56 Challenger 2s with the new Ajax fighting vehicle will leave the Army with about 170 Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
An MOD spokesperson said,
The Challenger 2 fleet is due to have a £700 million life extension project that will ensure capability until 2035. We are also investing in the transformational, multi-role AJAX armoured vehicle and the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle. The project is not fixed and could potentially include upgrades to the main gun, ammunition or armoured protection. We’re open to innovative, cost effective proposals that could improve the capability.
RFA Wave Knight
The Daily Mail reports that Prince Harry was ‘stranded’ after the Royal Navy ship he was travelling on broke down on his tour of the Caribbean. The Prince was due to leave St Vincent on Saturday evening, but the ship RFA Wave Knight would not start.
A Royal Navy spokesman said,
RFA Wave Knight experienced a minor technical issue. This has not caused delay to the royal tour, or affected the operational commitments of the ship.
Image of the day
Crown Copyright.
Maj Gen Rupert Jones is the Deputy Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the US led coalition to defeat Daesh. He was visiting the 250 UK troops based at the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, part of around 1,350 personnel committed to Operation Shader, the UK contribution to defeating Daesh.