Defence news today includes coverage of the Defence Secretary’s visit to Ukraine, speculation on a Joint Cyber Force, and a Public Accounts Committee report on nuclear enterprise.
Ukraine visit
The Telegraph reports that the Defence Secretary has sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin by becoming the first Western minister outside of Ukraine to visit Marinka in the east of the country, to see the effects of the four-year conflict in the Donbas region.
The piece emphasises the danger of the area, calling it ‘the front line of the West’s new war with Russia’.
The Defence Secretary is quoted as saying that ‘the behaviour of the Putin-led regime is not acceptable’ before pledging to stay firm and ramp up efforts. The report says that Britain will increase military support by sending Royal Marines later this year and increasing the presence of Navy patrols in the Black Sea in 2019.
The piece follows similar reports on BBC News and BBC Radio 4 World Tonight which also noted that Britain is to step up military support for Ukraine as hostilities continue with Russia.
There is also extensive pick-up of yesterday’s Quick Reaction Alert launch to monitor an approaching Russian Blackjack aircraft in The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Sky News, and ITV News.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
Russian bombers probing UK airspace is another reminder of the very serious military challenge that Russia poses us today.
We will not hesitate to continually defend our skies from acts of aggression. Once again the rapid reactions of our RAF have demonstrated how vital our Armed Forces are in protecting Britain.
Read here for more information about the QRA launch.
Cyber Force
The Times speculates that Britain has launched a £250m ‘cyber-force’. The paper says that the team will be set up by the MOD and GCHQ to combat hostile states, terrorist groups and domestic gangs. The story was also covered on Sky News, the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Independent and The Sun.
A Government spokesperson said:
The MOD and GCHQ have a long and proud history of working together, including on the National Offensive Cyber Programme. We are both committed to continuing to invest in this area, given the real threats the UK faces from a range of hostile actors.
PAC report on nuclear enterprise
The Daily Mirror, The Scotsman, the Press & Journal, The Independent, The Herald and The Guardian all report on The Public Accounts Committee’s report on the Dreadnought and Astute submarine programmes.
An MOD spokesperson said:
Our nuclear programmes are some of the most complex engineering projects ever undertaken by the UK defence industry. They provide the most powerful submarines in our history and support thousands of British jobs.
We are committed to delivering these nuclear programmes on time and within budget and will carefully consider the recommendations in this report to ensure this remains the case.
We continue to press ahead with our dismantling projects. Work is underway to enhance our infrastructure so our programmes continue to run at the highest standards.
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