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03 Nov 11. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. A Private from 2nd Bn The Mercian Regiment was shot dead while on patrol in Nahr-e Saraj District on 3 Nov 11. UK deaths since the start of Operations on 7 Oct 01 thus rose to 384, of whom 340 were killed as a result of hostile action. (MoD, 3 Nov 11.)
From 1 Jan 06 to 15 Oct 11, 1,808 personnel were Wounded in Action and 5,113 were aeromedically evacuated. (DASA, 1 Nov 11.) From 1 to 15 Oct 11 the figures were six and 35.
RAF aircraft and RN Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopters conducted numerous missions across Southern Afghanistan in the week to 30 Oct 11. (RAF, 30 Oct 11.)
UK Forces remain on stand-by to assist the Afghan National Security Forces in Lashkar Gah but no requests for support have been made since the start of Transition. (Written Answer (WA), 31 Oct 11.)
Transition is a carefully planned joint endeavour and any decisions are made between the Afghan Government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). (MoD, 1 Nov 11.)
845 and 846 Naval Air Squadrons completed their move from Camp Bastion to Yeovilton. (RN, 2 Nov 11.)
Comment: On 2 Nov 11 the Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan, jointly chaired by Afghanistan and Turkey, agreed a regional process for a secure and stable Afghanistan. As part of the ‘Istanbul Process’, countries in the region reiterated the principles of non-interference and the inviolability of borders. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 11/43, 07 Nov 11)
31 Oct 11. Libya: OP ELLAMY. The NATO Secretary General visited Libya, to mark the end of OP UNIFIED PROTECTOR (and thus OP ELLAMY). (NATO, 31 Oct 11.)
At midnight (Libyan time), a NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AWACS) completed the last flight of OP UNIFIED PROTECTOR. During the Operation NATO conducted over 26,500 sorties including over 9,700 strike sorties. On 1 Nov 11 all NATO submarines, ships and aircraft reverted to national command, with NATO AWACS returning to Geilenkirchen, Germany. (NATO, 31 Oct 11.)
HMS LIVERPOOL is due to return to Portsmouth on 7 Nov 11. (MoD, 2 Nov 11.) [The MoD recorded that HMS LIVERPOOL came under attack 10 times during OP ELLAMY, but another account points out that most of the incoming ordnance “fell into the sea some distance from the ship”.]
Having completed over 8,000 hours of flying and 1,500 sorties, Tornado Force personnel started to return to RAF Marham from Gioia del Colle. (MoD, 2 Nov 11.)
The Deputy Prime Minister visited RAF Waddington (3 Nov 11) in order to welcome back to the UK members of all three Services. At OP ELLAMY’s peak, the UK had 2,300 personnel, four ships and 37 aircraft (not 32 as previously announced) committed to the Operation. Over 3,000 sorties were flown, more than 2,100 of which were ‘strike’ sorties with some 640 targets successfully engaged.
Comment: The House of Commons debated ‘UK Relations: Libya’ on 1 Nov 11 in Westminster Hall. The debate is recorded in Hansard, starting in Column 193WH and with the Ministerial summing-up beginning in
Column 211WH. The Minister concentrated on “future relations” and, in particular, “trade and commerce”.(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 11/43, 07 Nov 11)
30 Oct 11. Aerospace companies in north-west England should shift resources increasingly from defence to civil programmes, a leading industry expert has said. Martin Wright, chief executive of the Northwest Aerospace Alliance, which represents and advises the industry, said cuts to government defence spending meant the military aircraft making, which dates to the 1930s, could be in permanent decline. The north-west is the second biggest cluster of aerospace companies after the south-west. BAE Systems, one of three prime manufacturers in the region, is cutting more than 1,400 jobs, about 15 per c