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10 Oct 17. Iraq and Syria: OP SHADER. OP SHADER activity for RAF Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft was on: 25 Sep 17, 27 to 30 Sep 17, 2 Oct 17 and 4 to 7 Oct 17 (all dates inclusive). The MoD summed-up RAF activity: “The RAF are continuing to take the fight to Daesh in Iraq and Syria.” (MoD, 10 Oct 17.)
A Ministerial reply stated that: “UK airstrikes always follow the principles of international humanitarian law: necessity, proportionality, distinction between combatants and non-combatant civilians and the prevention of unnecessary suffering.”. (Written Answers, 12 Oct 17.)
Comment: The Foreign Secretary commented (12 Oct 17) on the most recent round of UN-led Intra-Syrian talks, which took place in Geneva from 10 to 14 Jul 17. The UK’s position was that all parties were called on “to be ready for the next round of talks expected in the next few weeks”. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/37, 16 Oct 17)
12 Oct 17. Poland: Ministerial Visit. The Foreign and Defence Secretaries hosted (12 Oct 17) their Polish counterparts in London, for talks on Security and Defence Co-operation. The two Foreign Secretaries discussed areas of shared interest including European security, joint work on the Western Balkans and countering Russian influence in Eastern Europe. The Defence Secretaries discussed increasing military ties and co-operation, in particular working towards increased co-operation between the Defence industries of the two Countries.
Comment: The Ministers also discussed the Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty which the Prime Minister is due to sign at the next UK-Poland Inter-Governmental meeting in December 2017. The Treaty is also
referred to as the UK/Poland Bilateral Defence Co-operation Treaty. Some 150 UK troops are deployed to Poland as part of NATO’s ‘Enhanced Forward Presence’. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/37, 16 Oct 17)
10 Oct 17. Thales: RN Communications. Thales gave further details (10 Oct 17) of a £100m contract, to provide through-life communications support for the RN fleet, as part of the Common Support Model. The seven-year contract is to provide a unified approach to supporting Thales communications systems, including those fitted on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers.
Comment: The contract is set to secure around 40 jobs at Thales’ sites in Crawley, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Bristol. The work also involves over 40 UK companies across the associated supply chain. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/37, 16 Oct 17)
09 Oct 17. Type 26 Frigates: First of Class. A Ministerial reply (9 Oct 17) indicated that the first Type 26 frigate, HMS GLASGOW, “is expected to be structurally complete in the early 2020s.” The timescale is said to be “consistent with the engineering challenge of building the First of Class of a modern complex warship.”.
Comment: BAE Systems is bidding to build nine frigates for the Australian Navy and has submitted a Type 26 variant. Other possible markets for the Type 26 are Belgium, Canada, Finland, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Also mentioned as having possible interest in the Type 26 programme are: Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand and Turkey. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/37, 16 Oct 17)
10 Oct 17. Type 31 Frigates: Build Programme. The Defence Procurement Minister said (10 Oct 17) that pre-procurement activity with Industry, for the Type 31 frigates, has begun and will continue into early 2018 when the MoD expects to formally start the competitive process. The MoD plans to award a single design and build contract in 2019, allowing the MoD to trial and accept the first ship into service in 2023.
Comment: The Minister repeated the MoD’s maximum target cost of £250m per frigate. The Minister concluded: “…. we judge that the cap