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20 Oct 17. Iraq and Syria: OP SHADER. The MoD published (20 Oct 17) an announcement by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Raqqa has been liberated from Daesh. Following on from the advances in Mosul, the liberation of Raqqa was described as “a devastating blow to the terrorist group”.
Comment: Following the above announcement the Defence Secretary said that “….the RAF and Coalition partners will continue to target Daesh in both Syria and Iraq, supporting local forces on the ground to decisively defeat our common enemy.”.
Since the start of the campaign, Daesh has lost over 50,000 fighters and has lost control of 75% of the territory in Iraq that they once controlled; in Syria the figure is 65%. (MoD, 17 Oct 17.) (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/38, 23 Oct 17)
13 Oct 17. East Africa Standby Force (EASF): Map Exercise. The British Defence Attaché to Ethiopia distributed certificates (13 Oct 17) to EASF military personnel who had completed a logistic map exercise at the EASF Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The training, sponsored by the UK, is one of four events arranged by the British Peace Support Team, East Africa in the lead up to the Field Training Exercise being held in Sudan in November 2017.
Comment: The other three events were held in Uganda (two) and Kenya. The 21 EASF military personnel who attended the above map exercise were from: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/38, 23 Oct 17)
168 Oct 17. Type 31e Frigate: BAE Systems and Cammell Laird. BAE Systems announced (18 Oct 17) a Teaming Agreement with Cammell Laird to bid for the manufacture of the Type 31e general purpose frigate. Under the Agreement Cammell Laird would be the prime contractor, responsible for the build and assembly of the vessels.
During a visit to the Ferguson shipyard in Glasgow (20 Oct 17) the Defence Secretary confirmed that one option being considered is to build the Type 31e in blocks at different locations with assembly at a central hub (in the same way that the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers were built).
Comment: Industry is being invited to provide plans to build an initial order of five Type 31e frigates at a maximum average price of £250m each. Other contenders include: BMT (with the Venator-110 design), Babcock (with Arrowhead) and Steller Systems (with Project Spartan). The MoD expects to formally start the competitive process in 2018. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/38, 23 Oct 17)
20 Oct 17. HMS MEDWAY: Named. HMS MEDWAY, the second of five second generation River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), was named (20 Oct 17) during a ceremony at BAE System’s site at Scotstoun, Glasgow. HMS MEDWAY’s sponsor, Lady Wendy Fallon, is the wife of the Defence Secretary. The 90-metre ship is expected to enter RN service in 2019. A Written Answer (16 Oct 17) confirmed that the MoD signed contracts worth £635m to build five Batch 2 OPV and that these cover the cost of initial spares and support as well as being “an investment in sustaining shipbuilding skills….”.
Comment: First of Class, HMS FORTH, was named on 9 Mar 97. HMS MEDWAY is due to be followed by TRENT, TAMAR and SPEY. The five new River Class are to replace the current four OPV (HMS TYNE, SEVERN, MERSEY and CLYDE) which are due to be decommissioned by 2019. The future of the four vessels has yet to be declared. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 17/38, 23 Oct 17)
17 Oct 17. F-35B Lightning II: Successful Trials. The Defence Procurement Minister announced (17 Oct 17) that the F-35B is now “cleared for take-off from HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH following successful trials using the ski-ramp design featured on the UK flagship….”. The successful trials mean that the F-35B is cleared to fly from