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15 Jan 18. Iraq and Syria: OP SHADER. On 8 Jan 18 a Reaper conducted four attacks on terrorists in Eastern Syria while supporting the Syria
Democratic Forces and as Typhoons demolished a Daesh command post. On 9 Jan 18 a Reaper struck two groups of terrorists in Eastern Syria and on 10 Jan 18 a Reaper hit three terrorist targets in Eastern Syria as
Tornados destroyed an armed truck. On 11, 12 and 13 Jan 18 Reapers attacked targets in Eastern Syria while on 14 Jan 18 a Reaper eliminated a Daesh drone operator. (MoD, 15 Jan 18.)
Comment: The Minister for the Middle East met the Syrian Negotiation Commission in London on 16 Jan 18. The Minister stated that “the UK continues to play a leading role in response to the tragedy in Syria” and
pointed out that nearly £2,500m has been committed to the crisis.
(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/03, 22 Jan 18)
18 Jan 18. France: Defence Co-operation. The Prime Minister and the French President agreed a range of measures to strengthen Defence Co-operation
between their two Countries during a Summit at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (18 Jan 18). The two Countries are said to be: “…. the only European powers with the ability and political will to deploy and sustain significant military force.”. The announced measures include agreement to further French support to the UK-led enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Estonia in 2019. (MoD, 18 Jan 18.)
In a Written Statement to the House of Commons (18 Jan 18), the Defence Secretary said that the Government
intended to deploy three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Mali following French requests for additional support for
OP BARKHANE.
Comment: A number of initiatives were announced at the Summit, intended “to strengthen UK-France co-operation, building on the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties”. The deployment of the three Chinook helicopters “forms an important element of our agreement at the Sandhurst Summit to work more closely with the French to counter terrorism and instability in the Sahel….” (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/03, 22 Jan 18)
15 Jan 18. Defence Infrastructure: Carillion. In a Statement to Parliament (15 Jan 18) the Cabinet Office Minister confirmed that Carillion, the facilities management and construction company, was insolvent and was going into liquidation. The MoD advised (17 Jan 18) that “Carillion’s insolvency announcement has no direct impact on Defence or the services provided to the Armed Forces and their families.”
Comment: Carillion supports some 362 Defence establishments and maintains around 50,000 service family homes. In July 2018, as part of the Joint Venture Carillion Amey (an independent legal entity) the company won
MoD service support contracts worth £158m. The contracts form part of the MoD’s HESTIA programme consolidating soft facilities management into seven regional contracts. While the fall-out from Carillion’s insolvency may not affect MoD facilities management, the impact on construction is less clear. In March 2017 the Company was awarded a £90m contract by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to design and build a new communications facility in Cyprus. The project is due for completion in January 2019. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 18/03, 22 Jan 18)
16 Jan 18. Qatar: Security Agreement. The State of Qatar signed (16 Jan 18) a security agreement with NATO at the Alliance’s Headquarters in
Brussels. At the signing ceremony the Head of the International Military Co-operation Department for the Armed Forces of the State of Qatar and the NATO Deputy Secretary General stressed the importance of NATO’s
co-operation with Qatar. The agreement provides the framework for the protection of exchange of classified information. All four Istanbul Co-operation Initiative partner Countries