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23 Feb 24. Army leaders ‘failed in basic duty’ over death squad claims, Johnny Mercer tells Afghanistan inquiry.
Veterans minister also revealed his anger at being kept in dark and allowed to make incorrect statements to Commons.
Senior figures in the Army ‘failed in their basic duty’ to find out the truth regarding allegations of murder by the SAS, Johnny Mercer has told the Afghanistan inquiry.
The veterans minister told the inquiry on Wednesday senior people within the Ministry of Defence had failed to establish if a special forces unit, known as UKSF1, had a policy of executing males of “fighting age” who posed no threat in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.
Afghan families have accused UK special forces of conducting a “campaign of murder” against civilians, while senior officers and personnel at the MoD “sought to prevent adequate investigation”.
Asked by Oliver Glasgow KC, the counsel to the inquiry, if he was angry that he had not been told “the true picture” about the three-year period in question, Mr Mercer said he was “angry with senior leaders within the Ministry of Defence and within UKSF”.
Time under Wallace was ‘very difficult’
Mr Mercer also told the inquiry he was angry with Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, after discovering UK special forces officers knew about the Afghanistan death squad allegations before he described them as untrue in the House of Commons in Jan 2020. He added that he had been allowed to make statements to the Commons when other people knew them to be “incorrect”.
He described his time working under Mr Wallace as “very difficult”, adding: “I did not enjoy it and it placed me in a number of very, very uncomfortable positions.”
Two Royal Military Police investigations, codenamed Operation Northmoor and Operation Cestro, are to be scrutinised by the inquiry.
No charges were brought under Operation Northmoor – a £10 million investigation which was set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces, including those of children.
Operation Cestro saw three soldiers referred to the Service Prosecuting Authority, but none of them was prosecuted. The inquiry continues. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
22 Feb 24. Lithuania plans to establish permanent infrastructure for US troops. Lithuania’s Defence Minister pledged to support Nato rotational units as the military alliance looks to consolidate its eastern flank on a permanent basis. In discussion with the newly appointed US Ambassador to Lithuania, Kara McDonald, on 21 February, 2024, the Baltic nation’s Minister of National Defence, Arvydas Anušauskas, pledged to build permanent infrastructure to support rotational units of US troops.
“You have come in times of tension and multiple challenges in our region,” Anušauskas reflected as he welcomed the Ambassador. “We look forward to being able to better meet the military readiness needs of the Lithuanian and allied troops – we will provide better conditions and new infrastructure to the US troops.”
In a statement after their meeting, McDonald said “we… appreciate the host nation support hospitality of Lithuania to the rotational US Army units deployed in the Pabradė Training Area.”
Pabradė is located in south-east Lithuania. In mid-November 2023, the US Task Force Marne Soldiers and their Lithuanian allies honed their combat skills during a force-on-force training exercise at Pabrade Training Area. US Soldiers conducted infantry and armoured offensive operations against their Lithuanian partners in a series of training exercises across rural and urban environments to test their combat readiness. Lithuanians, in turn, prepared a defence to counter the American attacks.
Nato looks to bolster its presence in the east
Nato has begun to look toward its tumultuous eastern flank, where the Baltic states are eagerly expanding their defence capabilities and accepting greater numbers of allied troops inside its territory, more than ever before, in anticipation of Russian territory-grabbing.
This growing fixation on Eastern Europe was best captured by Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, agreeing to establish a military logistical corridor across their respective territories as a way of seamlessly transporting personnel and materiel eastward, overcoming any potential legal, logistical obstacles come what may.
Lithuania has also reciprocated with its own plans for infrastructure expansion, having already established facilities to accommodate new platforms from the US, such as their new Black Hawks and Europe’s Boxer infantry fighting vehicles – the largest repair site in the Baltic region spanning 4,500 square miles.
Just as the country has begun to accommodate German troops in the past year, it will do so for US units too. Previously, in a bilateral commitment to Lithuania, the German Government said it would permanently station 4,000 troops in the country.
In November 2023, the Lithuanian Government announced the establishment of its new Upper Neris Terrace facility, an administrative, residential, training and logistical supply site providing capacity to host 3,000 troops: 1,000 from the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade – comprising artillery and logistical support battalions – as well as 2,000 personnel from Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group (EFPBG).
Germany, which leads the EFPBG, already has 1,500 soldiers stationed in the country. There are also 50 German soldiers permanently stationed in the Forward Command Element of the German Brigade for Lithuania.
US-Lithuania defence co-operation
“We welcome Lithuania’s investment in [its] Armed Forces modernisation and the significant assistance to Ukraine,” McDonald added.
Lithuania signed contracts on acquisition of the HIMARS artillery systems and the AMRAAM missile acquisitions from the US last year, that comes after the earlier agreements on 500 units of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles JLTVs, four Black Hawk helicopters, and Switchblade drones.
Lithuania has also been purchasing the Javelin anti-tank missile systems and various communications equipment from the US for many years.
Rotational US battalions have been maintaining an uninterrupted presence in Lithuania since 2019. The current units serving in Pabradė are the Hounds Battalion (3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment (3-67) and the Battle Kings Battalion (1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery (1-9)). (Source: army-technology.com)
21 Feb 24. UK nuclear deterrent remains effective, says defence minister, after test ‘anomaly.’ British defence minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday there were no implications for Britain’s ability to fire nuclear weapons from an “anomaly” during the test of its nuclear missile system last month.
“An anomaly did occur, but it was event specific and there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpiles,” Shapps said in a written statement to parliament.
“Nor are there any implications for our ability to fire our nuclear weapons, should the circumstances arise in which we need to do so … the government has absolute confidence that the UK’s deterrent remains effective, dependable, and formidable.” (Source: Reuters)
21 Feb 24. Estonia: Sabotage-linked arrests underscore ongoing threat of Russian destabilisation campaigns. On 20 February, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reported that the security services detained ten individuals between December 2023 and February this year suspected of sabotage and inciting fear on behalf of Russian special services. According to State Prosecutor Triinu Olev, the suspects include Russian nationals and dual Russian-Estonian citizens. They were allegedly involved in property damage, including defacing Soviet-era monuments, as well as an attack on Interior Minister Lauri Läänemetsa’s car in December 2023. Social media was reportedly the main source of recruitment. We assess that Estonia will almost certainly remain a high-priority target for Russian influence and/or sabotage operations, as the country has a large ethnic Russian minority population. The wider Baltic and Western Balkan regions will also remain key targets during Russian-backed influence operations. However, the plethora of upcoming European elections in 2024 will also provide increased opportunities for Russian state-backed entities to push mis- and disinformation campaigns in central and Western Europe. (Source: Sibylline)
21 Feb 24. The EU has agreed a new package of sanctions against Russia that for the first time targets Chinese and Indian companies accused of supporting Moscow’s war effort. The measures, which will be the 13th package of sanctions imposed by Brussels in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, target close to 200 individuals and entities but stop short of any sweeping economic measures targeting crucial industrial sectors. “We must keep degrading [Vladimir] Putin’s war machine . . . [and] keep the pressure high on the Kremlin,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in response to the sanctions agreement on Wednesday, adding that the measures also aim to target “Russia’s access to drones”. EU officials are also discussing a further package of sanctions in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison last week. The UK imposed sanctions on six managers of the prison colony where Navalny died. The inclusion of Chinese and Indian companies comes as the EU and its G7 partners attempt to crack down on Russia’s use of third countries and transit routes to evade existing sanctions designed to hamper its war economy. Brussels had abandoned plans to sanction mainland Chinese companies under pressure from member states including Germany that were fearful of antagonising Beijing. But Russia’s continued ability to produce large numbers of drones, missiles, tanks and other weapons despite extensive western trade bans has put pressure on G7 capitals to step up their anti-evasion efforts. The sanctions will target three companies in mainland China and one in India, alongside businesses in Sri Lanka, Turkey, Thailand, Serbia and Kazakhstan, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. The targeted businesses will be hit by trade restrictions after being identified as helping to supply equipment, particularly electronics and microchips, used by Russia to manufacture weapons or other equipment used in its war against Ukraine. “It is also appropriate to include on that list certain other entities in third countries that indirectly support Russia’s military and industrial complex . . . by trading in such components, the sanctions proposal said. The agreement by EU ambassadors on Wednesday will allow the measures to be formally approved ahead of the two-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion on February 24. Recommended Alexander Gabuev Nato has no choice but to strengthen its bulwarks against Putin The names of the individuals and entities will be published when the sanctions package appears in the EU’s legal journal. The new package will raise the total number of individuals and entities sanctioned by the EU in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine to about 2,000. The agreement was reached after Hungary last week dropped its opposition to the package. (Source: FT.com)
21 Feb 24. Nato European allies reach 2% GDP defence target for first time in 2024. Days after former President Trump encouraged Russia to attack Nato allies who do not spend 2% of GDP on defence, Nato announced that European allies had collectively met this target for the first time.
The year 2024 will be the first time that European Nato Allies spend 2% of their combined GDP on defence expenditure, according to Nato’s latest figures, released on 15 January, 2024.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the news in advance of the meeting of Defence Ministers, remarking on the “unprecedented rise”. The advance in spending still to come builds on the 11% increase in defence spending across Europe and Canada across 2023, a year when 18 individual countries spent in excess of 2% of their GDP on defence projects.
Defence expenditure has been growing anually since the original commitment to a 2% target was agreed in 2014, but until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 this increase had hovered around a $10bn (€9.3bn) per year increase.
2024 is set to mark the second successive year with an increase in spending on defence of more than $30bn by European countries, going from $313bn in 2022, to $347bn in 2023, to $380bn in 2024.
“In 2024, NATO Allies in Europe will invest a combined total of 380bn US dollars in defence. For the first time, this amounts to 2% of their combined GDP,” said Mr Stoltenberg in remarks on 15 February.
“We are making real progress: European Allies are spending more,” added Stoltenberg. “However, some Allies still have a ways to go. Because we agreed at the Vilnius Summit that all Allies should invest 2%, and that 2% is a minimum.”
In the two years since Russian troops crossed the border and headed towards Kyiv, countries around the world have set record defence budgets.
In the indo-pacific region, many of these increases can be seen as a response to increased tensions over territorial disputes with China.
The increase in defence spending by European Nato Allies is instead viewed as a direct response to aggression by Russia against Ukraine and its full scale invasion of the country beginning in February 2022.
Of countries in Europe that increased their defence spending most profoundly in 2023, Poland ranks highest, with a single year increase in 2023 of $12.5bn, up to $29.1bn, from $16.6bn in 2022.
Germany follows Poland, with an increase in its defence spending of $7.3bn in 2023, up to $68bn, from $60.8bn in 2022.
Using current prices and exchange rates, only two countries saw a drop in their defence spending in 2023, the UK and Greece. Greece lowered its defence spending by $1.4bn, and the UK lowered its spending by $889m.
However, as a percentage of GDP, both countries spent above 2% on defence spending on defence expenditure, with the UK spending 2.07%, and Greece spending 3.01%, based on 2015 prices.
The spending announcement from Nato followed five days after a campaign rally for former US President Donald Trump, on 10 February, where the leading Republican primary candidate caused uproar with statements about a potential withdrawal of US support for the alliance under a second Trump administration.
Trump stated that Nato allied countries that failed to meet their 2% GDP defence expenditure would not receive support from the United States under the collective defence agreement in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that underpins the Nato alliance.
He went on to say that as President of the United States, in respect to any country that did not “pay its bills”, he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want.”
These remarks were widely criticised as being unhelpful, as the overall deterrent effect of Article 5 against aggression rests in maintaining the belief among Nato’s potential adversaries, that an attack against one Nato Ally would be treated as an attack against all Nato Allied countries.
Outside of Nato, the US has many bilateral and multilateral security agreements with partners across the world, and observers have questioned if, in every case, the United States would manifest the political will to adhere to its obligations. The extension of the US ‘nuclear umbrella’ is a key example, with doubts surrounding the will to enter nuclear war following a first strike against a partner country.
However, to posture in a way that suggests a security alliance and then to fail in the enactment of such duties mandated by the security treaty would at least provide a deterrent against aggression, up to the point at which it is tested. To publicly suggest that the United States would not, under a Trump presidency, support its Nato Allies limits the effectiveness of a deterrent posture for all member nations.
Arguments that Trump’s demands for Allied nations increase defence spending during his time in office have been successful are not supported in an observation of spending patterns, with the largest increases in total defence spending by European Nato Allies coming after his his time in office.
The only time that Nato’s Article 5 has been invoked has been in 2001, when America called on its Nato Allies following the September 11 terrorist attacks, resulting in an assertive response from allied nations.
Trump’s characterisation of the defence spending target as a “bill” is also misleading. The intention is to encourage countries to spend a specific proportion of their national income on defence programs without specifying the origin of this procurement. There is no obligation to receive foreign military sales from the United States, nor any associated debt without the provision of material.
The spending target agreed in Wales in 2014 was also mischaracterised by Tump. Put forward as an aspirational goal, Allied-countries were meant to “aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade”. In 2014, Nato Allies in Europe invested 1.47% of their collective GDP in defence, while the recently announced spending plan data indicating the group is in closer proximity towards the 2% target than in any prior year. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
21 Feb 24. The head of Britain’s biggest defence company highlighted the challenges the industry has faced in ramping up armament production in response to the war in Ukraine, saying large increases can take up to two years. BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn said “this current generation” of European policymakers “absolutely get it” in terms of the need to have a solid industrial base, but the “question is about long-term national priorities over time”. “Complacency can quickly set in, in times of peace, and it’s fair to say we’ve seen some of that,” he told the Financial Times, after BAE reported a record order backlog in the last financial year driven by new submarine contracts and demand from Ukraine. Two years on from Russia’s invasion, the conflict has turned into a test of Europe’s industrial production capacity, as governments have raced to refill national stockpiles of ammunition and explosives that were depleted to meet surging demand from Ukraine’s armed forces. BAE has increased production of 155mm artillery shells under a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence that will see it raise its production capacity eight-fold. Woodburn said BAE was making good progress on its investment plans and expected the higher output to come “on stream at the back end of this year”. One of the lessons from the conflict, however, has been that while companies can add capacity from existing footprints, “there are limits to what you can do”. “You can pretty much double your throughput by adding shifts and running your capacity flat out, but you can’t do much more than double,” he said. To do multiples of that, he added, “takes time . . . you are looking at two-year lead times”. Governments, he said, also needed to consider the time it takes to restart halted production lines, which could take “two to three years”. Having “warm lines is very important, which then means all governments have to think carefully around sovereign capabilities at times of real pressure in terms of your strategy — what can you produce nationally versus what can you import from elsewhere”. BAE, which builds everything from Eurofighter Typhoon jets to nuclear submarines and combat vehicles as well as making ammunition for the British military, on Wednesday reported higher sales and earnings for the last financial year. Sales to the end of December 2023 were up 9 per cent to £25.3bn while underlying earnings before interest and tax also increased 9 per cent to £2.68bn. The company’s order backlog reached a record level of £69.8bn, driven by an order intake of £37.7bn following a number of contract awards, including for Britain’s next generation of nuclear submarines as well as combat vehicles. The company is forecasting sales for the coming year to increase by up to 12 per cent and underlying earnings to rise up by to 13 per cent. Woodburn said BAE may receive new orders for Typhoon jets, combat vehicles and munitions this year. (Source: FT.com)
21 Feb 24. Industry and EU leaders have poured cold water on Brussels’ ambition to play a more direct role in supporting the European arms industry, questioning the benefits of more intervention and the means to pay for it. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who seeks a second term this year, has recently promoted the idea of using the bloc’s funding to subsidise defence production and to guarantee purchases of weapons — as well as appointing a dedicated commissioner to oversee the new strategy. But executives and top officials have questioned whether the way forward is to empower the commission, as that strategy risks duplicating existing structures and diverting money to defence companies that could be funded directly by capitals. Armin Papperger, chief executive of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, said he was sceptical Brussels can add much value to the rearmament push given its slow pace of decision making. “We have discussed a lot of things for more than two years. But nobody really took action,” he told the Financial Times. “A European initiative needs money. If you don’t have the money, you can’t be a co-ordinator.” He warned against labelling efforts as being spearheaded by Brussels when Berlin and other capitals were footing the bill. “If different [national] governments provide budgets, like Germany and the Netherlands, Denmark or whoever, because Germany is coordinating, then it’s not Brussels’ co-ordination, it’s German co-ordination,” Papperger said. The large amount of weapons provided by European nations to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country almost two years ago has severely depleted stockpiles and exposed the incapacity of local arms manufacturers to meet replacement demand. But some leaders have raised issues with the EU stepping in to fund the arms industry as scarce funding would need to be redirected from other policy areas. Member states earlier this month agreed to contribute a fresh €1.5bn to a defence fund, partly by cutting spending on health and research. But the cost of guaranteeing purchases for new defence factories could run to many multiples of that. “This means significantly investing more money in defence,” said Alexander de Croo, Belgium’s prime minister. “So we also need to have a tough discussion on what are the priorities [for the budget]. If defence moves up on the priority list, other things need to move down.” There are also concerns over how a larger role for the EU in defence production co-ordination would dovetail with Nato’s long-standing role in trying to encourage joint projects and co-operation between European allies to increase interoperability of weapons and efficiency. Asked about von der Leyen’s proposal, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said: “What is not good is duplication or competition . . . I welcome efforts that are complementary but, of course, Nato is the cornerstone for questions of defence.” The EU, he added, “cannot substitute or be an alternative to Nato”. Von der Leyen’s proposed “defence commissioner” has also sparked questions about duplication with the existing European Defence Agency (EDA) — which coordinates weapons purchases among member states and joint industry projects. “The EU defence agency already exists, we do not have to wait one year to create a new structure,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last week in response to the von der Leyen proposal. “So do not invent the wheel every day.” “Member states who are really willing to buy more ammunition for Ukraine have a way of doing that in a co-operative manner, in a joint procurement manner, everybody talks about it, it already exists,” said Borrell, referring to the EDA. A spokesperson for the German government said there were “lots of . . . questions” about the proposed new commissioner. “It’s something that is being viewed with some scepticism, at least initially,” the spokesperson said. “You have to think what purpose such a commissioner role would have. Not just create the post, but also a job description.” Event details and information Moral Money Summit. (Source: FT.com)
21 Feb 24. A British nuclear missile test failed after the Trident weapon crashed into the sea near to the submarine that fired it, in another embarrassing flop after the UK’s last trial launch also failed eight years ago. The Ministry of Defence confirmed on Tuesday that “an anomaly” occurred during the latest test firing of a Trident 2 ballistic missile, which took place on January 30 off the coast of Florida. It said Britain’s nuclear deterrent remained “safe, secure and effective”. “As a matter of national security, we cannot provide further information on this,” added the defence ministry. “However we are confident that the anomaly was event specific, and therefore there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpile.” Adding to the embarrassment, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key and defence secretary Grant Shapps were onboard HMS Vanguard to witness the test launch in January. The crew on the submarine had just performed their drills and the Trident 2 missile, which was armed with dummy warheads, was propelled into the air with compressed gas in the launch tubes, according to The Sun newspaper, which first reported the story. But the missile’s first-stage boosters did not ignite and the weapon crashed into the sea nearby. The Sun reported that it was understood that had the firing taken place on a real mission rather than under test conditions, it would have been successful. Ministers are expected to make a statement about what happened to the House of Commons on Wednesday. Despite the failed Trident launch, the defence ministry said it retained “absolute confidence” in the UK’s nuclear deterrent. British officials said the Trident missile system was “one of the most reliable weapons system in the world” and had successfully completed 190 tests. The UK’s last successful launch of a Trident missile took place in 2012. The 2016 Trident test failure was reportedly due to a problem with the “data acquisition system” that forced the missile’s controllers to divert the weapon into the ocean as a safety precaution. The latest failed test launch comes after Shapps recently described the UK as being in a “prewar” phase. Yet after decades of budget cuts, the readiness of Britain’s armed forces is increasingly coming into question, most recently by the Commons defence committee. In a recent report, it said the UK armed forces were overstretched and in a peer-to-peer conflict would exhaust their capabilities in a “couple of months”. In another recent mishap, one of the UK’s two state-of-the-art aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was kept back from participating in the largest Nato military exercise since the cold war due to a malfunction with one of its propeller shafts. It was replaced by HMS Prince of Wales. HMS Vanguard is one of the four nuclear-powered submarines used by the UK to silently patrol the world’s oceans and maintain the country’s continuous nuclear deterrent. (Source: FT.com)
19 Feb 24. UK to restart nuclear submarine reactor dismantling this year.
A new nuclear submarine reactor dismantling facility will enable decommissioned nuclear submarines to be disposed of safely.
The UK’s new military naval reactor dismantling facility, situated inside HMNB Devonport, is set to begin operations at some point this year, in a significant development of the country’s plan to scrap dozens of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines that were once in service with the Royal Navy.
Located on 14 Dock, part of UK defence prime Babcock’s own Royal Dockyard – a private industrial enclave inside HMNB Devonport – the new reactor dismantling facility will begin work soon, according to Babcock officials, followed several years of development.
The site is a key part of the Submarine Dismantling Project, which is managed by the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) and responsible for the disposal of 27 nuclear submarines; 22 of which are decommissioned and have left service, while five currently continue to be operated by the Royal Navy.
Following two public consultations, the UK Ministry of Defence selected a three-stage approach to dismantling, having also engaged with Nato partners, likely to gather information on processes and recycling practices.
In Nato, the US and France are the only two other operators of nuclear-powered submarines, although countries such as Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Norway, among others, utilise conventionally powered diesel-electric submarines.
In total, seven of the submarines intended to be recycled in Rosyth, with the remaining 20 in Devonport.
UK spends £500m storing decommissioned nuclear submarines
Following a hiatus from the early-2000s, the UK will once again be able to dispose of the remaining reactors still inside decommissioned nuclear submarines, that have been powered down but still require constant observation and cooling to ensure they remain in a safe state.
Babcock expects that one decommissioned nuclear submarine will be able to be dismantled per year, although once nuclear contaminated material had been removed at the 14 Dock facility, the remaining hull or casing of the submarine could be scrapped outside of the Royal Dockyard.
In 2023 the UK’s planned dismantling of decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines in service got underway as the former HMS Swiftsure was dry-docked at Babcock’s shipyard in Rosyth, Scotland, to begin preparations for final disposal.
According to the UK’s SDA, detailing the development in a post on social media, HMS Swiftsure was to be the first nuclear powered submarine to be fully dismantled at the end of 2026, and done so in a way that has “not been attempted by any other nation”.
Around 90% of components, including steel, can be reused for recycling in the process, which will all be undertaken at the Rosyth site. Commissioned into service in 1972, HMS Swiftsure was the lead boat in the Swiftsure-class nuclear-powered submarines (SSN) and operated until its decommissioning in 1992.
The outcome of the work being undertaken to dismantle HMS Swiftsure will in turn provide a better understanding in how to expand the process to HMNB Devonport. According to a 2019 investigation by the UK’s National Audit Office into submarine defuelling and dismantling, the MoD had spent an estimated £500m ($629m) since 1980 on storing and maintaining its retired nuclear submarines.
The UK currently has five of the latest Astute-class SSNs in service or commissioned (Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, and Anson), along with a single remaining Trafalgar-class SSN, HMS Triumph. A further two boats are under construction (Agamemnon and Agincourt), with each boat costing between £1.3-1.6bn and expected to serve for at least 25 years with the Royal Navy.
In addition, the RN operates four Vanguard-class SSBNs (Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant, Vengeance), which will be replaced by the incoming Dreadnought-class submarines, with the first-in-class currently in manufacture at the BAE Systems yard in Barrow-in-Furness, UK.
The UK has also begun the process to replace the Astute class with the planned AUKUS SSN being developed for use by the Royal Navy and Australia. The class is effectively an evolution of the UK’s SSNR (Submersible Ship Nuclear Replacement) concept originally intended as the Astute-class replacement.
The AUKUS SSN is likely to feature the under-development Pressurised Water Reactor 3 (PWR3) that will be installed on the Dreadnought-class SSBNs and feature a vertical launch system from which to fire surface and land attack munitions. (Source: naval-technology.com)
19 Feb 24. Putin’s shadow looms large over Lithuania’s defence industry.
As guardian over Nato’s ‘Achilles Heel’ and a staunch Ukraine supporter, Lithuania fears it is next in Russia’s line of fire.
Fear of Russian invasion occupies Lithuania’s national psyche like little else.
435km separate the capital of Vilnius and the city of Smolensk on Russia’s western border, while Lithuania is hemmed in by the Russian exclave Kaliningrad to the west and ally Belarus to the south.
In the two years since the first Russian missiles hit Kyiv on 24 February 2022, and with the number of casualties having surpassed 500,000, Lithuanians have waited with bated breath for Putin to set his expansionist sights on Vilnius.
It is not difficult to see why Lithuanians are fearful – nor why Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania’s defence ministries unveiled a joint plan to line Russian and Belarussian borders with anti-mobility defensive installations last month.
“A lot of analysts say the next step [of Russian invasion] would be the Baltics,” says Major Donatas Palavenis, a Lithuanian Armed Forces officer and researcher at the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology. “If you look at Vladmir Putin’s statements, this is very obviously where his next target is.”
Lithuanian fears have not eased despite Putin’s assertion that Russia has “no interest” in Poland or the Baltics in his recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
“The total package of Lithuanian support to Ukraine amounts to more than €1bn ($1.08bn), half of which is military support,” Greta Monika Tučkutė, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister for Defence, tells Army Technology. “This is more than 1.2% of our GDP.”
Vilnius is acutely aware that the Kremlin will not readily forgive such steadfast support for Ukraine. But of greater concern is the significant geopolitical leverage Russia gains by occupying Lithuania.
Along Lithuania’s southwestern border lies the Suwałki Gap, a 100km corridor stretching between Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Kaliningrad.
If secured, the Suwałki Gap could be used to bolster Russia’s military presence, adding to previous deployments of hypersonic missile-carrying warplanes at the Chkalovsk air base in Kaliningrad.
The Suwałki Gap also offers Putin direct land access to Kaliningrad, Russia’s only ice-free Baltic port and closest point to western Europe, via northeastern Belarus. (Source: Google/army-technology.com)
19 Feb 24. Shirley Cooper OBE has been appointed as the new Crown Representative for small businesses. An experienced entrepreneur has taken up a key role to promote the needs of small businesses to government and ensure suppliers seize the benefits of the Procurement Act.
Shirley Cooper OBE, former chair and president of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, met Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart for the first time as Crown Representative for small businesses earlier this month.
They discussed priorities for the next 12 months, with a focus on the implementation of the Procurement Act in October, which will see further benefits for start-ups and small businesses wishing to work with the government. These include simpler processes, greater transparency and access to opportunities, as well as strengthened payment terms which will maximise value for money and innovation in the government market.
Ms Cooper will lead on the overall relationship between the government and small businesses, making sure the government gets best value from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that they in turn have the best possible opportunity to work with the government.
Shirley Cooper OBE said: “I am delighted to take up this role and build on the work of my predecessor, Martin Traynor. I look forward to working with colleagues across Government to make sure small businesses can seize the fantastic opportunities available to them in the public procurement process.”
She will build on the work of Martin Traynor OBE, who is retiring after a five-year tenure in the post which culminated in the reforms of the Procurement Act 2023.
Ms Cooper will also support the commitment to, and delivery of, increasing central government spend on SMEs. This spend has risen every year since 2016/17, and stood at a record £21.0bn worth of work in 2021/2022. The Government spends around £300bn every year on procurement.
She will be an advocate for small businesses, promoting their agenda both in government and externally.
Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart said: “I am delighted to welcome Shirley to this role. Small businesses are vital to our economy and I look forward to working with her to make sure our procurement regime is fully accessible to them. Shirley’s appointment comes at a critical time for small businesses with reforms of the Procurement Act, which will dismantle barriers to them competing for government contracts, coming into force later this year.”
In 2011, she co-founded the award-winning start-up law firm Tapestry. Previously, she was global procurement director of Impellam and board adviser to Lorien Resourcing, both recruiting specialists. She was also procurement and supply chain director of Computacenter, and executive director of WEConnect International – both technology and services providers.
Ms Cooper has extensive experience of first-class financial, commercial and operational leadership across both the private and public sector. Earlier in her career, she held senior positions at Leeds Hospitals and Tetley’s.
Ms Cooper also supports many charities and non-profit organisations that drive economic development and have a social impact. She was a trustee and treasurer at UN Women UK for nine years, chair of the International Women’s Forum, vice chair of the Civil Society Women’s UK Alliance and co-founder and chair of the Blueprint Club for women who hold senior procurement roles.
The business leader was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours for services to women’s empowerment, equality and procurement.
Ms Cooper will play a key role in implementing the Procurement Act. She will work with the Cabinet Office’s Small Business Advisory Panel, departments, suppliers and trade bodies to further level the playing field for small businesses, start-ups and social enterprises and ensure they can compete for and win more government contracts. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
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