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01 Jul 21. JEF defence ministers set direction for cooperation on northern European security. Defence Minister James Heappey and fellow Ministers from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) member nations have signed a new Policy Direction for the multinational force. JEF Ministers gathered in Helsinki, Finland today to set the roadmap from which the JEF’s 10 northern European nations will evolve to tackle shared threats.
The JEF is a multinational force made up of 10 like-minded, northern European nations; the UK – as Framework Nation – together with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Today ministers also signed a detailed military directive which will provide the necessary operational and logistical guidance to enable the JEF to deploy quickly and effectively in response to joint threats to global security.
Since becoming fully operational in 2018, the JEF has continued to adapt to address modern security challenges, including the increasing number that are appearing below the threshold of conflict.
This directive will provide the overarching policy framework within which the JEF can evolve as a concept and operate as a rapidly deployable force to meet the reality of these challenges.
Defence Minister James Heappey said:
In an increasingly anxious neighbourhood like-minded partners must show solidarity.
The Joint Expeditionary Force exemplifies partnership in action, as a unique coalition of capable and willing neighbours ready to operate in every domain and respond to crises throughout the region.
Today’s meeting provided a platform for fruitful discussion between ministers and officials and allowed them to explore how its members could use multiple government and military levers during a sub-threshold crisis scenario, with these sorts of threats becoming more prevalent in the JEF’s area of interest.
In a more uncertain, more competitive age, Mr Heappey reaffirmed to the JEF nations that the UK will continue to make a decisive contribution to global security, following the Defence budget being boosted by £24bn and the Defence Command Paper outlining the vision for transforming our Armed Forces.
Following maritime integration activity in the Baltic Sea in March, the JEF nations will put this adaptation into practice later this year for Ex JOINT PROTECTOR 21.
What is the JEF?
The JEF is a multinational force made up of 10 like-minded, northern European nations; the UK – as Framework Nation – together with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
The nations all share a commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law as well as a long history of operating together. We also share a determination to global and regional peace and maintaining the security of northern Europe.
The JEF is able to operate wherever in the world any two of its members choose to deploy together. Particular focus is on the High North, the North Atlantic and the Baltic regions, where the JEF can complement national as well as NATO’s deterrence posture in the region. It is designed to be as flexible as possible and has utility across a broad spectrum of operational activities, including humanitarian assistance and Defence diplomacy. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
30 Jun 21. NAO Questions UK’s Protector UAV Value For Money. The UK National Audit Office (NAO)* issues regular ‘Value For Money’ Reports at the request of Parliament, and has just issued the latest ‘Improving the Performance of Major Equipment Contracts’ on June 24,2021. It finds that the RAF’s Protector UAV (MQ-9B SkyGuardian) programme has seen the largest cost increase of any major UK defence acquisition across air, land and sea and suffered a delay of over two years.
The Protector unmanned aerial vehicle was originally intended to enter service in 2018 to coincide with retirement of the Reaper predecessor capability. The Department’s forecast date for initial operating capability (IOC) was July 2021 by the time the decision was taken to delay the programme because of budgetary pressures. 20 IOC is now expected in November 2023, requiring extension of Reaper at an additional cost of £50m.
The assessment for the Protector unmanned aerial vehicle (November 2019) stated the programme remained VFM despite a two-year delay and increased costs of £326m.
The Department has regularly experienced difficulties in effectively managing its major equipment contracts, with frequent delays and cost increases. These stem from supplier under-performance; weaknesses in departmental contract management; the Department and suppliers underestimating the scope and technical complexity; and the Department prioritising short-term solutions because of its affordability challenges. Consequently, the Department has not been able to optimise value for money from the contracts for its largest, most complex equipment programmes.
The full 68-page report is available here.
*The National Audit Office (NAO) scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of government and the civil service. (Source: UAS VISION/National Audit Office)
28 Jun 21. Secret papers detailing Royal Navy operation found at Kent bus stop. Documents relate to HMS Defender’s passage through waters off Crimea that prompted Moscow backlash. One set of documents set out two potential routes for HMS Defender to take from Ukraine to Georgia, according to the BBC. Classified Ministry of Defence documents containing details for a Royal Navy operation which sparked a dispute with Russia last week have been discovered at a bus stop in Kent. The trove of papers, which runs to almost 50 pages, were found by a member of the public last week who passed them to the BBC. The MoD has confirmed that the loss of the documents was reported at the time by an employee and that the department has now launched an investigation into the security breach. The discovery comes at a time when UK military operations are under particular scrutiny. A British destroyer, HMS Defender, passed through disputed waters off the Crimea coast on Wednesday, prompting a backlash from Moscow. Russia sent 20 aircraft and two coastguard ships to warn the UK vessel away from waters which it has claimed since its annexation of Crimea seven years ago. The Russian defence ministry said warning shots had been fired at the British destroyer and bombs dropped in its path, but the UK has denied this account. According to the BBC, the document set out two potential routes for HMS Defender to take from Ukraine to Georgia. One route was described as “a safe and professional direct transit from Odesa to Batumi”, including a short stretch through a “traffic separation scheme” close to the south-west tip of Crimea. This route, the documents said, would “provide an opportunity to engage with the Ukrainian government . . . in what the UK recognises as Ukrainian territorial waters”. The papers then set out a range of potential Russian responses, from “safe and professional” to “neither safe nor professional”. Further documents which are more sensitive, and marked “secret UK eyes only”, discuss plans for a possible UK military presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the US-led Nato operation, which is due to be completed by September. It’s vital the internal inquiry launched by the secretary of state establishes immediately how highly classified documents were taken out of the Ministry of Defence in the first place and then left in this manner. John Healey, Labour’s shadow defence secretary While the BBC said it had held back from releasing details which could endanger the security of UK and allied troops, it reported that the papers address the question of whether any British special forces will remain in Afghanistan once the withdrawal is complete. “Any UK footprint in Afghanistan that persists . . . is assessed to be vulnerable to targeting by a complex network of actors,” the document reads, while adding that “the option to withdraw completely remains.” Responding to the discovery of the documents, the MoD said it takes the security of information “extremely seriously” and that an investigation has been launched. “The employee concerned reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further,” it said. On the revelation of specific details about HMS Defender, the MoD said that it, “as the public would expect, plans carefully”. “As a matter of routine, that includes analysing all the potential factors affecting operational decisions,” it added. But John Healey, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, said the breach was “as embarrassing as it is worrying for ministers”. “It’s vital the internal inquiry launched by the secretary of state establishes immediately how highly classified documents were taken out of the Ministry of Defence in the first place and then left in this manner,” Healey said. “Ultimately Ministers must be able to confirm to the public that national security has not been undermined, that no military or security operations have been affected and that the appropriate procedures are in place to ensure nothing like this happens again.” (Source: FT.com)
28 Jun 21. On 21 June the European Defence Agency (EDA) has just initiated a project entitled INTERACT (Interoperability Standards for Unmanned Armed Forces Systems). Financed by the European Commission on a budget of $1.79m (€1.5m), its objective is to establish a future European interoperability standard for military unmanned systems. European technical knowledge and operational experience “on control, monitoring, and application of unmanned systems will be integrated for the concept definition of a future European cross-industry interoperability standard.”
This will lead to a standard that will allow unmanned platforms to be deployed either singly, as part of manned-unmanned teaming or as a swarm “independent of organisational or national provenance.”
The Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technology and Image Exploitation (IOSB) will lead 19 member organisations including those involved in research and technology, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as other larger industry groups.A project selected under the 2019 call for proposals for the EU Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) managed by EDA, was officially launched at an online kick-off meeting on 21 June 2021. (Source: Armada)
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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 Home land 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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