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19 Feb 21. RAAF lauds success of Exercise Cope North. Two aircraft and approximately 170 RAAF personnel are wrapping up a joint military exercise alongside the US and Japan. Australia, Japan and the United States are concluding operations at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam as part of Exercise Cope North — a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief scenario.
According to Deputy Commander of the Multinational Task Force (MNTF) Wing Commander Alan Brown, the exercise, which commenced on 3 February, has been a success, despite challenges during the initial phase.
“The MNTF headquarters had to reach operational effectiveness very fast in order to provide support and guidance to the combined team on the ground,” he said.
“The headquarters staff and the response force on the ground melded really well and very quickly.”
The scenario was based on a natural disaster occurring on a fictitious island in the Indo-Pacific region, and focused on establishing expeditionary airfields for the delivery of humanitarian relief.
WGCDR Brown noted the impact of weather events on the livelihoods of civilians in the tropics.
“The humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission was to support a whole-of-government response to a small island nation north of Australia, which had been severely impacted by a typhoon,” he added.
“My role was to provide higher headquarters guidance to the trilateral forces deploying forward in support of the mission.”
WGCDR Brown, the Commanding Officer of No. 383 Squadron, also credited the leadership of the Koku-Jieitai team, which led the exercise for the first time.
“This is the first time I’ve worked with the Koku-Jieitai and we have worked really well together to make the headquarters operate effectively,” he said.
“We were all very keen to understand and learn how a contingency response headquarters operates and what the priorities are to successfully achieve a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission.”
Commander of the MNTF Colonel Shinobu Yamamoto said Cope North fostered collaboration between the nations.
“This year has been difficult because of COVID-19, however the MNTF team has worked hard to integrate and form a cohesive team even under the COVID restrictions,” he said.
“Commanding the MNTF during the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief phase of the exercise has been a wonderful experience and I have enjoyed working in this trilateral partnership.” (Source: Defence Connect)
16 Feb 21. Babcock celebrates launch of training programme for London’s Police recruits. Together with the Metropolitan Police Service (Met Police), Babcock and its university partners have welcomed the first cohort of 196 new officer recruits who are embarking on the Met Police’s new Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) training programmes, which began on 25 January 2021.
Since being selected as one of the Met Police’s learning partners in 2019, Babcock, working with a consortium of four London based universities – Anglia Ruskin University, Brunel University London, University of East London and University of West London – has worked with the Met Police to develop its new recruit programmes.
These new training programmes are based on the National Police Curriculum, providing new recruits with the knowledge and skills police officers demonstrate every day. The programmes are independently accredited, more formally recognising policing as a profession, and providing the opportunity to ‘earn while you learn’.
The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) will award recruits a BSc (hons) degree in Professional Policing Practice upon successfully completing all elements of the programme. The Degree-Holders Entry Programme (DHEP), which also includes a detective route, is for those already holding a degree, and will see them gain a Graduate Diploma in Policing on completion.
John Davies, Babcock’s CEO Land said, “The successful mobilisation of this new training programme is a result of the excellent collaboration between the Met, our university partners and Babcock. We are proud of the role we play in preparing the next generation of police officers.”
16 Feb 21. China unveils flight simulator for AG600 amphibious aircraft. State-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has released footage showing that the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s (AVIC’s) Flight Automatic Control Research Institute (FACRI) in Xi’an has developed a flight simulator to train pilots of the indigenous AG600 amphibious aircraft.
In a news report posted online in mid-February CCTV 13 showed footage of the simulator being tested at an undisclosed location but provided no further details.
Meanwhile, AVIC said in a separate announcement that it is planning to complete construction of a third prototype aircraft by the end of this year.
The latest developments come after the AG600, which is still under development, conducted its first take off from the sea on 26 July 2020. The move followed the aircraft’s first waterborne take off on 20 October 2018 from a reservoir near Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen in China’s central Hubei Province and its first take off from land, which took place in December 2017 from Zhuhai in southern Guangdong Province.
In May 2018 AVIC was quoted as saying that the AG600 is expected to be available for delivery to customers by 2022. “We are endeavouring to get the airworthiness certification from the civil aviation authorities by 2021 and deliver [the aircraft] to the customers by 2022,” the aircraft’s chief designer, Huang Lingcai, said at the time without naming any countries as possible customers.
The aircraft, which has a reported range of up to 4,500 km, has the potential to carry 50 people or collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds when configured for aerial firefighting, according to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency. (Source: Jane’s)
15 Feb 21. Multinational naval exercise ‘Aman-2021’ begins in Arabian Sea. Pakistan has started the seventh iteration of the multinational naval maritime exercise, Aman-2021. Pakistan has started the seventh iteration of the multinational naval maritime exercise, Aman-2021. The drill, which started on 12 February, kicked off with an opening ceremony held in the port of Karachi of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Being held in the waters of the Arabian Sea, Aman-2021 is a non-block exercise. It will run until 16 February.
Participants from the naval forces of 45 countries are independently taking part in the ‘Aman-2021’ exercise, at the invitation of the Pakistani counterpart.
Vessels of Pakistani Navy, Russian Navy and six other countries, as well as aviation and anti-terror units, will be involved in the sea episodes development of the exercise.
A Russian military delegation, led by rear admiral Oleg Apishev, attended the opening ceremony.
Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement: “The ‘Aman-2021’ exercise, which will be held from 12 to 16 February in the Arabian Sea, is dedicated to strengthening and developing military cooperation between the countries participating in the manoeuvres in the interests of security and stability at sea, as well as sharing experience in countering the threats of maritime piracy in areas of heavy shipping and conducting search and rescue operations at sea.”
The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet assets participating in the exercise are Admiral Grigorovich frigate, Dmitry Rogachev patrol ship and the SB-739 rescue tug, a marine corps unit, a mine clearance unit and a sea-based deck helicopter. (Source: naval-technology.com)
15 Feb 21. Israeli Air Force launches ‘surprise’ format force-wide annual exercise. The Israel Air Force (IAF) has launched a ‘surprise format exercise’ to improve combat readiness in the Northern Theatre. The Israel Air Force (IAF) has launched a ‘surprise format exercise’ to improve combat readiness in the Northern Theatre.
Called Vered Hagalil (Galilee Rose), the force-wide annual exercise began on 14 February and will run until 17 February. It commenced a week ahead of the original date. The exercise is being conducted under the order of the IAF commander major general Amikam Norkin.
Head of training lieutenant colonel ‘O’ said: “The first day focused mainly on planning and preparing for a war-time scenario, while days two and three will be dedicated to around-the-clock fighting. The final day will be centred around defending Israel’s airspace.”
It will simulate combat scenarios and train the Israeli Air Force’s divisions in maintaining air supremacy, defending the country’s airspace, and missions such as attack and reconnaissance.
Furthermore, the exercise will evaluate capabilities such as planning, control, execution as well as end-to-end logistics and technological of the airforce.
O added: “One of the main aspects that differentiate between war and training, is unpredictability.
“The element of surprise is expressed in the ability to adapt plans to a changing reality. It also reflects the way in which we deal with the mental-psychological challenges of uncertainty”.
Last August, the Israeli Air Force conducted its first joint military exercise in German airspace, a move that further strengthens cooperation between the two countries. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
15 Feb 21. Israeli air force holds “surprise” combat drill along northern border. Israel’s air force began a “surprise exercise” to improve combat readiness along the country’s northern border, the military said on Monday. The military said that during the drill, will which last until Wednesday, there would be an increase of air traffic throughout the country and that explosions could be heard in northern Israel.
It said the “exercise simulates combat scenarios in the northern front, and will test all components in the (air force’s) core missions, including maintaining aerial superiority, protecting the country’s skies, as well as attacking and gathering intelligence.”
Israel says it has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against Iranian targets trying to establish a permanent military presence there, and against advanced weapons shipments to Tehran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. (Source: Reuters)
12 Feb 21. U.S.-India Exercise. In other news today, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby announced the start of an important exercise with India. The announcement was made during a Pentagon press briefing today.
Exercise Yudh Abhyas 20 kicked off in India this week. The exercise, sponsored by the U.S. Army Pacific, involves about 250 U.S. military service members and 250 Indian soldiers and is designed to enhance combined interoperability capabilities through training and cultural exchange, Kirby said.
“This exercise continues to solidify the U.S.-India major defense partnership and advances cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Five of seven treaty alliances are in the Indo-Pacific region, Kirby mentioned. He said there’s a “sharp focus” on that entire region, particularly with threats in the South China Sea. (Source: US DoD)
11 Feb 21. CAE and Pinnacle Solutions Prepare to Deliver LCS Simulators to US Navy. Today at the CAE OneWorld virtual conference and tradeshow, CAE USA and Pinnacle Solutions announced their joint venture company Xebec will be delivering the first three Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Bridge Part-Task Trainers (BPTTs) to the United States Navy.
The new LCS BPTTs recently completed factory acceptance testing at CAE’s facility in Tampa, Florida and will now be packed and shipped to the Navy’s Surface Warfare Schools Command (SWSC) in Newport, Rhode Island. The SWSC is the Navy’s “Center of Excellence” for surface warfare where training for officers and sailors who will serve on the Navy’s surface combatants is delivered.
“The Navy is focused on navigation and seamanship training and these Littoral Combat Ship simulators will greatly assist in this endeavor,” said Michael Beard, Program Manager, U.S. Navy LCS Training Systems. “The more training our officers and sailors receive ashore, the better prepared they will be at sea in real life situations.”
CAE is featuring a video demonstration of the Littoral Combat Ship bridge simulators in the Innovation Hub as part of the CAE OneWorld virtual conference and tradeshow, which began today and is free to all attendees who register at https://www.caeoneworld2021.com/. CAE OneWorld 2021 will be available online for the next month.
Included in the initial delivery to the SWSC in Newport will be two LCS BPTTs for the LCS2 Independence-variant manufactured by General Dynamics, and one LCS BPTT for the LCS1 Freedom-variant manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The three LCS BPTTs will undergo site acceptance testing once installed in Newport and are expected to be ready for training by the end of April. Xebec is under contract to deliver four additional LCS BPTTs which will be delivered to the Littoral Combat Ship training facilities located in San Diego, California and Mayport, Florida.
“The fidelity and flexibility of the Littoral Combat Ship simulators we have developed will allow the Navy to deliver most of the personnel qualification standards training in a simulation-based environment,” said Ray Duquette, President and General Manager, CAE USA. “This means when sailors get to their assigned ship they will be better prepared for the navigation and operational assignments required.”
The LCS BPTTs are being developed by Xebec, which is joint venture of CAE USA and Pinnacle Solutions established under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Mentor-Protégé program.
“We were pleased to establish the Xebec joint venture with CAE and the collaboration has resulted in a very successful Littoral Combat Ship simulator program for the Navy,” said Mike Durant, Pinnacle’s President and CEO. “We look forward to continuing deliveries of the LCS simulators to the Navy and to future pursuits with CAE through the Xebec joint venture.” (Source: ASD Network)
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