25 Oct 23. Interoperability Testing With Allies and Partners Concludes at Bold Quest 23 Denmark. The U.S. military joined allies and partners in Jutland, Denmark for Bold Quest 23 Denmark, hosted by the Danish Armed Forces. At the center of the joint exercise was interoperability of Identification Friend or Foe systems, which allow identification of friendly manned and unmanned aircraft and vessels.
The Denmark iteration followed Bold Quest 23, the Joint Staff sponsored joint and multinational demonstration and assessment in September. Bold Quest 23 Denmark operated out of the Danish Armed Forces Oksbol Barracks in southwestern Jutland, and air and maritime areas in the North Sea. Interoperability testing in Denmark was a Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control-related exercise that allowed the U.S., our allies, and partners to build trust, improve interoperability, and advance innovative and resilient capabilities – enhancing the overall effectiveness of combined force command and control.
“Ongoing collaboration with our allies and partners is essential to maintaining our military prowess,” said Charleen Laughlin, Acting Director, Joint Staff J-6. “This iteration of Bold Quest focused on testing critical joint competencies that underpin our ability to prevent friendly-fire incidents, detect potential hostile activity, and ultimately strengthen command and control. Interoperability testing and other joint exercises allow us to assess and enhance capabilities off the battlefield so that we are prepared to effectively deter adversaries and preserve our decision advantage.”
Collaboration, testing, and experimentation opportunities offered by Bold Quest enable joint operations and combat integration, and allow the U.S. to improve data exchange and information sharing in support of ongoing and future military operations. (Source: U.S. DoD)
23 Oct 23. SCORPION CYCLONE 2023 was the first major field exercise for the UK’s new 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike (1 DRS) Brigade Combat Team (BCT), reports Bob Morrison. Exercise SCORPION CYCLONE 2023, which ran through September and into October, was the UK’s 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike (1 DRS) Brigade Combat Team (BCT) element of the UK Warfighting Division’s Exercise IRON TITAN.
The sub-exercise saw the brigade deploy a force package in a fully tactical scenario, exercising the United Kingdom’s recce-strike complex for the first time in the field, and was intended to prove the brigade ‘Ready To Fight Tonight’ if called upon to do so as part of 3 UK Division. According to the Media Op Note circulated prior to us visiting the deployed headquarters of 1 DRS BCT on Salisbury Plain for a briefing last month, “a ground-breaking new method of taking the fight to the enemy” was being rolled out for the first time.
In simple terms there are usually three distinct areas to the modern battlefield, termed Deep, Close and Rear: Deep being the furthest forward of the line of battle, nearest to the enemy’s positions and in some cases beyond; Close being where the main body of a fighting division sits, toe-to-toe with its adversary; and Rear being the ground behind the fighting forces. In a conventional scenario a fighting division would send forward its reconnaissance units to gauge the locations and strength of the enemy but, being comparatively lightly armoured for mobility and only lightly armed for self-defence, these recce units would normally not directly engage enemy forces as that was previously deemed the role of the main battlegroups operating in the Close area.
In a first for the British Army, the new Deep Recce Strike concept combines Reconnaissance effects with Fires / Artillery assets from 3 UK Division, giving the new formation the ability to speedily strike enemy positions and infrastructure. Integral to this is the new AJAX fighting vehicle family working alongside integrated unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare and counter-fires radar. As attacking the enemy in the Deep space degrades and weakens its force before it comes into contact with the main battlegroups, under the new concept enemy targets, once identified by the recce assets, would now be directly engaged by the Brigade Combat Team’s integral long-range MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) and 155mm heavy artillery batteries.
HOW DRS FIGHTS ~ Purpose: Through the establishment of the Division’s multi-domain Surveillance & Target Acquisition Plan and the coordinated delivery of multi-domain Fires, 1st DRS BCT will FIND, UNDERSTAND and STRIKE the enemy across the Division’s depth in order to DEFEAT sufficient enemy combat power to give the Close a decisive advantage.
In essence there should no longer be any formation boundary between Sensors, Deciders and Effectors. Key advantages of the new concept are:-
- Highly agile command and control
- Ability to integrate by design and exercise mission command
- Greater tempo
- Asymmetric approach to defeat the adversary’s kill chain
The aims of SCORPION CYCLONE 2023 were: to physically demonstrate a vertical slide of DRS; to replicate candidate deployment options; and to strengthen interoperability with NATO allies (including integrating almost 200 US Army Stryker-borne recce and support personnel from 2/2CAV). Key objectives were to: practice the deployment of a DRS HQ as part of a NATO vanguard; deploy an AJAX Troop operationally; project capabilities with support from the RAF; validate secure long range communications; and integrate with key allies.
According to UK MoD, “the all-new concept delivered spectacular results earlier this year when it was trialled in the USA during the simulated wargaming exercise, WARFIGHTER 23”. If, after analysis, SCORPION CYCLONE returns the expected results it said that these “could pave the way for how the UK, US and the rest of NATO fights in any future conflict”.
¤ The primary British Army formations currently allocated to 1DRS BCT, which was stood-up on 1st July 2022, are:-
- 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards [with JACKAL]
- Household Cavalry Regiment [with AJAX]
- Royal Lancers [with WARRIOR]
- Royal Yeomanry [with JACKAL]
- 1 Royal Horse Artillery [with AS90]
- 3 Royal Horse Artillery [with MLRS]
- 4 Regiment Royal Artillery [with Light Gun]
- 5 Regiment Royal Artillery [with STA]
- 19 Regiment Royal Artillery [to receive ARCHER]
- 26 Regiment Royal Artillery [with MLRS]
- 101 Regiment Royal Artillery [with MLRS]
- 104 Regiment Royal Artillery [with MLRS]
- NRHQ Royal Artillery
- 6 Battalion REME (Source: joint-forces.com)
20 Oct 23. Major Military Exercise Strengthens UK Ties in Southeast Asia.
UK military personnel from all three services have taken part in a major joint exercise in Southeast Asia this week, strengthening ties with military partners crucial to upholding stability in the region.
Taking place 7,000 miles from the UK in Malaysia, the three-week exercise saw joint activity including combat air simulations, jungle warfare training, beach landings and coordinated naval gunfire support.
Exercise Bersama Lima, which translates as “Together Five”, highlighted the integration of the five partner nations – the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand – who form the Five Powers Defence Arrangements (FPDA).
The FPDA is a consultative military agreement to help maintain security in the region, and Exercise Bersama Lima helped strengthen strategic defence partnerships in an area of the globe which is crucial to the free movement of trade, boosting the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the UK economy.
The major multinational exercise also saw the RAF’s XI(Fighter) Squadron return to Malaysia as part of a tri-service deployment, 78 years after the Squadron’s first visit to the country in 1945, shortly after the end of the Second World War.
The Defence Command Paper refresh, published this summer, set out the Armed Forces’ contribution to the UK’s ambition to establish the broadest and most integrated presence in the Indo-Pacific of any European nation. This included developing a closer bilateral defence relationship with countries such as Malaysia.
RAF Detachment Commander, Wing Commander Mark Robertson, said: “The UK has an enduring partnership with Malaysia and Singapore, demonstrated by our support to exercises such as Bersama Lima. Maintaining security in this region is of global significance and the UK detachment have integrated seamlessly with our Australasian and Southeast Asian partners to continue the development of our shared objective.”
The exercise saw:
- RAF Typhoons conduct a range of training missions, including air combat training against Russian-designed SU30 MKM Flankers, protection of a naval taskforce, and simulated strikes of aircraft and ships with their complement of short, medium and long-range air-to-air missiles.
- A Coldstream Guards platoon undertake jungle warfare training with the Malaysian Army, including practical demonstrations of the threat posed by venomous snakes, followed by forming a joint infantry company with Malaysian, Singaporean, Australian and New Zealander units to conduct a series of missions in the dense jungle.
- Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel from 148 (Meiktila) Commando Forward Observation Battery undertaking boat insertion training and direct naval gunfire support alongside Australian and Malaysian forces. They conducted a variety of boat transfer training, man overboard drills, beach landings and night-time manoeuvres alongside partner forces, as well as coordinating naval gunfire support from five different ships.
The FPDA was established in 1971 to facilitate consultation between the partner nations in the event or threat of an armed attack. Its role has evolved and now includes an Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) for Malaysia and Singapore. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)