27 Mar 24. Launch of the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub.
Strategic Command unveils the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub at Southwick Park, Defence’s home for wargaming and decision support.
Strategic Command’s Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes, has formally opened the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub. The facility, developed in partnership with the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl), will be the centre for experimentation and wargaming in Defence.
The hub will help Defence respond to the evolving global threats we face. The need to constantly learn and adapt at pace has never been more important.
Attended by the Director Joint Warfare, Rear Admiral Andrew Betton, and distinguished guests from across Defence, academia, and industry, the opening ceremony reinforced the collaborative nature of the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub.
The hub’s wargaming capabilities offer a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between military doctrine, technological innovation, and academic expertise. Through simulated scenarios and tabletop exercises, personnel can explore alternative futures, assess the effectiveness of different courses of action, and anticipate emerging threats – thereby enhancing preparedness and resilience in an increasingly complex security environment.
In his opening address, Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes emphasised the facility’s roles as a centre for research, experimentation, and strategic thinking.
He said: “The hub will be the epicentre for strategic brilliance and tactical innovation, and will enable evidence-based decisions to be made at an increased pace. By fostering a culture of experimentation, collaboration, and forward thinking, it seeks to ensure that Defence organisations remain agile, adaptive, and responsive to evolving threats and opportunities. The establishment of the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub is not just the opening of a physical facility, but the start of a new era in Defence strategy and innovation. With its focus on experimentation, collaboration, and foresight, the facility embodies the culture of innovation essential for safeguarding national security in an uncertain world.”
Speaking about the launch, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Ellen, Chief of Staff Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub said: “The launch marks not the culmination, but the commencement of a journey towards shaping the future of Defence and engendering a culture of experimentation, wargaming and development across Defence. Strategic Command’s Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub is based at Southwick Park in Hampshire, and is helping to grow wargaming capability across wider Defence and industry, while delivering a variety of wargames and seminars. The hub will deliver evidence-based decisions faster.”
As the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub matures, it will progress its offering to include:
- at-readiness rapid wargaming service
- +500m² reconfigurable wargaming facility
- a repository of wargaming data, tools and scenarios
- wargaming advice, and design from an experienced team of professionals
- (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
25 Mar 24. Royal Canadian Air Force retires BAE Systems CT-155 Hawks.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has retired its fleet of BAE Systems CT-155 Hawk fighter lead-in training aircraft, according to a 4 March release by the service.
The NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) operated 17 CT-155s from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, with the first delivered in 2000.
“With the Hawk reaching the end of its service life after 20 years, Canada, along with many countries is faced with the challenges of what will be the next jet trainer in a world of fifth-generation fighter aircraft,” Colonel Adam Carlson, director of Royal Canadian Air Force training, said in an 8 March statement.
The RCAF already sends some trainees to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) programme at Sheppard AFB, Texas, which currently hosts five Canadian instructor pilots and up to six Canadian students. The number of students has been upped to seven, said the RCAF. Additional students are to be sent to the International Flying Training School at Decimomannu, Italy, the RCAF told Janes on 18 March. (Source: Janes)
26 Mar 24. India, Mozambique and Tanzania holding joint maritime exercise IMT Trilat. Two Indian naval vessels, the cadet training ship INS Tir (A86) and the Sukanya-class patrol ship INS Sujata (P56), are participating in the India Mozambique Tanzania (IMT) Tri-Lateral Exercise (Trilat) which is currently underway off the southeast African coast.
The exercise is taking place between 21 to 29 March, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between India, Mozambique, and Tanzania, the Indian Navy said.
The two Indian Navy vessels, INS Tir and INS Sujata, are representing the Indian Navy, with INS Tir arriving at Zanzibar and INS Sujata at Mozambique’s Port of Maputo. The Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarathi is also participating along with Mozambique and Tanzanian Navy ships.
INS Sujata is based at Southern Naval Command in Kochi.
The first edition of the IMT Trilat exercise was conducted in October 2022, with the participation of the frigate INS Tarkash (F50) exercising with the Tanzanian and Mozambique Navies.
The current edition of the exercise is planned in two phases.
As part of the harbour phase scheduled from 21-24 March, Naval ships Tir and Sujata engaged with the respective Navies at the ports of Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Maputo (Mozambique).
This phase began with a Planning Conference followed by joint harbour training activities like damage control, fire fighting, visit board search and seizure procedures, medical lectures, casualty evacuation and diving operations.
The sea phase of the exercise now underway until 27 March covers practical aspects of countering asymmetric threats, visit board search and seizure procedures, boat handling, manoeuvres and firing exercises.
A joint exclusive economic zone (EEZ) surveillance is included during the sea phase.
The exercise will conclude with a joint debrief scheduled at Mozambique’s Port of Nacala.
During the harbour stay, Indian Naval ships were open for visitors and crews partook in sports and cultural exchanges with host Navies.
The Indian Navy said these activities underscore India’s outreach to foster friendly relations through maritime cooperation, aligning with the maritime vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, known as “SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region” with emphasis on the Global South.
In recent months the Indian Navy has been very active off the northeast coast of Africa, and since the Israel-Hamas conflict spilling over to the maritime domain, with Houthi forces attacking shipping off Yemen in solidarity with Palestine, India has enhanced the scope of its maritime security operations.
The navy undertook proactive action during the hijacking of the Malta Flagged Bulk Carrier MV Ruen on 14 December 2023. The Indian Navy said 23 March marked the completion of 100 days of ongoing maritime security operations under the aegis of ‘Op Sankalp’. During this time, the Indian Navy responded to 18 incidents in the Indian Ocean Region.
This included a well-coordinated operation that lasted some 40 hours, culminating in the Indian Navy retaking the MV Ruen from Somali pirates, rescuing the 17 crew members on board and apprehending two dozen pirates on 16 March.
The Indian Navy has a sizeable presence in the Red Sea region, with a dozen warships deployed to provide security against pirates as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.
In January, the Indian Navy foiled two hijackings by Somali pirates within days. On 29 January, the fishing vessel Al Naeemi and her crew (19 Pakistani nationals) were rescued by the Indians from 11 Somali pirates after the Iranian-flagged fishing vessel was boarded and her crew taken hostage.
The day before, the INS Sumitra was again in action off the Somali coast when she responded to a distress message regarding the hijacking of the Iranian flagged fishing vessel Iman, which had been boarded by pirates and the crew taken as hostages.
The Indian Navy said INS Sumitra intercepted the vessel and coerced the pirates to safely release the 17 crew along with the boat. “The fishing vessel was subsequently sanitised and released for onward transit.”
On 5 January, the Indian Navy rescued another vessel from pirates – 21 crew were evacuated from the MV Lila Norfolk in the North Arabian Sea a day after it was boarded by half a dozen armed men off Somalia’s coast.
Based on the threat assessment in the region, the Indian Navy is conducting maritime security operations in three areas of operations viz Gulf of Aden and adjoining areas, Arabian Sea and off the East Coast of Somalia. Since December, the Indian Navy has deployed over 5 000 personnel at sea, over 450 ship days (with over 21 ships deployed) and reached 900 hours of flying by the maritime surveillance aircraft to address threats in the maritime domain. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
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