Letter by James Cartlidge MP to Defence Committee adds more info to ongoing programs:
- prototype series Challenger 3s assembled over the autumn and go to trials early 2024. Shephard reports 8 P-series
- contracts for new EPSOM modular armour and TROPHY APS both planned in-year
For GMLRS, "increased numbers" confirmed but not detailed. GMLRS Extended Range approval next summer (tests for ER ongoing, so there a slip from this summer). UK demonstrators for Area Effects and Sensors Dispenser on track. He says France MIGHT join Land Precision Strike project
Regarding Air Defence, more Sky Sabre launchers coming with decision "in summer" (DSEI announcement?), also Assessment Phase launch for:
- Integrated AD C2
- Medium & Short range AD sensors
- Mounted SHORAD (Stormer replacement)
- specialist "Counter-Small (C-RAM, loitering, UAS)
He adds that very high readiness light forces will have lethal C-UAS capability by October, and non lethal soon afterwards. Pretty sure he is referring to Project 6 and the SMASH computerised rifle sights and incoming electronic "guns" for the non lethal part.
In another letter, David Williams reports that Sea Venom IOC by year end. Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon work with France continues; passage from current Assessment phase to "Manufacture" is currently expected in 2025. Presumably it's Demonstration first & Manufacture.
Back to Air Defence, note UK has already procured 10 Giraffe 1X radars (plus one for use on the Royal Navy's experimental ship Patrick Blackett), so the Short range AD sensors is arguably already well on the move. Assume "Medium" will complement or even replace Giraffe AMB.
For the "specialist Counter-Small", assume MSI will be pushing its PALADIN, which the MOD has already field tested, in combination with the already mentioned Giraffe 1X radar. A capability currently completely missing from the roster, but critically important for the future.
If Assessment Phase for Mounted SHORAD has indeed been given the green light, the chances of hearing something (i won't say a order yet, but something substantial) at DSEI about BOXER Skyranger go up. The letter is dated 3 august even though it has only been published now.
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What is the Mobile Fires Platform meant to be? A General Support or Close Support howitzer? Some considerations on why sharing a 155/52 howitzer does not make different weapon systems equally adept at the same mission.
GS artillery is held at a high level and is employed at long range to suddenly Destroy targets that expose themselves, reinforcing lower level tasks as opportunity permits/moment requires. It is meant to switch between tasks frequently & ideally prove decisive when it steps in.
Close Support artillerymust lay down suppressive fire for as long as it takes for the infantry to get ONTO a target. It must LAST. It must supply smoke curtains. It must ideally be able to fire really close to friendly infantry to keep the enemy suppressed as long as possible.
The WESTMINSTER dilemma. Fate of HMS Westminster remains unclear without a final answer about whether her refit is going ahead or not. Her material state was found very poor once taken into basin for refit preparations and in July initial estimate for her refit was 100 million.
WESTMINSTER is one of the 8 ASW, so one of the precious ones meant to work well into the 2030s. Navy certainly not thrilled about losing her early, but 10-year budget allocation for Type 23s upkeeps is 679,7 million (6 sept 2023 written answer) and she'd eat up much of that.
HMS IRON DUKE (GP), refitted earlier, was also in poor state and her refit not only cost at least 103 million, but took an endless 49 months (May 19-Jun 23). Time here is a variable that's getting just as important as money. If Westminster returns not before 2027, is it worth it?
Under Project NJORD, new radars / new complementary sensors are going to be installed to deal with the growth of the wind turbine fields. Under the MOD Procurement Pipeline, works begin on the radar heads at Neatishead, Brizlee Wood and Buchan in Dec 2025.
Staxton Wold is planned to follow in October 2026, while Benbecula, Portreath, Saxa Vord will be touched up Oct 2027. Each is getting a 210 million package of uplifts. Solutions include replacing existing radars; adding gap fill radar and/or optical sensors, UAVs & LEO satellites
An RFI last year for new Multi Mode Radars for static sites asked industry for a 5-year outlook on new capabilities to improve target tracking both in the face of wind turbines and at very high altitudes, including ballistic missile defence and residual Space Domain Awareness.
Most people has probably heard about Operation INTERFLEX at some point: it's UK-led, allies-supported training of troops from Ukraine. Very possibly even more crucial is however op INTERLINK, aka the multi-modal, multi-nodal delivery of thousands of tons of vehicles, ammo & gear.
UK has been central all along in the enormous logistic enterprise of getting the equipment, from all over Europe, all the way to Ukraine. By march last year the UK team "merged" with a US team in the "International Donor Co-Ordination Centre", physically based in Germany.
The US have deployed a large HQ element, initially from 18th Parachute Corps, to oversee the support to Ukraine. In November 2022, a 300-strong, dedicate "Security Assistance Group - Ukraine" was formed. The International Donor Co-Ordination Centre is its J4 (logistics) branch.
In May 2022, Lockheed and Northrop figures told defence committee that UK MoD had no yet firmed up plans for F-35s beyond the 48 in Tranche 1 (over 30 of which are in use, with deliveries ending in 2025; production lot 17). That was not unexpected, though, it was still early days
A Written Answer the month before (25 april 2022) had revealed that funding had been delegated to Air Command for a second tranche of F-35s. This means money is formally "handed over" from Central MOD to the relevant Command to begin the procurement effort.
In December 2022, the US DoD committed a first billion+ USD in Long Lead Items for F-35 production lot 18, at the time comprising 118 jets, with more to be added along the way as multiple customers completed their own planning and appropriation processes.
A thread thrashing the Challenger 3 programme is doing the rounds on Twitter, and i want to offer a few counters to its claims. I do not, in any way or form, agree with anyone who tries to say "Challenger 3 is a Leopard, but worse". That's demonstrably nonsense.
Of the many questionable things said, the weirdest one is about the new armour. I don't see why we should think new EPSOM armour mix is a retrograde step in protection unless everyone in Army and DSTL have passed to the enemy. I would like to think that is not the case...
Active Protection System: Challenger 3 is getting TROPHY, like the latest Leopard. Protection-wise, Challenger 3 will be AT LEAST on par. Survivability-wise, Challenger 3 will be better, if nothing else because it does not have ammo stored in the hull without blow-off panels...