DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Bombers Intercepted Off Southern UK

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Russian  Bombers Intercepted Off Southern UK

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 19, 2015: The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) scrambled two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft to intercept a pair of Russian bombers that were flying close to British airspace, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 19 February.

The Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear' strategic bombers were intercepted and shadowed by the Typhoons off the coast of Cornwall, in the southwest of the United Kingdom.

While no further details were available at the time of writing, it is more than likely that the Typhoons were launched from RAF Coningsby in eastern England, which is home to the UK's southern Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) force.

It is not believed that the Russian bombers violated UK airspace.

This incident comes at the same time as large scale Russian Air Force exercises involving more than 50 combat aircraft (mainly fighter types) are taking place near St Petersburg.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 

*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated

(Read complete story on Defense-Technology News - Click on link undermentioned)

http://defensenews-updates.blogspot.ca/2015/02/dtn-news-defense-news-russian-bombers.html

DTN News - DRONE NEWS: British 'Superdrone' Robot Plane Could Fly 'Within Weeks'

DTN News - DRONE NEWS: British 'Superdrone' Robot Plane Could Fly 'Within Weeks'

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 29, 2013: A unmanned British combat drone could be deployed in the front line of the war on terror in regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, if a forthcoming test flight in Australia is successful.

The performance of the eight-ton Taranis "superdrone" will be monitored by Ministry of Defence officials, after the long-awaited flight was delayed by stringent aviation laws in the UK, and repeated technical setbacks.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Taranis is a trailblazing project that reflects the very best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage.

"Forthcoming Taranis trials will provide further information about the potential capabilities of Unmanned Combat Air Systems.

"Unmanned Aerial Vehicles play an important role in operations, helping reduce the risks faced by military personnel."

British armed forces currently operate drones only against suspected Taliban militants in Afghanistan. But advances in US military technology have sparked a global arms race for drones, and the Ministry of Defence is now committed to developing a new generation of pilotless aircraft with a range of more than 2,000 miles.

(Read complete story on Defense-Technology News - Click on link undermentioned) 

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2013/01/dtn-news-drone-news-british-superdrone.html

DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: The SDSR Is A Slash-And-Burn Campaign Plan - And It's Time The Government Admitted It

DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: The SDSR Is A Slash-And-Burn Campaign Plan - And It's Time The Government Admitted It

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 10, 2012: Four days ago I wrote, in respect of the Falkland Islands but with relevance to all British interests in the wider sense:

'The most effective deterrent of all, the true guardian of the Islands‘ security, is British clarity of vision, rational national defence policies, and consistently unambiguous and fudge-free ministerial communication. Those are issues this blog will examine during the next few months.'

Our theme for this, Rational Defence First, is linked to Effects-Based Financing (EBF) and to unwavering insistence on Integrity as the principal virtue of our national leaders. That integrity must include the willingness to admit incapacity, to acknowledge failure, and to surrender office to others better qualified in knowledge, experience and skill.

So where, amid what defence analysts recognise as a truly appalling political, economic and military situation, should we begin? If we are to concentrate on what has happened and will happen under the present coalition government (treating the dreadful years of Mr Brown’s stewardship, about which we can do little now, as merely the platform for future disasters we can still avert), then the obvious place to begin is this government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, the SDSR (or, as it is known among defence analysts, the Suicidal Disarmament and Surrender Retreat).      

Fair-minded readers may ask whether the selection of such a defenceless target can be justifed? Perhaps it seems like bullying, but effectively the target has been chosen for us by the government’s own insistence that the SDSR will not be amended (even while ministers surreptitiously seek to do just that as the true horror of their position, and of the nation’s military weakness, sinks into the government’s addled corporate brain). 

Despite its condemnation by a host of defence experts, highly qualified by experience, especially by members of the United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA), whose criticisms are countered solely by personal smears (but while the MoD employs a battalion of PR spin doctors they may as well be used, no?), and despite the mounting evidence of the SDSR’s irrelevance, the government refuses to budge from its obtuse stance.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/04/dtn-news-british-defense-news-sdsr-is.html

DTN News - U.K. DEFENSE NEWS: UK To Buy Another Boeing C-17 Military Plane

DTN News - U.K. DEFENSE NEWS: UK To Buy Another Boeing C-17 Military Plane

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 9, 2012: The aircraft, which will cost £200m, will be based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire along with the other aircraft in the fleet which are operated by 99 Squadron. The multi-million pound C-17 aircraft can fly over 4,500 nautical miles, meaning it can fly directly from Helmand Province to the UK.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:

"The C-17 has shown its worth in Afghanistan ensuring that our troops are given the fastest, most efficient passage home. It is a vastly impressive aircraft that can carry three Apache helicopters, or take a whole Chinook helicopter. This latest addition to the RAF fleet will further strengthen the vital airbridge between Britain and Afghanistan, ensuring critical deliveries are made to the front line.

“Buying equipment off-the-shelf allows us to quickly deliver equipment that our troops need on operations at best value prices for the tax payer and is a great example of the White Paper, announced last week, in action.”

As well as transporting troops and equipment, C-17s can also be converted rapidly to offer Intensive Care provision in support of the Aeromedical Airbridge. One aircraft is on standby 24-hours a day to fly seriously injured personnel back to the UK at short notice. The aircraft can also be deployed to help with humanitarian and disaster relief efforts around the world.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/02/dtn-news-uk-defense-news-uk-to-buy.html

DTN News - BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE NEWS: The Cost-Effective Delivery of An Armoured Vehicle Capability - Summary

DTN News - BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE NEWS: The Cost-Effective Delivery of An Armoured Vehicle Capability - Summary

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 11, 2011: Armoured vehicles such as tanks, reconnaissance and personnel-carrying vehicles are essential for a wide range of military tasks.

Since the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the Ministry of Defence (the Department) has attempted to acquire the vehicles it needs through a number of procurement projects.

However, none of the principal armoured vehicles it requires have yet been delivered, despite the Department spending £1.1 billion since 1998, including £321 million wasted on cancelled or suspended projects. As a result there will be gaps in capability until at least 2025, making it more difficult to undertake essential tasks such as battlefield reconnaissance.

Partly as a result of this £1.1 billion failure to yet deliver any armoured vehicles, and to meet the specific military demands of operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department was provided with a further £2.8 billion from the Treasury Reserve to buy Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) vehicles. The Department has used the faster UOR process to deliver mine-resistant vehicles for operations.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/12/dtn-news-british-ministry-of-defence.html