http://www.janes.com/article/78422/brit ... rce=Eloqua
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWes ... 59_Wildcat
http://www.witf.org/news/2018/03/avenge ... cM.twitterLetterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County has rolled out the first 36 Avengers in a program to rearm Army units in Europe with mobile air defense systems.
Workers are resurrecting up to 72 Avenger systems from Letterkenny's "boneyard" to the battlefield, according to Letterkenny spokeswoman Janet Gardner.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/ai/u-s ... n-estonia/Among the things that stand out to many who visit the training area here are the frigid temperatures.
Given this challenge, soldiers with the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion tested their mettle during a series of training events March 6-14.
Making it through these challenges required each soldier to trust the training they’d completed up to this point in their deployment to Europe. It also required them to depend on and trust their NATO allies.
Partnership
“This is one of the most tightly knit teams I’ve seen in my 26 years in the Army,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Vedros, the senior enlisted member of the 82nd BEB.
Within hours of an order to move to the Baltics, Vedros and his men packed their gear and moved more than a thousand miles from Grafenwoehr, Germany, to a location previously unknown to most of them.
“These men have done a terrific job,” said Vedros, while reminiscing of previous deployments and Army experiences. “It was like watching an 82nd Airborne Division rapid deployment. Before anybody knew it, these soldiers were coming to Estonia loaded up and ready to go, and our NATO allies knew exactly what to do when we sent them.”
Upon arrival in Estonia, U.S. troops worked with the Estonian, British, Canadian, and Danish armies to establish and solidify a mutually-beneficial training schedule. Among the first training events lined up for the Americans was cold-water immersion drills with the British Army’s 1st Royal Welsh Battalion. This was followed by other training events with the Canadian Royal 22nd Regiment and the Danish Guard Hussars Regiment.
The goal for all the training is to build upon previously-established relations between the U.S. and NATO allies, said Army Lt. Col. Jesse Curry, the 82nd BEB commander.
General Sir Mike Jackson said the Army should be increased in size to 100,000 from the current figure of around 78,000, but urged for caution as relations between Britain and Russia drop to the lowest point since the Cold War.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Sir Mike joined the army aged 19 after graduating from Birmingham University in 1967. Across his 44-year career in the army he served on three tours to Northern Ireland.
He was commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia between 1995 and 1996 and was later appointed commander of Nato’s ACE Rapid Reaction Corps, from 1997 to 2000.
He was appointed Chief of General Staff in 2003 and led the invasion of Iraq, before retiring in 2006.
Asked his most difficult decision, he said it was when he refused to follow Nato command, from General Wesley Clark, to block an airport during the Kosovo conflict, avoiding a confrontation with the Russians.
He reportedly told General Clark ‘I’m not going to start World War Three for you’. Speaking at the talk, Sir Mike said: “He asked to me to do something which I thought was pretty barking.
“So I was a mutineer thinking I would have to say my piece and accept my P45.
“Anyway, it didn’t work out that way.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-moves ... 1522290156If Europe came into conflict with Russia, only several thousand of the more than one million troops in its armies would be ready for rapid deployment, military planners fear.
The U.S. now wants to step up readiness and ensure that at least 30,000 troops, plus additional aircraft and naval ships, can reach a trouble spot within 30 days of NATO commanders putting forces on alert, current and former allied officials say.
NATO officials are debating the issue. Officials say there is general acceptance of the U.S. position and allies hope to reach an agreement before a summit of leaders in July. A U.S. proposal would have the alliance commit to having 30 battalions, 30 fighter squadrons and 30 naval ships ready to deploy. That would translate to roughly 30,000 troops and more than 360 fighter planes.
https://www.stripes.com/news/army-air-d ... t-1.520007In 2017, the Army determined that it needed to do more to address to demand for more air defense in Europe. In connection with those concerns, the Army is expected to send more air defense units to Europe in the coming years.
Earlier this year, the Army in Europe for the first time in 15 years also began training on the FIM-92 Stinger Man-Portable system at its training grounds in Hohenfels.
“Based on the Chief of Staff of the Army’s initiative, getting Europe stood up with short-range air defense Stinger teams is his first priority inside the initiative of getting Stinger teams back online,” Lt. Col. Aaron Felter, the director of training and doctrine for the Air Defense Integrated Office, said in January.
https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/statu ... 6656700418As a result of years of negligence & budget cuts, #RoyalAirForce (#RAF) has now just 144 fighter jets in service which are 28 Tornado GR.4/Ts, 104 Typhoon FGR.4s & 12 Typhoon T.3s among these only 59 to 73 are Fully Mission Capable (Operation Ready) now.
Kasutajad foorumit lugemas: Registreeritud kasutajaid pole ja 1 külaline