United Kingdom sends AS90 Howitzers and 45,000 shells to Ukraine

UK will send 20 AS90 SPHs and 45,000 shells to Ukraine for what senior generals expect will become the largest artillery campaign since the Second World War.

 

Accoridng to the British EXPRESS media source, that 45,000 British-made high explosive shells will be sent along with the AS90 self-propelled Howitzers to Poland this week, where Ukrainian forces will be taught to use and maintain them before they are deployed to the front.

PM Boris Johnson announced that the UK would be sending artillery last week, following an appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for more firepower to counter Russia’s new offensive in the eastern Donbas region.

“This will become an artillery conflict, they need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them," he said.

“There are many other friends in Europe, but I’m talking about volumes of help and I’m grateful for it.”

Ukraine is also receiving 90 towed Howitzers from the US and 188,000 shells - enough for three weeks of intensive operations - as part of a wide-ranging £620m defence package which includes target acquisition drones.

France is sending 40 self-propelled Caesar artillery guns.

Dragoon Ready 21

Earlier this month, 2d Cavalry Regiment Soldiers trained alongside with UK, France, Italy and Latvia, troops during Dragoon Ready 21 at Hohenfels JMRC in Germany.

HOHENFELS, Germany-- The 2nd Cavalry Regiment participated in exercise Dragoon Ready 21 from April 9-19 at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, to enhance and train its core tasks.

During the multinational combat training center exercise, 2nd Cav. Regt. was joined by elements of the United Kingdom and French armies, while the Joint Multinational Readiness Center was joined with elements of the Italian and Latvian armies, enhancing the ability to respond more effectively to regional crises and meet security needs.

“Here at JMRC, we’re Europe’s only CTC (Combat Training Center) so what we do is replicate a near-peer threat for the training audience,” said 1st Lt. Alexander White, an executive officer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, the permanent opposing forces at JMRC. “We don’t take it easy on them, we replicated multiple types of threats and planned accordingly to help them get quality training that they can learn from.”

2nd Cav. Regt. provides the 7th Army Training Command with a lethal and agile force capable of rapid deployment throughout the European theater in order to assure allies, deter adversaries, and when ordered, defend the NATO alliance.

“Training like this is so important because it gives the soldiers a snapshot of what may be coming in the future so they’ll always be prepared,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Willie Allen, the senior enlisted advisor at the Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Cav. Regt. “The training here will provide the muscle memory for when they are in a combat operation.”

Much of the training conducted was to engineer the battlefield, employ force-on-force engagements, respond to chemical-attacks, casualty evacuations, and a ruck march.

“I think this training will help them think twice and think harder about how they will prepare to fight a near-peer threat,” said White.

Via DVIDS

The UK Amry Future plans

The UK Ministry of Defence has released its defence command paper confirming previously rumoured reports that troop numbers, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and main battle tanks would be cut. 

Here's a quick look at the public information on the Integrated review, mainly the AFV side.

• The review confirms a reduction in the size of the British Army from a Full-time Trade Trained strength of 76,000 down to 72,500 by 2025. The army will also be restructured around Brigade Combat Teams.

• The British Army will also develop a new ‘Ranger Regiment’ which will form part of an ‘Army Special Operations Brigade’. The Ranger Regiment will seed its personnel from current Specialised Infantry Battalions; 1 SCOTS, 2 PWRR, 2 LANCS and 4 RIFLES.

• The British government has confirmed a order of 148-150 CR2s to be converted to Challenger 3 spec at a approximate cost of £1.3bn, the remaining CR2 will be retired. Challenger 3 (CR3) RBSL claim it will be the most advanced and deadliest MBT in NATO's arsenal.

• The Warrior 2 or the Lockheed Martin Warrior CSP upgrade, sadly did not survive the review and will have its entire fleet eventually replaced by the RBSL Boxer fleet (time line not listed) to that end a large cash injection will be made to speed up the Boxer time line.

• Also to this end the Boxer project will have its capabilities greatly increased to include a suspected IFV version and a direct fire support version alongside the wide variety of module options.

• The Ajax programming is expected to be completed at long last after lengthy issues.

• The UK Army is also set to invest in new longer-range artillery capabilities with £250m over the next decade to be invested into the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). The Army will also spend £800m over 10 years on a new ‘Mobile Fires Platform’.

• The UK MOD will also make a short-term investment in sustaining the Exactor missile system, with a view towards a long-term upgrade in future.

• On an aviation front, the Royal Air Force is set to retire its Tranche 1 Eurofighter Typhoons and its Hawk T1s by 2025. The C130 Hercules fleet will be retired by 2023, and its capability filled by the A400M.

• Over £2bn is set to be invested in the Tempest Future Combat Air System (FCAS) over the next four years. The E03D Sentry will be retired in 2021 as the Royal Air Force moves to a fleet of three E-7A Wedgetails.

• The only other equipment confirmation worth mentioning was that the MOD will increase its number of F35's to 48 and the Royal Navy will receive a number of the new Type 32 and Type 26 frigates as well as a large investment to modernize the UK's nuclear defence.

• Two Littoral Response Groups will be formed, with the first to de deployed to the Euro-Atlantic in 2021 and the second deployed to the Indo-Pacific in 2023.

• The Royal Navy will also commence the concept and assessment phase for a new ‘Type 83 Destroyer’ which will replace the Type 45 in the late 2030s.

Royal Navy and Air Forces will, receive new survival suits and survival kits

The agreement with Survivtec will ensure RAF and Royal Navy personnel are well-equipped if they are ever in danger.

Pilots and sailors will have vital survival equipment under a new £25-million contract that will also support 50 UK jobs.

Birkenhead-based Survitec Group will provide the Royal Air Force with life-saving kit under a five-year contract. Work will predominantly take place at the company’s Birkenhead and Gosport sites, as well as further work taking place in Aberdeen and Dunmurry.

The contract will see the RAF being supplied with immersion protection garments such as life rafts and life preservers, and high-G kit such as anti-gravity trousers. Anti-G clothing will ensure pilots can cope with the high levels of acceleration they experience when flying agile fast jets, such as F-35, Typhoon and Hawk aircraft.

Kit for the Royal Navy will include multi-person life rafts and associated spares provision, as well as a rapid turnaround life raft servicing programme which facilitates the removal and return of life rafts to the vessel within 15 days.

The contract will also ensure RAF and Navy personnel will be able to order on demand a wide range of sailor and aircrew personal protection and survival equipment as and when they need it.

Director Air Support at DE&S, Richard Murray, said: “This new, improved contract with Survitec will ensure that high-quality, life-saving equipment is available when it is most needed.

The specialist anti-G trousers are designed to prevent gravity-induced loss of consciousness. Inflatable bladders are fitted inside the anti-G clothing and when pressurised, press firmly on the stomach and legs to restrict the draining of blood away from the brain during periods of high acceleration.

Via DE&S 

Some details about ROMOR-A ERA

 ROMOR-A ERA was applied on Challenger-1 and Challenger-2 of British Army 

Development of ERA

ROMOR-A ERA performance, comparsion with RHA

 127 mm hollow shaped charge VS 80 mm RHA+13x10 mm RHA target , angle 70°, perforation 545 mm.

Same 127mm charge against same target equipped with ROMOR-A ERA.  Perforation 135 mm.

Target - imitation of side of MBT.

127 mm hollow shaped charge VS 40 mm RHA+26x10 mm RHA, angle 60°, was penetrated fully.

Same 127mm charge VS same target equipped with ROMOR-A ERA.

15 mm perforation

Tests against 12,7mm bullets

Patent of ROMOR-A ERA