Briefings : FRES, B-2, Cyber-Warfare

General Dynamics have "sweetened the deal" in it's bid to build special vehicles as part of the British Army's FRES programme. It's ASCOD SV will be assembled locally at Defence Support Group's Donnington facilities. 1000 vehicles are needed for the scouting, command, ambulance and direct fire roles.

RAF pilots have flown the latest upgraded USAF B-2 bombers.

Israel is the latest military to add cyber-warfare capabilities to it's portfolio. The IDF will set up a cyber warfare team. Russia has started building a 4th Borey class ballistic missile submarine despite though the Bulava SLBMs intended for it have caused a lot of trouble with 7 failures in 12 tests.

Breaking the Iron Law, the importance of the nuclear deterrent

When James Callaghan left Number 10 after being defeated by Margaret Thatcher in the May 1979 election (i just about remember it) he broke the so called "Iron Law". An outgoing administration is not supposed to supply it's files to it's replacement but Callaghan thought some files were important enough to break the law, they were on the British nuclear deterrent.

Callaghan had already been discussing with President Carter replacing the existing Polaris SLBMs with Trident and he wanted to pass on his notes to Thatcher and technical documents he had commissioned. In the event Thatcher continued with the Trident programme and we now stand at a point where the deterrent has to be replaced again.

The smart money is on renewing Trident with improved missiles and a new generation of boats though it could be the government may aim to delay replacement as long as possible to save money. A design contract has already been delayed of course and it is likely they will try and make do with 3 boats not 4 (the original RN SSBN force was to have been 5 boats).

Is a nuclear deterrent still as important now as it was in 1979, could you imagine Brown passing on his notes to Cameron? The deterrent is still important which it why it is likely to remain part of the British defence armoury despite the current fiscal strains. A permanent seat on the UN Security Council would be difficult to justify without the means to destroy much of the world, as well as that it (and the French nuclear weapons) are a vital part of EU foreign policy and security in many ways even if you would never get anyone to admit it.

Briefings (01/01/10) : LEMV, A400M, Trident

Happy New Year to everyone, as it is the start of a new year (and a decade) i am going to run things a little differently on this blog from now on. I will regularly (hopefully daily during the week but we'll see how it goes) present a briefing of defence related news and information i hope others may find interesting. There will also be editorials and other news items as well.

That is the plan anyway, for our first briefing the US Army is looking into lighter-than-air technology again and hopes to buy a long-endurance hybrid airship for surveillance in Afghanistan called LEMV. The A400M's flight test programme will get into top gear in 2110, with testing to also take place in France as well as Spain.

Back in 1979 out-going Prime Minister James Callaghan broke the "iron law" about handing over files to a new administration (Maggie Thatcher of course) when he made sure she received "key documents" relating to replacing the British Polaris nuclear deterrent with Trident. Sticking with strategic weapons USAF Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has taken over responsibility for US ICBMs part of an ongoing plan to unify all USAF nuclear assets under one command.

Victorious launches Trident missile

HMS Victorious has launched a Trident missile off the coast of the US, though it was an unarmed one to complete the submarine's Long Overhaul Period and Refuel (LOP(R)). Usually LOP(R) ends when the submarine leaves port to begin it's sea trials but in this case the contract was extended up to the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO). In more acronym news the LOP(R) also included Strategic Weapons Systems (SWS) operations to test the correct operation of all systems. Vigilant is now having it's LOP(R) and they may also extend this to the DASO too.



"You did launch #3 right? That was the unarmed one."
"Uh oh..."

Trident replacement design contract delayed

A design contract for the Vanguard SSBN replacement submarines has been delayed. Originally it was to have been signed in September but now it will be delayed until the non-proliferation treaty conference in New York next year. Possibly a sop to the Communists in the Labour party (which is most of them, including the PM) and of course allows the government to delay committing to spending money so they don't feel so bad about it (rather like the small boy who has broken a window and knows he has to admit to doing it eventually but hides in the corner and puts it off). It will also give them more time to see if they can just build 3 boats instead of 4 of course.

New warheads for Britain

The Guardian is reporting that the British nuclear warhead stockpile will be replaced at a cost of £3 billion. They claim they have seen details of a private meeting between an MOD official and arms manufacturers where the plans for new warheads were detailed. This could commit the UK to nuclear weapons until 2055 opponents say. I say... excellent. Peace campaigners are also saying the new warheads would allow for more targeted strikes. Quite how they know that is unknown but its good news if its true. The government are claiming the "speaking note" which the Guardian obtained through the FOI does not reflect government policy. Of course New Labour like to pretend they are anti nuclear weapons to appease their most left-wing supporters but they voted to renew Trident anyway.

Missile alert crew asleep on duty at Minot AFB

The three man crew in a missile alert room at Minot AFB in North Dakota USA were found to be asleep on duty on the 12th of July even though they had the keys and launch codes to launch nuclear missiles, Minuteman III ICBMs, in their care. Minot AFB has already been in the news for the wrong reasons lately, it was here a B-52 was mistakenly loaded with nuclear tipped missiles and flew across America. The three men of the 91st Missile Wing's unauthorised nap is an embarrassment though USAF officials say there was danger to the security of the nuclear weapons in their care, the codes had been changed and were redundant apparently (so where were the correct codes and how would they be gotten to the crew in an emergency?) and the room was locked.