Major
threat to the Defence Training Review [13/12/08]
The
Defence
Training Review (DTR) has just suffered a major blow
with the withdrawal of Land
Securities Trillium from the project.
DTR, which at £12billion is the UK's largest private
finance initiative (PFI) project, plans to centralised UK
tri-service training at a new military academy at St Athan
in Glamorgan and at a few other National Centres of Excellence
around the country.
The contract for the 25 year project was eventually awarded
to Metrix - a joint venture between Qinetiq and property
developers Trillium - last year, seven years after the launch
of the DTR Rationalisation Programme.
Spiralling
costs have caused Trillium to have second thoughts about
the project's financial viability and they have now decided
to pull out altogether.
This has major implications for the future training of our
armed forces not only in the short term but also in the
medium to long term.
It all sounds like another triumph for MoD project management.
How
about this?
An unmanned tank that goes at over 60 mph, that is fitted
with a remote gun system and that can plough over concrete
barriers like they're a wall of foam.
Ripsaw has been developed by twin brothersGeoff and Mike
Howe and is being considered for use by the US military.
Ripsaw
is operated remotely by a crew in another vehicle. Its weapons
are also, for the moment, operated by remote control. Although
the chassis has no armour, its modular structure means that
rebuilds can be carried out on the battlefield.
Following
on my article "Viking fleet to be strengthened"(03/12/08),
the US defence media is now pretty convinced that Singapore
Technologies Kinetics will be supplying its Bronco armoured
all-terrain vehicle to the British Army. It is thought an
order for 100 Broncos will be placed by the MoD next week.
If this does go ahead it would be a
serious
blow to BAE Systems the suppliers of Viking the ATV currently
in service with Britain's Armed Forces. Apparently BAE's
offer of an upgraded Mark2 version of Viking lost out to
STK's Bronco with its higher payload and greater capacity
to transport troops. I wonder if BAE will try to "financially
incentivise" the MoD - the MoD has yet to confirm
the STK deal.
Broncos would rejoice under the name of Warthog if they
to go in service with British forces.
The
Army has just OK'd a targeting system upgrade to its Apache
attack helicopters. Apaches will be modified to take Lockheed
Martin's Arrowhead "target acquisition designation
sight/pilot night vision sensor (M-TADS/PNVS)"
The new kit - infrared sensor and cockpit display/control
unit - will significantly improve pilots' "situational
awareness".
The
services are keen to deploy these upgraded systems as soon
as possible.
The
Army's Viking all-terrain vehicles are soon going to be
upgraded with additional under-belly armour and other crew
protection improvements. Several modifications have already
been made to the Viking's armour and it is hoped that this
latest
upgrade will provide the troops with the protection from
IEDs that they need. The strengthened Viking fleet should
all be in service by mid 2009. This announcement may be
related to rumours that the MoD is considering adopting
Singapore
Technologies Kinetics' Bronco as an alternative to BAE's
Viking for its future ATV requirement.
The
Army's latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),
the Watchkeeper, made its first autonomous flight last week
at a test site in Israel.
The Watchkeeper programme is being developed by a joint
UK-French-Israeli consortium led by Thales
UK under a contract
agreed with the MoD in 2005.
Watchkeeper will form the core element of integrated suite
of manned
(ASTOR
Sentinel R1) and unmanned (Buster, Desert Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper)
systems which together will eventually provide Britain's
Armed Forces with a full Intelligence, Surveillance, Target
Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR)
capability.
The
pilotless drones will be able to operate from short airstrips
or rough terrain and will carry a ground-scanning radar
system able to pick out moving targets such as vehicles
and an electro-optical camera system. They will not be armed
in themselves but will pinpoint targets to be hit by other
aircraft or missiles.
The
£860million contract will deliver 54 Watchkeeper UAVs
and supporting items (spares, ground stations, training
and facilities) with the first one entering service in 2010.
At
£16m each, the guy operating the remote control will
be very unpopular should he inadvertently push the joystick
the wrong way.
The
MoD continues development of its Personal Equipment and
Common Operational Clothing (PECOC) programme to serve
as a bridge between Soldier 95 kit and the planned
Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST ...yet
another 'Future' something).
The PECOC project began back in 2004 and is aimed at producing
a new fully integrated uniform - from helmet to boots
- which will give increased protection and comfort to
the troops and at no extra weight. The outfit will include
new eye protectors, electronic hearing aid/ear defenders,
stand up collars and a fragmentation jacket providing
all-round protection from sniper bullets.
On the down side, the new kit won't be in the shops until
2011.
The
MoD has today responded to the concerns raised about the
apparent shortage of Apache and Chinook helicopters on the
frontline not only by reassuring us that "our helicopters
are meeting all operational tasks and training requirements"
but also by reaffirming the Government's 10-year £6billion
helicopter investment programme.
The
programme has two threads:
£2.5billion
in enhancements to the UK's current helicopter fleet (Chinooks,
Apaches, Pumas, SeaKings and Merlins) to ensure that it
continues to meet emerging operational requirements.
£3.5billion
in procuring new helicopters - Future Lynx and Future
Medium Helicopters. (The MoD seems to tag the "Future"
prefix on all major projects these days - CVFFRESFASGW....
; let's hope the 'future' will actually become 'today'
some day.)
The
MoD's commitment to the helicopter programme is very welcome
particularly since Army commanders have for a long time
been crying out for more helicopters .
Virtual Battlespace - serious gaming/serious use [24/11/08]
Gaming
technology is increasingly being exploited these days to
give our guys the edge on the battlefield. One of the latest
applications to hit the Army's laptops (those they have
left, that is) is the £2million Joint Combat Operation
Virtual Environment. JCOVE uses the commercial games software,
Virtual Battlespace, to give soldiers in the Royal Logistic
Corps a sense of what it's like driving under fire in a
combat zone.
The training package comes with steering wheel and pedal
sets for vehicle
control, while crews can speak to each other through headsets.
Troops learn how to react under fire along with a host
of other
roadside threats including mines and ambushes.
The package has the added bonus that it's easily picked
up by younger soldiers used to playing on their XBOXes at
home.
Overwork
and a harsh operational environment have taken their toll
on the Army Air Corps' fleet of 67 Apache helicopters -
only 20 are now fit for purpose. The helicopters are proving
victims of their own sophistication as these technologically
advanced machines need expensive and time consuming servicing
(rather like the Panthers
at Kursk).
The
Apache serves two vital roles in Afghanistan - close combat
support and escort duty for the Chinooks (themselves of
which only 53% are fit for purpose). The aircraft is now
so essential to the military mission in Helmand that troops
rarely venture out on large scale operations without support
from the Apache. That only a third of the
Apache fleet is available seriously constrains operational
options on the ground and may even put soldiers' lives at
greater risk.
The
Taliban
are increasingly adopting guerilla-war tactics against Coalition
forces in Afghanistan. To provide British troops with added
protection against this threat the MoD looks set to order
the latest in anti-sniper technology.
The device, known as EARS (Early Attack Reaction System),
uses four microphones, a GPS and a powerful microprocessor
to calculate the
location
of gunman and verbally relay the coordinates back to the
soldier carrying it. Effectively pinpointing a sniper's
position to within a fraction of a second, it enables evasive
action to be taken.
The device (£2,500 each) has already been purchased
by the Americans for deployment in the New Year and the
British are looking at a vehicle mounted version.
Force
Protection Inc have just been given a $15m order for
a further 24 Cougar Mastiffs to be shipped to British forces
in Afghanistan. The contract includes vehicles and spares
and delivery is due next year.
The MoD is also ordering an additional 400 armoured Tactical
Support Vehicles. The Wolfhounds, Huskys and Coyotes will
be used for carrying supplies and ammunition to the troops
on the frontline, as ambulances and as mobile command posts.
The
Government has recently announced that it is to spend up
to £700million on new armoured vehicles, something
commanders on the ground have been asking for for some time.
Although
commanders in the field continue to raise serious concerns
about the shortage of helicopters on the frontline and although
coroners repeatedly name the helicopter shortage as a contributory
factor in the deaths of servicemen, the Government still
has no plans to accelerate delivery of the Future Lynx helicopters.
Indeed the MoD has been accused of 'deliberately slowing'
attempts to introduce extra helicopters to Afghanistan.
Experts
said an influx of battlefield helicopters would reduce the
number of soldiers killed by roadside bombs by providing
an alternative to ground patrols.
250
more Quad ATVs have been supplied to the Army to help in
the delivery of vital supplies to troops on the frontline.
The Quads can bring in ammunition, food, water and other
equipment over rough terrain and can also medevac injured
soldiers in situations where helicopters can't be used (or
aren't available). The Yamaha machines can reach speeds
of 50kph offroad and are considered "mechanical workhorses"
by the guys patrolling on the frontline.
They look fun to drive too!
One
of the latest gadgets being developed to provide Britain's
troops with the battle-winning edge, not to mention greater
combat protection, is Dreampact's
I-Ball. This cunning device can be lobbed (or fired from
a grenade launcher) into an area on the battlefield before
troops have to risk their lives getting there. Once delivered
(and even in flight) the I-Ball's video camera transmits
back high-quality pictures of the terrain and the bad guys
enabling the soldiers to see just
what's ahead of them. Or as the technical guys put it :
"It is a highly-portable, wireless, projectile camera
that provides 360-degree video coverage even in flight after
being thrown. This gives soldiers a steady picture and easy
to see high-value, high-quality images in realtime video."
The potential of the I-Ball was quickly recognised by the
MoD during its 2007 "Competition of Ideas" and
as a consequence it has been helping to fund its development.
Boffins
queue for Innovation Day in Glasgow [13/11/08]
Ever
keen to discover and develop the battle-winning technologies
of the future, the MoD's Centre for Defence Enterprise will
soon be holding a "Support for Operations" seminar
at Glasgow University, the sixth such seminar in the current
series.
Boffins
will be bringing along their ideas for new high-tech gadgets
and gizmos to be assessed by MoD experts. Those ideas thought
to be the most promising will be selected for possible
US
charity Project Valour-IT has provided over 2,700 voice-controlled/adaptive
laptop computers and other technology to help support members
of US Armed Forces recovering from hand wounds and other severe
injuries.
Technology supplied includes:
Voice-controlled
Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using
other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to
maintain connections with the rest of the world during
recovery.
Wii
Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase
motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance
of physical therapists. Wii Sports and similar programs
are considered extremely motivational and helpful when
used in physical therapy settings, but they are not standard
equipment in military hospitals.
Personal
GPS (Global Positioning System) - Handheld GPS devices
build self-confidence and independence by compensating
for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges
related to TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD. Wounded
personnel with short-term memory loss use GPS systems
to keep from getting lost or disoriented when they move
on to more independent living.
The
MoD, in conjunction with the Human Interface Technologies
Team of Birmingham University, is developing a Virtual Battlefield
Environment (VBE) complete with Virtual Smells (VS) to give
soldiers that authentic atmosphere during their training
exercises.
The MOD already uses specialized videogames to train ground
troops but is now taking this one stage further by providing
a £20,000 research grant to investigate whether adding
the sense of smell to a game experience can significantly
enhance its realism and hence its value as a training aid.
If
successful it will mean that soldiers about to be deployed
to Afghanistan for the first time will be able to take an
authentic walk around the area without stepping out of the
UK. A "smellbox" linked to the PC will release
odours relevant to the image being shown on the screen -
goat,
grass, gunshot, marine......
A spokesman
said: "The MOD is always open to innovation in terms
of its training."
The
MoD has just placed an order worth $16million with US heavy
plant manufacturer JCB for a number of British designed
High Mobility Engineering Excavators (HMEEs) or backhoe
loaders. Unlike the civilian version the Army's JCBs will
carry an additional 2tons of armour giving them an overall
weight of 16tons.
The vehicles will go into service next year and will be
used to clear rouites in advance of soldiers being deployed
to a specific area.
Unlike
current heavy plant, these HMEEs can be ‘self
deployed’ in support of long range, fast moving operations
without the need for additional support vehicles to carry
the plant between tasks.
email:
aquilavic[at]hotmail.co.uk
