British Armed Forces

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NATO Summit, Wales, UK. 2014

 

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NATO Summit, Wales, UK.

 

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Navy flagship HMS Bulwark leaves Plymouth to lead international exercise.

HMS Bulwark leads major amphibious deployment. The amphibious command and control ship, carrying Royal Marines and a range of all-terrain vehicles, will be joined by recently refurbished HMS Ocean and other ships from the UK's high readiness Response Force Task Group when they join forces. The routine annual four-month deployment, named Cougar 14, includes a series of demanding amphibious and maritime-based exercises with partner nations throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East region and ensures that the task group is ready to respond to any contingency the UK Government directs upon it.

RAF A400M Atlas

 

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GR-FORD!

Q-LIZZY!

Voyager taking off from RAF Akrotiri. Mid air-refuelling with Tornado GR4's involved in last night's humanitarian mission to Northern Iraq

 

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RAF - RC-135W Rivet Joint deployed in Iraq.

RC-135 is a family of large reconnaissance aircraft built used by the United States Air Force and Royal Air Force to support theatre and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. Its sensor suite allows the mission crew to detect, identify and geolocate signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. The mission crew can then forward gathered information in a variety of formats to a wide range of consumers via Rivet Joint's extensive communications suite.

Royal Air Force Tornado jets, RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligent plane, Chinook helicopters, C-130J and C-17 Globe Master III transport aircraft are now in Cyprus ahead of carrying out humanitarian aid in northern Iraq, where hundreds of thousands of Yazidi are stranded on mountains to avoid being slaughtered by Islamic State (IS).

Royal airforce F-35

 

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The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a sophisticated global operation with a fleet of highly specialised ships owned by the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea (RAS). It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises.

The RFA counts a forward repair ship and landing vessels amongst its assets. RFA personnel are members of the Ministry of Defence civil service who wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms and are under naval discipline when the vessel is engaged on warlike operations. RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these civilians, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel to perform specialised military functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities. The RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET).

 

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Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)

 

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Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)

 

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Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)

 

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Four Tide-class tankers (37,000 tonnes) have been ordered for the Royal Navy and are being built. which will replace the remaining Leaf and Rover vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. They will enter service in 2016 with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Royal Navy thus boosting the Royal navy's global reach..

Artist's impression of a new Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker completing a replenishment at sea with a Type 45 destroyer.





With Queen Elizabeth class carrier.

Defense Tech reports on BAE Systems CORAX Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), an unmanned fighter with stealth features whose early models look somewhat like the USA's Darkstar technology demonstrator. The US and British armed forces believe these pilotless planes will play an increasingly vital role on 21st Century battlefields.

 

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Trooping The Colour 2015

The custom of Trooping the Colour dates back to the time of Charles II in the 17th. Century when the Colours of a regiment were used as a rallying point in battle and were therefore trooped in front of the soldiers every day to make sure that every man could recognise those of his own regiment. In London, the Foot Guards used to do this as part of their daily Guard Mounting on Horse Guards and the ceremonial of the modern Trooping the Colour parade is along similar lines. The first traceable mention of The Sovereign's Birthday being 'kept' by the Grenadier Guards is in 1748 and again, after George III became King in 1760, it was ordered that parades should mark the King's Birthday. From the accesssion of George IV they became, with a few exceptions and notably the two World Wars, an annual event.

 

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Trooping The Colour 2015

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Parachute Regiment and 16 Air Assault Brigade

16 Air Assault Brigade (16 Air Asslt Bde) is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only Operational Brigade in the British Army capable of delivering Air Manoeuvre, Air Assault and Airborne operations. It was formed as part of the defence reforms implemented by the Strategic Defence Review on 1 September 1999 by the merging of 24 Airmobile Brigade and elements of 5th Airborne Brigade. This grouping created a highly mobile brigade of parachute units and airmobile units which employ helicopters. It is the only airborne brigade within the British Army, and in line with current Dress Regulations members of parachute regiment wear the maroon beret.

The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as the Paras, is the Airborne Infantry of the British Army. One battalion is permanently under the command of the Director Special Forces in the Special Forces Support Group. The other battalions are the parachute infantry component of the British Army's rapid response formation 16 Air Assault Brigade. It is the only line infantry regiment that has not been amalgamated with another unit since the end of the Second World War. Members of the Parachute Regiment are often colloquially known to the rest of the army and the British public as the "Paras".

The Parachute Regiment was formed during the Second World War and eventually raised 17 battalions. In Europe, these battalions formed part of the 1st Airborne Division, the 6th Airborne Division and the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade. Another three battalions served with the British Indian Army in India and Burma. The regiment took part in six major parachute assault operations in North Africa, Italy, Greece, France, the Netherlands and Germany, often landing ahead of all other troops. the regular army battalions have taken part in operations in Suez, Cyprus, Borneo, Aden, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, at times being reinforced by men from the reserve battalion.

 

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Parachute Regiment and 16 Air Assault Brigade

 

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Parachute Regiment and 16 Air Assault Brigade