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12VANGUARD Vol.4, No. 4

During the past Century

the United Kingdom

(UK) has undergone

asignificant period of

retrenchment that is

now mainly over since

the 1997 withdrawalfromits last major

Imperial possession,

Hong Kong. The UK has

also seen its position

asthe Worlds foremostMaritime power some-

what eclipsed bythe

United States.

The operational advantages con-

ferred by retaining the pre-eminent all-

volunteer professional force in the

world have been tempered by the spin-

off effects of a demilitarized society.

Some of the decision makers have had

little first hand understanding of what is

required to achieve goals set for the

military, and defence issues tend to

attract little public attention. The

campaign for the general elections in

1997 virtually ignored defence spending

as an issue, while the media is generally

under the impression that the end of

the Cold War has left the military with

no visible role.

Successive cuts imposed by the

Options for Change defence reviews

since 1990 have reduced the overall

strength of the Armed Forces strength

by some 32%, from 315,000 to 215,000.

The Royal Navy (RN) has seen the number

of submarines in service decrease from

28 to 12, some 57%. Meanwhile the

Bri tish Armys tank force has been

reduced by 45% and the number of air-

craft in service with the Royal Air Force

(RAF) has seen its frontline strength

decrease by some 30 %.

Meanwhile the increased operational

tempo since the end of the Cold War has

seen up to 35,000 personnel deployed

away from their bases, and families, for

extended periods of time. This includes

places like Bosnia and overseas naval

deployments and well as continuing

security responsibilities for Northern

Ireland, Gibraltar and the Falklands.

Besides national responsibilities the

UK maintains i ts numerous commit-

ments to NATO and also plays a role in

numerous UN operations such as

Cyprus. It provides the leadership and

plays a leading role in the Allied

Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps

(ARRC), which is presently NATOs pri-

mary field formation, by providing over1/5th. of the field formations assigned to

the ARRC.

NATO

By Mark Romanow

Basic Facts: United Kingdom

Total Area 242,000 sq km. Also some

13dependent territoriesTerrain The UK is a densely populated

country, particularly intheSouth. England is predomi-nantly a lowland country, withupland regions in the north.Wales, Scotland and NorthernIreland have hills and lowmountains, containing areasofwild unspoilt landscape

Population 58.8 million

EthnicGroups94.5%Country of origin

Religion Predominantly Christian

Languages English

Government Democratic monarchy

Capital London

UNITED

FORCESREAD

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KINGDOM

FORANYTHINGFOR

Tw o TORNADOA i r cr a f t Esco r t

a NIMRODPa t r o l A i r cr a f t

Tw o TORNADOA i r cr a f t Esco r t

a NIMRODPa t r o l A i r cr a f t

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UK MINISTER OF DEFENCE

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NATO

DEFENCE BUDGET:Approx. 23.9 billion

Current Force Levels:

Royal Navy45,500 personnel

16 Submarines: Strategic(4) and Fleet (12)

4 Carriers: Aircraft (3) and Helicopter (1)

34 Destroyers and Frigates

7 Amphibious Ships

49 Fighters (Sea Harrier)

49 Helicopters:

AEW(13) and Commando (36)

110 Large and Light Maritime Helicopters

Army112,000 personnel

plus 55,000 Territorial Army

386 Challenger II Tanks

394 Light Recce Vehicles

3504 Armoured Vehicles:

Tracked (2849) and Wheeled (655)

179 Self Propelled Artillery

108 Towed Artillery

62 Multiple Launch Rocket Systemlaunchers

175 Tracked Anti-air launchers

99 Attack Helicopters

183 Light Transport Helicopters

Army Field Formations

7 Brigades: Heavy (6) and Airmobile (1)10 Armoured Regiments

15 Artillery Regiments

5 Army Air Corps Regiments

13 Engineer Regiments

1 NBCRegiment

7 Royal Logistics Corps Regiments

Royal Air Force56,064 personnel

6 Airborne Early Warning (AEW)

87 Fighter Aircraft

154 Strike Aircraft82 Transport and Tanker

23 Maritime Patrol (Nimrod)

116 Support Helicopters

RAF Units

13 RAF Regiment Squadrons

5 Air Defence Squadrons

5 Strike Support Squadrons

5 Offensive Support Squadrons

Lynx helicopter keeps an eye on Sea King and

Harriers operating off HMS INVINCIBLE.

ROYAL NAVYThis fall the heli copter carrier HMS

Ocean set sail. Ocean is able to carry

most of a Royal Marine Commando,

including 40 vehicles, along with a full

squadron of HC4 transport helicoptersand 6 Lynx attack helicopters. The inte-

gral helicopters will allow for a more flex-

ible tactical mobility and will be able to

provide inherent air support to amphibi-

ous forces.

From 2002 the 2 new Assault ships,

Albion and Bulwark, will allow the RN to

replace the existing ships which will have

been in service for over 37 years.

Combined with the transports, Sea

Crusader and Sea Chieftan, which have

recently entered service they will provide

a sorely needed boost for strategic lift

forces.

The 44 Merlin helicopters on orderfor the RN will be a welcome improve-

ment to the anti-submarine warfare

helicopter fleet. Additionally, the 12 pro-

posed project Horizon air-defence ships

will be a vast improvement over the pre-

sent outdated ships. The 3 Astute class

fleet submarines on order will allow the

submarine force to keep up with the most

recent technological advances and

remain a modern capable force.

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NATO

ARMY

The Army is in the midst of progres-

sively replacing its Challenger I tanks

with the improved Challenger IIs. This

will provide the armoured regiments

with a robust force capable of defeating

most opponents. The proposed Multi-

Role Armoured Vehicle, which is being

purchased jointly with the French and

German armies, will allow the eventual

replacement of three differing types of

APCs and greatly simplify maintenance

requirements. Also, the proposed

TRACER reconnaissance vehicle, which

is being jointly developed with the USA,

will greatly enhance recce capabilities

and allow for the replacement of the

current platforms based on the ageing

Scorpion chassis.

On a related note, the ApacheLongbow attack helicopter, which is

just beginning to enter service, will

greatly enhance the armys anti-armor

and fire-support capabilities and allow

for replacement of some of the older

Lynx helicopters. It is also planned to

replace the 105mm light artillery with a

light 155 mm system which will increase

firepower.

ROYAL AIR FORCE

The RAFs strike capability is being sig-

nificantly enhanced through the mid-life

upgrade of 142 Tornado GR1/1A/1B

aircraft into GR4/4A standard. this

will allow the RAF to standardize

its main strike fleet. All GR4s will

be able to undertake the tasks for-

merly undertaken on a specialized

basis throughout the fleet as well as

greatly enhancing their navigationalaccuracy through the use of state

of the art digital map generators.

To allow the Maritime Patrol fleet to

operate well into the 21st Century,

some 21 Nimrod airframes are being

comprehensively rebuilt into the MR Mk

4 standard which will utilize advanced

electronics systems to allow them to

detect advanced 4th generation sub-

marines. Additionally, the continuing

replacement of the Hercules C Mk 1

fleet by the 15 new stretched C-130J -30s

(C Mk 4) and 10 standard length C-130J

(C Mk 5), which started delivery this

fall, will confer a vast improvement

upon the performance of the RAFs

tactical transport fleet. b

Mark Romanow is an independent

defence/ geopoliti cal a nalyst

based in Edmonton.

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British TORNADO aircraft

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