Document Showing Secret Technical Aspects of RAF Mount Pleasant in Falkands Leaked

MoD workers are accused of handing Argentina an “invasion handbook” for the Southern Atlantic archipelago after forgetting to encrypt a secret document, and putting it online.
The document details every technical aspect of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) main military facility on the islands.
The Ministry of Defense removed the data from the website after being alerted by the Sunday Express.
The Mount Pleasant Aerodrome Manual, which states it is supposed to be password protected, is intended for RAF pilots and security-screened civilian contractors who need to land at the base, just 30 miles from Port Stanley.
However, the Sunday Express discovered it was openly available to anyone who clicked its link on the homepage of the “British forces overseas: Falkland Islands and Ascension Island” website.
Details revealed include the exact make-up of runways and thickness of concrete, enabling attacking bombers to know precisely which bombs to use for maximum effect, as well as full operating procedures of how the runways are used at any given time, making it easy for an airstrikes to cause maximum disruption by targeting specific sections.
It also boasts the exact GPS coordinate of every facility, color maps illustrating the hardtop covers of the RAF’s Typhoon fighters and advice as to the best approach in different weather conditions – not to mention the name and personal phone number of every senior officer at the base.
The gaffe is particularly embarrassing as it comes just 10 days after Defense Secretary confirmed a review of the islands’ defenses with a £280m boost to be invested in ten years, conceding the dispute with Argentina remained “a live threat”.
mercopress

Royal Navy May Ask US Marines to fly its F-35B on new HMS Queen Elizabeth Following Delays on Deliveries to UK

The Royal Navy may ask US squadrons to fly off its new aircraft carrier following delays to its new F35B fighters.
MoD insiders said the US Marine Corps would be offered the use of HMS Queen Elizabeth for flight operations.
The UK plans to have its first F35 squadron operational by 2018, but there may be further delays.
The plan is for one squadron of British F35s to be ready for service at sea by 2021. But even if it is achieved, it will create a gap of years where the Queen Elizabeth is ready but British squadrons are not.
In February, BBC's Newsnight was told that it would be placed "within days". But persistent doubts about the F35's enormously complex software, and an engine fire this summer caused successive delays to the decision.
When the British purchase was announced, last month, it was for just four of the planes. The MoD says that this order will allow trials to start from the Queen Elizabeth on time with "UK F35Bs, flown by UK pilots".
But the slowdown in the expected purchasing rate is bound to delay the aircraft's entry into squadron service.
Asking US jets to fly from the Queen Elizabeth would be a sensible way of bridging the gap between the carrier being completed, and a British squadron of jets being available.
However, the MoD said on Wednesday that it was "not aware" of any further delay to the timetable for the first operational squadron.
Even if the timetable is kept, senior naval officers are nervous that a gap in capability during 2018-2021.
With a Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) expected to get under way in 2015, the huge ships, which have long been the subject of controversy in Whitehall, are likely to come under fresh scrutiny.
bbc.com

Australian official confirms Taranis test location

Royal Australian Air has confirmed flight testing of the BAE Systems-led Taranis unmanned combat air system demonstrator took place at the nation’s Woomera test range, removing a classification status previously imposed by the UK Ministry of Defence.
Taranis successfully flight trialled its advanced unmanned combat air vehicle at Woomera in August last year.
A first series of flights was conducted with the stealthy type at Woomera, with a second round having been performed between late the same year and January 2014. The latter involved flying the aircraft in what BAE describes as a “fully stealthy configuration, making it virtually invisible to radar”. Additional trials are now the subject of discussion between the company and the MoD.

flightglobal

United Kingdom Carries Out First Air Strikes Against ISIS In Iraq

British fighter jets on Tuesday bombed an artillery post and an armed truck used by the Islamic State group in Iraq in the Royal Air Force's first strikes in the US-led air campaign.
The defence ministry said two Tornado jets hit the post with a Brimstone missile used against tanks and the vehicle with a 500-pound (230 kilogramme) Paveway IV laser-guided bomb.
defensenews

Storm Shadow Missile To Be Integrated in Eurofighter Typhoon

A contract to integrate the Storm Shadow stand-off missile on to the Typhoon combat was signed Thursday betwein Britain's MoD and the NATO Eurofighter Tornado Management Agency and Eurofighter.
The British, Italian and Saudi Arabian air forces all currently fly MBDA's long range cruise missile on Tornado strike jets and are expected to add the capability to their Typhoon fleets.
Early integration work with Storm Shadow has been underway for a while and the weapon has already completed carriage trials last year in Italy and Britain.
The weapon should be ready for release to the Royal Air Force in 2016.
defensenews

F-35 Will Fly at Farnborough

Britain’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is close to writing off the chances of the F-35B making an appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in the UK, but said he is “optimistic” the aircraft would make it to the Farnborough International Air Show next week.
Plans for the F-35 to make its international debut at RIAT, a three-day event staged at the Royal Air Force base at Fairford in southern England were thrown into disarray when the Pentagon grounded the aircraft following an engine fire on a F-35A model June 23.
US Department of Defense inspectors are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.
Following RIAT, up to four of the F-35B jump jets had been scheduled to take part in the flying display at the Farnborough show, which starts July 14.
F-35 program officials indicated this week that the US Marine Corps could potentially OK its F-35B fleet in time to make the shows, even if the UK planes are left behind.
defensenews

UK awards final Tornado support contract

The United Kingdom Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Panavia Tornado GR.4 strike aircraft fleet will receive continued support until their retirement from service under a new contract with BAE Systems.
Awarded by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, the contract will provide for a further three years of support for the remainder of the Tornado fleet, until their currently planned retirement in 2019.
The contract is an extension to the decade long Availability Transformation: Tornado Aircraft Contract (ATTAC), awarded in 2006 and due to expire in 2016.
The original ATTAC contract,was designed to both increase the availability rate of the aircraft and decrease costs.
The RAF's Tornado GR.4 aircraft are currently based at RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Marham, and are set to be replaced by the F-35B. As recently as 2010 the Tornado fleet was set to remain in service until 2025, although this has since been brought forward to 2021, and latterly 2019 as the UK MoD looks to find cost saving measures.
janes

AH-64E looking increasingly likely for UK

The UK looks increasingly likely to procure the Boeing AH-64E.
The government is currently considering options to sustain the British Army's Apache fleet until its planned out of service date in 2040.
The 66 WAH-64D Block I helicopters in the UK inventory are rapidly becoming unsupportable, as the US Army and Boeing shift their attention to the AH-64D Block II and AH-64E fleets as operated by the US and most international customers.
Given the success of the Apache in Afghanistan and Libya, the British Army has made clear its desire to upgrade its current WAH-64D Block I helicopters with the latest variant AH-64E. The deputy commander of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), said that the army "rather hopes" that the AH-64E will be the chosen successor, for fielding before 2020.
The MoD is currently undertaking a capability sustainment programme to sustain the UK's attack helicopter capability out to 2040 and beyond.
janes

Unmanned Taranis has flown, MoD reveals

Breaking a long silence about the status of its BAE Systems-led Taranis unmanned combat air system technology demonstrator, the UK Ministry of Defence has revealed that initial flight tests have already taken place.
The debut is believed to have occurred at the Woomera test range in South Australia. BAE has used the site during previous unmanned flight test campaigns, including with its Mantis, Herti, Corax and Raven systems. In a 1 August trading statement, the company said the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour-powered Taranis was due to fly “in the second half of the year”.
The MoD’s written submission also includes a detailed split of its currently 577-strong UAV inventory, which is predominantly used to support operations in Afghanistan. The total comprises five General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Reapers, eight leased Elbit Systems Hermes 450s, 222 Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk IIIs, 324 Prox Dynamics Black Hornets and 18 Honeywell T-Hawks.
flightglobal

UK says 'no thanks' to BAe 146 tanker

The UK Ministry of Defence has distanced itself from any possible future use of the BAe 146 as a refuelling tanker, following the concept’s recent promotion by BAE Systems Regional Aircraft.
A core fleet of nine Voyagers will replace the Royal Air Force’s remaining Lockheed TriStar tankers and retired Vickers VC10s, with six of the AirTanker-supplied type now in service.
BAE unveiled an offer to modify the 146/Avro RJ regional airliner for the tanker role during the DSEi exhibition in London last month. The company, which has already supplied two military transport-adapted C3-model aircraft to the RAF, says the type could be equipped with a hose drum unit and auxiliary tanks, enabling it to transfer up to 18t of fuel.
A first proximity trial was performed in 2009 using an RAF Hawk T1 trainer to investigate the concept’s feasibility.
flightglobal

Watchkeeper UAV edges towards UK acceptance

The British Army’s late-running Watchkeeper unmanned air system has cleared a major hurdle on its way to delayed service introduction, with the UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA) having approved a statement of type design assurance.
With this MAA approval now in place, Thales/Elbit Systems joint venture UTacS and the army will next seek to secure military type certification for the Watchkeeper before it can be introduced by Royal Artillery batteries.
The MoD in mid-September announced that an interim intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance service being provided by Thales in Afghanistan using Elbit’s Hermes 450 UAS (below) has passed 70,000 flying hours. Operated from Camp Bastion in Helmand province since 2007 under an urgent operational requirement deal, air vehicles are currently organised in five “task lines”. Roughly 1,460 flights per year are currently being conducted with the fleet.
flightglobal

Hard-up RAF flies second-hand RC-135 jets in US air force colours to save £3million cost of repainting them in British colours

The RAF's new fleet of second-hand spy planes will fly in U.S. colours because defence bosses say it is not cost effective to repaint them.
Instead of the air force's uniform light grey, the three RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft, which were bought from the U.S., will keep their design of a white top, black nose and grey underside.
The Ministry of Defence said it would cost £3million to repaint them.
dailymail

RAF officials see post-Afghanistan role for Reaper

An expected end to UK combat involvement in Afghanistan before the end of 2014 is unlikely to mean the end for its General Atomics Reaper remotely piloted air systems , according to Royal Air Force assistant chief of the air staff.
The Ministry of Defence has yet to decide on the exact composition of RAF's Reaper force beyond combat operations in Afghanistan.
Current RAF projections suggest that around one-third of the service's combat aircraft inventory will be unmanned by the 2030s.
flightglobal

Assad launched two Syrian Air Force Su-24 attack planes towards Cyprus to probe British airbase’s air defenses

Last week it was reported that RAF deployed Typhoons to Cyprus, were scrambled from the British base at Akrotiri whereas two Turkish Air Force took off from Incirlik airbase and headed towards the island.
In the following days, more details about the Cyprus incident emerged.
British MoD confirmed yesterday that Typhoon Air Defence Aircraft were launched from RAF Akrotiri to investigate unidentified aircraft over the Eastern Mediterranean; flying legally in international airspace and no intercept was required.
On Sept. 8, The Sunday People / Sunday Mirror revealed that Syrian Su-24 Fencers were actually involved.
“RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday People can ­reveal. The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe our air defences. The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them.”
RAF Typhoons from the IX Sqn in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) duty on the island, were scrambled before the Su-24s, that were flying in international airspace and were spotted by a flying E-3D AWACS could enter the 14-mile air exclusion zone. Otherwise, they would have been intercepted and identificated, and eventually escorted out of the restricted airspace.
Buzzing the enemy airspace to test its reaction time or actively disturbing the enemy training activities is not rare.
For instance, the Turkish RF-4E Phantom shot down by Syria in 2012 was probably violating the Syrian airspace to probe Damascus’s air defense readiness.
theaviationist

British troops in Afghanistan using palm-sized nano UAV

British troops in Afghanistan are the first to use state-of-the-art handheld nano surveillance helicopters.

The Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle measures around 4 inches by 1 inch (10cm x 2.5cm) and provides troops on the ground with vital situational awareness.

The Black Hornet is equipped with a tiny camera which gives troops reliable full-motion video and still images. Soldiers are using it to peer around corners or over walls and other obstacles to identify any hidden dangers and the images are displayed on a handheld terminal.

gov.uk

ICONIC SECTION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH AIRCRAFT CARRIER READY FOR DELIVERY

The iconic Forward Island, known as Upper Block 07, is the hub of the ship as it contains the main bridge and approximately 100 vital mission systems compartments.
Paul Bowsher, QE Class project leader for BAE Systems in Portsmouth, said: “The Forward Island is a key part of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and once again the exceptional standard of construction that we have achieved is true testament to the skills and talents of our team.
“It is a very proud moment to see her leave the hall, but we are already looking forward to her return home to Portsmouth as part of the largest warship ever constructed for the Royal Navy.”
It is the first block to depart with her final paint colours applied, all windows fitted and consoles installed, along with 43km of cables and 3,101 pipes. She also proudly displays the HMS Queen Elizabeth crest.
Weighing 680 tonnes, the Forward Island was today carried onto a barge which will depart next week for Rosyth where final assembly is underway. A transportation team will now spend the next four days ensuring the structure is fully secured to the barge.
The Forward Island recently passed a Ministry of Defence audit on all compartments and a full BAE Systems care and protection inspection to ensure the block is weather proof and able to undertake the sea journey. A 78 tonne lifting frame has also been attached to allow the Goliath Crane in Rosyth to lift it onto HMS Queen Elizabeth in March. Once the Long Range Radar has been installed on top of the Forward Island, the ship will stand at 56 metres, which is taller than the Niagara Falls.
The aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a unique partnering relationship between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the UK Ministry of Defence.

baesystems

Royal Navy Wildcat makes flight debut

The UK Ministry of Defence has released images showing the first flight of a production example of the Royal Navy's new AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 helicopter.

Performed from the airframer's Yeovil production site in Somerset, the milestone was reached by aircraft ZZ397, which was previously due to have been accepted by the navy in mid-December 2012.

AgustaWestland will produce 28 Wildcats for the RN and 34 for the British Army under a programme worth more than £1.6 billion ($2.5 billion), with the type to enter use with the services in 2015 and 2014, respectively. The manufacturer will also deliver training and support services under a £250 million agreement signed during 2012.

Also being marketed to potential international customers as the AW159, the Wildcat won its first export competition in January 2013, when the South Korean navy selected the type for an initial eight-aircraft requirement. A contract signature for the roughly $560 million deal is expected soon, with deliveries sought from 2015.

Second RAF C-17 Aircraft Departs for Mali Mission

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement that the UK will provide logistical military assistance in support of French military operations in Mali, a second Royal Air Force C-17 strategic transport aircraft has arrived in France.
At Evreux Airbase near Paris the aircraft will be loaded with armoured vehicles and other military equipment for transport to the Malian capital Bamako. French forces are assisting the Malian Government to contain rebel and extremist groups in the North of the country.

defencetalk

U.K. Set To Order Brimstone Missiles, Replenish RAF Stocks

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is set to order a new batch of Brimstone precision-guided missiles from maker MBDA as the Royal Air Force continues to rebuild weapon stocks in the wake of the Libyan conflict.

alert5
defensenews

Britain reins in defence equipment costs and project delays

Britain's Defence Ministry has begun to improve the way it handles major procurement areas, but must still do more to keep costs and delays under control, parliament's spending watchdog said on Thursday.

MPs and state agencies have frequently criticised the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in recent years for letting costs and timelines on multi-million dollar programmes run out of control.
biz.thestar