Troops will have the enemy in their sights with new kit

Troops will have their eye on the enemy with a suite of new equipment which will increase their ability to detect and target their foes, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support announced today

The new Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Package, part of the Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) programme, has been ordered from Thales UK under a £150M contract. The announcement was made at this year’s Defence Sales Exhibition International (DSEi) at the Excel Centre in London.

FIST will provide improved protection, day and night surveillance and target acquisition, and assistance with navigation, command and control and battle preparation.

The new thermal sights will allow soldiers to conduct surveillance and engage targets in all weather and light levels, including zero light where normal night sights would be rendered ineffective. Thermal imaging has the added benefits of improving the ability to see through optical camouflage; it will also enhance the soldiers’ ability to conduct low level change recognition of tell tale thermal signatures of concealed weapons and IEDs.

The full FIST package will consist of nearly eleven thousand suites of equipment, comprising the following elements:

• Thermal Sights
• Close Quarter Battle Sights
• Commanders’ Target Locating Systems
• Lightweight Day Sights
• Underslung Grenade Launcher Sights
• Underslung Grenade Launcher Fire Control Systems
• Ruggedised Digital Cameras
• Lightweight Infantry Periscopes.

FIST will allow soldiers to dominate the battlefield with enhanced optics and improved target location accuracy, and will result in a significant increase in soldier lethality.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

“The Surveillance and Target Acquisition Package forms the first part of the FIST programme. The new kit that we have ordered will significantly increase the combat effectiveness of the British Infantryman.

“The MoD is committed to equipping our frontline troops with the best equipment we can by using the latest technological advances. I am delighted to announce this new contract which supports the British Defence Industrial base at the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition.”

Colonel Bill Pointing, team leader of Dismounted Soldier Solutions at Defence Equipment and Support added:

“This is a key step in giving the dismounted soldier the equipment that he needs, both for current operations and to support training before deployment. The team from Defence Equipment and Support is proud of its achievement in delivering this package and looks forward to delivering the equipment that will further improve our dismounted close combat capability.”

The STA package that makes up the first increment of the FIST programme will enhance the ability of the troops on the ground to move, find, fix and strike the enemy by providing an enhanced 24 hour STA capability.

Deliveries of the new kit will begin at the end of 2010 and the first equipment will be given to troops for training, prior to being deployed to Afghanistan, in early 2011.

For more details on the individual pieces of equipment, please see the separate FIST fact sheet.

(MOD) MoD comments on MPs report on equipment acquisition

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies today commented on a report by MPs covering MOD's performance last year on its biggest equipment projects.

The report by, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2008, is published today. The Government will be responding formally and fully to the Committee's report in due course in a Treasury Minute.

He said:

"Our troops are as well equipped as any professional Armed Forces in the world today. In the period covered by the report we delivered £5.8Bn of equipment to our Armed Forces, from hugely impressive C17 transport planes to mine detectors.

"In addition, some 240 Urgent Operational Requirements were delivered to the front line - including state-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicles, more Mastiff and Jackal vehicles and improved protection for our fleet of Warrior armoured vehicles. Since the period covered by the report, we've also ordered a further 700 protected vehicles.

"Delays to projects featured in the Major Projects Report, while regrettable, have not led to gaps in our present front line capability."

(MOD) Recovery of Fromelles WWI War dead begins

Work to recover the bodies of up to 400 WWI British and Australian soldiers began today at Pheasant Wood, in the small village of Fromelles in France.

In a simple yet poignant ceremony Reverend Ray Jones from St. George's Memorial Church in Ypres and Fromelles parish priest Father Duprez blessed the site of the five mass burial pits, before the turning of the first soil began.

Dignitaries from the UK, Australian and French governments were present alongside representatives from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is overseeing the project on behalf of the UK and Australian governments, and the team from Oxford Archaeology which is undertaking the recovery operation. They were joined by people from the local community, and those visiting Fromelles to pay their respect to the fallen.

Quentin Davies, Defence Minister said:

"Today's ceremony marks the start of our programme to see these brave soldiers laid to rest with the honour and respect they deserve. Archaeologists will now embark on painstaking work that will hopefully lead to the identification of the remains of hundreds of British and Australian soldiers.

"I urge families whose relatives may have died here in 1916 to check the list of possible casualties and come forward if there is a chance their grandfather or great-grandfather died at Fromelles."

His Excellency Mr David Ritchie Australian Ambassador to France, said:

"The United Kingdom and Australian governments are jointly committed to honouring the ultimate sacrifice of these World War One British and Australian soldiers. It is only through this commitment that these men can finally be laid to rest."

By the end of the project in 2010 all bodies found will be permanently laid to rest in individual graves at a new Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Fromelles, the first to be constructed in fifty years.

Admiral Sir Ian Garnett, Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said:

"Today marks the beginning of the journey to afford many of those killed at Fromelles with a fitting and dignified final place of rest. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is honoured to be managing the project on behalf of the UK and Australian Governments, and the creation of the new cemetery will provide a focus for pilgrimage and remembrance for years to come."

The process of recovering the bodies will last until September 2009. It is the hope of both governments that identification of some of the fallen will be possible, and DNA extraction will be taken from a small cross-section of remains to test for viability.

The lists of names of UK and Australian soldiers who are thought might be recovered has been published, and families who believe their relatives may have lost their lives at Fromelles are urged to check the lists on http://www.cwgc.org/fromelles.

(MOD) £80m sub-contracts for Queen Elizabeth class Aircraft Carriers

The construction of the Royal Navy's two future Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers continues to gain momentum with the announcement of £80m worth of equipment sub-contracts for several UK based companies.

The sub-contracts cover:

* £57m for insulation systems by Ticon Ltd UK, based in Glasgow, sustaining some 350 jobs;

* £25m for communication systems by Thales UK, Crawley site, West Sussex, which will secure up to 50 jobs;

* £1m for water treatment by the Ormandy Group, based in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies said:

"Today's sub-contracts will help to strengthen UK industry sustaining over 400 jobs across a variety of companies, while also adding to the momentum of their construction programme.

"The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are vitally important to our future defence capabilities, allowing us to project air power at a time and place of our choosing."

Tony Graham, Head of Capital Ships within MOD's Defence Equipment & Support attended the signing ceremony at Thales UK and said:

"The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has now placed sub-contracts for almost 40% of the total value of the materials and equipments required to build both ships, and we are pressing ahead into full scale production in the shipyards. The UK's future aircraft carriers are already off the drawing board and becoming a physical reality - the Queen Elizabeth Class." The Glasgow based Ticon Ltd UK will supply the insulation systems to be used throughout the ship which will prevent the transfer of noise and heat and protect the ship from the spread of fire.

Thales UK will cover both onboard and fleet-wide communications. Onboard it will ensure that that crew have access to information and are in communication with their colleagues across the ship at all times. The system will use internet networks to transmit data and voice in the same way as modern businesses and offices communicate. Fleet-wide (external to the ship) includes a High Frequency (HF) system to provide long-range communications between the ship, other vessels and land bases.

The Bradford based Ormandy Group will deliver equipment for treatment and supply of hot and cold fresh water to the accommodation spaces within the ships. Last month Her Majesty the Queen gave her formal approval for the new class of aircraft carrier to be known as the 'Queen Elizabeth Class'. The giant hull sections that will make up the ships have been in construction since December of last year.