29, April #WarSpillover

Deborah Haynes: NEW…

NEW: The UK is rallying a new force of navies from among northern allies to be ready to fight and defend their seas amid a growing threat from Russia, the head of the Royal Navy has said It will be like the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) and will complement NATO - but with the ability to react faster. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said in a @RUSI_org lecture: “I aim to create a maritime force that trains, exercises and prepares together. A force designed to fight immediately if required, with real capabilities, real war plans, and real integration. “A force in which interchangeability – the ability to substitute, swap, or mix equipment, parts, ammunition, or personnel – is made possible because member nations would be operating common systems and platforms, shared digital networks, logistics and stockpiles. “A force that generates the maritime, air and amphibious strike capabilities that we all need. “This would be a visible and persistent conventional deterrent. A force that is stronger, collectively, than the sum of its parts…. “We are now looking at the creation of a family of allied fleets – something that has not happened in decades. Ultimately, we intend for them to be trained through our Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST), supported through UK doctrine and integration standards, and commanded if necessary from Northwood in our Maritime Operations Centre. “Last week I hosted naval chiefs from across Northern Europe to discuss how we can make this plan a reality. “And I am delighted to confirm to you today that during that meeting, we signed a statement of intent committing each of our nations to working up detailed proposals for our Northern Navies initiative. “We know we have no time to lose, which is why by the end of this year, I want us all to have signed a formal declaration, laying the foundations for what will be a vital and enduring partnership for many years to come.”

Deborah Haynes: NEW…

https://x.com/haynesdeborah/status/2049443599771664456?s=20

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30, April #WarSpillover

Deborah Haynes: A coalition base in Iraq that...

NEW: A coalition base in Iraq that British forces are helping to defend was targeted by around 28 Iranian-linked drones and missiles a day as the US and Israel attacked Iran, it has emerged. Members of the RAF Regiment, using counter-drone missile systems, blasted more than 100 of the unmanned aircraft out of the sky during roughly six weeks of combat before a temporary ceasefire deal was agreed between Washington and Tehran in early April. It is the first time the intensity of the conflict for British troops deployed to the region on defensive operations has become clear. Sky News was given rare access to the base, which is a frontline for UK military personnel. ""I would argue this place would be a smouldering wreck if it wasn't for you guys,"" @AlistairCarns , the armed forces minister, said during a visit to the site last week along with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, the head of the @RoyalAirForce Full story - including how gaming skills are useful for downing drones ⬇️

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15, April

Deborah Haynes: A decision by Lord George Robertson...

A decision by Lord George Robertson to call out the prime minister and his chancellor over their failure to rearm the UK at speed in the face of growing threats marks the most significant intervention on defence spending since the end of the Cold War. The key question now is whether it will have any effect on political debate and the wider public mood - or whether his bellowing cry for action will be wafted away by reassuring soundbites from Sir Keir Starmer and his team that they have defence and security covered. The former Labour defence secretary, former NATO chief and, most pertinently, lead author of the government's own defence review, said he was speaking out against his own party with a "heavy heart" and knowing full-well it would not go down well inside Downing Street. Yet Lord Robertson clearly felt that he had no choice but to put country before politics. He has waited patiently for almost a year for the government to turn his strategic defence review into a fully-funded plan that was rapidly getting the country - as the prime minister has said needs to happen - ready for war. Instead of a flood of activity, though, with defence factories churning out weapons and the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force expanding their warfighting prowess, there has been paralysis as Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and John Healey, the defence secretary, attempt to finalise a plan on how to pay for everything. The Defence Investment Plan should have been published last autumn. It is still on the prime minister's desk awaiting sign off. "There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain's political leadership," Lord Robertson said in a carefully crafted speech at the Guildhall in Salisbury to an audience of largely local residents and a sprinkling of journalists, including me. "Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger. But even a promised national conversation about defence can't be started." Full analysis ⬇️

15, April

Deborah Haynes: So... business as usual inside government...

So... business as usual inside government it would seem despite the extraordinary intervention on the state of defence by Lord George Robertson - a Labour peer and author of Sir Keir Starmer's own defence review - to try to make ministers genuinely get the country ready for war instead of just talking about it. Instead, at Prime Prime Minister's Questions, @Keir_Starmer : - dismissed carefully considered and articulated criticism by Lord Robertson that there was a "corrosive complacency" on defence as incorrect. "My responsibility is to keep the British people safe and that is a duty I take seriously. That is why I don't agree with his comments", Starmer told MPs - doubled down on previous commitments - widely regarded by defence insiders as insufficient and far too slow to fix the hollowed out armed forces in time to confront the growing threats - to increase defence spending and again saying this mystical defence investment plan will be coming out soon - and then tried to score political points against the Tories despite a passionate plea by Lord Robertson in his speech on Tuesday to take the political mudslinging out of defence and make it a cross-party endeavour because of the gravity of the challenge