Allies continue to reinforce NATO's flanks
18 February 2022
by Nicholas Fiorenza
The UK is doubling the number of personnel in the EFP battlegroup it leads in Estonia and sending additional equipment, including Challenger 2 tanks (pictured) and AFVs. (Estonian MoD)
NATO allies announced the further reinforcement of NATO's flanks during a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Brussels on 16–17 February as Russia appeared to be continuing rather than drawing down its military build-up against Ukraine.
During a press conference after the meeting on 17 February, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that Bulgaria had agreed earlier the same day to host a US Army Stryker company for joint training, with the unit “departing Germany in the coming days, and they'll help ensure our readiness and our interoperability with Bulgaria as our NATO ally”. A 1,000-strong Stryker squadron of the US Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment has been deployed from its base in Vilseck, Germany, with its light wheeled armoured vehicles, to Romania to reinforce around 900 US troops already there.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in a press release on 16 February that soldiers and personnel of the Royal Welsh battlegroup would leave Sennelager, Germany, and bases in the UK the same day and start arriving in Estonia during the following week. The ministry noted that the UK is doubling the number of personnel in Estonia and sending additional equipment, including tanks and armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). The UK already has an 808-strong armoured infantry battalion with main battle tanks, AFVs, and self-propelled artillery in the Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) battlegroup it leads in Tapa, Estonia, according to a February 2022 NATO fact sheet. Janes has identified the tanks as Challenger 2s and the SPHs as AS90s, with the AFVs including Warrior infantry fighting vehicles.
In addition, British Army Air Corps' Apache helicopters will soon deploy to conduct exercises with allies and partners in Eastern Europe, and four additional UK Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters have landed in Cyprus and will soon begin patrolling Eastern European allies' airspace, according to the press release.
The UK MoD added that the offshore patrol vessel HMS Trent had begun conducting patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean alongside Canadian, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish ships as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, with Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond preparing to leave for the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days.
The ministry reported that most of the 350 Royal Marines of 45 Commando committed to Poland had arrived, with 1,000 more British personnel on standby in the UK to support a humanitarian response if required.
In a press conference on 16 February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced, “Ministers decided to develop options for further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence, including to consider establishing new NATO [EFP] battlegroups in central and south-eastern Europe.” Welcoming the French offer to lead a battlegroup in Romania, he said, “Our military commanders will now work on the details and report back within weeks.”
Vietnam issues diplomatic note to Malaysia after South China Sea collision
25 April 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
A file image of KM Arau , which collided into a Vietnamese fishing vessel on 22 April. (MMEA)
Hanoi has issued a diplomatic note to Putrajaya after a Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) vessel collided into a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters of the South China Sea, multiple sources close to the matter confirmed to Janes .
Vessels involved in the collision are the MMEA's sole Arau (Nojima)-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) KM Arau and an unnamed fishing boat with pennant number 90729.
The collision took place on 22 April at about 15 n miles southeast of Investigator Shoal, which lies within the Spratly Islands cluster. The feature is occupied by Malaysia, but also claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan as part of their respective maritime territories.
As a result of the collision, 22 fishermen from 90729 fell overboard and a search-and-rescue operation (SAR) was established by both the Vietnamese and Malaysian authorities.
Special Report: Australia to accentuate maritime capabilities amid China's coercion
25 April 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
A Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer fires a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard' 2022. The class will be equipped with the Naval Strike Missile in the future. (Commonwealth of Australia)
The Australian government has released two more policy documents that outline its defence development intentions over the next few years. The two documents – National Defence Strategy (NDS) 2024 and Integrated Investment Program (IIP) 2024 – were unveiled by Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles on 17 April.
The new policies follow Australia's Defence Strategic Review (DSR) – issued in April 2023 – and its evaluation of surface combatant capabilities, which was released earlier in 2024.
As outlined in the IIP 2024, the Australian government is projected to spend AUD765 billion (USD496 billion) in the decade between 2024 and 2034 on defence programmes. This amount includes an additional AUD56 billion above the previous trajectory that was forecast for this period.
Austal completes sea trials for Australia's autonomous patrol boat project
24 April 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
Sentinel , the testbed for Australia's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial project. (Austal)
Australian shipbuilder Austal has completed the sea acceptance trials phase for the country's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), the company announced on 23 April.
The milestone, which included an endurance trial, was achieved by the project's testbed – a decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat now known as Sentinel. The vessel was formerly in service with the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Maitland and retired in 2022.
The PBAT is an Australian government-funded project. Besides Austal Australia, other stakeholders in the project include Fremantle-based engineering company Greenroom Robotics, research centre Trusted Autonomous Systems, and the Royal Australian Navy Warfare Innovation Navy (WIN) Branch.
It seeks to provide a proof-of-concept demonstrator for optionally crewed or autonomous operations.
As part of the trials, Sentinel carried out a series of remote and autonomous navigation events conducted off the Western Australian coastline between March and April, Austal said.
These events were carried out with a software known as Greenroom's Advanced Maritime Autonomy (GAMA) from a Western Australia-based company Greenroom Robotics.
Austral Australia took possession of the decommissioned Maitland
NATO allies announced the further reinforcement of NATO's flanks during a meeting of the alliance's ...
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