Airborne Forces Forces

Feb 2017 Vol 28 Issue 11

AIRBORNE FORCES EXERCISE COLIBRI PT.2

+

VEHIC F CU LE BRITO ISH S

AJAX ARMY &A AFV RES

ALLIED FORCES COMBINED ARMS LIVE-FIRE

UK RESILIENCE

COALITION FORCES

7TH ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT

KIT & CAMO

AUSTRALIAN MULTICAM

british forces

AMBOOR COMPANY, 2ND ROYAL GURKHA RIFLES

Volume olume 28 Is Issue 11 £4.25

GURKHAS!

W WWW.COMBATANDSURVIVAL.COM

POLICE EXERCISE CONQUER ‘16

BRITAIN’S LEADING INDEPENDENT MILITARY MAGAZINE

P52

COMBAT +SURVIVAL Vicky Lindsay, Magazine Director

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

Bob Morrison, Editor Carl Schulze, Senior Correspondent Gordon Arthur, Far East Correspondent Jason Polley, Survival Specialist Mike Gormley, Gear Tester Robert Shaw, Security Consultant Ian Young, Scale Models Neal Molyneaux, Designer

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Moira Spencer, Sales Director Fran Smith, Admin & Accounts Manager

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Ciaran Jarosz, Head of Marketing Daryl Crowther, Marketing Manager

PAGE 09: British Forces - AIR ASSAULT GURKHAS Carl Schulze reports from Southern France as Amboor Company of 2 RGR y by helicopter

PAGE 17: Airborne Forces - COLIBRI IL Pt.2 Carl Schulze concludes coverage of the recent multinational invitational exercise in France

PAGE 24: Allied Forces - ANAKONDA ‘16 LIVEX Bob Morrison reports from Poland on the Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise at Drawsko Pomorskie

PAGE 30: Armour File - AJAX & ARES Bob Morrison discusses the new British Army family of CVR(T) replacement armoured vehicles

PAGE 34: Kit & Camo - AUSTRALIAN AN MU M MULTICAM ULT L IC CAM AM Gordon Arthur focuses on the new MultiCam am md derivative erriv e ivat a iv at ve camouage pattern on issue Down Under

PAGE 38: Coalition Forces - BOAR R BATTALION Gordon Arthur reports from Adelaide on 7t 7th th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment

PAGE 45: UK Resilience - CONQUER ER ‘1 ‘16 16 Bob Morrison reports from Salisbury Plain on Police-led multi-agency riot training manoeuvres

PAGE 52: Alliance Forces VENERABLE GAUNTLET Bob Morrison reports from Germany on the British-led 14-nation VJTF(L) validation exercise

PAGE 58: Footwear HAIX FACTORY Bob Morrison visits the recently expanded HAIX combat boot manufacturing facility in Croatia

[Cover Image : © Carl Schulze]

PAGE 64: Outdoor Gear - TRIED & T TESTED ES STE TED D Mike Gormley eld trials a head torch, a handand dack cket et et cranked charger and a seriously insulated jacket

PAGE 70: Vehicle Focus - URO VAMTAC MT M MTAC TAC AC Bob Morrison points his cameras at the Spanish pa ani nish sh H sh Humumum m vee equivalent used by some VJTF nationss

PAGE 05: Comms PAGE 68: Security

Published by Hit Media Ltd Printed & Distributed by Warners Group Publications PLC The Maltings, West Street, Bourne PE10 9PH Subscriptions and Back Issue Orders to: COMBAT & SURVIVAL Magazine which is published by: Hit Media Ltd, 1st Floor Turnbridge Mills, Quay Street, Hudderseld, HD1 6QT Tel: (01484) 437319 ISSN: 0955-9841 To Subscribe or order a digital edition visit www.combatandsurvival.com Advertising: [email protected] Editorial: [email protected] Editor Edi tor o ial a:e ditor dit o ©Copyright here ©Copyr ©Co pyrrigh ightt h er and abroad of all ere material held by the publishers. No materi mat eri rial a is hel al he eld b reproduction rep prod duct ction ion on n is permitted whatsoever without prior consent in writing. withou wit houtt prio ho hou p riorr c o IMPORTANT: All IMP PORT TANT ANT:: A Al individual combat and personal pe per son o al survival surviv sur viva activities involve risk oneself o injury of injury ur to ones on ess and others and great must care car em u be tak ust ta ttaken k carrying out any activities. Expert guidance should such suc h acti a ctivit v ies vit ess. E equipment checked for be sou sought ght ht an and de reliability reliab rel iabili i ty bef ili before ore any activities described here carried her re in in are are car carrie rie out. The publishers cannot ca not accept can ac a cep ep any responsibility for any death, loss or damage y injury, injur in jury, y, d which which may m result. ARTICLES A ICL AR ART C ES S AND PHOTOGRAPHS will and considered will be be welcomed w for Submission of such fo publication. pu publi blic c shall considered a warranty that shall be b c they th y are original and do not the infringe on the copyright of infrr inf others. Unsuitable material o can only be returned if you include a S.A.E. Loss or damage is not the L responsibility of COMBAT r & SURVIVAL. DISCLAIMER: The D publishers make p no n representations, endorsements, guarantees end do or warranties concerning the wa w a products and/or services produ pro du d u advertised within this a er ad adv e magazine. We expressly maga mag a disclaim disscla cl i any and all liability relating rel e ati el at n to or arising from the sale, distribution, sal sa a e, e, manufacture, m use of such. se e or o misuse mis mi

COMBAT COMB CO MB MB & SURVIVAL | 03

Comms F comms

ebruary may be the cover date of this magazine, but it is actually the rst issue of C&S to be published in 2017 and this page is the last one that I will pen in 2016. Looking back, it has been an incredibly short, but also highly interesting and productive year for us. Not only has this rst full year under HIT Media ownership, following the retiral of previous publishers Roy and Norman, seen the printed magazine content go from strengthto-strength, but our web presence has increased markedly too and the digital version of C&S is also doing very nicely indeed. We live in interesting times. Talking of interesting times, over 2015 and 2016 our small reporting team of specialist photojournalists has been fortunate to have been in a position to

record both the evolution of Britain’s Land Forces under the ARMY 2020 programme and the surge of NATO reassurance measures in the Baltic area, following President Putin’s annexation of The Crimea, sixty years after the Soviets rst annexed it in 1954 (though 2014 was actually the third annexation as Russia had previously swallowed it up in 1783).

In response to the latest annexation, the heads of the NATO nations agreed to step up Alliance defence at a summit in Wales in September 2014 and the setting up of the VJTF (Very High Readiness Joint Task Force) was agreed. By the time of the UK-Polish joint Exercise RYS (LYNX) in late 2014, Poland was very nervous indeed that the Pesky Ruskies might invade their country once again, as they did in 1939

in concert with Hitler at the start of WWII, before Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin fell out. January 2015 saw C&S being invited to Hohenfels in Germany for Exercise ALLIED SPIRIT, where we listened in on a brieng for very senior NATO ofcers given by Lt. Gen Frederick ‘Ben’ Hodges, who had become Commander US Army Europe (USAREUR) just two months earlier and, from that point on, we endeavoured to cover as much of the changing military situation in Europe as feasible, bearing in mind the magazine’s understandably limited resources. This issue brings readers up to date with both Poland’s multinational defence measures, as our coverage of Exercise ANAKONDA ‘16 draws almost to its conclusion (we still have the Special Operations aspect to cover), and with UK Forces preparations, on Exercise VENERABLE GAUNTLET in Germany, to lead the new NATO multinational VJTF for twelve months. We wonder what 2017 may bring. Talking of 2017, if you have been watching the combatandsurvival. com website you will have noticed us heralding the 30th Anniversary of the COMBAT & SURVIVAL brand. The title started off as a limited run weekly partwork in 1987 and evolved into this monthly newsstand magazine two years later. As someone who penned some articles for the original partwork, and who has been involved with feature writing for the monthly magazine almost from its inception, I am looking forward to what promises to be an interesting future. From time-to-time HIT Media will be marking our 30th year with Special Offers on subscriptions - the rst has already been publicised - and the best way of snapping one of these up is to monitor our Facebook and Twitter pages, both of which are linked from the website. No doubt our publisher has other promotions up his sleeve for 2017, so make sure you ‘Like’ combatandsurvival or ‘Follow’ @CombatSurvival.

Images © Bob Morrison 2015

Finally, in this issue we have a feature from Gordon Arthur on Australia’s 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment and ‘Our Man In Hong Kong’ has also taken over Kit & Camo to focus on the new Australian MultiCam Camouage Uniform. As we ran out of space in the magazine, we have dropped the accompanying photo of two Australian Army lieutenant colonels wearing a mix of old and new camo patterns, while attending a Combined Arms Manoeuvre Demo on Salisbury Plain in 2015, onto this page for colour comparison. BM

Ofcer on left wears new AMCU pattern combat jacket and older ADCP trousers while his colleague on the right wears a softshell ADCP jacket and similar combat trousers [© Bob Morrison]

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 05

BRITISH ARMY MTP SPECIAL FORCES WEBBING

Almost 50% lighter than standard webbing. Almost 50% smaller than standard webbing (Pack size) Cost almost 50% less than standard webbing. From only £94.95 But still has the same robust quality as the standard webbing. Made in the UK. „ This webbing is ultra lightweight and will pack away in its own stu sack attached to the underside of the belt. „ The belt is padded for comfort and has a 60 mm quick release buckle. „ The yoke has the standard 6 point fasteners and is laser cut to take extra molle pouches. „ It is available in 2 sizes „ Regular to t waist 30” plus, This has 2 utility pouches and 2 double ammo pouches. „ Large to t waist 36” plus, This has 3 utility pouches and 2 double ammo pouches.

www.militarykit.com

BRITISH FORCES

Report & Images by

CARL SCHULZE

01: 25th September 2016, 15:46 - Gurkhas are inserted by French SA330 Puma utility helicopters of the 5er Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat onto the Camp Caylus Training Area 02: The 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Ries has served with 16 Air Assault Brigade since June 2015 so they wear the brigade’s Tactical Recognition Flash

01

AIR ASSAULT

GURKHAS Images © Carl Schulze

AMBOOR COMPANY, 2 RGR

The rst exercise in the COLIBRI series took place in 1962 and since then 49 of these airborne manoeuvres have been conducted in France and Germany; the last one being in south-western France between the 16th and 30th of September 2016. Initially a Franco-German aair, aimed at improving the development of the airborne forces of the two nations and cooperation between them, in the new millennium the exercise series was opened up to the airborne forces of other allies as well. In 2016 British troops took part in a COLIBRI exercise for the rst time.

25TH SEPTEMBER, 2016, 15:46.

A

t high speed and low level, the two SA330 Puma utility helicopters of the 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat of the Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre (ALAT) of the French Army

approach the Camp Caylus Training Area in South-Western France. Seconds later, the aircraft had reached their destination, a helicopter landing site close to the edge of a wood. Banking sharp left, the pilots set their aircraft softly down on the ground in front of it.

02 COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 09

At the same time as their wheels touch the ground, the side doors of the helicopters are tugged open. Inside the aircraft the loadmasters can now be seen showing thumbs-up to their human cargo. This is the signal the Gurkhas from the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Gurkha Ries, assigned to 16 Air Assault Brigade, have been waiting for and one

Images © Carl Schulze

BRITISH FORCES

after another they scramble through the doors with their large bergen rucksacks then rush to the nearby treeline in front of the helicopters. On reaching the trees, they form up into their sections and set up an ad hoc security perimeter. Suddenly a French soldier of the 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes

04 05 appears a little further down the edge of the wood, waving a blue and yellow ag. Right away the Gurkhas get up and move off into his direction, knowing that his position is the Rendezvous Point they have to head for. Functioning as a follow-on operation to a large scale airborne operation involving hundreds of paratroopers, the heliborne insertion marked the

10 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

03

03: While his comrades assault an enemy militia held position a sharpshooter from A (Amboor) Company of 2 RGR provides cover re with his 7.62mm L129A1 Sharpshooter Rie 04: After being inserted by French helicopters the Gurkhas formed up into their sections and set up an ad hoc security perimeter. 05: Using re team re & manoeuvre tactics Gurkhas assault an enemy held position - note 40mm AG-36 Underslung Grenade Launcher beneath assault rie 06: A Gurkha applies a tourniquet and provides rst aid to a wounded French comrade during an engagement with hostile militia forces 07: Exercise COLIBRI IL saw the Gurkhas operating under command of the 3e Compagnie de Combat of the 1er Règiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes. 08: During the combat phase of COLIBRI IL the Gurkhas covered quite some distance by foot, carrying all kit they would need for 72 hours in the eld

“GURKHAS WERE EQUIPPED WITH THE NEWLY ISSUED VIRTUS INTEGRATED PERSONAL PROTECTION AND LOAD CARRIAGE SYSTEM EQUIPMENT” 07

beginning of the combat phase of Exercise COLIBRI IL for the Gurkhas.

PLATOON-SIZE PARTICIPATION

06

In total Exercise COLIBRI IL involved about 1,000 troops from France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA. The British contingent was provided by A (Amboor) Company of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Ries and numbered 36 troops, mainly from 4 Platoon. The platoon was structured into an HQ element and three rie sec-

08 tions. 2 RGR is based at Sir John Moore Barracks in Shorncliffe in Kent and serves as air-assault infantry unit with 16 Air Assault Brigade since June 2015. Prior to deploying on Exercise COLIBRI IL, the Gurkhas were equipped with the newly issued VIRTUS Integrated Personal Protection and Load Carriage System equipment, including the Improved Modular Helmet, the Scalable Tactical Vest (STV), Pelvic Protection, new Protective Eyewear, Lightweight Webbing System, 40-litre Daysack and 90-litre Bergen. Weapons employed by the Gurkhas during the exercise included: 5.56mm L85 A2 assault ries, tted with Raytheon ELCAN SpecterOS 4X Lightweight Day Sights (LDS) and Shield Close Quarter Battlesights (CQB), some of which were tted with 40mm AG-36 Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL); as well as 5.56mm L110A2 Minimi Light Machine Guns tted with the same sight combination; 5.56mm L86 A2

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 11

09

BRITISH FORCES

10

11

Light Support Weapons (LSW), tted with the SUSAT (Sight Unit, Small Arms, Trilux); 7.62mm L129A1 Sharpshooter Ries, tted with Trijicon ACOG 6x48 sights and Ruggedised Miniature Reex (RMR) sight; and 7.62mm L7A2 GPMG machineguns. During COLIBRI IL, 4 Platoon of A (Amboor) Company 2 RGR was placed under command of the 3e Compagnie

12 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

09: During the exercise the Gurkhas were employed to conduct offensive operations against militia strongholds, including training camps and supply bases 10: The Gurkhas deployed to France with typical British weapons including 5.56mm L85 A2 assault rie with ELCAN SpecterOS 4× Lightweight Day Sight and Shield Close Quarter Battlesight 11: After clearing an enemy held position this Gurkha has been posted as sentry - note the VIRTUS Scalable Tactical Vest and Chassis / MOLLE Hip Belt 12: Gurkhas make their way through the complex terrain of the Camp Caylus Training Area - rear soldier carries VIRTUS 90 litre bergen with 5-litre side pouches 13: New VIRTUS equipment includes Improved Modular Helmet, Scalable Tactical Vest, Low Impact Eyewear, Chassis / MOLLE Hip Belt, 40L Daysack and 90L Bergen 14: The 36-strong British contingent was provided by A (Amboor) Company of 2 RGR - note the battalion’s Tactical Recognition Flash in the form of a black triangle 15: Both the VIRTUS helmet and eyewear components are produced by REVISION Military - complete with front mount and mini rail the helmet is still lighter than its predecessor

12

de Combat of the 1er Regiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes of the French 11e Brigade Parachutiste.

OPERATIONS AGAINST MILITIA STRONGHOLDS

Following their deployment to SouthWestern France in mid-September, the

13

14

“GURKHAS WERE EMPLOYED TO CONDUCT OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS AGAINST MILITIA STRONGHOLDS, INCLUDING TRAINING CAMPS AND SUPPLY BASES.”

exercise ex e xer erci cise ci se sstarted se tart ta rted rt ed ffor or tthe or he G he Gurkhas urkh urkh ur k ass w with itth couple off da a co oup uple o days y o ys off fa ffamiliarisation ami milililiar a isat issat atio io on an and and fo orc ce in nte egr g atio atio at on tr rai aini niing ng. Th he pl p atoo atoo at oon n force integration training. The platoon was then moved Castres, where w wa as th hen nm oved ov ed d tto o Ca C Cast ast stre res, re s, w whe here he re tthe re he 11e Brigade Parachutiste had up 11 1e Br B ig ga ad de Pa P Para arach rach ra hu uttisste te h ad d sset et u et pa an n Air Mounting Centre for the upcoming tactical phase of the exercise.

On the afternoon of 25th September, with the nal preparations for the tactical phase completed, the platoon then was inserted by Puma utility helicopters, of the 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat of the Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre,

Images © Carl Schulze

15

to the Camp Caylus Training Area. For exercise purposes this training area served as part of the ctitious, unstable and civil war torn Equatorial Garoni Republic (EGR) in which United Nation forces had been operating for some while. The heliborne operation was conducted in two waves. Once on the ground the Gurkhas, together with their French allies, were soon involved in operations against violent militia forces operating in the complex terrain. First they took part in securing the initial drop zone and helicopter landing site, in order to allow the deployment of follow-on forces. With this achieved, up until the end of the exercise on 28th September, the Gurkhas were employed to conduct offensive operations against militia strongholds, including training camps and supply bases. During these operations the Gurkhas were supported for a time by airborne engineers from the US Army and they also closely cooperated with the French paratroopers of the 1er RCP.

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 13

+++

STOP PRESS +++

On 22nd December UK MOD awarded a Challenger 2 LEP Assessment Phase contract to both Rheinmetall and BAE Systems.

armour news

CH2 TES MCS CHALLENGER 2 WITH MOBILE CAMOUFLAGE SYSTEM

01: Bovington, 11th October 2016 [Crown Copyright/OGL: PO Owen Cooban]

T

reports suggest that the eet size may he UK Ministry of Defence actually be reduced to just 170 tanks is currently proposing a but, while Minister for the Armed Forces Life Extension Programme Mike Penning MP did not rule this out, (LEP) for its eet of 227 Hansard quotes him as saying on 12th Challenger 2 Main Battle December: “We are planning to spend Tanks, estimated at a cost of around £700 million to extend the Challenger £250 million, with the aim of upgrading 2 capability out to 2035.” Some believe and retaining in service until 2035. Five this much higher gure indicates not bidders submitted proposals in August only that the full eet will be upgraded and it was anticipated that two would but that the tanks may also receive a be down-selected for nal assessment new main gun. by the end of 2016 (though at time of writing in mid-December no announceInterestingly, UK MoD has issued images ment had yet been made). Media 02: Bovington, 11th October 2016 [Crown Copyright/OGL: PO Owen Cooban]

of a Theatre Entry Standard (TES) Challenger 2 reference vehicle, named MEGATRON, with both Chobham and Dorchester armour tted on trials on 11th October at Bovington while clad in a new Mobile Camouage System (MCS). This vehicle, wearing its thermal camouage shroud which we believe was supplied by Rheinmetall, also briey appeared on Salisbury Plain at the Combined Arms Manoeuvre Demo, where we spotted and photographed it. C&S will keep readers informed as more details of the LEP are released. 03: Larkhill, 20th October 2016 [© Bob Morrison]

04: Larkhill, 20th October 2016 [© Bob Morrison]

05: Larkhill, 20th October 2016 [© Bob Morrison]

14 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

B R N AN EW D

Clothing range out now £

18.95 £

19.95

£

12.95

£

31.95

www.combatandsurvival.com/shop * Colour & designs subject to change. All items correct at time of going to press. Visit website for up-to-date merchandise

01: German paratroopers of Fallschirmjäger regiment 26, mostly carrying heavy bergens, ght their way through Jean Cousy Village on the Camp Caylus Training Area

airborne forces

Report & Images by

COLIBRI IL

01

[Pt.2]

CARL SCHULZE

Images © Carl Schulze

French-led Multinational Exercise In September France’s 11e Brigade Parachutiste hosted exercise COLIBRI IL (i.e. COLIBRI 49) and, with some 500 troops deployed, also provided the bulk of the participants. Its Toulouse-based Headquarters (Etat-Major 11e Brigade Parachutiste), supported by the 11th Headquarters and Signal Company (Compagnie de Commandement et de Transmissions Parachutiste), provided the command element for the Multinational Task Force employed during the exercise and also served as the exercise control and direction element.

T

he Pamiers-based 1er Règiment de Chasseurs Parachutists ( 1er RCP) and the Castres-based 8e Régiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine (8e RPIMa) provided the task force’s two airborne infantry battlegroups. Each of the two regiments took part in the exercise with its Headquarters and Support Company (Compagnie de Commandement et de Logistique) and one Airborne Infantry Company (Compagnie de Combat). The regiments also served as hosts for the British, German and Spanish

elements involved in the exercise and commanded them during the tactical phase. Also assigned to the 8e RPIMa was a Reconnaissance Platoon from the Tarbes-based 1e Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes, equipped with VBL scout cars. Elements of the Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes from the 11e Brigade Parachutiste, provided by the 3e Régiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine (3e RPIMa), provided the task force with a Pathnder capability and served as its

Special Forces asset. A Mortar Platoon, equipped with 120mm MO RTF1 mortars, and a Close Air Defence Platoon from the Tarbes-based 35e Régiment d’Artillerie Parachutiste, equipped with MISTRAL man-portable short range surface to air missile systems, took also part in the exercise. During COLIBRI IL, both platoons fell under operational control of C Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment of the US Army. A platoon of French airborne engineers of the Montauban-based 17e Régiment du Génie Parachutiste was assigned to the

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 17

airborne forces

Images © Carl Schulze

02 03

US Army’s A Company, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion. Logistic support for the task force, as well as real live logistic support to all other assets involved in the exercise, was provided by the 1e Régiment du Train Parachutiste based in Toulouse. Medical support, both exercise and real time, was provided by units of the Service de Santé des Armées. The Pau-based 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat of the French Army Air Corps (Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre) supported the task force with two SA330 Puma utility helicopters and two Gazelle SA342 L1 scout/light attack helicopters, and the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air) supported it with one C-160 Transall, one CN-235 Casa transport aircraft

18 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

04 and one E3-F AWACS. Several combat aircraft also took part in the exercise and provided Close Air Support to the troops on the ground. Finally, the Auverganda Resistance Group (ARG) ghters were played by troops of the Castelnaudary-based 4e Régiment Ètranger of the French Foreign Legion.

AIMS OF THE EXERCISE The general aim of Exercise COLIBRI

IL was to develop the friendship and cooperation between the participating airborne forces. This involved crosstraining with each other’s parachute equipment, jumping with it and, by doing so, earning foreign parachute jump qualication wings. Specic aims of the operational phase of the exercise were to train for a First Entry Operation, by means of an airborne assault, to allow the participating forces to train in infantry tactics in complex terrain and to

02: As a machinegun team equipped with a 7.62mm MG3 provides cover re German paratroops cross open ground during their push deep into Jean Cousy Village 03: Spanish paratrooper ghts his way through a cave complex that served as a logistics base for ghters of the Auverganda Resistance Group 04: Here a Spanish paratrooper armed with a 7.62mm MG3 can be seen during one of several long marches through the complex terrain of Camp Caylus Training Area 05: This paratrooper of the 8e RPIMa is armed with a 5.56mm x 45 FAMAS Félin which is the latest variant of the assault rie in service with the French Army 06: Armed with a 7.62mm G27P Präzisionswaffe (sharpshooter rie) a German paratrooper provides cover for his comrades advancing on an Auverganda Resistance Group base 07: Mounted in VBL scout cars and placed under command of the 8e RPIMa, a platoon of the 1e Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes served as the task force reconnaissance asset

06

07 train the resupply of airborne forces by heavy drops. It was also planned to give the commanders on the ground, at all levels, as much freedom in their decision making as possible.

SCENARIO

The scenario of the exercise was based on the ctitious nation of the Equatorial Garoni Republic (EGR). Earlier an international intervention in the country, backed by a UN Resolution, had stopped violent militia groups from snatching the power from the elected government. After the withdrawal of

05

the UN troops, however, the weakness of the EGR Defence Forces had allowed the Auverganda Resistance Group (ARG), one of the militia groups that was also involved in criminal activities such as drug trafcking, to regain power and set up a safe haven in a remote part of the country situated on the Camp Caylus Training Area. Here at Caylus the militia had set up training camps and supply caches holding weapons, ammunition and food. The militia, with some 100 ghters in the area, had also established strong links to the local population. In addition to

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 19

in Pau, Castres and Pamiers. This included an obstacle course challenge, small arms live re training and parachuting with other nations’ equipment. Parallel to the cross training, the troops began to prepare their kit for the upcoming tactical phase and the command elements entered into the mission planning process.

airborne forces

Phase II took place between the 22nd and 25th of September and saw the troops moving to the Castres-Mazamet airport, where an Air Mounting Centre was set up. Here the soldiers also conducted the nal preparations for the upcoming airborne insertion into the Equatorial Garoni Republic

08

11

09

10 small arms they were equipped with 14.5mm anti-aircraft guns, mortars and Improvised Explosive Devices; some of the latter, it was thought, might contain chemical or radiological materials. It was also believed that the religious fanatic ghters could eld a couple of SA-7 Grail Man Portable Air Defence Systems and they might even be able to muster some Close Air Support, in form of a couple of Sukhoi SU-25 ghters operated by mercenaries. With the ARG again posing

20 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

a threat to the stability in the EGR, a Multinational Task Force consisting of French, German, Spanish, US, and UK airborne forces, commanded by the 11e Brigade Parachutiste, was tasked with neutralising it.

THREE PHASES

Exercise COLIBRI IL was conducted in three phases that partly overlapped. Phase I took place between the 19th and 23rd September 2016 and saw the troops conducting cross-training

12

(EGR). The combat phase, Phase III, took place between the 25th and 28th of September. The exercise closed with a parade in Toulouse on September 29th, the day of Saint Michael who is the patron saint of soldiers.

THE COMBAT PHASE

The nal phase of COLIBRI IL began with the HALO insertion of the Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes, provided by the 3e Régiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine, and the German Fallschirm spezialzug of Fallschirmjäger regiment 26, on

the 24th. Once on the ground, the Pathnders began to collect data on the enemy and the condition of the pre-planned Drop Zone. On the 25th they then secured the DZ and marked it for the upcoming mass static-line drop airborne operation. The rst troops, from 8e RPIMa, dropped into Rastibel DZ around 08:30. Directly after hitting the ground, the paratroopers attacked Jean Cousy Village in order to neutralise the ARG ghters there, who posed a threat to the drop zone. About an hour after the troops of 8e RPIMa, the German airborne infantry company was dropped

13

14

15

Images © Carl Schulze

08: German Pathnders of the Fallschirm spezialzug of Fallschirmjäger regiment 26 fast-rope down from an SA330 Puma of the 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat 09: French paratroopers of the 8e RPIMa battle their way into Jean Cousy Village. They were met with stiff resistance by the Auverganda Resistance Group (ARG). 10: Multinational cooperation in the eld - the German company commander discusses his plans for an attack with his French counterpart 11: Insignia of the 11e Brigade Parachutiste - in September 2016 this French airborne brigade hosted Exercise COLIBRI IL in south-western France 12: After a reght with the ARG an SA330 Puma utility helicopter is brought in to evacuate a Règiment de Chasseurs Parachutists battle casualty 13: Paratroopers of 1er RCP have just landed - they will now free themselves from their parachutes, unpack their weapons, shoulder their rucksacks and move out into cover 14: Two Gazelle SA342 L1 helicopters of 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat were used for reconnaissance purposes as well as for escorting the SA330 Puma utility helicopters 15: The German airborne regiments eld their own military service dog platoons - 5 Kompanie, Fallschirmjäger regiment 26 was supported by two military service dog teams

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 21

airborne forces

16: After capturing an ARG ringleader members of the Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes of the 11e Brigade Parachutiste await their extraction by helicopter 17: A mass casualty incident (MASCAL) kept the staff of the Service de Santé des Armées of the Poste Médical 2014 very busy

16 dropping in, followed by a series of heavy drops including supplies, as well as vehicles such as Auverland A3F (VAL) light trucks and heavy equipment such as a complete medical station (Poste Médical). Initially it had also been planned to drop in the 155mm M777 Light Towed Howitzers of C Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th (US) Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, but the available air transport capability was insufcient for this, so their deployment was simulated.

17 and they then followed the 8e RPIMa to secure the remainder of the village. Over the rest of the day more troops were dropped in, including the US engineers and gunners, as well as the paratroopers of 1e RCP. In the afternoon the Gurkhas of A (Amboor) Company of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Ries [See pg**] were own in by a SA330 Puma utility helicopters of the 5e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat. By nightfall, the airborne forces had established a security perimeter around the DZ that would allow the deployment of more troops and equipment over the following days. The 26th saw the Spanish paratroopers and the French brigade’s HQ personnel

22 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

The day also saw the Multinational Task Force conducting their rst offensive operations against the ARG militia. Supported by US engineers, the Spanish paratroopers seized a cave complex that in the exercise play was serving as a phosphate mine. During the ghting in the caves the task force troops also had to deal with a suicide bomber. With the ghting over, the operation uncovered vital intelligence on enemy positions in the area, while chemicals and bomb-making material were also captured. In the early hours of the 27th the German and French Pathnders conducted a Special Forces type operation, arresting a key leader of the ARG militia. During this operation the Pathnders were inserted by SA330 Puma utility helicopter, fast-roping

directly onto the objective, a remote building. With the arrest made, the extraction was also conducted by helicopter. Also on the 27th, the task force conducted a large pincer operation in order to clear the area of enemy ghters. As part of this operation the 1e RCP moved from the area of Jean Cousy Village in clockwise direction over the Camp Caylus Training Area, neutralising several militia outposts on the way, while the 8e RPIMa did the same anti-clockwise. At the end of the day both units linked up, having conducted a full circle sweep. The 28th was the last day of the tactical phase. It started with a mortar attack on the task force, conducted by a small group of ARG ghters that had managed to slip through the previous day’s netting sweep. The result of the mortar attack was a mass casualty incident (MASCAL) and these casualties were speedily evacuated for treatment to the PM 14 medical station which had now been set up at the village. With the large number of casualties arriving by both truck and helicopter, the staff of the medical station were given a hard time. This MASCAL incident was the last highlight of the combat phase of a successful COLIBRI IL.

allied forces

01

Images © Bob Morrison

ANAKONDA 16 COMBINED ARMS LIVE FIRE PHASE

On Thursday 16th June, ten days after the Opening Ceremony in Warsaw and nine days after multinational Airborne Forces commenced their Joint Forcible Entry operation into Poland from bases in the United States, Germany and Italy, the last two major Exercise ANAKONDA phases took place at the Land Forces Training Centre near Drawsko Pomorskie. At the invitation of the Polish MoD, C&S was on hand to witness both.

A

NAKONDA is a Polish biennial national defence exercise which commenced in 2006. One of its objectives is to meet NATO standards of interoperability procedures and build readiness capabilities of the Alliance, though it is a national invitational exercise rather than a formal NATO one and other partner nations are invited to participate; hence the use of the term Allied to differentiate. In total, over 30,000 troops from 24 nations participated on ANAKONDA 16 which, in addition to having an

24 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

02

Report & Images by

BOB MORRISON

06

03

04

05

01: Polish KTO Rosomak Infantry Fighting Vehicles supported by US Army M1A2 SEPv2 Main Battle Tanks move forward to the start line 02: US Army Hum-vees (HMMWV) from Italybased 173rd Brigade Airborne Combat Team pass a Romanian VAMTAC on the edge of the training area 03: Dust and smoke rises as three Polish Leopard 2A5 main battle tanks in tank scrapes on the left of the battleeld prepare to advance 04: A round from an M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launcher way off on the right counters an enemy artillery position 05: A Polish Leopard 2A5 MBT with turret traversed and barrel clamped in the travelling position - the Poles have 105 of these tanks on-strength 06: The US Army M1A2 SEPv2 MBTs belong to the European Activity Set prepositioned in Germany for rapid deployment in time of crisis 07: The Romanian mechanised infantry were transported in TAB Zimbru (Aurochs) personnel carriers which are licence-built BTR 80 APCs

07 eleven nation Command & Control HQ set-up in Warsaw, was held on seven different training areas across Poland; from WĊdrzyn and ĝwiĊtoszów in the West, to Ustka and Drawsko Pomorskie in the North, to Chemno & Torun in the middle north, to Nowa DĊba in the South-West, to Orzysz in the North-East. Exercise Director Lieutenant General Marek Tomaszycki, in his welcoming address, stated: “As host nation we are proud to welcome so many capable and skilled people to Poland. Together we can improve

and enhance each other’s capabilities and prepare ourselves in the best possible way... if situation should require it.” The general continued: “Exercises like ANAKONDA 16 give us the opportunity to test and conrm our plans, procedures, systems and tactics. They also strengthen cooperation between military and civil organisations and military cooperation between the participating countries.” The largest training event in the modern history of Poland,

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 25

08

allied forces

Images © Bob Morrison

09

with more than two and a half times the number of troops that participated on ANAKONDA 14 and three times as many nations included, ANAKONDA 16 was primarily intended to test ability, readiness and partner interoperability of the 12,000-strong Polish participating formations. The Poles were keen to emphasise that important background considerations were: “the politicalmilitary situation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Middle East security challenges and the migrant crisis”. All of these issues inuenced the way of assessing and evaluating exercise aims, range and effects. The exercise phase covered this month, on the morning of the penultimate day of ANAKONDA 16, was a Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise (LFX) demonstration conducted in front of Distinguished Visitors and Observers at

26 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

10 the Polish Land Forces Training Centre near Drawsko Pomorskie. C&S rst visited this training area in 1996, when the British Forces Germany held their rst armoured battlegroup exercise on former Warsaw Pact territory, so we know the area well. With its undulating heathland, forested areas and many water obstacles it makes for exceptional brigade-level training, but unfortunately the necessary safety considerations

involved when live artillery, tanks and fast air support are involved mean close observation options are limited during battle runs. The LFX phase was certainly dramatic to watch, but unfortunately the dust and smoke generated as the battlegroup headed off down the range from nearconcealed positions on the Start Line made photography very difcult. Our

11

08: US Army Apache attack helicopters both supported the Allied Forces advance with both anti-armour missiles and aerial reconnaissance 09: A pair of elite US Army Joint Terminal air Controllers (JTAC) coordinated and de-conicted jets, helicopters and artillery 10: One of the Polish KTO Rosomak Infantry Fighting Vehicles and its 3-man crew - it can carry an eight-man infantry section in the rear 11: Crewed by three, the air-transportable M142 HIMARS launcher can hit six targets from 2,000 metres out to 300 kilometres with M270 rockets 12: One of the heavily camouaged M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams tanks which participated - tactical arm patch shows crew are from 3rd Infantry Division 13: A platoon of Macedonian mechanised infantry also participated - in this shot they were being addressed at the end of the exercise 14: We bumped into these Romanian troops the evening before the livere demonstration - their uniform camouage is a copy of UK DPM 15: The Romanian Army uses militarised versions of the DAC (Diesel Automobil Camion) truck family - this is the DAC 665T which has a MAN engine 16: US Army M1165A1 armoured Hum-vee (HMMWV) coming off the battleeld - the barcode on the front suggests it is from the European Activity Set

The year 2016 marked the 70th Anniversary of Land Forces Training Centre - Drawsko and the 20th Anniversary of the British Army using its facilities

hosts did their very best to accommodate the small group of media photographers and cameramen by positioning us even further forward than the Distinguished Visitors, but a minor downside to this was that the commentary was inaudible for us above the sound of battle, though fortunately we were able to recognise which unit was which by the shape of their armour.

12 13

15

14

16

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 27

allied forces

17 19 18

When the artillery barrage from American and Polish self-propelled howitzer batteries commenced,

28 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

supported by fast air strikes and a HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launcher way off on our right ank, the results were literally ground-shaking. The follow-on battle run, with American armour from the prepositioned European Activity Set supporting predominantly Polish, Romanian and Macedonian mechanised infantry, with Hind and Apache helicopters overhead, ran like clockwork. It was all very impressive. 17: The M1A2 SEPv2 (System Enhancement Package version 2) Abrams MBT has a CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station ) with 12.7mm machinegun 18: Specialist Swedish troops from the EU Nordic Battle Group provided security for the Distinguished Visitors during the live-re demonstration 19: Lt. Gen Ben Hodges, who commands USAREUR (US Army Europe), addressed the media at the end of the Combined Arms LFX at LFTC-Drawsko

Images © Bob Morrison

The Polish-led battlegroup participating on the Combined Arms LFX at the Land Forces Training Centre also included Albanian, American, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Romanian, and Swedish units. Some of their armour was presented for the Distinguished Visitors next to the observation stand and we managed to photograph other examples moving to the start line, in addition to snapping Romanian wheeled transport on roads outside the Danger Area. However, on a training area as large as Drawsko Pomorskie and with only a single morning of the packed exercise calendar available to cover this penultimate dynamic display, we were really only able to scratch the surface.

armour file

01

AJAX & ARES NEW BRITISH ARMY AFV FAMILY

I

n March 2010 the UK Ministry of Defence awarded General Dynamics UK (GDUK) the SCOUT SV development programme contract and, in September of the following year, the company débuted a rst demonstrator at the DSEi military expo held in London’s Docklands. From June 2012 a Mobile Test Rig, a precursor to the pre-production prototype, undertook an extensive series of trials to de-risk the new vehicle’s chassis and driveline, while that December, around the same time as the completion of the Preliminary Design Review, a £12 million Armoured Fighting Vehicle Design and Engineering Centre was opened on the site of a former colliery in South Wales.

30 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Human factors trials of the SCOUT SV were undertaken with the Armoured Trials Development Unit at Bovington and a Common Base Platform Critical Design Review was completed in December 2013, with the Critical Design Review for the turret-less Protected Mobility Recce Support (PMRS) variant reaching conclusion in June 2014, around the same time that the PMRS pre-production prototype débuted at DVD ‘14. That September, the MoD awarded GDUK a £3.5 billion manufacturing contract to deliver 589 SCOUT SV platforms and the following month the company awarded Lockheed Martin UK a sub-contract UK to deliver 245 turrets for the primarily

02

03

Images © Photographers noted in captions

The AJAX family of vehicles, formerly known as SCOUT SV, is intended to provide essential capability to the UK’s Armoured Cavalry under the restructured Army 2020 programme. The eventual outcome of past development projects, including TRACER and FRES, the six variants in the AJAX family will primarily replace the British Army’s current reconnaissance vehicle eet, based on the ageing CVR(T) family, as well as replacing some specialist FV432 family vehicles.

01: The turreted AJAX prototype made its public début at the DSEi expo in September 2015: [© Bob Morrison] 02: Believed to be the same prototype as displayed at DSEi 15, it now has a Remote Weapon System and optics [Crown Copyright: Andrew Linnett] 03: Ofcial photograph of the AJAX prototype outdoors in Wales on 4th March 2016 [Crown Copyright: Andrew Linnett] 04: Prototype 64KM08 made a eeting appearance at Larkhill on the morning 20th September 2016 [Crown Copyright: Stuart Hill] 05: Left side of 64KM08 without its thermal camouage - front steps are a temporary Health & Safety measure [© Bob Morrison] 06: By the time C&S was allowed on-site a temporary marquee was in place - RWS has no weapon tted [© Bob Morrison] 07: The 64KM08 slipped back to Bovington while the Combined Arms Manoeuvre Demo was in progress [Crown Copyright: Stuart Hill] 08: The turret-less PMRS prototype, still called SCOUT SV, 64KM09 appeared at DVD in June 2014 [© Bob Morrison] 09: Right side of 64KM09 at DVD ‘14 - the box-like structure contained an external power source [© Bob Morrison] 10: Front view of RWS atop what we now know will be called ARES - note smoke dischargers too [© Bob Morrison]

04 07

05

08 06

Reconnaissance & Strike version. Initial manufacture of the rst 100 vehicles will be at the General Dynamics factory near Seville in Spain, but the remainder of the eet will be assembled at a refurbished factory complex near Merthyr Tydl. The rst prototype, believed to be PMRS variant 64KM09, began formal Verication and Validation trials in June 2015 then in September, at DSEi ‘15, the SCOUT SV programme was renamed AJAX and the rst turreted prototype, most likely 64KM08, was unveiled. Selected over its only competitor, the CV-90 proposal from BAE Systems, AJAX is based on the ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development)

09

Infantry Fighting Vehicle platform which is in service with Austria as the ULAN and Spain as the PIZARRO. At 38-42 tonnes and around ve times heavier than the lightweight CVR(T) family vehicles it will mostly replace, AJAX is not only considerably better protected and better armed, but it can also carry a fourth crew member in the turreted version and four dismounts in addition to its two-man crew in the turret-less PMRS variant. At this point we should stress that although AJAX might appear to be a WARRIOR equivalent, it is most denitely not an Infantry Fighting Vehicle and it will undertake totally different roles to the in-service FV510 Infantry Section Vehicle.

10

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 31

11

armour file

Images © Photographers noted in captions

12

13

The six named versions of the AJAX family, all named after Greek gods, are:„ AJAX - the turreted ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) variant. „ ARES - the turret-less specialist troops delivery and support variant. „ APOLLO - the repair and recovery variant with crane. „ ATLAS - the winch-equipped heavy recovery variant. „ ARGUS - the engineering reconnaissance variant. „ ATHENA - the battleeld command & control variant.

32 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

11: AJAX family. From top left to bottom right: AJAX, ARES, ATHENA, ARGUS, APOLLO and ATLAS [© GDUK] 12: The same Remote weapons Station seen from behind - the 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun is a replica [© Bob Morrison] 13: The AJAX family of vehicles should replace the 40+ year old SPARTAN (left) and SCIMITAR CVR(T) eet from 2019 [© Bob Morrison] 14: Seating for three of the four dismounts that ARES can carry equipment racks are on the right [© Bob Morrison]

In very simple terms: AJAX will replace FV107 SCIMITAR; ARES will replace FV103 SPARTAN; ATLAS will replace FV106 SAMSON used by the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers; ARGUS will replace SPARTAN used by the Royal Engineers; ATHENA will replace FV105 SULTAN; and APOLLO will give REME an additional variant for undertaking engine and gearbox replacements etc. A total of 589 vehicles was ordered in September 2014 and two years later no further prospective orders have been announced, suggesting the original plans to produce ambulance, anti-armour and air defence variants,

14 to replace FV104 SAMARITAN, FV102 STRIKER (no longer in service) and STORMER HVM respectively as part of a second tranche giving a combined eet of over 1,000 vehicles, have almost certainly been dropped. It is intended that the rst production batch vehicles will be delivered later this year, initially for user trials, and full operational capability should be achieved in 2019 to meet the requirements of the ARMY 2020 restructuring programme. We hope to bring readers more on this subject in due course.

kit + camo

AMCU AUSTRALIAN MULTICAM CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORM

The 7 RAR soldier on this page was photographed in bright morning shade while his colleague on the opposite page was photographed in much brighter conditions

34 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Article & Images by

GORDON ARTHUR

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 35

kit + camo

Images © Gordon Arthur

The Australian MultiCam Camouage Uniform (AMCU), which is still currently being rolled out, is the newest battledress of the Australian Defence Force. From a distance its colour palette is similar to that of the existing Disruptive Pattern Camouage Uniform (DPCU). However, close-up, there are obvious dierences, especially in its hybrid pattern.

O

fcially launched on 22nd September 2014, the AMCU will replace both the DPCU (and its desert derivative) and Australian MultiCam Pattern Operational Combat Uniform (AMPOCU). It is supposed to be suitable for a range of environments at home and overseas including deserts, rocky terrain, urban environments and grassland. It is available as both a combat and eld uniform; the former being worn under body armour and it features integrated elbow/knee pads, as well as stretch fabric in key areas such as the groin, knees and lower back. Pockets are plentiful. As for the eld uniform, this has a reduced number of pockets to make it lighter and cooler. Knee pads can still be incorporated if desired. Each infantryman receives two sets of the combat AMCU and three sets of the eld AMCU. All receive an AMCU bush hat, belt, rank slides and name tags as well. The uniform is manufactured by Australian Defence Apparel (ADA) and Pacic Brands Workwear Group (PBWG). The AMCU was evaluated in a Diggerworks trial in February 2013. The rst unit to receive it was the Townsville-based 3rd Brigade beginning in October 2014, followed in 2015 by the Darwin-based 1st Brigade. The soldier modelling the AMCU on the previous page is also kitted out with most elements of the new Soldier

Combat Ensemble (SCE) procured under the Land 125 Phase 3B project. The SCE is tiered for different missions and functions. Tier 0 Heavy is a basic load carriage conguration upon which other tiers are built. Thus, Tier 2 is for the close combatant (this tier is broken down into dismounted and mounted versions), and Tier 3 is for general use (e.g. combat support personnel). In all, the ADF will distribute 21,000 sets of the SCE over a three-year period, with the 7th Brigade scheduled to be the last to receive it in 2017. What does the SCE contain? Beginning at the top, we note the tiered combat helmet with AMCU cover. Much lighter than its predecessor, it can accept night vision attachments, plus there are side rails for accessory attachments. Supplied by Aquaterro, the helmet is the Exl ballistic helmet made by Team Wendy in the USA. Moving lower, the enhanced Ballistic Laser Ocular Protection System (BLOPS) protects soldiers’ eyes. Each BLOPS set includes lens options (clear, smoke grey and laser) for the goggles. Not pictured here is the combat hearing protection system, which offers Class 5 over-ear protection for use with or without combat helmets. It can integrate with communication systems like the personal role radio. The Tiered Body Armour System (TBAS) was introduced in mid-2012. A Tier 2 TBAS weighs 6.8kg, compared to 11kg for the MCBAS that Aussie soldiers

once wore. As its name suggests, plates can be added or removed to the modular system as required by the threat level. Also part of the SCE is enhanced load carriage equipment that comprises modular belt webbing/load carriage harness. Soldiers are issued too with eld packs (dismounted or mounted versions), assault packs (medium or small versions) and pouches for mission essential equipment (e.g. medical kit, ammunition, communications).

Carrying a 5.56mm F88SA2 rie, the 7 RAR soldier on this and the preceding page wears the new AMCU as well as most elements of the Soldier Combat Ensemble. His combat shirt uses a knit-fabric body with no pockets to make it more comfortable to wear under body armour. It has Velcro adjustment tabs on the cuffs. The combat pants, containing eight pockets, feature stretch woven fabric in the back yoke, crotch and knees. They have a padded waistband and adjustable waist, plus reinforced saddle seat and integrated knee pads. Note the new helmet, eye protection, TBAS and load carriage vest. As well as various mag, radio and rst aid pouches, this soldier also has a hydration system on his back.

36 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Magazine Save Token It’s been brought to our attention that some readers are having trouble getting hold of their regular issues. Naturally, we can’t have anyone missing out on their regular dosage of military know-how. If C&S doesn’t have pride of place at your local news-agent, simply hand over the slip displayed here [or a photocopy]to the person behind the counter. They should be able to order it for you and your missing issues shouldn’t be an issue anymore! Of course, C&S also has a subscription service, with each issue delivered straight to your door... C&S - Don’t miss out

COMBAT +SURVIVAL

To my News-agent, I wish to receive a copy of Combat & Survival each month.

Address...........................................

Pleas commence with....................... issue [specify a month] until further notice.

Postcode..........................................

........................................................ ........................................................ Date...../........./......... Signature......................................

Mr......................................................

Distributed by Warners Group Publications PLC

coalition forces

For a long time the 7th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) was known by the nickname ‘Pigs’ or ‘Porky Seven’. This epithet was awarded when, after seeing the state of the soldiers’ mess following a weekend of heavy drinking, its rst commanding ocer said: “You’re nothing but a bunch of pigs!” In recent times, however, the battalion has been re-branding itself with a boar rather than a pig, which certainly sounds more fearsome. Nevertheless, the current mascot of Battle Group Boar is still Willy the Pig.

O

ne of seven infantry battalions in the regular Australian Army, 7 RAR is the only one located in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is stationed at RAAF Base Edinburgh, about 35 kilometres north of Adelaide’s city centre. The battalion is part of the 1st Brigade, which is headquartered in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

38 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Earlier in 2016 the new Australian MultiCam Camouage Uniform (AMCU) was rolled out to the soldiers serving with 7 RAR. The colour palette of this new camo is similar to that of the preceding Disruptive Pattern Camouage Uniform (DPCU), often referred to as AUSCAM, but the pattern itself is a derivative of Crye Precision MultiCam - see Kit & Camo on Page 34 for more

HISTORY

The 7th Battalion was established on 1st September 1965 at Puckapunyal, Victoria, specically to contribute to Australia’s Vietnam War commitments. It experienced two operational deployments there between 1967 and 1971, earning the battle honours BienHoa (1967-68) and Vietnam (1970-71). The next major milestone was

Images © Gordon Arthur

BOAR BATTALION 7TH BATTALION, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT

01

01: A re team prepares to enter a building as they rehearse moving into an opposed area. 02: As well as the new AMCU this soldier is wearing the Soldier Combat Ensemble procured under the Land 125 Phase 3B project - he has a Tier 2 set designed for close combatants 03: These soldiers undergoing ‘guardian angel’ training are armed with 5.56mm F88SA2 ries - rst delivered in late 2009 these weapons were modernised by Thales Australia 04: Repeated drills are a vital part of preparations for deploying overseas - here soldiers of Bravo Company, 7 RAR practise clearing operations in a suburban environment on their Adelaide base 05: The SCE features the tiered combat helmet made by Aquaterro also evident here is the enhanced Ballistic Laser Ocular Protection System to protect soldiers’ eyes

03

04 amalgamation with 5 RAR on 3rd December 1973 as the Australian Army contracted in size. The unit then became known as 5/7 RAR, and it was latterly based at Robertson Barracks in Darwin. The amalgamated battalion completed tours in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and Iraq.

02

In response to then Prime Minister John Howard’s expansion of the army by two infantry battalions, under the Hardened Networked Army initiative, 5/7 RAR was de-linked on 5th December 2006. The following month, 7 RAR was raised again and it duly relocated to Horseshoe Lines at RAAF Base Edinburgh in Adelaide in 2010-11, where new facilities had been built for the shift from Darwin. The unit was declared operationally deployable in January 2009, a year ahead of schedule. 7 RAR

deployed twice to Afghanistan and also contributed a security detachment platoon in Iraq.

ORGANISATION

A long part of 7 RAR’s heritage has been its mechanised status. The M113

05

06: The ‘Porky Seven’ logo at the unit’s new HQ facilities on RAAF Base Edinburgh near Adelaide

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 39

armoured personnel carrier (APC) was introduced to the Australian Army in 1976, and eight years later 5/7 RAR adopted the mechanised sufx. Furthermore, 7 RAR was the rst unit to be equipped with the upgraded M113AS4 when it was elded on 15th November 2007, in Darwin. However, in 2013 the battalion lost its mechanised status as part of the Plan Beersheba reorganisation. It is now ofcially a dismounted infantry battalion, although A Squadron of the 1st Armoured Regiment (formerly it was known as D Squadron) retains its M113ASA4 eet in Adelaide and can provide lift for 7 RAR. A troop of around 24 M113AS4 APCs can transport an infantry company, plus the squadron has a number of support vehicles from the same M113 family. As a standard infantry battalion, 7 RAR possesses a Battalion Headquarters, three rie companies (Alpha, Bravo

40 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Images © Gordon Arthur

coalition forces

08

09 and an nd C Ch Charlie ha arrlile Companies), Support Company and A Ad dm mini mi n sttra rat Administration Company. Support Company is made off tth the Mortar Platoon, Reconnaissance and Sniper up o up he Mo M Platoon, Signals Platoon, Direct Fire Support Platoon P Pl latto oo o on, n, S ig the newly an and nd tth he n ew re-formed Pioneer Platoon. The battalion able to perform dismounted operations, ba b att t al alio ion n is a ass w ell as as b e well being at ease working with both the M113AS4 M1 M 113 13A 3AS4 S4 and an nd the Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle (PMV). About a dozen of the latter are found Ve V ehi hicle cle (PM cl (P P within Support Company. wi w ith thin S thi Sup up upp p

BOAR BATTALION

07

07: The Tiered Body Armour System was introduced in mid-2012 - a Tier 2 TBAS weighs 6.8kg, compared to 11kg for the MCBAS that Aussie soldiers once wore in Iraq and Afghanistan 08: On house-clearing training new elements such as hostages are gradually introduced as small-unit cohesion increases - for many 7 RAR soldiers, this will be their rst overseas deployment 09: The Australian Army ordered more than 1,000 Bushmasters - ‘King Kong’ is a Bushmaster PMV belonging to 7 RAR - note the boar emblem on the front fender 10: In Australian infantry battalions, a company is made up of three platoons and a manoeuvre support section plus a company HQ 11: Bravo Company practising clearing a building - there is essentially a four-month build-up culminating in a mission rehearsal exercise before the team deploys to Afghanistan 12: Overhead view of an M113AS4 APC variant operated by what is now A Squadron of the 1st Armoured Regiment who provide armoured lift for the 7 RAR infantry battalion. 13: A close-up of a soldier clad in the AMCU - the 3rd Brigade has begun receiving the new Thales EF88 rie but 1st Brigade will not receive theirs until completion of their ready cycle

12

10

There is a close training area at Edinburgh which allows live ring on a 25 metre range, although the main live-ring range is about one hour away by road at Murray Bridge. The nearest major training area is Cultana, a three-hour journey away.

IRAQ DEPLOYMENT

During a visit to 7 RAR, Major Darrin Tyson, ofcer in charge of Bravo Company, told C&S that there are approximately 700 soldiers in the battalion. When other army formations such as A Squadron and logistics support are added in, RAAF Base Edinburgh is home to about 1,500 soldiers.

11

Since the last deployment to Afghanistan, that ended in December 2013, the unit has enjoyed something of a lull in its operational tempo in line with the army’s three-year ready cycle. However, at the time of the visit by C&S, 7 RAR had its Battalion HQ and two companies deployed to Iraq as part of Task Group Taji-3, responsible for the training and mentoring of Iraqi security forces alongside a New Zealand contingent. In addition, a company was in Afghanistan providing force protection to Australian

13 COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 41

coalition forces 14: This 7 RAR soldier on Exercise TALISMAN SABRE 2009 is dressed in a Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform but his daysack and helmet cover are in the original colours 15: An Australian trainer assigned to Task Group Taji, part of CJTF – Operation INHERENT RESOLVE explains aiming to an Iraqi soldier, October 8th 2016 [US Army: Sgt. Joshua Wooten] 16: Soldiers of B Company, 7 RAR enjoy a moment of respite in their training regime they are procient in ghting dismounted or working with both Bushmaster PMV and M113AS4 APC

BOAR BATTALION 15

16

and Coalition mentors working within Kabul and, nally, a company was deployed to Rie Company Butterworth situated near Penang, Malaysia.

small proportion of 7 RAR soldiers will have deployed before so there is a lot of ‘fresh blood’, as one seasoned NCO put it.

Major Tyson highlighted a culture of readiness within the battalion. From September to December 2016, the unit was commencing further mission specic training to prepare for more operations in Afghanistan. This included such activities as qualication training on armoured SUVs, Bushmaster PMV qualication, medical training and live ring. Cultural and language training was also part of the syllabus. Only a

Soldiers in the Force Protection Company are known as ‘guardian angels’, and they protect fellow soldiers from ‘green on blue’ incidents, as well as from insurgents. These guardian angels also look after VIPs, so they must be procient in general operations (e.g. in urban terrain), communications and rst aid.

42 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Further changes are afoot as the

Australian Army adopts a Multirole Combat Brigade structure, which will see three similarly organised brigades reordered under Plan Beersheba. Each brigade will be standardised with: a Brigade HQ; an Armoured Cavalry Regiment; two Infantry Battalions; an Artillery Regiment; a Combat Engineer Regiment; a Combat Service Support Battalion; and a Combat Signals Regiment. It is planned that the 1st Armoured Regiment’s ACR (containing a company each of M1A1 AIM Abrams tanks, M113AS4s and ASLAVs) will eventually move to Adelaide alongside 7 RAR.

Images © Gordon Arthur unless otherwise noted

14

Report & Images by

UK resilience

BOB MORRISON

01: Commanders from the three Blue Light services are briefed by Exercise Directors at the assembly area a few miles from the riot scene

Images © Bob Morrison

CONQUER ‘16 COMBATING URBAN DISORDER

On the afternoon of Tuesday 1st November, serious urban disorder broke out in Wiltshire and nine Police Support Units from constabularies across the South West region were called out to bring the situation back under control after sunset. CONQUER ’16, a nine-day tactical multi-agency exercise, was set in an urban disorder environment and aimed at testing how Police, Fire and Ambulance services cooperate at operational and tactical levels.

T

he framework for multiagency interoperability is known as JESIP (Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme) and highlights how Commanders from each organisation must work together to mitigate the risk of harm to the public. Lessons learned from Operation KIRKIN, the response to the London Riots in 2011, stated that each service must work in a more joined-up fashion in this type of scenario and this major exercise was evidence that this is now happening in the South West.

Held at the MoD’s Copehill Down urban training facility, CONQUER ’16 was a practical demonstration of interagency operability by Police, Fire and Ambulance drawn from across South West England, led primarily by Devon & Cornwall Police but involving Police Support Units called in from four neighbouring constabularies. As luck would have it, the exercise coincided with the major re in medieval buildings in Exeter’s Cathedral Yard on 28th October where commanders from all three emergency services had to work together in a real life multi-agency

response in addition to participating on the exercise. C&S was invited to cover the third and nal two-day rotation of CONQUER ‘16, which involved nine 28-strong Police Support Units from across the SW Region being mobilised at short notice to quell a riot and stabilise the situation. As the entire exercise was run in total darkness, other than the light provided by personal torches and police van (carrier) headlights plus the ames of showers of petrol bombs, photography was challenging but, by pushing

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 45

Images © Bob Morrison

UK resilience

03 cameras to the limit, we managed to take sufcient images to illustrate this feature. We joined the exercise mid-afternoon just as the Police Support Units were arriving at the holding area, about seven miles from the riot scene, after travelling in convoy from their home bases in Avon & Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. In times of crisis the South West Region has to provide 27 PSUs within 24 hours, three of which must be on the move within one hour and six more within four hours. Each PSU, which is formed from specially trained volunteers, is roughly the equivalent of a military platoon and consists of an Inspector, 3x Sergeants, 18x Constables, 3x Drivers and 3x Carriers.

46 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

04 As the teams prepared their gear we were invited to listen to the 15-minute Commanders Brieng, where senior ofcers from the Police, Fire & Rescue and Ambulance services were brought up to speed by the Exercise Directors; the key points follow.

SCENARIO

“In the last week there have been a series of nationwide coordinated attacks against various targets by extremist terrorists. You are working in Copehill Down, which is a small multicultural town. At twelve o’clock today a soldier has been intentionally run down and seriously injured while off-duty. One of the two suspects has been shot and killed by the police while the other suspect is in hospital.

05 “During reporting on the incident a media outlet has leaked the location of the suspect’s hospital. Groups of protesters have now gathered in the streets outside the hospital. The mood is volatile and reports are starting to come in of low level criminal damage and harassment of minorities in the local community. “Update, 17:30 hours: The soldier has died of his injuries and more people have ooded the streets. The hospital is now surrounded by protesters and some have made efforts to get to the suspect. The situation has become violent. Rioters have broken into a multicultural centre across the road from the hospital and have occupied it. At the end of this brieng maps will be distributed and more will become available during the exercise.

02: The Silver Commander briefs assembled Police Support Unit at the assembly area before they don protective gear and depart for Copehill Down

“THE TOWN CENTRE IS DEVELOPING INTO FULL-SCALE RIOTING, WITH REPORTS OF LOOTING AND CRIMINAL DAMAGE COMING FROM ACROSS THE TOWN.”

03: Darkness had fallen by the time the Police Support Units reached the town - each carrier seen here contains seven Constables and a Driver 04: Inside the hastily arranged Silver Cell the commanders and local authorities work sideby-side to build a picture of what is happening on the ground 05: The Fire Service had to extinguish burning cars and barricades inside a Police bubble but we could not see this from our location

06

06: This PSU was one of the rst to deploy - on the Western approach - and the ofcers immediately came under attack from petrol bombs

02

07: Under a hail of missiles (baking spuds) and petrol bombs the PSU steadily advances towards the hospital we were positioned on its roof 08: The rioters - in red and white vests and wearing visored helmets - were fellow police ofcers who had participated during the previous rotation 09: The PSU has forced the rioters back from the hospital but a Violent Person - in white vest - is about to raise the tempo considerably

07

08

09

“The town centre is developing into full-scale rioting, with reports of looting and criminal damage coming from across the town. A small amount of local resources, including Police Community Support Ofcers and Neighbourhood Police Ofcers, have been withdrawn from the town centre for their own safety. Two Response Police Ofcers have remained at the hospital with the injured suspect; they have given

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 47

UK resilience

“WE HAVE THE TRAINING. WE HAVE THE KIT. SO AS WE WORK LATER WITH THE FIRE SERVICE AND THE AMBULANCE SERVICE YOU MAY WELL BE TASKED TO PROVIDE A BUBBLE OF SAFETY FOR THEM TO ALLOW THEM TO DO THEIR JOB.”

11 updates over the air, corroborating that there are dozens of people in the street directly outside the hospital. The crowd appears to be extremely volatile. The ofcers report they have observed some of the crowd damaging and attempting to gain access to the multicultural centre directly across the road. “The hospital staff management are very nervous about the current situation outside and have real concerns about the security and integrity of the hospital. They are asking for Police assistance in preventing incursions to the building. “MACP/MACA, Military Assistance to

48 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

12 the Civilian Power/ Military Assistance to the Civilian Authority, has been initiated. We do not currently have any military resources alongside the resources from these three agencies, but they are en-route with six hours notice to effect. Numbers of military en-route are unknown. These resources will only be used to protect locations of national critical importance; i.e. government buildings and hospitals, as directed by the Gold Commander. “What are we asking you to do? We are asking you to come up with a plan between you as to how you are going to tackle this. Initially this is a Police-

13 only incident, but we do have Fire and Ambulance services in there. Obviously the hospital is affected, and Ambulance as the gateway to the National Health Service, and it could be that there is a role for Fire to play.” The various Commanders around the table then posed a number of pertinent questions before heading off to plan and to brief their personnel. C&S headed over to the hall where the Police Support Unit ofcers had assembled to listen to them being briefed. This lasted slightly longer as Health & Safety issues needed to be addressed and ground rules set.

10: Simultaneously, over on the south west approach, another PSU was forming a protective bubble to allow the Fire Service to tackle a burning car 11: This PSU is approaching the multicultural centre across the road from the hospital when it comes under sustained petrol bomb attack

14

12: In near darkness a VP attacks the PSU forming a protective cordon around the hospital - ofcers were not allowed to use long batons in defence 13: Overhead a Wiltshire Police quadcopter (UAV) illuminates and records the scene - multiple drones were used to ensure one was always airborne 14: Caught in the act, a VP attacks the ofcers forming the protective cordon - the VPs did their best to provoke an over-reaction from constables

15

15: Here a snatch team are trying to corner, pin down, disarm and arrest two Violent Persons outside the multicultural centre

10

POLICE SUPPORT UNIT BRIEFING

As we have seen many times when covering urban disorder in Northern Ireland, Police command structure is broken down into three levels; Gold Commander is in overall charge at HQ, Silver Commander controls the incident at local level, and Bronze Commanders are out on the ground. The Silver Commander repeated and expanded the earlier brieng, tailoring it specically to his ofcers. He commenced: “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I am Superintendent S. from Devon & Cornwall Police, the Silver Commander for this evening. This isn’t a polished brieng because it is a spontaneous incident, so we’ve got no powerpoint. We are playing it like this was for real. The incident happened at 12 o’clock today, and we’re the cavalry

16: With the situation outside the hospital stabilised the Police formed a protective bubble to allow us to move to a second location

16

that just came over the hill. We are now going to give you a rough and ready brieng with no visual aids, which we know you’re not used to...” The Superintended concluded his brieng: “It would appear offenders have gained access to an electricity substation and there is no street lighting so, bearing in mind it is coming up to dusk, we are going to be working in the pitch black this evening. “We will be joined by our colleagues from the Fire Service, who we will be working with during the evening, and also a team of HART [Hazardous Area Response Team] Paramedics. It is our job to provide assistance to them and protection to them. We have the training. We have the kit. So as we work later with the Fire Service and the Ambulance Service you may well be tasked to provide a bubble of safety for them to allow them to do their

job. I would like to emphasise that at any stage I would expect them to be working in our bubble, not beyond it.”

IN THE THICK OF IT

As the police ofcers strapped on their gear, we were taken off ahead of them and escorted up to the roof of the hospital, from where we we would be able to view a good portion of the action. Police ofcers who had previously gone through a similar scenario during an earlier rotation, identiable by red or white vests over their ame-proof coveralls and wearing visored helmets, were playing the hostile crowd and as the air would soon be full of ying petrol bombs and missiles (baking potatoes) we had to observe from this safe location for the next hour, until the situation had stabilised. Within a few minutes of us getting into position, the blue lights of the rst of

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 49

UK resilience

17 the PSU carriers appeared in the dark distance, 17: On the North West partially obscured approach more Police by smoke support Units were under sustained attack from burning - by now Copehill Down barricades was in a full-on riot drifting out 18: The crew of this from the town. HART (Hazardous Area Down below, Response Team) Land the chanting Rover were attending to a real-time burns crowd was casualty - fortunately psyching itself not serious up to break into the hospital and 19: At EndEx the Police Support Units withdrew the situation in to the assembly area the multicultural for a debrief and wellcentre across the deserved rest before the road was far from next day’s training clear. Then some idiot set light to a car on the forecourt of the lling station down the road... We will now let the pictures do the talking and conclude by saying we now have a much better idea of how Police Support Ofcers train and are commanded. There are, of course, parallels with some aspects of military training, but there are also some major differences - not least the amount of violence and aggression that those volunteers for this specialist secondary role have to soak up in training to ensure they are well prepared for what they might face out on Britain’s streets. Hopefully, we will get the chance to come back to this interesting subject in the not too distant future.

50 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

18

19

Report & Images by

alliance forces

BOB MORRISON

VENERABLE GAUNTLET UK-LED NATO VJTF(L) IN ACTION

Exercise E xercise V VENERABLE ENERABLE G GAUNTLET AUNTLET w was as tthe he UK’ national ti l validation lid ti exercise i for f the th NATO NATO UK’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land) 2017 Headquarters, which is based upon 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Each of the 14 troop contributing nations for next year’s Task Force participated on these multinational manoeuvres with elements of the personnel and equipment they would deploy with the VJTF(L) should NATO’s interests or borders be threatened.

Images © Bob Morrison

20th Armoured Brigade provides the Iron Fist in the 3rd [UK] Division

01

A

t the height of the exercise, held on the Sennelager Training area in Germany, units from 20th Armoured Brigade supported by a Polish Mechanised Infantry Battalion, an Estonian Mechanised Infantry Company, a Spanish Light Role Infantry Company, a Norwegian Reconnaissance Platoon, Danish Armoured Engineers, Spanish Artillery and Romanian Military Police conducted a dynamic display in

52 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

front of Distinguished Visitors and Military Observers. In total around 3,000 personnel from the 7,000strong VJTF preparing for the 2017 rotation participated on VENERABLE GAUNTLET ‘16 (VEGT16) and this display, held in the third week of joint training, was intended to illustrate the potential of one of its integrated battlegroup formations, within this case the 1 PWRR (1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment) forming its core.

VJTF MISSION: To assure, deter and contribute to countering threats against Alliance territory and populations, with a priority to Article 5, in order to demonstrate a collective Alliance response throughout Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s Area of Operations and potentially beyond. The rapid arrival in the region of this small but capable military unit is intended to send a very clear message to any potential aggressor: “Any attempt to violate the sovereignty of one NATO

03

01: A pair of Queen’s Royal Hussars Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks advance followed by a Royal Engineers’ Trojan AVRE 02: An Estonian infantry company in Patria (formerly SISU) XA-188 Pasi 6x6 wheeled APCs waits to advance from dead ground 03: Elite Norwegian reconnaissance troops lay down covering re to allow colleagues to withdraw as the enemy reacts to the battlegroup advance 04: A mastmounted radar atop a Piranha III belonging to the 1st Danish Artillery Regiment determines the location of enemy artillery batteries 05: An artillery barrage is dropped on the enemy positions to keep heads down - the FV106 Samson represents an enemy vehicle 06: An RDG FV107 Scimitar moving forward at speed to take up an overwatch position as the Armoured Engineers advance to breach defences 07: The TROJAN AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers) starts to clear razor wire - its excavator arm is swinging forward to assist removal

02

04

05

06 nation will result in a decisive military engagement with all 28 Allied nations”. VEGT16 SCENARIO: There has been a border incursion, which NATO had tried to deter by speedily deploying the VJTF(L) in-theatre, into an Alliance country. Enemy have occupied positions [600 metres from our observation point] which need to be cleared. This operation will involve breaching the defensive mineeld [notional] and barbed wire entanglements with armoured engineer assets supported by follow-on tanks and armoured infantry who will then dismount and recover the enemyheld positions. ACTION: Norwegian forward reconnaissance assets in concealed positions on the Alliance side of the mineeld observe enemy activity as the VJTF battlegroup assembles, but as enemy artillery starts to target the area they withdraw under covering re from colleagues. As the enemy begins to target the advancing VJTF battlegroup a Danish Artillery Regiment locating team in a Piranha 3 with specialist radar identies the enemy gun line and passes the location to a Spanish artillery battery to silence the threat. With the enemy artillery silenced the Royal Dragoon Guards in FV107 Scimitars move forward to identify the enemy trenches.

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 53

Images © Bob Morrison

alliance forces 07

British and Danish armoured engineering assets, supported by Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks, now move forward to breach and mark two lanes through the mineeld and razor wire entanglements for the rst of three waves of infantry. On the enemy’s left ank a joint British and Polish formation of anti-armour and machinegun teams moves into position to provide re support for the main assault as 1 PWRR mounted in FV510 Warriors advance to contact supported by Queens Royal Hussars Challenger 2 tanks. Behind the British armoured infantry a second wave, consisting of Polish mechanised infantry in tracked BWP carriers accompanied by more QRH Challengers heads for the second line of enemy positions. A third wave, consisting of Estonian mechanised infantry in 6x6 Patria Pasi carriers and Polish mechanised infantry in 8x8 KTO Rosomak carriers, held in reserve passes through the rst and second waves to snuff out the last of the invaders. Once the positions have been reoccupied and the block on the international border had been re-

54 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

09

established, UK air defence moved forward into emplacements and Spanish light role infantry move forward to relieve the assault force. STATISTICS: The UK is supporting the VJTF(L)17 with the following capabilities: the VJTF(L) Brigade HQ (20 Armd Bde); a Light Infantry Battlegroup;

an Armoured Infantry Battlegroup; an Artillery Group; an Engineer Group; Armoured Cavalry; a Multi-Role Signal Regiment; Military Police; Air Defence; Attack and Support Helicopters; and a Combat Service Support Group(to include Logistic Support, Medical Support and Equipment Support). Other NATO partner contributions include:

08

07: A Danish Leopard Bergepanzer 2 AVRE (known as Wisent 1) assists the British TROJAN clear paths through the enemy defences 08: An anti-armour team from 1 PWRR deploys from their FV510 Warrior AIFV with Javelin LFATGWS to engage the enemy from their ank 09: Polish infantrymen and their BWP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle - Poland’s version of the BMP support the 1 PWRR anti-armour team 10: A PWRR Warrior AIFV accompanied by a QRH Challenger 2 MBT surge through the breach to assault the main enemy positions 11: Polish infantry in BWP-1s accompanied by another QRH Challenger dismount to clear enemy trenches in a joint assault 12: Dismounted PWRR infantrymen advance on another enemy position while a second Warrior AIFV covers their left ank 13: The Estonian infantry with their Patria Pasi wheeled APCs pass through the British to push home the attack as enemy resistance crumbles 14: A British Stormer HVM system providing close air defence moves forward past a Danish M113 - behind are more Warriors in dead ground

12

10 13

11

14 COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 55

15

Images © Bob Morrison

alliance forces

15 an Albanian Light Infantry Company; a Czech Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Defence Company; a Danish Armoured Infantry Battlegroup, Reconnaissance Group, Engineer Company and Civil-Military Co-operation Team; a Spanish Infantry Battlegroup, Artillery Battery, Engineer Company

56 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

and Mechanised Infantry Company; a Croatian Military Police Platoon and Civil-Military Cooperation Team; a Lithuanian Armoured Infantry Company; a Latvian Light Infantry Company; a Netherlands Reconnaissance Squadron; a Norwegian Reconnaissance Platoon; a Polish Mechanised Battlegroup; a

Romanian Military Police Company; and a US Field Hospital and Aviation component. Footnote: For more images of participating armour turn to Page 72.

15: Prior to the armoured advance elite Norwegian recce troops helped provide the multinational brigade’s eyes on the battleeld 16: Two Polish infantry companies, one with tracked BWP and the other with wheeled KTO Rosomak, took part on VENERABLE GAUNTLET ‘16

HAIX footwear

FACTORY VISIT

03

Images © Bob Morrison unless otherwise noted

MALA SUBOTICA MANUFACTURING FACILITY

Two years ago, while in Bavaria visiting the Gore-Tex laboratories and design facilities, I spent an interesting afternoon at the Mainburg head oce and factory of uniform boot manufacturers HAIX, who are one of the primary military footwear manufacturers the breathable membrane manufacturer works closely with. Back then, HAIX were doubling the size of their Croatian boot factory and we expressed interest in visiting it.

02

58 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

T

he extended HAIX AIX manufacturing facilities are at Mala Subotica, a village close to the county town of ýakovec and next to a major motorway, about one hour North-East of Zagreb. This part of the former Yugoslavia has a long tradition of shoemaking and when Ewald Haimerl, the CEO off HAIX and son of the founder, er, was looking for somewhere e in Europe to build a new state-ofe-ofthe-art facility with a ready pool of skilled labour close by, Mala Subotica was just right.

01

01: Just part of the main assembly area at Mala Subotica seen from an upstairs conference room 02: With up to 10,000 pairs being produced each day the company now makes its own soles 03: A display case containing just 40 of the footwear designs currently in production 04: Down on the shop oor conditions are bright warm and incredibly clean 05: Although HAIX soles are now produced the company also uses VIBRAM soles where specied 06: To ensure continuous production massive quantities of materials and part assemblies are stored 07: Every incoming leather hide is checked for thickness to ensure consistency 08: Precision cut components are assembled in batches by skilled machinists 09: Ewald Haimerl, shoemaker, boot designer, volunteer reghter and CEO of the company [© HAIX]

04

05

06

07 08

09

The HA HAIX footwear business was founded in 1948 by Ewald’s found father Xaver, who added the fath rst rs letter of his Christian name to the rst three of his na surname to give an unique su company name, and in time co his venture evolved into a highly successful and well hig regarded hiking and work boot regar

manufacture. Ewald joined the family business as a shoemaker and also served as a volunteer reghter in Mainburg, working his way up to being the town’s Deputy Fire Chief in addition to being a certied master shoemaker. In 1992, Ewald brought the two

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 59

footwear

14 11

12

13 60 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

sides of his life together by designing a new and highly functional leather re boot to overcome problems with the old traditional rubber boot, and just one year later his new boot took off spectacularly, setting a benchmark for reghter boots around the globe.

By the end of the 1990s HAIX were producing 100,000 pairs of boots and work shoes annually, mostly for the uniformed services, and in 2003 they established a subsidiary company in Kentucky to service the North American markets. Three years later, production

Images © Bob Morrison unless otherwise noted

10

“NOBODY THOUGHT THE FACTORY WOULD NEED TO DOUBLE IN SIZE FROM 2014. IN 2015 HAIX PRODUCED AN INCREDIBLE ONE MILLION PAIRS OF BOOTS AND SHOES...” 10: A Fire & Rescue boot with a specialist GoreTex laminate during injection moulded sole manufacture 11: This is how the many components in that red bin look once stitched together 12: The assemblies are now taking shape and beginning to look like combat boots 13: Just some of the leather, fabric and foam components that make up a French Army boot 14: The machinists work in teams on different aspects of shoe and boot construction 15: Gore-Tex breathable laminates are tested under pressure on the production line 16: Note how thick the pink foam padding is underneath that ankle protector rubber 17: The complete uppers awaiting attachment of their composite moulded outsoles 18: Consistently applying bonding adhesive to boots and outsoles requires teamwork

17

15

18 16

had quadrupled from the 1999 gure, and the company started looking for somewhere to expand, as not only was their Mainburg factory close to capacity but they were also having problems recruiting more factory workers in that part of Bavaria.

In 2009 construction was well underway at the new facility in Mala Subotica, which was designed from the outset to be exceptionally environmentally friendly and to also offer the best working conditions for the staff. Capacity at this new plant was intended to be 3,000 pairs a day, but not long after it became fully functional the future order books were so full that it was realised a major expansion would be needed; fortunately, this possibility had been anticipated when the site was picked, but nobody thought the factory would need to double in size from 2014. In 2015 HAIX produced an incredible one million pairs of boots and shoes,

with 95% of the materials sourced in Europe. At the time of our visit to Croatia in midOctober the factory was weekly turning out 18,000 pairs of the new French Army CCCE combat boot, available for private purchase as the Nepal PRO. Naturally when taking photos on the oor we focused on these, but they were by no means the only style being produced on the day of our visit and we also saw batches of specialist reghter boots and desert boots, in the latter case part of a batch for a Gulf Region government, going down the line. In case unaware, since 2012 HAIX have been suppliers for three of the ve

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 61

Images © Bob Morrison unless otherwise noted

footwear

19: Andreas Himmelreich, the HAIX Head of Research & Design, is also a volunteer reghter [© HAIX] 20: HAIX manufacture a wide range of boots for all the uniform services - this is the Black Eagle 21: HAIX desert boots awaiting nishing prior to despatch to a Gulf Region customer 22: At the time of our visit the team were turning out 18,000 pairs of French Army boots each week

19 UK MoD combat boot categories, and the company’s boots are also worn by German and Dutch troops.

21

Primary design and prototype work on the HAIX’s specialist re, police and military footwear ranges, which currently account for 62% of company shoe and boot output, are undertaken at the Mainburg headquarters in Bavaria but there is also design ofce in Croatia. This was the only part of the massive complex where we were, quite understandably, asked not to photograph but we were introduced to the designers and and even shown some innovative concepts which could soon be incorporated into the everexpanding HAIX product range. Over the years I have visited many factories and manufacturing facilities, in both the military and general engineering elds, and indeed in a previous career I worked in quite a few. Few have been as interesting as the HAIX facility in Mala Subotica and I could happily toured the factory again if only there had been time.

20

62 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

22

comfort & Survival

OUTDOOR GEAR Images © Mike Gormley unless noted

BY MIKE GORMLEY

01

02 05

COLEMAN CXS 250 HEAD TORCH 03

04

64 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

S

traight away you will notice this looks a bit different to the norm of head torches - a bit spaceage, in fact. It does not stop at looks though, as this head torch has some interesting features. At 250 lumens the CXS 250 packs a punch at full power, has a several power and light settings and, good for us, it has a default rst-on red light so protects the user from putting out a blaze of white light when wanting to stay covert. Interestingly, and I think a very useful feature for this and other Coleman torches, it has a battery disconnect. By simply pulling the light unit away a little from the main body you completely disconnect the batteries. This has the effect of making sure there is no drain on the batteries over longer term storage but again, for the likes of the tactical C&S user, it protects against

inadvertent switching on. Not only as a potential give-away, but also when a torch is stuffed in a Bergen it is only too easy to accidentally turn on, so when needed the batteries are dead. Been there? So have I! Another issue I have with many head torches is the switch. Often quite tricky to operate and, coupled with gloves / cold hands etc., it just gets worse. For a start, the CXS has a positive and easy to use switch. And, once switched on, it can be changed from setting to setting by passing the hand across the front of the torch – funky. The CXS uses a mix of its LEDs to give low, wide, and distance light and does so well.

01: THE FRONT VIEW OF THE CXS IS A BIT UNUSUAL. 02: THE CENTRAL RED LED COMES ON FIRST EVERY TIME 03: THE WHITE LEDS CAN BE USED INDIVIDUALLY OR TOGETHER TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF LIGHT 04: TO ISOLATE THE BATTERY SIMPLY PULL THE BODY APART - RED MARKER INDICATES POWER IS DISCONNECTED 05: CXS SEEN HERE WITH TWO WHITE LEDS ON TO GIVE MORE BRIGHTNESS

TEXENERGY INFINITE ORBIT CHARGER

A

s I write this, in mid-winter [albeit very sunny over past days], it shows up the shortcomings of solar and wind produced power. Short days of often very limited light, and possibly no wind, can leave you unable to re-power your devices. When off-grid it is ever more important for us to have power and the ability to be able to generate our own. There is nothing wrong with solar power, and I have covered a number of these systems on these pages and will continue to do so. Wind, I have not covered, but will soon. This brings me to the Innite Orbit. Winding a handle to produce power is not new but the Orbit is an up-to-date, practical, well thought out personal power generator wellsuited to those who venture ‘off piste’. This is, perhaps, no surprise when you learn the CEO of TexEnergy, Jerry ‘Tex’ Ranger, is a former Royal Marine who, since leaving the Corps, has spent many years in this line of business. The rst thing that is obvious about the Orbit is the build quality. The unit is compact and easy to use. It packs

07 away neatly into its supplied pouch and is not heavy, nor does it take up much space. Perhaps the down side is that it does take effort. Unlike the popular opinion that electrical energy is ‘just there’ at the click of a switch, it actually requires other energy input to produce. In the case of the Orbit, this means you.

09

Other options to this will be available soon, and I will bring them to you in time, but with Orbit you have to hand crank to produce the power. There is an added bonus, as if you are in a cold dark tent your exertion will help to keep you warm as well as producing power. Electricity is not stored in the Orbit, so you plug in the relevant device - phone, GPS, torch, watch, camera, battery pack or whatever - wind away and immediately you will see the item begin to recharge. You will feel the drag on the

10

08

11

handle as you crank, so you know you are producing energy and transferring it to the device of choice. I think it is reasonable to say that you would need to be pretty committed to make this your only source of electrical power. It needs a fair bit of cranking to ll a smart phone from empty. However, when in need of a recharge for whatever essential device has gone dead, and it’s a dark and windless night, a few minutes of cranking will save the day. Apart from the emergency situation, with a bit of forethought, you can plug in and re-power your devices when you have nothing else to do with your hands. Perhaps as you wait for the water to get hot for a brew, maybe when reading a book or even when walking. You do not have to crank fast, in fact it is better to keep it steady. The handle is only lightly secured into the generator so it is designed come out if you over-speed. Innite Orbit chargers are already in use worldwide, both with adventurers and in places where there is no real way of producing electrical energy such as disaster areas. There will be more to come from TexEnergy, as I know of some new developments due to go to market soon, and we will cover these in due course.

06: TEXENERGY ORBIT WITH CASE - IT COMES WITH DETACHABLE CRANK AND CABLE WITH ALTERNATIVE ADAPTORS 07: HERE RECHARGING AN IPHONE - GENERATING ENOUGH POWER FOR AN EMERGENCY CALL DOES NOT TAKE LONG 08: THE ORBIT CAN BE USED TO CHARGE MANY DEVICES INCLUDING DIGITAL CAMERAS AS HERE 09: THE ORBIT HAS NO BUILT-IN POWER STORAGE BUT IS ABLE TO RECHARGE BATTERIES SUCH AS THESE AAA CELLS 10: TEXENERGY ARE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF DEVELOPING A WAY POWERING THE ORBIT USING WIND - THIS IS A PROTOTYPE BEING TESTED IN THE ALPS 11: OUR EDITOR ALSO CARRIES AN ORBIT ON HIS TRAVELS - THIS IS HIS CHARGER CONNECTED TO HIS TABLET

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 65

Images © Mike Gormley unless noted

06

Images © Mike Gormley unless noted

comfort & Survival 13

12

HAGLOFS ESSENS MIMIC JACKET

H

ere is one more for that age old discussion / decision; do I go for a down ll or a synthetic ll jacket?

On one hand, you wonder why we should try to re-invent the wheel when the likes of geese and ducks produce a very good way of keeping warm, even if they do live with their bums in water much of the time. The truth is when we take over their down, when they no longer have a use for it, we are unable to maintain it to work when wet. There are ways of improving this, but... Many companies look to replicate the benets of down without the disadvantages. Enter a new one from Haglofs, the Quad Fusion Mimic with a clue in its name. I have a full-on down jacket I bought in Nepal a few years back, and it is like putting on a central heating system on a cold day. In fact we (Jean has one as well) look forward to cold weather so we can wear them. But, there is no way these go out if there is any chance of rain, which is a bit limiting in our Western European climate. With this Mimic jacket there is no problem and I have worn it out when there is rain about, as well as on chill nights. A good sign with this jacket was an immediate “I like that” from Jean. I have to say, I like it as well, and wore it often during that cold weather we had as November turned to December. PRODUCT Coleman Haglofs TexEnergy

UK CONTACT Coleman Haglofs Whitby and Co.

66 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

Unlike my down jacket, this one is light and can be packed away. If scrunched up and stuffed away it immediately springs back to life and is ready to go. It has a good and adjustable hood with a slightly different way of doing this and the neck zips up high to complete a good weather-resistant barrier around your neck. Elasticated cuffs keep the draught out. In the absence of rain for now, I resorted to the ‘arm under the tap TELEPHONE 01275 845 024 +46 226 670 70 01539 721032

test’ and even prolonged water on the seams did not penetrated the material. The hand and generous chest pockets go to make this a good all round jacket for the winter or other times of year when it gets chill.

12: THE MIMIC HAS A VERY GOOD AND ADJUSTABLE HOOD AND HIGH NECK PROTECTION 13: THE HOOD IS PERMANENT BUT LAYS BACK OUT OF THE WAY WHEN NOT IN USE WEB coleman.eu haglofs.com texenergy.co.uk

SUBSCRIBE & SURVIVE! FREE SURVIVAL KIT

with every 12 Month Subscription rip ption courtesy of militarykit.com worth £16.50! 16..50! CLAIM YOUR FREE KIT NOW, W, INCLUDING: Reective Survival Blanket Magnesium, int and steel restarter tarrter SOS Compass Water Resistant Survival Case with Signalling Mirror For many more great products,

visit militarykit.com

PLUS

Save 10% off cover price Free delivery to your door** Sub Rates: 12 Issues UK: £43.35 Europe (Airmail): £54.95 Worldwide (Airmail): £59.95 To receive your free Survival Kit, just add the for and ffollowing ll i f postage t d packaging: k i

UK - Free of charge Europe - £8.10 Worldwide - £8.60

THREE EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE...



order online at www.combatandsurvival.com



by phone 01484 437319

order by post fill out and return the coupon

COMBAT & SURVIVAL - LOW PRICE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER (1 YEAR ONLY + FREE GIFT) † YES! Please start my low-price subscription to Combat & Survival for 12 issues and send

Forname: .....................................................................................................

me my free Survival Kit gift starting my subscription from issue:______________________

Surname: .....................................................................................................

Cheque/PO or credit card payment - 1 year (12 issues).

Address: ......................................................................................................

† UK £43.35 † Europe (Air) £54.95 † World (Air) £59.95 Please include P&P † UK - FOC † Europe - £8.10 † Worldwide - £8.60 † I enclose a cheque/PO made payable to Hit Media Ltd Or please charge my: † Visa † Mastercard Credit Card number: _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ Expiry Date: _ _ / _ _

Card Security Code: _ _ _

Issue No: _ _

Signed: ___________________________________________ Date:_____________________

.................................................................................................................... ................................................................. Postcode: ................................. Tel: .............................................................................................................. Email: .......................................................................................................... Please indicate if you do not wish to receive special offers from companies other than Hit Media Ltd or if you are under 18 years of age. All gifts subject to availability. We reserve the right to substitute a gift of a similar value. Please allow 28 days for delivery

Return your completed subscription to: Hit Media Ltd, 1st Floor Turnbridge Mills, Quay Street, Huddersfield, HD1 6QT ALL PAYMENTS IN £ STERLING ONLY, THIS OFFER SUPERCEDES ALL PREVIOUS OFFERS. T&CS APPLY.

†

security industry

SPIES AND COUNTER INTELLIGENCE...

THE ONGOING GREAT GAME

T

he German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND) has reportedly recently arrested one of its ofcers for compromising operations against Islamic terrorists by warning the subjects of surveillance and planning an attack on his place of work. This event has highlighted that recruiting spies, whether against foreign nations or terrorists, is still a daily activity around the world and that, as Alex Younger, the head of MI6, recently pointed outintelligence agencies “...are the secret front line, operating upstream in the shadows”.

Image © Bob Morrison: Military Scene

The individual was a convert to Islam and married with four children. He had previously acted in porn movies and yet was seen by his colleagues as an inconspicuous individual. This event has caused considerable reputational damage to BND and it could be said that his recruitment was a failure of the personnel vetting system but, as past events have shown, vetting is not as straightforward as it seems.

identities of the other forum users and what information they are seeking. Past history has shown us that the vetting process isn’t perfect in any organisation, as people and their loyalties are complex and not always what they seem. Britain suffered from the famous ‘Cambridge Five’ of Blunt, Burgess, Maclean, Philby and Cairncross, who were all communists and recruited into MI5, MI6 and the Foreign Ofce whilst working for the KGB. They caused incredible damage and compromised both operations and agents who were subsequently executed by the Russians. Much has been made of their individual human factors such as homosexuality, womanising and drinking which would potentially make them susceptible for blackmail by any foreign intelligence service but yet they were all traitors for ideological reasons and were willing recruits for the Russians.

All intelligence agencies seek to identify, recruit, train and run agents inside target organisations. These will be Primary Agents with direct access to information, or Secondary Agents with indirect access. There are then Supporting Agents that carry out tasks in support of tradecraft, such as surveillance and counter-surveillance. Each agent potentially runs his own network to increase the amount of intelligence. Agents are recruited already in place within the target organisation or are recruited outside and encouraged to join.

The Americans also suffered from Russian penetration as well. The John Walker spy ring (a Naval Ofcer involved in communications security), Aldrich Ames (the CIA head of Soviet counter intelligence), Richard Hannsen (FBI Counter Intelligence), and Larry Wu-Tai Chin (a translator at the CIA spying for China) all did untold damage to the US and led to the arrest and execution of US agents in Russia and China. These agents all spied for nancial gain.

One of the best organisations to penetrate is the enemy’s intelligence services, which will enable you to know who the enemy’s agents are within your organisations and what intelligence is being sought (this is a part of counterintelligence). You also need to hire intelligence ofcers who are from the same culture, with the relevant linguistic capability, to provide input into your intelligence assessments. There are also now virtual agents that create false identities, known as sockpuppets, in terrorist internet forums that seek information on the

Some agents work for romantic reasons, such as Clayton Lonetree (USMC) who had fallen for Violleta Sanni, a Russian girl working as a translator at the US Embassy in Moscow. She introduced him to an ‘Uncle Sasha’ (a KGB ofcer) and he handed over plans of the embassy and details

68 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

of American agents. The Russians themselves have been penetrated by Western Intelligence agencies, and agents working for the West have included Colonel Penkovsky (an ofcer of the GRU) and Oleg Gordievsky (KGB) who both spied for ideological reasons. Neither is it the rst time that the Germans have suffered spies. Previous cases have included Heinz Felfe (the head of Soviet Counter Intelligence in the BND), Horst Wendland (the deputy chief of the BND) and Rear Admiral Herman Ludke (deputy head of NATO logistics) who all spied for ideology for a variety of Eastern Bloc intelligence services. Also Irmgard Romer and Leonore Sutterlein (both secretaries at the Bonn Foreign Ofce) who fell for honey-traps and spied for the East German Stasi. It would be easy to say “do not recruit people into the intelligence services who have exploitable behaviour” or “don’t seem to be the grey man” but how would we get grey men to take risks important for successful operations? Anyone ‘perfect’ is probably not human and we must remember that ‘perfection’ is no indicator of loyalty or of a stable personality. After all Churchill was known to sleep until noon, took opium in college and drank a quart of whisky every evening and in contrast Adolf Hitler was a nonsmoker, occasional drinker and never cheated on his wife. Whose loyalty would you trust? By Robert Shaw

ROBERT SHAW of LONGBOW SOLUTIONS is a former British Army ATO and IEDD/WIS Operator who is now a security and intelligence trainer and consultant.

scale models

KIT BOX ROUND-UP RUSSIAN TRUCKS & WHEELED VEHICLES PT.2

Images © respective manufacturers

For those who grew up in the 1960s building model kits, the choice in subjects was largely dictated by the two main manufacturers, namely Airx and Revell, and if you wanted a model of something not oered by these two companies... tough! Since then things have changed signicantly and today it would seem that you can get kits of just about anything, even obscure subjects and the very latest of military hardware. In the November issue we looked at various KrAZ truck models and this month we conclude the Kit Box Round-Up series with a handful of other interesting Russian kits.

T

rumpeter offer model kits of several variants of the smaller GAZ-66 4x4 truck, these being the standard cargo truck, an ‘oil’ tanker (which I suspect is actually a fuel tanker) and a light anti-aircraft truck with a ZU23-2 gun mounted on the rear bed. Each retails at around £40.00 and, in general, has been well received as a model with a good level of detail and no real construction problems to talk of. This manufacturer does in fact offer a massive range of Russian vehicle kits, far too many to list here, but amongst them are: the Scud-B, BM-21 Grad Multiple

Rocket Launcher; MAZ-537; GAZ-39371 MPMV; 130mm Coastal Defence Gun; A-222 ‘Bereg’; Ural 4320; KZKT-537L Tractor; and SA-8 Gecko. All are due to be joined very shortly by the 3S51M SPU 4K51 ‘Rubezh’ Coastal Missile System and 9P113 TEL 9K52 Luna-M ‘Frog-7’ Short-range Artillery Rocket System. The last two vehicles are due to land on UK shores shortly and while we don’t have an RRP for them, I would anticipate them to be around the £80.00 mark, given their size and the current price of similar size models from Trumpeter. To wrap up, I just wanted to mention one more kit, this time of an armoured

vehicle, namely the GAZ-233014 STS Tiger Armoured High-Mobility Vehicle. This vehicle is popularly known as the ‘Russian Hum-vee’ as visually it has certain similarities and it fulls similar roles. This kit is offered by Meng Models and as such has a terric level of detail. It is one of their Velociraptor range and retails at around the £30.00 mark, dependent on where you buy it from. It includes options to show the doors open or closed and features a fully detailed interior, with internal camouage decals, plus clear and etched parts. Happy modelling.

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 69

vehicle focus 01

Report & Images by

BOB MORRISON

Images © Bob Morrison

URO VAMTAC SPANISH HUM-VEE EQUIVALENT The VAMTAC, short for Vehículo de Alta Movilidad Táctico or High Mobility Tactical Vehicle, manufactured by URO Vehículos Especiales of Santiago de Compostella in north-west Spain, is both visually and dimensionally quite similar to the US HMMWV (High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle) or Hum-vee. Although used by other nations, as the bulk of production to date has gone to the Spanish Army it is not a vehicle that has appeared too often in the pages of C&S... until this month.

F

irst produced for the Spanish Armed Forces in 1998, with well over 2,000 examples being procured for them over the next 15 years, VAMTAC has been produced in both softskin and armoured versions. There are two noticeably different wheelbases, standard and extended, and several different body congurations have been produced for specic roles.

70 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

02

03

04

05 In 2015 we spotted both standard and extended wheelbase S3 light armoured variants, we believe from the second production batch ordered by the Spanish government in the middle of the last decade, at close quarters on the CENAD San Gregorio training area during TRIDENT JUNCTURE ‘15. In the distance we also watched a Spanish Light Role infantry company participating in the dynamic display, but unfortunately that action took place too far away for us to identify which model these were. While visiting Sennelager during Exercise VENERABLE GAUNTLET ‘16 in September, we were able to photograph more heavily armoured standard wheelbase S3 variants, ordered in 2012, serving with Spanish Legion contingent. Prior to this, on ANAKONDA

01: Romanian VAMTAC spotted near Drawsko Pomorskie on ANAKONDA 16 02: From this angle the uparmour package to the crew compartment is visible 03: Standard conguration lightly armoured VAMTAC S3 at Eurosatory 2008 04: This vehicle is tted with a Remote Weapon Station mounting a 7.62mm gun 05: Extended wheelbase ST5 command variant on VEGT16 - note roof air-con packs 06: This Spanish Legion S3 was participating in VEGT16 dynamic display 07: Later conguration Spanish Legion VAMTAC S3 - note side vision blocks 08: Spanish Legion on patrol near Sennelager - machinegun is 12.7mm calibre 09: Spanish Paratrooper ST3 at San Gregorio during TRIDENT JUNCTURE ‘15 10: Extended wheelbase ST3 at San Gregorio with two standard vehicles behind 11: In the foreground a platoon of Light Role infantry with their VAMTAC carriers

‘16 in Poland in June, we spotted and photographed what we believe to be up-armoured S3 versions used by the Romanian contingent. Unfortunately, on all three occasions in 2015/16, due to scheduling clashes, we did not have either the time or the opportunity to undertake detailed photographs of any of these vehicles, but at least we were able to snap them for the record. Back in June 2008, at the Eurosatory defence expo in Paris, we were also able to photograph one of the standard wheelbase lightly armoured S3 versions, of which almost 1,000 are believed to have been ordered. Incidentally, one of the graphics on the URO stand stated that at this time over 3,000 units had been sold. At least eight other nations use, or have used the VAMTAC.

06

07

08

09

10

11

COMBAT & SURVIVAL | 71

Report & Images by

alliance forces

COALITION ARMOUR I In the main VEGT16 feature we mentioned several types of armoured vehicles used by the British-led battlegroup, not all of which may have been instantly recognisable by name alone. This tracked mechanised infantry vehicle (1) is the Polish BWP version of the Soviet BMP and performs a similar function to the British Warrior

(2). The 6x6 APC in photos (3) and (4) is the Finnish-made Patria Pasi used by Estonia and the 8x8 APC in photos (5) and (6) is Poland’s homegrown KTO Rosomak. The 8x8 with the retracted radar dome (7) is the Danish artillery locating Piranha III and the tracked vehicle with 8-tube air defence missile launcher (8) is Britain’s Stormer HVM.

04

05

06

07

08

01

02

Images © Bob Morrison

03

BOB MORRISON

72 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

next issue

COMBAT +SURVIVAL coming up in c&s

N

ext month: Carl Schulze reports from Austria on Germany’s elite 23 Gebrirgsjäger Brigade training for mountain warfare on Exercise EDELWEISS ‘16 and, in a separate Firearms feature, looks at the new Heckler & Koch Gewehr G27P Sharpshooter Rie for the German Army; while Bob Morrison concludes our ANAKONDA ‘16 coverage from Poland with an exclusive report on the Special Forces dynamic demonstration, which involved predominantly American, Croatian, Hungarian and Polish SF units plus he also focuses on a Hungarian operator from 34th Bercsényi László SF Battalion. Plus: Product Reviews, Rations, Kit & Camo etc. Contents may change subject to operational developments!

Image © Carl Schulze

74 | COMBAT & SURVIVAL

mar '17 Issue On Sale 09th Feb