Babcock and Elbit Systems Ltd have entered into a partnering agreement to pursue the Ministry of Defence’s ‘aggressor air’ capability under the Air Support to Defence Operational Training (ASDOT) programme.
The ASDOT programme aims to meet the training component of UK air support across the Air Force, Navy, Army and Joint Forces Commands from 2020, progressively replacing existing contracted and military service provision as these programmes expire or reach their planned end of service date.
In June 2016 the Ministry of Defence released information on what the UK Military Flight Training Systems Project Team would be seeking from the multi-phased programme. These requirements – still subject to refinement – currently cover the provision of live flying assets to meet training requirements for air to air combat; air to surface combat; joint terminal attack controller / forward air controller (airborne); electronic warfare; air traffic control, ground based air defence and aerospace battle management; and live gunnery.
There is a
Roger Hardy, Chief Executive of Babcock’s Aviation sector, said:
“With an ever dynamic threat environment and the introduction of new MOD capabilities, there is a clear need for a step-change in operational training capability.
Our customers need industry partners who can adapt to a changing world by integrating technological advances which maximise synthetic training on live aircraft. Elbit Systems, with its leadership position in providing technologies that deliver representative training effects at reduced cost, is the perfect partner for us.”
Martin Fausset, CEO of Elbit Systems UK said:
“ASDOT is a long-term service delivery project, requiring broad and well established aviation capabilities, delivery to multiple UK MOD users and the ability to manage the customer’s most sensitive information. Babcock is the leader in through-life engineering, support and training, trusted to deliver by its customers and together we will provide a step change from what is available in the operational training market today.
This will enable the UK’s Armed Forces to train against representative live airborne threats with innovation and flexibility, responding to the changing environment and changing defence requirements.”
Hmm, the Israelis seem to be getting more and more contracts………..and rightly so. They have shown themselves to be at the cutting edge in so many areas of defense.
Steven – And you quietly ignore how they get that capability? Some of the tactics of the IDF have been frankly nothing short of ethnic cleansing and war crimes. I wonder how much ‘capability’ Israel learned from dropping Phosphor bombs onto schoolkids, lobbing random artillery shells into the most crowded ghetto in the world and are we also going to learn how to text people to get them to move so they group together and can be shot easier?
I am not at all happy using anything at all from Israel period. And certainly not while they continue to steal land from Palestinians by using ‘Settlers’ as their foot soldiers. And especially now they have, through their inside position at the US State Department, persuaded that gimp Trump to endorse Jerusalem as its capital city.
Chris wrote:
I am not at all happy using anything at all from Israel period
Did you know that the 8088 Intel chip was designed in Israel, that chip kicked started computing as we know today
Did you know that Microsoft XP and NT were designed in..Israel
Do you own a USB pen drive…Yup designed in Israel
Do you own a AV program on your computer, does it use a firewall, guess who invented it.
Do you use a Mobile phone, Yup Israel
Do you Text or instant message, yup Israel
Do you use an E-reader such as Kindle…Israeli software
Do you use or own a printer for your computer…Guess who invented it.
Guess who developed the flash memory used inside Apple and Samsung electronics ..yup Israel
Do your kids own a Playstation 3, guess who developed the energy chip controller inside it
Is your front door a multi-locking one, guess where it was invented.
Have you ever eaten a cherry tomato? Invented in…Israel.
There’s lots more stuff that was born in the tiny little state
https://www.israel21c.org/made-in-israel-the-top-64-innovations-developed-in-israel/
I would love to see all those people who say they want to boycot Israeli made/designed goods to actually do so.
@ farouk
Fabulous rebuttal!! Well done!
David,
Whenever I got posted anywhere, I ensured i read up on the problems and issues pertinent to the area, So when I found myself in BFPO 58 for a 3 year posting, I read up on the Israeli problem. Now I’ll be honest, I knew nothing about the problems, so I went in wide eyed and bushy tailed. One of the books I read was:
SIX DAYS OF WAR JUNE 1967 AND MAKING OF MODERN MIDDLE EAST by Micheal Oran
Fantastic book very well researched and most informative. The author ensures you get to feel the emotions of the people on the ground , like how before the conflict started , the Israelis really felt like they were going to lose. (Which kind of explains the armed forces of 5 nations sitting on the border with Israel supported by 7 other nations.) Not well known is that Egypt under Nasser had planned to get the first strike in. However that plan went out of the window with pilots in their jets, when the Russian ambassador woke up Nasser telling him the US had found out and if the US knew, the Israelis did. Thankfully for the Israelis a convoy move towards the Egyptian border by a Armoured div helped substantiate that. (The IDF didn’t know by the way) However Israel could not allow such a concentration of arms and armour on their border to continue and so they acted. Now for all those people who claim Israel was sneaky in 1967, if that is so, why was there an Iraqi armoured division inside the West bank resulting in iraqi military casualties.
I also read the book by the bBCs Middle Eastern Editor badly written , poorly researched and full of errors :
Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East
According to J Bowen the Arabs were Lions led by donkeys and the Israelis were just lucky. According to him the Centurion tank (1946) in Israeli service since 1950 was far younger and superior to the IS3M heavy tank (1952) yet not only was the IS tank a beast, it had a better gun and armour than anything the IDF had. Not only that the IDF deployed M48 Pattons against them in the desert and used the Cents with their better suspension on the Golan heights.
Then there is the USS Liberty incident, according to Bowens book it was destroyed, no it wasn’t, it was hit and made its own way back to Malta, it was sold for scrap in 1973.
As I said, I looked up the History of Israel. All we are told is Israelis stolen land, yet not mentioned is that Jordan which comprised 5/8th of Palestine was given to the Arabs as the Islamic homeland and nobody complains about the slapper. Not only that, but written into the Jordan constitution is this little snippet:
Jordan’s law no. 6, sect. 3, on April 3, 1954, and reactivated in law no. 7, sect. 2, on April 1, 1963. It states that any person may become a citizen of Jordan unless he is a Jew that legislation remains valid today.
That was simply a rewrite of the law they wrote in 1933, 15 years before the birth of Israel.
The remaining 3/8th was to be the Jewish homeland, yet the Arabs didn’t want to share, so they rioted, and rioted and the Brits (After WW2) handed over the remit to the UN. So in a nutshell Jordan a pure Arab state is acceptable, But a state for the Jews isn’t. When Israel declared independence, in 1948 it was invaded by 7 Arab nations and 1 non-aligned army, they informed the local Arabs to leave and return when the Jews had been pushed into the sea. Problem was The Israelis with no Military defeated them. As they did in 67 and 73. After 1967, the Israelis offered to hand back all the land they had captured for recognition and peace, the Arab answer at the Arab summit in Khartoum in Set 67 was the infamous 3 Nos:
“no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.
History is a wonderful tool, yet when it comes to Israel, I find a lot of people, subscribe to hype and emotive content rather than the facts. I have no problem pointing these out.
Just for the info, I have visited Israel, as I have the neighbouring countries, I was treated a lot better in Israel than I was elsewhere. I thought it was just me, but my sister who is Muslim, said the same thing when she visited.
farouk – Did I say we should ‘boycott’? No I said I was not happy. I never suggested any aggression towards Israel did I? Its an opinion. Its a gut feeling. And forgive me if its personal but I lost a cousin I never knew killed by the Stern gang in Jerusalem by an IED while serving with the British Army who were trying to protect Palestinians. And I have seen nothing since to make me feel any liking for the country or its politics.
And here is a surprise for you I actually have Jewish blood and have Jewish family members who are equally ‘unhappy’ about Israel’s military
You can list as many details as you like Old Son and you are entitled to your views. But then so am I.
Chris you wrote:
I am not at all happy using anything at all from Israel period
I simply pointed out a few things which I feel you should stop using.
As for the bit about losing a family member to the stern Gang , The UK has relations with India,Cyprus,US,Kenya,Malaysia,Iraq all of whom fought for independence by the use of terror/freedom fighters.
In fact I have Indian blood in me, should I boycott the Uk for how it oppressed my ancestors for hundreds of years, My family are also Islamic, should I double up on my hatred for the wars in Iraq/Afghanstan etc..
Nah, I leave history in the past and get on with my life, which for a good number of years was defending the country of my birth..The UK. (BTW, I’m CoE)
Chris. A word of advice. When you’re in a hole stop digging. I speak from experience.
Chris – do us all a favour and stick a sock in your anti-Israeli rant.
I had the pleasure of living in Israel and let me tell you all is not what you see on TV. Where I lived came complete with bomb shelters – now why would we have needed those do you think? You would think that after years and years of aid to the tune of 10s of millions of dollars the lives of the Palestinians would have improved right? Why haven’t schools and hospitals been built? Ask Hamas and Fatah. They have plundered the money meant for their own people and used it to build underground tunnels and weapon stockpiles. Still, when the Palestinians themselves voted the Hamas into power, then they get what they deserved and can only blame themselves. They get no sympathy from me!
I am very proud to have lived in Israel and that tiny nation and its people have my utmost love and respect. As for President Trump – I salute his courage in moving the US Embassy. Say what you want, he doesn’t give a damn what people think and that is a trait that is sorely missed in our society today where ‘PC’ rules – make me sick!
David – Oh why Sweetcheeks? Because I am not entitled to my opinion? My freedom of speech? Because its ‘Israel’ they are beyond criticism? We must never speak against Israel. Or anyone else?
No Pal how about YOU shove your attempt to shut down discussion and maybe listen to other people’s views?
David Steeper –
“Chris. A word of advice. When you’re in a hole stop digging. I speak from experience”
I am in no hole Old Son. I expressed an opinion. That brought out the pre-scripted responses we have seen to which I gave VERY brief and individual replies. No abuse, no personal animosity from me.
I was happy to leave it there ‘agreeing to disagree’ despite those arguing for Israel never wanting to discuss the events of the ’40s to which I referred. We only hear about the ’60s and on and of course there are only Arab terrorists arent there? But as you want an argument sit back and read very carefully:
Farouk equates what happened in Palestine in 1946 etc to the events in “India,Cyprus,US,Kenya,Malaysia,Iraq” forgetting the simple fact that all those uprisings were by British indigenous people living in those countries against British Empirical rule. They sought independence. Whereas the situation in Palestine (note the name) was that the USA funded foreign external terrorists to join with Stern and the other Zionist gangs to kill, murder and force out the resident Palestinian populations area by area, village by village. And they achieved that by adding massive migration of European refugees into Palestine by illegal transport. By any definition Palestine was invaded and what followed was ethnic cleansing (the act of replacing one ethnicity (Arab) with another (European). Palestine was a sovereign state (like Iraq was when Bliar & Co invaded and carried out illegal regime change) recognised as a place of special status (given the three main religions) by the International community since 1916 with the UK was appointed as the ‘Protecting Power’ (hence the name The Palestinian Protectorate). A duty it upheld without fail including WWII. The need for a Jewish Homeland wasn’t something that ‘occurred’ because of WWII and the Holocaust. Balfour in his Declaration of 1917 established the principle of that Homeland and here is what he said:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/text-of-the-balfour-declaration
I draw your attention to the key words in that Declaration:
“it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”
What happened in the late ’40s clearly ‘prejudiced’ every other ‘non-Jewish community’ in Palestine. The British recognised that after 740 odd Service people had been killed protecting those communities and given the weight of the US support at the time it withdrew form the area and said ‘Screw this’ basically. Palestine was partitioned, the Palestinians (no surprise) said ‘no thank you’ and the nett resulted was the destruction of Palestine, the removal of 80% of its population and the creation by terrorist action of what we now call ‘Israel’. The USA being the first to recognise it at the UN and using its considerable post WWII muscle to make sure most other nations did as well. Shame on them
Everything else follows on from those events. They are the foundation from which all arguments must follow. To quote some obscure law as Farouk does from 1954 (and later) ignores the CAUSE and diverts in a clever way attention on the reaction. For example to blame mortar attacks on settler communities (while wrong) diverts attention from the simple facts that every Settler land grab on the West Bank is illegal under International Law, defies the UN and is a deliberate tactic by Israel to make a ‘Two State Solution’ in any way possible.
Building miles of 30 foot concrete walls didn’t work in Germany either.
Can anyone possibly justify the slaughter in 2014 of 2,000+ Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza because 3 Israeli teenagers were ‘kidnapped’? Well apparently yes they can and do in Israel and the USA. So we now know 1 Israeli is worth 700 Palestinians.
Do you know what happened in Shattila and Sabra camps in 1982? I’ll tell you: some 3,000 innocent Palestinian women and children were butchered with the permission of the Israeli Army by their allies after the Palestinian men were removed to another camp
THESE right there are (among many) my reason for being ‘unhappy’. I seek no retribution, demand no boycotts or have in ANY way denigrated the Jewish religion. And yet you pour abuse and accuse ME of peddling lies? No everything I have said is factually true. Pick out from the above where I lie David. THIS is how the land you so admire was stolen from those who owned it. I am sure there are some really lovely people in Israel but they live in a falsehood of a nation state, created by terrorists (and yet are the first to use the word when they claim victimhood) who murdered their way into ownership of land that was not theirs, removed a whole population outside Palestine. A land where Jews had not lived in great numbers for millennia. A land that only exists because of huge American aid programmes.
When you accept the events of the ’40s and early ’50s, their causal effects and the instances of Israeli murder then we can discuss later events and today’s Israel….
It is a land that exists do to the constant vigilance and sacrifices of the IDF. Also no I do not have to accept your version of events. War has consequences and the Palestinians chose war and terrorism. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. There are both Christian and Muslim members of the Knesset. You also pointedly forget the return of Jewish citizens to the land compromising Israel under the Ottoman Empire. Which by the way by your rather illogical argument Britain and France illegally partitioned. Victory decides the merits of arguments – I guess by your way of thinking okay for Britain but not Israel or heaven forbid the United States. Also you say “Protecting Power”, at whose damned request the Arabs? The Jews? The answer would be neither as it was a nicer way of saying “Lord and Master.” Protection during WWII, well when you are using Suez for transit and Iraq as a gas station you don’t have a choice. You also once again completely ignore the riots and attacks against Jews by the locals going back to the Ottomans and continuing under the British. Also International Law is a myth, nothing passed by a international body is binding. You also say the International community recognized Palestine before WWII and it’s status. That would have required the Soviet Union and the United States to have been members of the League neither were and both voted to create the Israeli State at the UN.
You also can’t call something you don’t like a falsehood, “they live in a falsehood of a nation state.” A nation state only requires territory, sovereignty (clear and consistent police power), and a government. Not a government you like. Also you keep going back to Jewish migration. There were Jews in Israel BEFORE WWI. “Illegal transport” well considering the alternative was move back to the neighborhood where they just tried to kill you, or go to a British “Displaced Persons Camp” on Cyprus. No not much insensitive to give a damn. This in addition to EVERY European country cutting off Jewish immigration just before the war and Holocaust then continuing to do so after. I just can’t imagine why the Israelis did not give a single solitary damn what British feelings were or, whenever news crews saw the camps on Cyprus what the reaction in America would be after so many men had just returned from liberating the concentration camps in Germany. Unlike in Europe where those pictures were initially downplayed they were plastered on every newspaper and every newsreel at the theater in America. What actions do you think they would command of Congress.
Elliott – So many errors there its frightening. But you’re a Yank and so I understand your ignorance of facts
1. No the land exists for the reason I stated. You conflate what the IDF do now with those events. The IDF did not create Israel. Zionist terrorists and thousands of illegal immigrants did. Not a clever comment that Elliott
2. I don’t care if you’accept my facts’ or not. They are not ‘my facts’ but they are indeed historical fact.
3. “Palestinians chose war and terrorism” What? There you go with quoting the result not the cause. NO! Palestinians were invaded, murdered and removed and it was the Zionists that used terrorism against the Palestinians first. Anything after the ’40s was as a result. Retribution is understandable but not justifiable sadly that is the FACT!
4. The UK ‘Mandate’ as ‘Protecting Power’ was awarded by the League of Nations. An organisation created by US President Wilson but which was not a member. It covered ALL Palestinians regardless of religion.
That Mandate was AFTER the Balfour Declaration to which I referred but you seem to have missed. Of course the USA in the ’20s was not a significant global power and neither was Soviet Russia having only just come out of a violent revolution (1917 that was Elliott). They only assumed world dominance after WWII as the UK’s fell away (the price of fighting 6 years of ALL of WWII unlike Russia or the USA). So once again you conflate an earlier age with one 30 years later. D’UH!
5. I have never EVER referred to ‘Jewish migration’ let alone ‘keep going back to it’. I have studiously AVOIDED mentioning Jews and the Jewish religion just the State of Israel. I spoke of Europeans and nothing else. This is now your second attempt to misrepresent me to infer antisemitism on my part. So screw you and your lies Pal
6. If you read what is actually written I mention ‘all three religions’ twice. The fact I show that Balfour declared there should be a ‘Jewish Homeland’ also recognises that fact. So stop making out I denied Jews lived there.
7. After WWII no one was was trying to kill Jews except maybe in the Soviet Union. The USA would have happily taken those refugees surely? The UK took in 10,000 Jewish Children before WWII but after it was in no state to look after anyone other than their own but we still took in refugees. The Zionists used the refugees as a spurious justification for their violence to create an ‘Israel’ nothing more. So for you to now create a false argument to justify the theft of the Palestinians’ land and their murder is pathetic and hollow. NOTHING justifies murder, ethnic cleansing and ignoring International Law. And yes that does exist.
In summary you never ONCE show any concern for Palestinians at all. You just replay the Israeli mantra about how they are the terrorists. No Elliott the Palestinian people are the victims here. I wonder how YOU Yanks would have reacted if thousands of migrants and armed terrorists had descended on NY State and taken over land, homes and businesses and kicked New Yorkers out? You would have fought back. Well that is what the Palestinians are trying to do against a huge military machine not too fussed about murdering them and intent on taking the rest of their land as well
Chris
The people who endorsed the recognition of Jerusalem were the Senate of The United States of America multiple times and nearly unanimously since 1993. President Donald J. Trump has merely done his duty before the Constitution as chief executive, faithfully execute the will of Congress by enforcing the law as passed by the elected members of those bodies. What the other the 3 prior ones did was use a loophole meant to be temporary because they acted like to many politicians selfish lawyers to lazy to do their job. Before you go ranting about some all powerful “Jewish Lobby” or the Jewish vote there something you have to remember. They make up somewhere between 2-3% of the US population.
Also I do not recall any evidence that Israel has quote “texted people to get them closer together for them to be easy to shoot.” Every other charge you listed false – the Israelis when asked have provided targeting data, furthermore phosphorus shells are only banned by countries that have the luxury of having others do their dying for them. They are still produced and used by the US, South Korea, China, Russia and India to name a few. Also under the Laws of War the entire Gaza area became a free fire zone whenever they started stow munitions and launch munitions from schools, Mosques, hospitals, and civilian residential areas. Their is absolutely no moral duty of the Israelis to be as careful and merciful as they are being. The Jihadis certainly weren’t.
Elloitt – I never mentioned the ‘Jewish Lobby’ or the word ‘jew’. And I did so deliberately because my beef is with Israel not the Jewish religion (to which I am part related).
But thanks for the inferred antisemitism.
Very well written, but you only miss the key point. What percentage wealth do the jews that make up the 2-3% of the United States’ population? 30% – 40%. Now that’s pretty bloody powerful.
Of course not all of them are pro-Israel.
make them vstol capable. and cheaper than a f 35
These training facilites can be monetised by having our allies use them, similat to the hebridean missile ranges.
Not the place for me to engage in Israel Palestinian debate which is extraordinarily complicated and nuanced.
I will say that when I did business in Israel I found the people very industrious, inventive and straightforward. As I got quoted often ‘we have no oil so it all must come from our hard work and our minds’.
Once you were able to separate what was real from vapourware and the Chutzpah the real stuff was great, so were the people delivering it.
A bit like the Brits the Israelis – a little apart from their neighbours.
My how busy the mossad bots are on this site. The vast majority of British people would be very unhappy if they were aware of the strategic grip this apartheid state is getting over the UKs defence spending.
The Nazis used to claim that the laws of war were on their side ,they also conveniently forgot that they were illegal occupiers.
Farouk,you are suffering from a bad case of confirmation bias,theres no point in reading books if you are just going reject anything that dosnt agree with your preconceptions
Farouk,you are suffering from a bad case of confirmation bias,theres no point in reading books if you are just going reject anything that dosnt agree with your preconceptions
Since when is pointing out that the Liberty wasn’t destroyed, that the IS3M was actually superior to any Western Tank at the time and that the Centurion wasn’t deployed in Eygpt/Gaza a preconception.
Unlike most, I look at both sides of the story and then make my mind up unlike people who start off with: “My how busy the mossad bots are on this site.” in which to berate others.
Which is a preconception.