General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord, has said Britain has an open border with Russia to its north through the Atlantic, and that Norway is its first line of defence, according to remarks made at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo.
Welcoming delegates on board HMS Prince of Wales, Jenkins said: “Norway does protect our northern flank. Norway is on the border with Russia, and Norway guards the entrance to the Euro-Atlantic area. The UK has an open border with Russia, and it is to our north, and it is through the Atlantic, and Norway is our first line of defense. We depend on Norway not just for our prosperity and energy, but for our security as well.”
He said he had trained in the High North alongside Norwegian forces since 1992, and that Royal Marines Commandos are training with their Norwegian counterparts in Norway now.
Jenkins, who led the British negotiating team for the Lunna House agreement, told delegates that the previous day’s International Sea Power Conference had focused on practical solutions to threats in the so-called grey zone and on what technology offers. He said: “Today, you all get to take this to the next level.”
Britain and Norway announced the Lunna House agreement last December, covering closer naval work including the Type 26 frigates both navies will operate, and it set a framework for a more persistent Royal Marines presence in northern Norway.
The Royal Navy said on Tuesday that Britain is putting £100 million into turning the UK Commando Force into a warfighting formation focused on the High North. The agreement is named after Lunna House in Shetland, base of the wartime Special Operations Executive operation to Norway.
How are the T26 discussions progressing?
Progress on how the hull(s) in build will be effected?
“Putting £100 million into turning the UKCF into a warfighting formation focused on the high North.”
And the circus wheel continues to turn. Why then, when we had a 3 Commando Brigade whose task was just that, one of the Commando, Four Two, was changed from a “Green” Commando to a Maritime Operations one. Thereby reducing the fighting power of that formation?
Why then, with Russia rising, was 3 Commando rebranded into the UKCF, and the Littoral Response Group idea formed, with but a single Commando Group allocated north, Four Five, with the other, Fourty, focused in the “south” so the Med, Middle East, and such.
With these grand plans came the promise of new shipping ( we’re still waiting ) firstly with the LSS, before that went south in cuts as it was deemed too expensive.
All this for the Grey Zone, to counter Russia and other threats, which 1SL himself referenced and is still there, and the UKCF was “modernised” to counter it.
Since then, 3 Commando has had a new uniform, new IW, new way of fighting in small teams with “Strike Companies” lots of small hand held Drone photo ops ( cheap), new Strike vehicles, all of which looks of little value if now we do an about face and focus on the north.
And you mention Norway, what about Finland?
Meanwhile, things that would really enable movement in those wintery terrains, things like a replacement for the elderly tracked BV204, are stalled, and Viking ATVs replaced by an even smaller number. Yet we get wheeled DAGOR LSV? Ideal for winter??
But it’s ok, as the Commandos have been shown many times conducting raids using their DAGOR vehicles with hand held drones in the deserts of Palm Springs, totally removed from the “new” focus which in fact never left, while the Commandos enablers such as their shipping and stuff like Artillery, Engineers, Logistics, and things that actually enabled 3 Commando to fight remained at minimal level or were cut.
Arctic training reduced.
No replacement for Light Gun or better ammunition.
No introduction of things like wheeled HIMARS.
UKCF may use Switchblade, unsure, it’s hidden by secrecy.
No expansion in the CHF, infact 2 of those few precious Merlin have been lost. Replacements? Tumbleweed and wind…..
What about 847 NAS, any chance of putting weapons on their Wildcats, rockets, LMM even?
Armed Drones, where are they in the UKCF?
What does £100 million actually buy beyond the rebranding and going around in circles?
Landing Craft, LCU replacement, where is that?
The CIC is due, the LCVP replacement, as part of Luna, that has been announced and then announced again for the usual “look at us, we’re doing something PR purposes.”
The purpose of this rant is to highlight that behind the grand statements the formation we DID have to do exactly what is now being grandstanded by their own ex CGRM and 1 SL is effectively 2 Battalions plus some CS CSS units and less than before, with it’s shipping removed.
There were 4, “Battallions” for a while, including 1 Rifles from the Army. Real mass.
The irony of grandstanding how we are getting ready to confront Russia in Norway while cutting the very assets to do that, going grey zone, then reversing the process but now with with fewer assets, do I laugh or cry?
Addendum, bits I missed in first rant.
The SRS has received over a 100 new snowmobiles! We bought something. That indeed helps the more Special Operations focused part of the UKCF move in snow. And the Shore Recc Troop appeared, complete with RIBS to surveill enemy shores.
The GBAD Troop in the RM is still small, any chance it can get bigger? Rather important now we discovered we are almost totally without such assets. We had a good reorg though, for some unfathomable reason it got moved from 30 Commando IX Group into 29 RA, that’ll show em.
While we’re at it focussing on the north again, any chance In expanding the M&AL Cadre? Rather elite, full of knowledge, input directly into BPT of the SRS.
What an interesting, and not at all inflammatory, choice of words…
Open borders.
We’re weak.
Vulnerable.
Outrage on the right, and amongst the older generations of ” D Mail” reading voters.
Vote for us by giving us more money?
Something like that?
Maybe he should work for FIFA?