British paratroopers have successfully earned their Japanese parachute wings, demonstrating the capability of British airborne forces to operate in conjunction with Pacific allies.
A contingent of 25 troops from the 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, a global response unit of the British Army, participated in training exercises in Japan alongside Japanese, American, and Australian paratroopers.
Exercise New Year Jump facilitated the multinational paratroopers’ proficiency in utilising Japanese parachutes and executing air assault missions from Japanese Chinook helicopters. The BCT’s Pathfinders, an advanced force, honed their skills in parachute jumps utilising Japanese freefall canopies, in coordination with their Japanese, American, and Australian counterparts.
The British Army add here that the training culminated with a combat demonstration in front of a large audience at Narashino, a training facility located on the outskirts of Tokyo. The multinational force was inserted by helicopter and parachute and successfully carried out an attack on a simulated enemy position, supported by tanks and attack helicopters.”
Bombardier Chris Kearney, of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, was one of 400 paratroopers to jump in. He was quoted here as saying:
“I had a fantastic view of Tokyo, which is just vast, and it really felt like we were jumping into the middle of the city. Mount Fuji was on the horizon, and it was all quite distracting, so I had to make myself concentrate on my landing drills! It was really interesting to go to Japan, on the other side of the planet, to find that their paratroopers were doing the same role as us and had done the same training with similar equipment. Even with the language barrier, we worked together easily and got along very well – I think that’s because we all have that shared experience of jumping out of an aeroplane.”
You can read more on this here.
Looks like they’re running around with SLR’s 😎
Think they have the L129A1 Sharpshooter Rifle.
Looks like a stock picture as the blokes don’t look like PF and the weapons look like M16A1s, or even G3s but currently no specs to hand…….lol
The pic is dated 2023,so assuming the Japanese soldiers are in the foreground and the British in the background,so (2nd attempt) im going for the Brits borrowing their hosts Weapons – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howa_Type_89 🙂
Howdy Airborne, the old G3. Got issued these during Air Force basic training, but no cleaning kits at all. Rifles were chained to the rifle rack and never used, other than for drill purposes and were never part of the morning inspection( happy days)!
Went to the firing range only once during three month of basic training. Squeezed off two or three rounds and the thing promptly jammed. Drill instructors going up an down the firing line clearing stoppages. Best bit was being driven there and back in a bus coach- no 4 tonner transports for us!
At guard duty, the popular view was to use the rifle as a club against any would be assailant. Clearly a laughable proportion as the thing fell apart if you looked at in the wrong way.
This was a very different experience to my prior three months of infantry basic training (yes, for my sins I did basic training twice). We had a local version of the Israeli Galil – a fine weapon. (and cleaning kits too).😀
Good. The direction of Allied policy is correct and the pace is picking up.
It’s 25 soldiers …
There is a problem with Western policy that stresses signalling and symbolism over substance. Britain has no capacity to project serious military power into East Asia in any manner that contributes to deterrence against a power like China.
If Britain wanted to be serious about contributing to deterrence in East Asia it would need to go beyond 25 soldiers. It would need to go beyond two OPVs with 30mm guns. It would need to restore something like the Far East Fleet. Of course it has zero capacity to do that.
At minimum it would have to start by stopping the endless defence cuts and prioritize real military and naval capability over all the other nonsense it spends money on. But so far, it is not prepared to do even that.
Precisely so. But the policy is partly to put heart into our friends. As to making serious commitments to our armed forces – I agree. The decline since the 60s and more recently will I hope not come to haunt us.
The best thing the UK can do for the far east is take defending its own corner of the globe seriously, so Europe has no reliance what so ever on the US, freeing the US to deal with China.
Problem is …..Europe isn’t serious about defending Europe. The UK alone ( which is one of what 3 NATO countries to spend 2% on defence – others beung Greece – and oh dear – the US) csn’t alter that situation.
True words UK is also out stretch with All that’s happening in this world
25 Pathfinders, That’s like half the unit isn’t it?
Very nice. Will these 25 troops of traveled by civilian aircraft? Would love to go to that side of the world. Japan, Korea, Philippines etc
HI Monkey Spanker, Not sure if you read this.
Ukraine conflict: UK accelerates Mobile Fires Platform programme19 JANUARY 2023
“UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced to the House of Commons on 16 January that he is accelerating the British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) programme, so that it delivers during the 2020s rather than the 2030s. He said he has also directed an interim artillery capability to be delivered, subject to commercial negotiation.
Janes understands that the UK now plans for the MFP to enter service in 2027.
Among the companies competing for the programme are Hanwha Defense’s Team Thunder offering the K9A2 self-propelled howitzer (SPH), Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) with its Boxer Remote Controlled Howitzer (RCH) 155, Nexter with its CAESAR 8×8 SPH, BAE Systems with Archer, and Rheinmetall with an HX3 10×10 truck equipped with an automatic remote-controlled artillery turret.”
I saw the defence Secretary giving his speech in the commons but fell asleep after a few mins so missed most of it.
As the PM and others seek to donate more kit the defence Secretary has a perfect opportunity to say ok but we need this to make up for kit given.
A temporary buy of a wheeled artillery would be great. I wonder how the Czechs gun is on price. 24 of them would allow a lot more as90 to go to Ukraine.
What I did see was only 30 or so boxers will be available for 2025. Seems slow. Don’t quote me on the numbers or time scale as as there are rough guesses from memory.
👍
Boxers were meant to be delivered as from this year, first c.115, I think coming from ARTEC’s line in Europe and the rest from the WFEL plant.
It’s great. Spent 8 months travelling there. Great volcano country if you like climbing them 😉
That sounds great fun.
25 paras. Was it really worth the effort; what was gained from that apart from publicity? Europe is the flash point and we don’t have the resources to gallivant in the Far East with pointless gestures with a solitary platoon.
Cross training on Japanese equipment so they can utilize it in future if required.
Really? Not convinced by that at all! Sounds like a MOD response!!
The UK is great at press releases. Good Lord.
Those squaddie socks in your laundry again, damn it gets you going doesn’t it.
Be quiet angry old man 25 paratroopers can fit in two vans… And they didn’t even bring their own goddamn weapons. This is a joke but you just don’t seem to get it. And no aircraft as well. Yeah that’s a global force for good right there. But again the press release kicks ass.
Those squaddie socks really getting to you this time……it’s ok to be angry and sad at the same time.
Resource shortfall? I think we can spare 25 Paras. But I take your point – why bother?