British forces, specifically The Royal Lancers, are actively reinforcing the security measures in Eastern Europe, specifically in Poland, as part of Operation Cabrit (Op Cabrit).
The main objective of this operation is to bolster Euro-Atlantic safety measures, show solidarity with NATO allies, and send a clear message of deterrence to potential adversaries.
“The eFP demonstrates the NATO commitment to collective defence all year round”, said a press release.
The Royal Lancers are joined by a multinational, combat-ready force that consists of approximately 140 personnel. They stand alongside NATO allies in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Additionally, their operations are enhanced by their collaboration with the US 9th Cavalry Regiment, which serves as the Battlegroup leaders in Poland. Moreover, the Lancers’ efforts are supported by an array of British military groups, including the Adjutant General’s Corps, Intelligence Corps, Royal Artillery, and more.
Captain Guy Scott, the Squadron Second in Command, was quoted as saying, “We have a range of cap badges serving with us out here and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly a team of individuals from different backgrounds and with different skills can come together and work effectively to make a difference as a team in the British Army.”
Stationed in Bemowo Piskie in North-eastern Poland, The Royal Lancers are equipped with Jackal, Panther, and Coyote vehicles. Their stay in Poland since April has been eventful, partaking in multifaceted exercises which involve equipment such as SA80 rifles, General Purpose Machine Guns, Javelin missiles, and Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs).
In June, the Lancers undertook a significant emergency deployment readiness exercise, covering an impressive distance from North Poland to Tallinn in Estonia. The upcoming months will see them engaging in more multinational exercises in Estonia and Latvia.
Panther is still around? I thought they’d been discarded.
Well it is ok for Land Rover replacement.
It is still an useful 4×4 for liason, transport etc. but not like BA did try to use it stuffing it to the top like if was a much heavier vehicle.
I wasn’t aware that they had. I recall it being described as, finally, a replacement for the Ferret!
Give me a Foxhound any day.
Absolutely. Overpriced I’d read for the capability it gives. I don’t think it is used in the same role as Foxhound, carrying a small section? I thought it more a liaison vehicle.
So did I, I think they’re slowly being sold off.
“We have a range of cap badges serving with us out here and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly a team of individuals from different backgrounds and with different skills can come together and work effectively to make a difference as a team in the British Army.”
Long experience fighting with allies across the globe counts.
OT: Big Polish CAMM (for land based AD) order.
138 Launchers and 1000 CAMM-ER missiles.
I just wonder how Poland can afford this huge increase in military spending?
Don’t get me wrong, I applaud what they are doing and they are on the front line – literally – with Russia after all and would be next in line but they are spending huge sums on military hardware.
Just wondering where the money is coming from.
It’s coming from what the gov should have been spending on its citizens instead due to the unnecessary escalation in promoting the conflict in Ukraine .
always money for guns and bombs …….
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It is simple, they have a bit less social spending.
A miserable 1.5% of GDP increased to 4.5% is 3x more spending.
There was a very interesting article from a serving senior Polish general, who must have had authorisation before talking to the press.
In essence the Polish think the rest of NATO has lost the plot and pretty much cannot be relied upon as we should be crash rearming to face the axis of evil that is Russia and China.
Poland are acutely aware of the risk of threats from Belorusk (Wagner and malignant asynchronous warfare from Russian agents) Russian short range tactical and battlefield nukes based in Belorusk as well as the threat from the heavily armed Kalingrad exclave.
The Poles are tasked with keeping open the Sulanki gap. (Forgive spelling if incorrect. Writing this on a 7 year old android phone)
The Poles are concerned about the eventuality of Ukraine being either defeated or worn down by attrition and NATO indifference and lack of adequate war winning support, thereby forcing a territorial defeat and peace deal upon Ukraine.
Where will a newly emboldened Putin turn too next? Answer. Baltic states, Poland , Romania, Bulgaria. Moldova.
https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/06/nato-should-respond-more-aggressively-russia-polish-general-rajmund-andrzejczak?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16941179964775&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2023%2Fsep%2F06%2Fnato-should-respond-more-aggressively-russia-polish-general-rajmund-andrzejczak
Tired old cold war redux arguments.
But is it? The majority of Countries and intelligence analysts stated that prior to the invasion in Feb 2022, Russia was just sabre rattling, due to Ukraine cutting off the water supply to the Crimea. The massive exercises with Belarus and force movements were written off again as ramped up sabre rattling. But then Russia stepped over the border and nearly reached Kyiv. After the first couple of weeks it did look like Ukraine would have to capitulate due to the sheer onslaught. But they prevailed and later drove Russia back.
It is quite right that Poland has taken an overt approach to rebuilding and rearming its armed forces. As Poland is bordered by Country whose President who has clearly lost the plot and has nothing left to loose, plus his Belarussian lapdog.
What immediately sobered me up, was a question my Mum in France asked me after Russia invaded. She asked, are we going to have a nuclear war? I said, its too early to tell, but it may come to that! Now a year and half after the War started, with Ukraine pushing to break through the defensive lines in the south. Who knows what Putin will do if Ukraine can make the break to the coast? He certainly does not suffer fools, who those who threaten him. But how will he react, if Russia suffers a landslide defeat?
Back to Poland increasing its military budget and them going on a spending spree. Poland is taking the threat that both Russia and Belarus pose seriously. Why should they not? There has been plenty of anti-Polish rhetoric coming from both Russia and Belarus. Then Belarus hosted Wagner, so there was an immediate threat from asymmetric groups sneaking over the border.
If I was Polish and saw that other Countries are stating that if it does kick off, then they’ll have to get through Poland first. I would be pretty infuriated by these comments as well.
Russia inst coming for Poland , its the former Soviet Union territory that thy are interested in
The reverse happened at end of WW1 , the borders of Poland were decided at Versailles, by language. Not perfect but German areas were separated from polish speaking and the same in the east – polish and Ukrainian language ( Delegation from Kyiv wanted a Ukraine nation as that didnt exist but turned down)
Poland and the Russia had a border war 1919-1921 as Poland wanted the historic eastern part of Ukraine that was rules by polish nobility under the Austrian Hapsburgs
They won so a slab of eastern Ukraine was became polish until 1939 “for historical reasons”
Russia now wants Ukraine for ‘historical reasons” . Doesnt make it right. But thats history for you
Similar in Spain , when Catalonia had a referendum , 90% voted for independence, for historical reasons Spain wont allow independence. Scotland has same situation but referendum didnt reach 50%
No, I know what you mean but the world order now, as in the world we live in now, is about not tolerating land grabs to enlarge nations, irrespective of the complex shifting sands of previous ownership. You could make your argument for most of the land in the world as to which group once owned it. So it’s not ‘that’s history for you’ or the celts would still be in charge where I live, except the Romans then took it, then the Angles, then the Danes, then the Angles, then the Normans, and that’s just my turf. We need a world where argument and consensus is central, not one guys idea of greatness for a nation, who then launches a full scale invasion. Scotland also should not be compared, the union is a democracy and still stands, it’s not part of some English yolk, Scotland more than makes up its part of the union and Westminster is the UKs government not Englands government. Despite the SNP best efforts to give that impression.
Very true . But the *history* does matter- especially the last 50 years not 1000yrs as it gives context . Ukraine matters to Russia in that way because of shared history and language – history of repression too but Ukrainians were part of that repression too. Cossacks anyone ?
It explains but doesnt justify the invasion- which Ive always thought was a mistake- and why the russians arent coming for Poland or Germany, So its not like 1939 again at all.
As for the democracy bit surely if Spain prevents the 90% vote for independence in Catalonia, what agreed independence vote did Ukraine have to leave Soviet Union.
Also Russia is a form of democracy, a bad example but still they do get to vote. The USA for example the majority doesnt decide the President but a lop sided 538 ‘electors’.
or even UK where the government hasnt had a majority of the votes since 1959 but also relies on ‘seats’
http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/assets/eb76d0e7-b039-4e8c-8ae0-4e068573219e.png
Just a couple of things, I disagree with the timeline, actually the older the history the more rooted the claim, just look at Jerusalem. Border disagreements from the last 50 years should be resolvable without carnage.
Russia is not a ‘form of democracy’, what? the Russians state has the levers to rig elections, lock up or kill the opposition and push its own narrative via its own state media unchecked. I predict Putin will only cease as leader when he either dies, or there is a coup against him, not votes. I agree with you that the US system throws up interesting options.
In terms of the UK, I fully understand the system here with me being English an all, so no lecture please. Our parliamentary system is a democracy and saying a government hasnt had a majority since 1959 is wrong, you don’t win by getting the majority of all votes, you win by getting the biggest majority for one party, the more slender that is, the more it reflects vying parties and split votes. If one party gets 35%, another 33% then it’s obvious who should win, even if it’s 35%. UK general elections are in reality over 600 separate elections for each area of the UK (areas drawn up independently), so yes you can get an aggregate effect where a loser does not get all the seats deserved of all votes added up, but it produces a winner and ensures every area has its own MP to champion local issues. Hey not perfect for sure but no system is – and Boris had to resign about lying to parliament, no death and no coup was involved.
Lastly, this obsession about bringing the same speaking peoples together, it’s soooo last Hitler. Nations are not tribes, thats not how it is, therefore Ukraine is not Russia and is certainly not some province of Russia despite the atrocities of the past or the Soviet yawn Union. Should Britain invade Ireland or grab Canada because they speak English and have similar heritage? Course not, those type of ideas are long gone but not in Russia. why has Russia got Kaliningrad? It’s Konigsberg with all Germans ethically removed by Russia so they could take Danzig, after invading literally half of Europe! If you think it’s about the peoples then Russia should give that chunk of land back immediately.
A democracy where the government isnt supported by the majority of voters ?
Dont kid yourself
this is not how it works in almost all of ‘democratic Europe’
The Brexit was a majority of voters , and the Scottish independence was rejected by a majority ( interestingly only a majority for independence in Glasgow and its suburbs along with Dundee)
Well that is the problem with democracy I agree, hence why 2 parties work best. I lived in Europe and not sure what you mean, yes it’s no surprise we do things different in Britain, that’s not a problem given that nearly all of Europe has had dictators in the last 100 years, apart from Britain which had a parliamentary democracy throughout unchanged, so that’s a pretty proud record, However in terms of now, Europe has the same problem so I’m not kidding myself at all. They are forced into coalitions which often does not represent the voter’s interests. Take Germany, the largest party SPD only got 25% of the vote, so a grand alliance had to be built which no one wanted or could agree upon, so had to adopt a complex ‘traffic’ light policy system. The British system makes it rare for coalitions to emerge as coalitions ultimately makes government weaker in its manifestos. You can argue all that isn’t perfect and annoying for voters but you can’t say I’m kidding myself and this doesn’t happen in Europe, of course it does, few governments truly take over 50% of all votes. The Brexit and the Scottish vote are unusual in British politics in that it’s a referendum, so a clear cut yes or no to a question. Happy the Scots voted to stay in the union but unhappy on Brexit, but never mind, that was poor politics.
So you are a supporter for partial democracy, thats fine but dont get all preachy about other countries not so perfect systems
Coalition governments do have majority support, voters know how those european proportional systems work and know they are getting shared power. Usually in germany they DO require the party membership to agree on forming a government
Look at result of 2010 election 36.1% Conservative + 29% Liberal Dems equals 59.1%
After invasion …cough illegal invasion of Iraq, the democracy decided for them , was it a UK or US style partial democracy where a minority party gets all the power or a european style proportional system where its shared .
of course it wasnt the system you favour at all.
Preachy, that’s unfair Duker, I just pointed out they had coalitions due to non majority results, i only said that because you stated Europe did not have ‘government not supported by the majority of voters’. Of course I am in favour of democracy and the UK and Germany are not ‘partial democracies’. A minority party does not have power in the UK, it is the largest party that has power but often it is not the majority of the actual total vote. It’s still democracy.
It is not just about a pie chart of who has the most votes, it’s about the rule of law, a free press, freedom of expression and so on. Do you not agree?
where are you from as you are either playing devils advocate or not from the UK, or your understanding is different to mine, which is fine of course.
I was against the Iraq war so not sure why that’s thrown into this, but the Ukraine invasion is an old fashioned land grab of a neighbour to gain territory, and a lot of people have died for that. Ukrainians live in my town as refugees and everyone has welcomed them. What’s your thoughts on Ukrainians being so warmly welcomed in Europe, would you help them?
Im saying Europe in general has majority governments – an direct effect of proportional representation
UK is the outlier here and is least democratic as the majority of the voters didnt vote conservative as only 43.6% did in 2019. Its way behind in how democracy works today , not in the way it worked in1919
Australia has preferential voting in those who win a seat but not a majority of votes , have the 2nd preferences and so on through the least votes distributed till one candidate , usually the biggest vote getter has at least 50% +1. In each election roughly 12 or so second place getters out of 150 end up with 50%+1 or more and win the seat, and around every 3 or 4 elections one 3rd place getter in primary vote ends up winning with 50% or more
as for referendums, they had one to belong to EU , so only reasonable to have one to leave.
For devolution , they had them for the separate countries.
Others most forgotten were Greater Referendum. Northern Ireland for the 1998 Good Friday agreement.
They are aiming to escalate upto 5% GDP to defence as a MINIMUM by 2027. So that’ll be how they can afford such hardware. During the cold war the UK spent depending upon year 7-12.5%. For that we had a RN with 15 SSNs and 50+ escort warships, an RAF with 20+ fast jet squadrons (7 now) and an army able to deploy an armoured corps of 3 armoured divisions and a supporting infantry Division. (Totalling 270,000 troops including reserves)
We’ve simply been allowed to forget just what is achievable with political will and realisation that our freedoms and democracy came with an expensive bill of history and have an expensive bill to maintain and protect. Just because Sunak and Hunt state there is no money doesn’t mean that it is true. It is all about where we spend our governmental funds, how much tax we and businesses incur and what could be rationalised.
For example state pension. Why oh why does the state pension and benefits escalate above inflation using the triple lock calculation. That costs the UK tens of billions a year. Just one example.
Cold war UK defence much lower than 7%- your min.
It was 7% in the late 50s
it was around 4.6-4.8% just before Falklands war
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8175/CBP-8175.pdf
They have also shown an interest in the F15EX, again not cheap.
Potential adversaries ?😂 everyone knows the only adversary everyone in here is desperate to rumble with is Russia , The U.K. gov has run our amazing army into the ground it’s a disgrace what they have done and tantamount to treason.
the pictures circulating of a burning Challenger tank in Ukraine should be a wake up call.
nothing is going to change when the incoming labour administration accelerate the programme .
people need to wake the fcuk up!
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