UK

Sergei Skripal case: Blaming Russia does not necessarily mean action

Theresa May will need do to more than establish Russia’s culpability in the Sergei Skripal case in order to get the international community to back actions, Michelle Bentley argues.

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UK signs memorandum with Saudi Arabia for sale of 48 Typhoon multirole fighter jets

Saudi Arabia has signed a Memorandum of Intent with the U.K. government to purchase 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter jets.

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UK submits final offer for 34 Eurofighter Typhoons to Belgium

The UK Ministry of Defence submitted to Belgium its final offer for 34 Eurofighter Typhoon swing-role combat aircraft plus support, training and cooperation on cyber capabilities in the competition to replace Belgium’s F-16s

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UK Royal Navy assault ship Albion to lead NATO task group

The U.K. Royal Navy amphibious assault ship HMS Albion will lead Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 beginning next week. Albion is set to leave Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth next week and will serve as the SNMG2 flagship, operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the Royal Navy said in a Friday press release. A Royal Marines group will also embark aboard the ship. “It is a huge privilege for us to fly the flag of the NATO task group commander in such a high profile deployment,” HMS Albion commanding officer said. “This symbolises the importance that the UK and the Royal Navy places on our role in NATO and in assuring the collective defence and security of NATO allies and partners.’’ HMS Albion is one of the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships. It recently completed a two-year modernization period followed by training and sea trials. The NATO task group will undertake security operations and conduct multi-national exercises while in the Mediterranean.

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UK announces deployment of additional Chinook helicopters to Mali ahead of Macron visit

The UK will send three additional Chinook helicopters to Mali for French counter-terrorism operations, the UK government said

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UK “not involved” in Syrian Border Security Force

Updated January 16 The United Kingdom is not involved in the new Syrian Border Security Force set up by the U.S.-led Coalition against Islamic State and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. “We are not involved in this particular line of Coalition effort. We remain clear that liberated areas must have long-term, legitimate and inclusive local governance and security structures,” a U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson told The Defense Post on Tuesday, January 16. On Saturday, CJTF-OIR Public Affairs Officer Colonel Thomas F. Veale told The Defense Post that the Coalition and SDF were working jointly to train the 30,000-strong Syrian border security force. The BSF will be partly composed of veteran fighters and operate under the leadership of the SDF, the backbone of which is made of the People’s Protection Units (YPG). Turkey’s foreign ministry on Sunday said Turkey was not consulted on the establishment of the Border Security Forcce and that Turkey does not know which Coalition members approved the decision. “To attribute such a unilateral step to the whole Coalition is an extremely wrong move that could harm the fight against Daesh,” the ministry said. A spokesperson for the Coalition told The Defense Post that “Turkey is a …

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Raytheon awarded $634 million contract for AMRAAM air-to-air missiles

Raytheon has been awarded a $634 million contract for production of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), with many earmarked for foreign military sales

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Boeing wins $1.2 billion contract to produce 10 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the US and UK

Boeing has been awarded a $1.2 billion contract to produce 10 P-8A Poseidon aircraft – seven for the U.S. Navy and three for the U.K.

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Flapless flight: Successful first flight of ground-breaking BAE Systems MAGMA UAV

BAE Systems and the University of Manchester successfully completed flight trials of MAGMA, a new UAV with a revolutionary blown-air flight control system

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New UK-based RAF Typhoon squadron will temporarily integrate Qatari personnel

The U.K. is to create a new Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon squadron that will temporarily integrate personnel from Qatar

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