Britain to axis up to 5.300 army jobs

The British government said on Tuesday it was making up to 5.300 army staff redundant as share of cuts troop numbers That Will see Reduced to the Lowest since the early 19th century.

The Ministry of Defence Said soldiers returning from Afghanistan or heading to Would Be free from the cuts, the third round under Such a program will see That the regular army troops Reduced from 102.000 to 82.000 by 2020.

"WHILST we need to make up to 5.300 army staff redundant, the program will not adversely affect operations in Afghanistan," junior defense minister Mark Francois insisted in a statement to parliament.

Britain still HAS about 9.000 troops in Afghanistan ahead of a scheduled withdrawal in 2014.

The Conservative-led coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron, Which is trying to shrink Britain's massive deficit, HAS Already Announced That Will Be Doubled reservist numbers to 30,000 by 2018 to help fill the shortfall.

New pistols for UK Armed Forces

The Armed Forces are to be supplied with more than 25,000 new Glock sidearms to replace the ageing Browning pistols currently in service.

The Glock 17 Gen4 pistol is not only much lighter than the Browning L9A1, it is also more accurate and its magazines can carry more bullets. It has an increased magazine capacity of 17 rounds, compared to 13 rounds for the Browning.

Personnel across all 3 Services will begin to receive the new 9-millimetre (mm) calibre Glock 17s in the coming weeks and troops deployed to Afghanistan will be among the first to use the new weapon. The contract with Viking Arms Ltd of Harrogate, Yorkshire, also includes more than 25,000 holsters.

A Glock 17 pistol (left) and the Browning the new pistols will replace [Picture: Andrew Linnett, Crown Copyright/MOD 2013]

Warrant Officer Class 1 Mark Anderson, Royal Marines, who trialled the new weapon before the contract was awarded, said:

Pistols are vital in close combat and are a key part of a soldier’s armoury. Reliable, light and easy to carry, the Glock inspires confidence and performs exceptionally well.

The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said:

We are determined to provide our troops with the best possible personal kit available and these new Glock 17s will give them greater firepower and accuracy on operations.

Royal Marines firearms instructor Sergeant Steve Lord demonstrates the new Glock pistol on the range at Woolwich Barracks in London [Picture: Andrew Linnett, Crown Copyright/MOD 2013]

Sidearms are a valuable weapon for servicemen and women on the battlefield, and the new Glock, manufactured in Austria, will complement the wide range of weapons already available to our forces, which includes:

• SA80A2 assault rifles, which fire 5.56mm rounds
• light machine guns, which fire 5.56mm rounds
• Sharpshooter rifles, which fire 7.62mm rounds
• general purpose machine guns, which fire 7.62mm rounds
• combat shotguns, which fire 12-gauge cartridges; and
• sniper systems, which fire 8.59mm rounds.

The Glock pistols will replace the Browning which after being used by the Armed Forces for more than 40 years has become increasingly expensive to maintain. The contract for a replacement pistol was put out to tender 2 years ago and is not in response to any specific or increased threat.

Back to intervention Franco-British Aviation Security

The Air Force and the Royal Air Force worked closely during the interception of civil aircraft in the night of 5 December 2012. The speed and success of this action have demonstrated the effectiveness of bilateral agreements in terms of air defense. Story of a top-flight response.

It is 22:45, December 5, when the center en route air navigation (CRNA) Brest contact center detection and control (CDC) Cinq-Mars-la-Pile to report an aircraft flying Cognac, loss of radio contact and London Luton, Great Britain. In just a few minutes, the Rafale's plot MASA (active measures aviation security) deployed off Lorient order of the national center for air operations (CNOA) of Lyon Mont-Verdun to fulfill its mission of air policing.

The Rafale, under the control of Cinq Mars la Pile, intercept civil aircraft, performs recognition measures distance visual observation and interrogation on the radio distress frequency without response.

Faced with this lack of radio communication of civil aircraft, the CDC French handed over to British control center Boulmer, to convey the situation and allow for further MASA out of the French airspace.

The Rafale then passes under British control until the interceptor English, one Eurofighter continue measures radio interrogation and coercion route. The Rafale leaves the device, then back under control CDC Cinq-Mars-la-Pile and returned to France, his mission successfully. The civilian aircraft was then boarded an air base north of London, to answer the reasons for his lack of radio contact over hundreds of miles.