The drop, which also involved a fourth aircraft dropping 24 tonnes of equipment and supplies, marks a significant milestone for the RAF's A400M Atlas aircraft, which has taken over the role previously carried out by the retired C-130 Hercules fleet. According to Metro - Main, Private Hugo Stone described the sense of scale as 'quite something' and noted that after landing, the focus is on getting kit sorted and being ready to fight immediately.
Separately, 1,400 British army soldiers from the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade and Scots Guards left the UK for a NATO exercise in Germany on a passenger ferry. The soldiers had access to karaoke, a cinema and bingo for entertainment, but no alcohol. The exercise tests the UK's ability to use civilian transport infrastructure if NATO's Article Five is triggered. The MoD stressed that using a civilian vessel had nothing to do with any shortage of navy ships. It was believed to be the first time UK troops had used a passenger ferry in a military exercise since the last Gulf War. According to Daily Mirror - UK News, Charlie Gilmore described the purpose of the exercise as showing that NATO can project a large force at pace into Eastern Europe, and noted the flexibility of using civilian transport, which was also used in the Falklands War and the Gulf conflict.
Copehill Down has been there for more than 30 years. People have fired weapons, thrown explosives and made noise and thunder-flashes the whole time and the bats are still there – so what does that tell you?
In a separate development at Salisbury Plain, a 'bat disco' lighting system has been installed at Copehill Down training village to comply with bat-protection laws. Salisbury Plain is the biggest military training area in the UK, spanning more than 94,000 acres. The lighting was set up last year during an upgrade of the facility. Bats are believed to be in some of Copehill Down's mock buildings. The MoD confirmed it was required to bring in the lighting to comply with bat-protection laws. According to Daily Express - UK News, Francis Tusa described Copehill Down as having been there for more than 30 years, with people firing weapons and making noise the whole time, and questioned the necessity of the lighting given that bats are still present.
The purpose of the exercise is to show that we, as part of NATO, can project a large force at pace out into Eastern Europe. You can see the reasons why we would do that now.
It seems unusual to use civilian transport. But it's not unusual when we look back at history. We used it in the Falklands War and the Gulf conflict. There's also a strong reason behind it. It shows a kind of flexibility. If we were to rely on the strategic airlift, provided by the Royal Air Force, with 1400 people, it would take seven aircraft to do that. This shows that we can move by air, sea, or rail. The Royal Navy does not have a passenger ship to carry 1400 personnel. You could embark us on a Royal Auxiliary ship, but that is not really what they should be used for. This is absolutely about showing that the UK government can force project into Europe using a variety of efforts.
We have spent the past couple of years travelling around the world to Oman, Kosovo, Kenya and Kuwait. That was done by air, so it will be good to see how this works.
The sense of scale was quite something. I had a clean exit and a good landing, but once you're on the ground, it's about getting your kit sorted and being ready to fight straight away.