Speaking at the annual Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Land Warfare Conference, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has announced a £48M training contract for Apache air and ground crew.
The six year contract will support around Apache crew at Dorset, Hampshire and Suffolk bases, with some 700 personnel, including 50 pilots and 400 ground crew, trained each year by Aviation Training International Ltd (ATIL).
The Defence Secretary took the opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by today’s armies and the developing security technologies. The contract was announced alongside new counter measures for global cyber threats, through bolstering and reorganising the Army’s Royal Corps of Signals and Intelligence Corps.
An additional regiment will be attached to The Royal Corps to enhance its cyber capabilities, allowing it to distribute information rapidly and effectively, with the Intelligence Corps reorganised to focus on counter-intelligence, security, and cultural understanding.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: “This £48M contract will support UK jobs and provide world-class Apache training for our personnel. The Apache is a vital part of the British Army’s fighting force that is helping to keep this county safe.
“We are also preparing our forces for the battlefields of tomorrow in an era of complex global challenges by ensuring our formidable Signals and Intelligence Corps are ready for the information warfare of the 21st Century.
“This investment is only possible thanks to a rising defence budget and a drive for efficiency and innovation which will help our Armed Forces stay at the cutting edge.”
The Land Warfare Conference is the annual forum for Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter, to discuss the global challenges facing land forces. This year’s theme is Using Land Power Decisively in an Era of Constant Competition.
Upon opening the conference, General Sir Nicholas Carter said: “The global strategic context is complex and dynamic; indeed its defining condition seems to be one of instability. The pervasiveness of information is changing the character of conflict opening new ways for state and non-state adversaries to exploit ambiguity, blurring the boundaries of peace and war.
“This conference has seen an impressive group of panel chairs, speakers and serving personnel tackling some of the key issues surrounding the utility of land power in this era of constant competition.”
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