16 Air Assault Brigade

[arfah]

............

[Gabriele]

http://www.janes.com/article/54295/dsei ... my-command

16AA Bde to move under Central Army Command from JHC - Joint Helicopter Command.

No relocation of units from Colchester.

Apache AH force to remain under JHC

My opinion: it makes a lot of sense.

[The Armchair Soldier]

British and Spanish paratroopers have been firing on the ranges together on Exercise Iberian Star.

The reservists of 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment are training alongside their regular counterparts from the Ejército de Tierra's La Segunda Bandera Paracaidista "Roger de Lauria" at Torrejon, near Madrid.

The exercise began with a range session for the Spanish paratroopers to fire the British SA80 A2 assault rifle.
Photos: Cpl Andy Reddy, MoD Crown Copyright.

[The Armchair Soldier]

[The Armchair Soldier]

Under cover of darkness, British and French paratroopers have practised a raid to extract colleagues in peril as the first mission of Exercise Eagles Amarante.

The scenario saw a military training team trapped in a country facing a deteriorating security situation, with a joint force scrambled to bring them out to safety.

The mission began with Pathfinders and Groupement de Commando Parachutiste soldiers dropped by HALO parachutes to mark a landing zone and scout the position.

British and French helicopters then landed a company of soldiers each from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment and 1er Regiment Chasseurs Parachutiste. The troops defeated insurgents besieging the training camp before evacuating their colleagues by helicopter.

The overall purpose of the joint exercise is to improve interoperability with 11e brigade parachutiste, which serves as the French Army's rapid reaction force.

[arfah]

............

[arfah]

............

[The Armchair Soldier]

The largest military parachute drop in the UK in more than decade has demonstrated the airborne capability jointly provided by 16 Air Assault Brigade and the Royal Air Force.

Some 200 Regular and Reserve soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade jumped from four RAF C-130J Hercules transport aircraft onto Salisbury Plain.

The jump was mounted from RAF Brize Norton, with the soldiers jumping from 800 foot onto the Imber drop zone in overhead assault mode, carrying light equipment so that they would be ready to start operations when they hit the ground.

Exercise Musketeer Reprendre provided training for Hercules’ aircrews from the RAF’s 47 Squadrons in parachute operations. For 16 Air Assault Brigade the jumps maintained the skills of soldiers to parachute as part of the Air Assault Task Force, which is held at very high readiness to deploy anywhere in the world.

It was also the first major jump since the Brigade adopted Pegasus, the iconic image of an armed man being delivered into battle from the air, as its emblem.

[The Armchair Soldier]

A video showing 7 PARA RHA at work:

of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (7 PARA RHA) – aka ‘The Airborne Gunners’ – have been practising their air assault skills on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

After a week of build-up training, Exercise Cypher Strike will culminate in a 72-hour mission that will see the Colchester-based gunners firing and moving across the windswept training area by day and night.

The troops deployed into the field, by RAF Chinook helicopter, with their 105mm Light Guns, Pinzgauer vehicles and ammunition before starting a demanding series of fire missions.

Find out more about 7 PARA RHA: http://bit.ly/1TwAAWK

Video by Cpl Andy Reddy; Crown copyright.[/quote]

[whitelancer]

The jump was mounted from RAF Brize Norton, with the soldiers jumping from 800 foot onto the Imber drop zone in overhead assault mode, carrying light equipment so that they would be ready to start operations when they hit the ground.

Not going to start ops without their kit notable Weapons!
As such drops don't happen often you would have thought they would do them properly.

[ArmChairCivvy]

Started a few thoughts, those news-pieces:

The number of Hercs retained was set surprisingly high, but of course as things stand, what else would you jump out of (in numbers, and at a decent range)?

Pinzgauers are still around; what else is air-droppable (in the frame that a Herc can handle) and can move both the gun and its crew as well as a decent number of rounds (which have a fair bit of packaging, too)?
http://u0v052dm9wl3gxo0y3lx0u44wz.wpeng ... -Mk-IV.jpg

And the recent exercise over in the US; learning how to make a Stryker (or an equivalent) fit into a Herc...

[Gabriele]

Pinzgauers are still around; what else is air-droppable (in the frame that a Herc can handle) and can move both the gun and its crew as well as a decent number of rounds (which have a fair bit of packaging, too)?

The British Army can't airdrop much of anything right now since the Medium Stressed Platform is out of service, not being compatible with the C-130J cargo floor. A call for proposals went out last year to adapt it, but apparently it went nowhere. The MOD must not have liked the pricetag.

So, until a new platform is procured and integrated on A400, 16 Air Assault will be seeing airdropped Light Guns and vehicles only when it trains with the americans.

[ArmChairCivvy]

the Medium Stressed Platform is out of service, not being compatible with the C-130J cargo floor

Wow, tells you all you need to know about reinventing the wheel. The K's went out of service (and so did the wheel)!

[The Armchair Soldier]

"Being a paratrooper is all about being ready to deploy at a moment's notice in the most demanding of conditions"
C Company 3 Para jump from Chinook helicopters alongside their counterparts from the Spanish Airborne Brigade (BRIPAC), as part of a two-week joint exercise to develop relations between the two units.

[zanahoria]

Interesting clip. Is there any tactical advantage to jumping out of a chinook as opposed to setting it down on the ground? Or is the use of the chinook as seen in the clip purely to provide the opportunity of parachute training when a Hercules isn't available? Maybe it's also cheaper to operate.

[ArmChairCivvy]

The whole platoon will land in the same field? Well, fields are rather big in both the UK and Spain, but thinking about those that both of the units are more likely to be jumping into.

[zanahoria]

In the same field? Maybe... however, I can't help thinking that if you set the helicopter down you can get everyone out more quickly, in the same field, but with more kit (e.g. all those bulky parachutes could be replaced with more ammunition) Maybe even a quad bike or 2! All the same, it is a till interesting to see static line out the back of a chinook, though.

[ArmChairCivvy]

I can't help thinking that if you set the helicopter down you can get everyone out more quickly, in the same field, but with more kit (e.g. all those bulky parachutes could be replaced with more ammunition)

I had the same thoughts as you... but have been always wondering how the discharging of just a squad Plus seems to take forever; not to mention a platoon "pouring out" of a Chinook... if more ammo is the need , then normally that goes before the guy jumping, as a pouch that hits the ground before him (fewer broken bones, but still to be found with in feet of your own "LZ").

[zanahoria]

.. but have been always wondering how the discharging of just a squad Plus seems to take forever;

maybe something to do with the M60 on the ramp that troops have to negotiate on the way out!