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Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 19 Aug 2018, 11:55
by The Armchair Soldier
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Armoured arrival.

More than 200 vehicles, including Warrior and Scimitar, make landfall in Oman ahead of Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword), which will see more than 4,000 British Armed Forces personnel from all three Services work together with the Omani military.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 19 Aug 2018, 21:00
by Lord Jim
Does anyone know what vehicle in on the left in the bottom picture? Is it a Scimitar II and what is the turret equipped with? Never seens anything like it.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 19 Aug 2018, 21:20
by whitelancer
Not entirely sure but the vehicle on the right looks like a Scimitar 2 the one on the left looks like a Spartan with an RWS fitted.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 19 Aug 2018, 21:25
by Caribbean
Lord Jim wrote:what is the turret equipped with? Never seens anything like it.
I'm not sure, but I think that the "protuberance" to the left, that looks like it's attached to the turret is actually the cab of a dockside crane in the background. Hard to tell, but it looks the right shape and there's a very slight colour difference between it and the shadow on the left side of the turret

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 25 Aug 2018, 00:32
by benny14
We seem to have built ourselves a decent sized FOB just outside Duqm port. Have heard that it might become a permanent storage site for equipment after the exercise.



The location shown in the second tweet.
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Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 25 Aug 2018, 00:45
by benny14





Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 01 Sep 2018, 09:31
by ArmChairCivvy
Caribbean wrote:
Lord Jim wrote:what is the turret equipped with? Never seens anything like it.
I'm not sure, but I think that the "protuberance" to the left, that looks like it's attached to the turret is actually the cab of a dockside crane in the background. Hard to tell, but it looks the right shape and there's a very slight colour difference between it and the shadow on the left side of the turret
Looking at the photo, I would agree with the above. However, driving from London to the Welsh border this week four transports with similar AFVs in the back passed in the opposite direction, and what I could make of it, there was a single-shot missile launcher installed
- as they passed at speed, I could not be sure even with repeated views
- surely (it that were to be the case), Javelin is still the only game in town?

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 01 Sep 2018, 18:02
by PapaGolf
If I’m looking at the same pic, there’s a partial Warrior at the bottom left, then the Spartan with an enforcer RWS then finally scimitar II.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 01 Sep 2018, 18:36
by ArmChairCivvy
" however the plan is for ATGMs to be mounted on RWS for Ajax and Warrior. Pic related is it in testing already, mounted o na CVRT Spartan. Javelin missiles, to be specific."


The above is from https://desuarchive.org/k/search/image/ ... uXkWf75yw/
and the pic is what I saw on four AFVs being transported
... the connection to the piccie at the start of this thread may be no more than a tubular shape?

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 01 Sep 2018, 19:22
by mr.fred
ArmChairCivvy wrote: ... the connection to the piccie at the start of this thread may be no more than a tubular shape?
PapaGolf has it. The picture in question shows a Spartan with a Selex Enforcer.
http://www.leonardocompany.com/en/-/enforcer_rws-1
The other thread shows a Kongsberg Protector, which has been trialed on Spartan
http://armscom.net/news/kongsbergs_prot ... atory_2016

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 01 Sep 2018, 19:55
by Caribbean
mr.fred wrote:PapaGolf has it. The picture in question shows a Spartan with a Selex Enforcer.
Yes - agreed - I finally got a look at the picture on a big screen with decent resolution, and I withdraw my earlier opinion. A practical demonstration of the importance of lots of pixels!!

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 02 Sep 2018, 04:37
by ArmChairCivvy
mr.fred wrote:The other thread shows a Kongsberg Protector, which has been trialed on Spartan
http://armscom.net/news/kongsbergs_prot ... atory_2016
Thanks, that is what I saw. The trials must be continuing as 5 shots (see below, lifted from the linked) hardly need installation on 4 Spartans:
" the UK’s Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU) successfully conducted a Javelin missile trial leveraging a fully integrated missile on the M151 Protector RWS. The firing trials were also supported by KONGSBERG and the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) program.

In all, ATDU fired five Javelin missiles from the M151 Protector whilst mounted to UK MOD armoured vehicle known as a Spartan. The Firing Trials included the firing of three Block 0 missiles at ranges of 1500, 2500, and 3200 metres and two Block 1 missiles at ranges of 3500 and 4300 metres. All five missiles struck the designated targets, including the engagement that was defined at 4300 metres – one of the longest Javelin engagement distances trialed to date. "

Why Spartan, though? Easier to quickly deploy over long distances than Ajax/ Boxer?
= mobile, and from under armour operated ATGW cover for our "first responder" forces?

Or... just cheaper to tinker with vehicles that will soon be disposed of

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 02 Sep 2018, 06:45
by mr.fred
Caribbean wrote:
Why Spartan, though? Easier to quickly deploy over long distances than Ajax/ Boxer?
= mobile, and from under armour operated ATGW cover for our "first responder" forces?
In service vehicle?

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 02 Sep 2018, 09:35
by ArmChairCivvy
Yes, I guess the 7 or 8 of Ajax type are being put through various (other types of) tests - and have much to prove.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 02 Oct 2018, 11:58
by The Armchair Soldier
Some stats in this tweet to put the scale of the exercise into perspective:



5,500 personnel
100 armoured vehicles
500 other military vehicles

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 02 Oct 2018, 13:45
by ArmChairCivvy
The Armchair Soldier wrote:5,500 personnel
100 armoured vehicles
500 other military vehicles
Compare with a "Europe major conflict bde" which I picked up from the Trident Juncture 2018 info
"NATO's Spearhead Force — to be led from next year by Germany's 9th Armored Demonstration [tank] Brigade based in Münster — would be the "focus" of October's near-Arctic Circle exercises, a German defense ministry spokesman Frigate Captain Christian Scherrer told DW.

Units of that Spearhead Force, known in NATO jargon as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), would be "certified" at the conclusion of Trident, Scherrer said.

Deployment of about "200 armored combat vehicles, including 20 Leopard 2 combat tanks" as part of Germany's contribution of 8,000 troops and 2,000 vehicles to Trident Juncture 18, were planned, Scherrer said."

and the BG in Oman looks like a demi-bde, supported by many local (less heavy) logs vehicles already in situ, to avoid unnecessary cost.

I am intrigued by a comment (here, upthread) that the kit might be kept there? A great idea:
1 BG with just the "crew" to be flown over
1 BG from the RM, who have their kit "half-packed" and the shipping for it at the ready, and
1 BG shipped over plenty quick, from the Readiness force, with the Points
... and we have it: a bde(+)!

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 12:12
by The Armchair Soldier
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Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth’s II(Army Cooperation) Squadron have arrived at Thumrait Airbase in the South of Oman, to take part in exercise SAIF SAREEA (Swift Sword) 3, as part of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW).

4 Typhoons arrived today from an overnight stop in Athens, to be followed by 4 more tomorrow. They are the first air component to arrive in Thumrait and will be followed by E-3D Sentry aircraft from RAF Waddington’s 8 Squadron.

The Typhoons will fly alongside the Royal Air Force of Oman’s F-16 aircraft during the largest tri-service, bilateral, interoperability exercise in the region for almost two decades.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 16:13
by The Armchair Soldier
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Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 17:54
by ArmChairCivvy
nice photos.

7 MBTs, a command tent, a workshop trent, a recovery (modified) MBT... unit of deployment in dispersed ops?
- or just a nice lay-out for a photo opp?

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 18:51
by ArmChairCivvy
What is that much shorter, tracked vehicle in the the photo?

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 22:00
by Caribbean
I think its a Trojan

Edit: Or is it? Right number of running wheels and what looks like the angled plough at the front, but it looks too small

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 03 Oct 2018, 23:49
by cpu121
ArmChairCivvy wrote:What is that much shorter, tracked vehicle in the the photo?
Warrior?

Looks like 6 running wheels and the side skirt is similar to the image here:

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Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 04 Oct 2018, 00:22
by whitelancer
This perhaps.

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 04 Oct 2018, 07:53
by Caribbean
That's it - FV513 - Mechanised Recovery Vehicle

Re: Exercise Saif Sareea 3 (Swift Sword)

Posted: 04 Oct 2018, 08:30
by ArmChairCivvy
I guess it would be there to pull wheeled supply vehicles, if any get bogged down in sand?
"FV513 Mechanised Recovery Vehicle (Repair) ... a large earth anchor and winch, capable of a straight pull of 20 tonnes."