The British Army is one of the greatest and best equipped in the world. Total
strength 550,000 with
divisions and other brigades. Also a major part of NATO's operations. Here's
some information about
the British Army.
The Army is
currently deployed in over 80 countries. Deployments vary in strength
from single
military advisers to a full garrison.
-SAXON
Saxon is a wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier used by
mechanised infantry battalions. Capable of travelling across very rough
terrain and fording 3 feet of water the vehicle has excellent battlefield
mobility. Fitted with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
-FV 430 Series
First introduced in 1962 the FV 430 series of vehicle has
development to fulfill 14 roles including Command Post APC , ambulance ,
minelayer, recovery and repair vehicle, mortar, radar or troop
carrier>. NBC proof, it can carry up to 10 men and 2 crew and may be
armed with a 7.62mm machine gun or turret mounted L37 machine gun.
-Warrior
Warrior is an armoured combat vehicle. It is NBC proof, and
a full range of night vision equipment is included as standard. Warrior is
part of a family of seven variants which include a Milan carrier, a
mechanised recovery vehicle , an engineer combat version and an artillery
command vehicle. Warrior has excellent cross country mobility and is armed
with a 30mm Rardon cannon. Used by armoured infantry batallions.
-Main battle tank: Challenger 1
Challenger is a development of the Centurion/Chiefstain
line, modified to produce Shir/Iran 2 originally planned for service with
the Iranian forces. After the Iranian revolution the Shir Iran 2 project
was taken over by the British Army and the end result was Challenger
1.
-Main battle tank: Challenger 2
The hull and automotive parts of the challenger 2 are based
upon its predecessor Challenger1 , but Challenger2 incorporates over 150
improvements aimed at increasing reliability and maintainability. The
turret of Challenger2 is a totally new design . Challenger 2 will
replace the Challenger 1 during the next few years.
-Scimitar
Scimitar is a CVR(T) vehicle (Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance
Tracked) with a primary role to gather information. Used by medium reconnaissance
Regiments and armoured infantry units for reconnaissance , the vehicle is
fitted with a Rarden 30mm cannon for self defence.
-Sabre
Sabre was brought into service in 1995 using a Scorpion
chassis and the 30mm turret from CVR(T) Fox. It is almost identical to
Scimitar but has a lower profile turret. Equipped with a Rarden Canon and
Hughes chain gun, Sabre is used for close reconnaissance.
-Striker
Striker is a CVR(T) vehicle with a primary role to destroy
enemy armour. Striker carries 10 Swingfire anti-tank missiles with a range
of up to 4000m. Five of these missiles are carried in bins on top of the
vehicle, however these need to be reloaded from outside the vehicle.
-Spartan
Spartan is a derivative of the CVR(T) vehicle. Spartan is
used by specialist troops which can include Mortar fire control Teams,
anti aircraft teams equipped with Javelin, or as Engineer Command Vehicle.
-105mm Light Gun
The 105mm Lt gun is a versatile air portable and airmobile
artillery piece which can be carried around from a Puma or Chinook. Used
by the Parachute and Commando field Artillery Regiments of the British
Army. In Service since 1975 it has replaced the 105mm Pack Howitzer.
-AS 90
First delivered to the British army in 1993, the AS90 equips
5 fields regiments, replacing the Abbot and M109. AS90 is equipped with a
155mm gun which fires the NATO L15 unassisted projectile out a range of
24.7kms. All main turret functions are controlled by a Turret Control
Computer. This technology allows AS90 a burst fire capability of 3 rounds
in 10 seconds.
-227mm MLRS
Introduced by the British Army to replace the M107 gun
deployed with Corps artillery Heavy Regiments. The MLRS is self loaded
with 2 rocket pod containers, each containing 6 rockets. Loading is power
assisted and single round ''Fire for effect'' (12 rockets) delivers 7728
bomblets or 336 scatterable anti-tank mines.
-Javelin
Javelin is a short-range, shoulder launched , close air
defense guided weapon system. Its primary role is the protection of combat
units and static locations against low level air attack. It is carried in
a Land Rover and trailer or a Spartan , but is man portable over short
distances.
-Rapier Field Standard C
The Rapier FSC system provides a low level Air Defense
capability over the battlefield. It consists of a launcher with 8 ready to
fire missiles and an elect optical tracker. Each fire unit can cover an
Air Defense Area of approximately 100 square kms.
-Gazelle Helicopter
The primary role of Gazelle is observation and
reconnaissance. It is a vital component and is also used in a wide variety
of supporting roles. Equipped with a Ferranti AF 532 stabilised,
magnifying observation aid.
-Lynx Helicopter
The primary role of Lynx is as an Anti-tank Helicopter. Lynx
carries 8 TOW anti-tank missiles and is equipped with a stabilised roof
sight with dual magnifacation. Without it's ATGW system Lynx carries out a
wide range of tasks in utility room.
-Apache attach Helicopter
The Apache attack Helicopter has been selected to replace
the Lynx anti-tank Helicopter. Fitted with the longbow Hellfire missiles,
the Apache will provide a major enhancement in operational capability.
Played a major role in the Gulf War.
-Islander
The britten-norman Islander was introduced into service with
the army air corps as a replacement for the ageing Beaver. Fulfilling a
variety of roles such as surveillence, air photography and airborne
command.
-Assault boat
The assault boat is a versatile, general purpose craft
designed to carry up to 20 troops. When fitted with an out board motor it
makes a useful ferry craft, but is normally padded with oars when used at
night, when silent approach is needed.
-Landing Craft Logistic (LCL)
The Army's two LCLs (Ardennes and Arakan) are designed for
amphibious delivery of stores and material. They have a beaching
capability, with a bow ramp to allow vehicles to drive on or off. The
vessels can carry 350 tonnes of stores, or 36 ISO containers or 5 tanks or
118-ton trucks and are primarily used to support the Royal Artillery
ranges in the Hebrides.
-Ramped Craft Logistic (RCL)
The RCL is used for amphibious operations and is designed to
deliver men and material onto beaches. The craft are crewed by members of
the Royal Logistic Corps. Two RCLs (Andalsnes and Akyab) are based in
Cyprus
-Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel
Four LCVPs were built for the Royal Logistic Corps in 1986.
They currently serve in rotation between the Falkland Islands and UK and
can carry 20 fully equipped troops or 5.5 tons of equipment.
-SA 80
The SA 80 Individual Weapon is the Britsh Army's Standard
combat rifle, made by Heckler and Koch (UK) and fires NATO standard 5.56 x
45mm ammunition; and has been in service since 1985.
-Light support weapon
From the same family as the SA 80 Individual weapon, the
LSW has a heavier and longer barrel, allowing greater muzzle velocity
and accuracy than the Individual Weapon. When fired from the integrated
bipod, and using the standard SUSAT sight, the LSW is impressively
accurate and consistent.
-Spyglass
Spyglass is a hand held thermal imaging observation aid.
When mounted on a tripod with a laser rangefinder the system allows
Mortar Fire Control Teams to accurately direct fire in all weather
conditions by day and night. A heavier duty thermal imaging system,
designated OTIS, is used by artillery observers and is normally mounted
on the Warrior Observation Post Vehicle.
-7.62mm general purpose machine weapon
The General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) can be used in
the light role but is more normally used in the sustained fire role,
mounted on a tripod with the C2 optical sight unit. The weapon is
operated by a two man team and a number of weapons are normally
grouped in a specialist machine gun platoon. The GPMG is used at
Battalion level in the fire support role.
-51mm light mortar
The 51mm Light Mortar is a Platoon level, indirect
fire weapon that can be carried and fired by one man. The mortar is
used to fire smoke, illuminating and HE rounds out to a range of
approximately 750m; a short range insert device enables the weapon
to be used in close quarter battle situations with accuracy.
-81mm mortar
The 81mm Mortar is a Battalion level indirect fire
weapon which is capable of providing accurate HE, smoke and
illuminating rounds out to a maximum range of 5,650m. Mortar
Platoons in mechanised and armoured infantry battalions are mounted
in and fire from their Armoured Personnel Carriers, increasing its
mobility, and enables rapid disengagement and movement to another
site.
-LAW
LAW (Light Anti Armour Weapon) replaced the 84mm Carl
Gustav and the US 66mm in service with the British Army. Using the
latest materials and explosive technology this one-man portable
weapon is capable of destroying main battle tanks at ranges up to
500m. Accurate due to a built-in semi-automatic spotting rifle which
reduces aiming errors. Penetrates armour in excess of 650mm.
Built-in sight allows good low light performance; night sight
provides full night capability.
-MILAN portable anti-tank weapon
Milan is a second generation anti-tank weapon, the
result of a joint development between France and West Germany with
British Milan launchers and missiles built under licence in the UK.
The Milan consists of two main components, the launcher and the
missile; these are simply clipped together to prepare the system for
use. On firing, the operator has only to keep his aiming mark on the
target and the Semi Automatic Command to Line of Sight (SACLOS)
guidance system will do the rest.
-MR Trigat
MR Trigat is
a medium range anti tank missile system which will replace MILAN.
The missile has a tandem, high explosive hollow charge which can
defeat modern Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) equipped targets. Its
general arrangement is similar to Milan and is equipped with a
Thermal Imaging sight to allow engagement to maximum range by day or
night, in all weather conditions.
That was the standard equipment of the British army.