British Army
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                Welcome to my British Army page! 

         

 

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.

                                                   

Go to the official british army page