Thin Pinstriped Line

  The Royal Navy destroyer HMS DEFENDER has found herself at the heart of a global news story, following her innocent passage in international waters recently. Last week the ship, part of the Carrier Strike Group 21 deployment, visited the Black Sea, and went to the Ukraine for a routine port visit. Sadly, Russian reaction this was loud and vociferous, although ultimately about as effectual as non-alcoholic vodka… For centuries, the Royal Navy has exercised its right to sail globally on innocent passage through territorial waters – it is one of the most fundamental parts of being a maritime power, the ability to sail at a time and place of your choosing to a location of your choice. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation, following its illegal annexation of Crimea several years ago, incorrectly regards these waters as their territorial waters, something not recognised by other nations. This therefore led to a strong response by Russia to try to persuade the RN to stand off. Ulti...

  This week marks the 50 th anniversary of the Puma helicopter entering front line service with the Royal Air Force. This milestone event confirms the Pumas place in the history books as the (to date) longest serving UK military helicopter type. The Puma is an odd helicopter, and its career has perhaps been spent without the attention, glamour or glory sometimes afforded to other helicopter types or which it deserves. You rarely hear people speak affectionately of it, nor does it have the attention or interest placed on it that other types get. Yet despite this it remains an invaluable workhorse that is central to British military power. Deployed around the world over many decades on a variety of operations, from Belize to Northern Ireland to Germany, the Puma has never been far from the action. The author has fond memories of repeatedly using the RAF Puma force to fly from Baghdad Airport to the Green Zone many years ago, an experience which can best be described as ‘the most...

  Humphrey has a theory that if you want to create a story that guarantees attention, even though it is based on nothing more than the flimsiest of evidence, suggest that because of the MOD doing or not doing something, the Falkland Islands are at risk from Argentina. The latest evidence to support this theory comes from an article in the Telegraph , which began with the blood curdling lines that: “The Falklands will be left at the mercy of Argentina because of a delay in deploying a shield similar to Israel's Iron Dome system, Defence sources have warned.” This sounds pretty bad doesn’t it – those poor islanders left helplessly at the mercy of an Argentine foe who can attack at a time and place of their choosing, all because a new surface to air missile system hasn’t been deployed. Crikey, that is not good. LandCeptor Test Firing 0 Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright Stories like this abound in the press over the years, from suggestions that cutting ships mean th...