https://sputnikglobe.com/20220704/404-squadron-analysts-unsurprised-at-raf-drone-units-lack-of-staff-and-uavs--1096944342.html
'404 Squadron'? Analysts Unsurprised at RAF Drone Unit's Lack of Staff and UAVs
'404 Squadron'? Analysts Unsurprised at RAF Drone Unit's Lack of Staff and UAVs
Sputnik International
While reconnaissance drone aircraft have been a feature of warfare since the 1960s — and the first Kamikaze drones were developed during the First World War ... 04.07.2022, Sputnik International
2022-07-04T17:26+0000
2022-07-04T17:26+0000
2023-05-28T15:20+0000
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Two defence and political analysts have said they are not surprised that the RAF's new drone squadron has only a handful of staff and no remote-controlled aircraft.The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that 216 Squadron had only four full-time personnel and no operational drones.The squadron, originally formed up in 1917 to fly heavy bombers, was re-founded in April 2020 to develop tactics for 'swarming' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to confuse enemy radar and air defence systems.Matthew Gordon-Banks, a former Conservative MP and retired senior research fellow at the Defence Academy of the UK told Sputnik the situation was "very confusing.""The Royal Air Force have observed numerous trials by the manufacturers of drones, but it is unclear whether they have made any orders yet," he said. RAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston claimed last year that 216 Squadron had "proved beyond doubt the disruptive and innovative utility of swarming drones". The former British army officer said it was "utterly ridiculous" to learn that the unit was not even equipped with them — a fact he put down to "politicians over-promising" and the reluctance of some manufacturers to sell to military forces."I think it's pie in the sky for the UK Government to say that it will increase its defence spending from 2 per cent of GDP to at least 2.5 at a time when every single household in the UK, because of our economic position at the bottom of the G20 with zero economic growth, every household is currently having to pay £2,426 — a huge amount — in debt servicing, and it is going to get worse as interest rates continue to rise," Gordon-Banks said.He stressed that the UK and some other NATO member states had "struggled to put together enough troops and equipment to send to neighbouring states around Ukraine and the Russian Federation."The British army currently has around 85,000 active-duty soldiers, including the Nepalese Gurkha brigade. All the force's personnel could be seated in inside London's Wembley Stadium."Behind the scenes, countries like Germany and France in particular are very concerned that actually the NATO countries... cannot afford to up their game in defence spending at a time of such economic and social strife," Gordon-Banks warned.He also despaired that the British media was covering up the reality of the conflict in the Ukraine, where Russia won a major victory over the weekend with the liberation of Lisichansk, the last city in the Lugansk People's Republic occupied by Kiev's forces.Political analyst Nick Griffin, the former chairman and member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the British National Party (BNP), told Sputnik that the British military top brass, like government ministers, were "more concerned about virtue-signalling their political correctness" than doing their jobs well.The ex-MEP accused present-day British leaders of 'jingoism', the sin of "mindless and boastful xenophobic faux patriotism" coined from the chorus of a popular 19th-century music-hall song, which he quoted:"At least, back then, Britain did have the ships, the men and the money for a serious war, whether justified or not," Griffin pointed out. "Those beating the drums for conflict today should admit that the UK does not have the equipment, men or money for any more than a minor border skirmish."He said the revelations from the Telegraph showed the British armed forces were making no effort to keep up with the extensive use of drones seen during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan — and more recently in Russia's military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify the Ukraine."This omission is a damning indictment of the Johnson regime," Griffin charged. "To be playing with the dangerous fires of foreign neo-Nazism and rekindled Russophobia is irresponsible and immoral; to be doing so when the country isn't equipped to fight its way out of a paper bag, is simply insane."
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'404 Squadron'? Analysts Unsurprised at RAF Drone Unit's Lack of Staff and UAVs
17:26 GMT 04.07.2022 (Updated: 15:20 GMT 28.05.2023) While reconnaissance drone aircraft have been a feature of warfare since the 1960s — and the first Kamikaze drones were developed during the First World War — the British armed forces now lag way behind Russia and Turkey in its use of the technology.
Two defence and political analysts have said they are not surprised that the RAF's new drone squadron has only a handful of staff and no remote-controlled aircraft.
The
Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that 216 Squadron had only four full-time personnel and no operational
drones.
The squadron, originally formed up in 1917 to fly heavy bombers, was re-founded in April 2020 to develop tactics for 'swarming' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to confuse enemy radar and air defence systems.
Matthew Gordon-Banks, a former Conservative MP and retired senior research fellow at the Defence Academy of the UK told Sputnik the situation was "very confusing."
"The Royal Air Force have observed numerous trials by the manufacturers of drones, but it is unclear whether they have made any orders yet," he said.
"Even if they have, the UK Ministry of Defence is not too good at handling its defence procurement budgets," Gordon-Banks added. "Frequently things take a long time to be delivered and they overrun on costs."
RAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston claimed last year that 216 Squadron had "proved beyond doubt the disruptive and innovative utility of swarming drones".
The former British army officer said it was "utterly ridiculous" to learn that the unit was not even equipped with them — a fact he put down to "politicians over-promising" and the reluctance of some manufacturers to sell to military forces.
"I think it's pie in the sky for the UK Government to say that it will increase its defence spending from 2 per cent of GDP to at least 2.5 at a time when every single household in the UK, because of our economic position at the bottom of the G20 with zero economic growth, every household is currently having to pay £2,426 — a huge amount — in debt servicing, and it is going to get worse as interest rates continue to rise," Gordon-Banks said.
He stressed that the UK and some other NATO member states had "struggled to put together enough troops and equipment to send to neighbouring states around Ukraine and the Russian Federation."
The British army currently has around 85,000 active-duty soldiers, including the Nepalese Gurkha brigade. All the force's personnel could be seated in inside London's Wembley Stadium.
"Behind the scenes, countries like Germany and France in particular are very concerned that actually the NATO countries... cannot afford to up their game in defence spending at a time of such economic and social strife," Gordon-Banks warned.
He also despaired that the British media was covering up the reality of the conflict in the Ukraine, where Russia won a major victory over the weekend with the liberation of Lisichansk, the last city in the Lugansk People's Republic occupied by Kiev's forces.
It was "blindingly obvious that in Western media, but in the UK in particular, ordinary British people are being denied the opportunity of real balance and coverage," said Gordon-Banks. "So the fact that we haven't heard about the fact that we have no drones is not a surprise to me."
Political analyst
Nick Griffin, the former chairman and member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the British National Party (BNP), told Sputnik that the British military top brass, like government ministers, were "more concerned about virtue-signalling their political correctness" than doing their jobs well.
"Thus, while it is shocking that the UK's military and political elite are rattling their Crimean War era sabres without the 21st century technology to back them up, it is not really that surprising," Griffin said.
The ex-MEP accused present-day British leaders of 'jingoism', the sin of "mindless and boastful xenophobic faux patriotism" coined from the chorus of a popular 19th-century music-hall song, which he quoted:
"We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too,
We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true,
The Russians shall not have Constantinople."
"At least, back then, Britain did have the ships, the men and the money for a serious war, whether justified or not," Griffin pointed out. "Those beating the drums for conflict today should admit that the UK does not have the equipment, men or money for any more than a minor border skirmish."
He said the revelations from the Telegraph showed the British armed forces were making no effort to keep up with the extensive use of drones seen during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan — and more recently in Russia's military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify the Ukraine.
"This omission is a damning indictment of the Johnson regime," Griffin charged. "To be playing with the dangerous fires of foreign neo-Nazism and rekindled Russophobia is irresponsible and immoral; to be doing so when the country isn't equipped to fight its way out of a paper bag, is simply insane."
