Latest news with #UKDefenseMinistry
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Video shows British-made fighter missiles, modified in 3 months to launch from the ground, scoring Russian drone kills
Ukraine's air force released footage of its Raven missile systems downing Russian drones. The system uses an air-to-air missile that the UK tweaked in four months to fire from a 6×6 Supacat. The UK says the Raven missile system has a success rate of 70% out of 400 engagements. Ukraine's air force released footage on Wednesday of UK-made Raven air defenses striking Russian air targets in at least five instances. The video features a Ukrainian air defense crew discussing their experiences with the system, and their interviews are interspersed with clips of the missile soaring into the sky to destroy Russian drones. The Raven fires what was originally the British Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, also known as the AIM-132, which is mainly equipped on the Royal Air Force's Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. However, the UK's defense ministry said in 2022 that it had transformed the missile into a version for Ukraine that could fire from a British 6×6 HMT600 Supacat transport vehicle. At the time, it was touted as a key way for Ukraine to defend itself from Russian missile strikes. The Asraam is particularly useful because it's infrared-guided and locks onto its target once launched, even in poor weather. Ground crews can fire it and relocate quickly, and they don't need to maintain a line of sight with their target. UK defense officials said in 2023 that their teams took roughly four months to make the missile ground-launched and to train Ukrainian crews to use the Raven. However, in an official video published in May, Col. Olly Todd of the UK's task force supporting Ukraine said the Raven "went from concept to delivery" within three months. "They've conducted over 400 engagements, which understand with a success rate of over 70%," Todd said. The Supacats are fitted with missile mounts taken from decommissioned UK jets, such as the BAE Hawk, SEPECAT Jaguar, and Panavia Tornado. These are classes of fighter aircraft that were retired from combat over the last two decades. Crews inside use a gamepad controller to identify targets on a screen and activate the missile's infrared lock-on system. With drones saturating the skies over Ukraine, Raven crews said in the Wednesday video that they've largely been targeting uncrewed systems, plastering their Supacat with stickers of Russian Orlan, Shahed, and Zala drones to mark every kill they scored. The Raven's launch controls feature four switches that prepare each mounted missile and a large red button for firing. A Ukrainian Raven operator speaking to the camera said crews are generally trained so all members, including the driver and commander, can replace each other if needed. According to a June statement by the UK's defense ministry, Ukraine has been supplied with eight Raven systems and is due to receive another five. The UK says that the Asraam missiles supplied to Ukraine were sitting in its inventory but were due to expire, meaning they'd have soon been marked for disposal if not sent to Kyiv. Ukraine deploys other air defense systems similar to the Raven because they combine a hybrid mix of munitions and launchers originally built for separate systems. Known colloquially as "FrankenSAMs," they include modified Soviet-era Buk M1s that can fire the American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile, as well as Soviet radars that pair with the AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Video shows British-made fighter missiles, modified in 3 months to launch from the ground, scoring Russian drone kills
Ukraine's air force released footage of its Raven missile systems downing Russian drones. The system uses an air-to-air missile that the UK tweaked in four months to fire from a 6×6 Supacat. The UK says the Raven missile system has a success rate of 70% out of 400 engagements. Ukraine's air force released footage on Wednesday of UK-made Raven air defenses striking Russian air targets in at least five instances. The video features a Ukrainian air defense crew discussing their experiences with the system, and their interviews are interspersed with clips of the missile soaring into the sky to destroy Russian drones. The Raven fires what was originally the British Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, also known as the AIM-132, which is mainly equipped on the Royal Air Force's Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. However, the UK's defense ministry said in 2022 that it had transformed the missile into a version for Ukraine that could fire from a British 6×6 HMT600 Supacat transport vehicle. At the time, it was touted as a key way for Ukraine to defend itself from Russian missile strikes. The Asraam is particularly useful because it's infrared-guided and locks onto its target once launched, even in poor weather. Ground crews can fire it and relocate quickly, and they don't need to maintain a line of sight with their target. UK defense officials said in 2023 that their teams took roughly four months to make the missile ground-launched and to train Ukrainian crews to use the Raven. However, in an official video published in May, Col. Olly Todd of the UK's task force supporting Ukraine said the Raven "went from concept to delivery" within three months. "They've conducted over 400 engagements, which understand with a success rate of over 70%," Todd said. The Supacats are fitted with missile mounts taken from decommissioned UK jets, such as the BAE Hawk, SEPECAT Jaguar, and Panavia Tornado. These are classes of fighter aircraft that were retired from combat over the last two decades. Crews inside use a gamepad controller to identify targets on a screen and activate the missile's infrared lock-on system. With drones saturating the skies over Ukraine, Raven crews said in the Wednesday video that they've largely been targeting uncrewed systems, plastering their Supacat with stickers of Russian Orlan, Shahed, and Zala drones to mark every kill they scored. The Raven's launch controls feature four switches that prepare each mounted missile and a large red button for firing. A Ukrainian Raven operator speaking to the camera said crews are generally trained so all members, including the driver and commander, can replace each other if needed. According to a June statement by the UK's defense ministry, Ukraine has been supplied with eight Raven systems and is due to receive another five. The UK says that the Asraam missiles supplied to Ukraine were sitting in its inventory but were due to expire, meaning they'd have soon been marked for disposal if not sent to Kyiv. Ukraine deploys other air defense systems similar to the Raven because they combine a hybrid mix of munitions and launchers originally built for separate systems. Known colloquially as "FrankenSAMs," they include modified Soviet-era Buk M1s that can fire the American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile, as well as Soviet radars that pair with the AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Read the original article on Business Insider
Al Arabiya
08-06-2025
- Al Arabiya
British soldier arrested in Kenya on rape allegations
A British soldier in Kenya has been arrested on rape allegations, the UK defense ministry said Sunday, confirming a BBC report. 'We can confirm the arrest of a service person in Kenya,' a ministry spokesperson told AFP, adding that no further comment would be made while the matter was being investigated. The BBC reported that the alleged rape happened last month in Nanyuki, a town north of Nairobi close to where a large British base is located. According to the BBC report, the soldier who has been arrested went to a Nanyuki bar with fellow soldiers before the alleged rape happened. The base – British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) – has been the focus of several controversies in Kenya in the past, notably the 2012 murder of a young Kenyan woman. In that case, the woman was last seen alive in the company of a British soldier. Her body was found in a septic tank. There were no arrests, but in 2021 Kenyan police reopened their investigation after Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that several soldiers had heard one of their colleagues speak the same night about killing the woman. In 2003, the rights group Amnesty International said it had counted 650 rape accusations against British soldiers in Kenya between 1965 and 2001. Kenya, a former British colony, became independent in 1963. BATUK, on its website, says it is the biggest British Army contingent in Africa. It says it conducts training with Kenya's military, and a 'peace support team' also deploys from there across Africa. Under an agreement with Kenya, the British army has primary jurisdiction over the latest case alleging rape.
