Drone Ranger... tech will help elite new unit take fight to global foes
BRITISH special forces are going on the offensive with the launch of a high-tech elite Ranger Regiment.
The new force will combine brawn and brain, training local allies in unconventional warfare as defence chiefs look to grow the UK’s influence around the world.
Armed with drones and unmanned battlefield vehicles, an initial Ranger battalion will be set up by Christmas.
The force’s first mission may take the troops to east Africa next year.
General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, head of the Army, said the regiment will result in the very best fighters carrying out specialised ops, backed by cyber and communication experts.
Adding the hand-picked unit to the Army’s firepower will let Tier 1 special forces including the world-renowned SAS focus on persistent threats from hostile states, such as Russia and Iran, and go on raids behind enemy lines.
Conflicts
The Rangers will be modelled on US Green Berets, with a brief to influence more conflicts to help the UK.
Commanders will be able to commit the troops to combat roles alongside regional forces, rebel groups or freedom fighters across the globe.
Generals said yesterday that had the unit existed at the time, it would have been sent to Afghanistan in 2001 to help locals overthrow the Taliban.
Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary, said: “The best way to prevent conflict and deter our adversaries is to work alongside partners to strengthen their security and resilience.
“These Ranger battalions will be at the vanguard of a more active and engaged armed forces.”
Sir Patrick Sanders, Commander of Strategic Command, said the Army will become much more effective in protecting British interests: “That is a recognition of this moment of reckoning the UK has faced, exiting the EU, embracing all the economic and trading opportunities and the threat the Defence Secretary has outlined.
“If we want to be the sort of country the Prime Minister has described, then we need to both seize those opportunities but also be prepared to confront rivals and adversaries.
“I think you are going to see ships, soldiers and aircraft deployed around the globe.”
The regiment will be a central pillar of a Special Forces Brigade. Sir Mark said: “The SF group will be tracking the changing and accelerating nature of the threat. The most persistent and lethal threats are those associated with hostile state actors. So they’re tracking a different-looking trajectory.
“What they leave behind, at the moment is a vacuum, where they need to help hand off tasks, missions and responsibilities to a second echelon force.
“The Rangers, amongst things, will fit neatly into that.
“It [the Ranger Regiment] will look and feel different to that associated with Tier 1 special forces, or indeed high-end elite infantry such as the Parachute Regiment, because we’re looking for a much more rounded allarms hybrid capability. This isn’t just other about fit young men and press-ups.” He added: “This often is about brainpower.”
Asked if the Rangers will free up special forces for more action against hostile states, he said: “It’s a recognition of some of the lessons that emerged out of our interventions of the last 20 years.
“We’ve recognised the importance of partnering with local forces. What the Ranger Regiment will act as, is as the vanguard of a reinforced partnering capability.”
Asked if Rangers might have been used in Syria in 2011 and if troops might fight alongside rebel groups, General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “In theory, yes.
“If the politics stack up, why not? But there you have got to have the political top cover.”
The Army yesterday showed how it will use more drones, unmanned ships, subs and planes. On an exercise at Bovington, Dorset, drones flew gear to troops storming a building as driverless vehicles carried “casualties”.
Troops will have smart devices on their body armour to give them live information on where both their comrades and the enemy are, and details about the terrain.