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23 octobre 2014 4 23 /10 /octobre /2014 07:30
Liban : coopération FCR/FAL de niveau chef de patrouille

 

22/10/2014 Sources : État-major des armées

 

Du 13 au 17 octobre 2014, la Force Commander Reserve (FCR) a conduit la première action majeure d’entrainement conjoint avec les forces armées libanaises (FAL) du mandat Daman XXII. Durant une semaine, un peloton de l’escadron d’éclairage et d’investigation français et un peloton de la 9ebrigade libanaise ont mené conjointement des activités d’instruction et de coopération centrées sur les cadres, et visant à favoriser la mise en commun des savoir-faire de niveau chef de patrouille.

 

Sur le camp français de Dayr Kifa, les cavaliers français et libanais ont réalisé des entraînements mutuels de plusieurs types : préparation et briefing  d’une mission en s’appuyant sur une caisse-à-sable, ou encore réaction face à une menace d’engin explosif. En complément, les stagiaires ont mis en œuvre des savoir-faire diversifiés comme la mise en place d’un check point mobile, l’évacuation de blessé sous le feu, la réaction face à une embuscade complexe. La semaine s’est conclue par un rallye synthèse visant à mettre en pratique l’ensemble des connaissances acquises.

 

Enrichissement opérationnel, compréhension mutuelle et cohésion furent au cœur de cette coopération.

 

Présente depuis 1978 au Liban, la France est le cinquième pays contributeur de la FINUL avec près de 900 soldats. La grande majorité d’entre eux arme la FCR qui est directement placée sous les ordres du général commandant la FINUL et est en mesure d’agir au profit de tous les contingents déployés sur l'ensemble de la zone d’action de la FINUL, dans le cadre de la résolution 1701.

Liban : coopération FCR/FAL de niveau chef de patrouilleLiban : coopération FCR/FAL de niveau chef de patrouille
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14 mars 2014 5 14 /03 /mars /2014 20:55
Hors-série prometteur - La cavalerie au combat : récits et témoignages

13.03.2014 F de St V. - Mars Attaque

 
Les éditions Caraktère sortent d'ici quelques jours un hors-série exceptionnel sur la cavalerie française au combat. En effet, le HS n°24 de Batailles et blindés sera entièrement consacré à l'engagement des différentes unités de l'arme blindé cavalerie (lourde, légère, renseignement, etc.).
 
En plus de la présentation de la cavalerie aujourd'hui (doctrine, organisation, etc.), et avec la qualité que nous connaissons aux publications de cette maison d'édition, ce numéro fera la part belle aux témoignages des acteurs engagés au Mali, en Afghanistan, en Côte-d'Ivoire, au Tchad, etc.
 
 
Plus de 200 illustrations (dont un certain nombre sont inédites) viendront compléter les 150 pages de ce magazine, entièrement rédigé par des cavaliers (officiers, sous-officiers, militaires du rang), avec 15 pages d'infographies présentant les principaux matériels en 3D (Leclerc, VB2L, AMX-10RCR).
 
 
A mettre dans toutes les mains pour découvrir ou mieux comprendre en quoi la cavalerie via toutes ses composantes a été et sera au cœur de la mêlée et du combat interarmes d'hier et de demain.
 
C'est en plus un bel hommage rendu à tous ces cavaliers engagés aujourd'hui quotidiennement en opérations et dans quasiment toutes les dernières opérations menées par les armées françaises.

Très bientôt dans les kiosques.

A NOTER : les bénéfices des ventes de ce numéro seront intégralement reversés à l'association "Terre Fraternité" qui accompagne les blessés de l'armée de Terre, et leurs proches.
 
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10 mars 2014 1 10 /03 /mars /2014 13:40
La Russie organise des JO d’été pour les blindés !

 

28 février, 2014 Guillaume Belan



La réussite des jeux olympiques d’hiver, qui viennent de s’achever à Sotchi, semble faire des émules chez les militaires russes ! Car c’est très sérieusement que les autorités militaires russes vont organiser du 26 juillet au 9 août prochain, des Jeux Olympiques pour véhicules blindés !

 

Baptisée Tank Biathlon, l’épreuve se déroulera sur le polygone d’Alabino, près de Moscou. Il s’agit de la seconde édition de ces biathlons pour blindés, qui avaient mobilisé quatre pays (Russie ; Kazakhstan ; Biélorussie et Arménie) l’année précédente. Cette année, c’est pas moins de 20 pays qui sont attendus et 5000 spectateurs ! Sont attendus bon nombre d ’équipages de blindés provenant des anciennes républiques de l’URSS (Tadjikistan,  T-72 modernisés tchèques…) mais également des équipages occidentaux : une délégations allemande sur Léopard 2A7, des américains sur chars Abrams M1A2 SE, des grecs, des chinois sur chars Type 99 ou encore des italiens sur Ariete C1. Malheureusement, pas de précision sur une éventuelle participation de l’armée de terre avec ses Leclerc…

 

Carte des épreuves du Tank Biathlon (crédits: Izvestia)

Carte des épreuves du Tank Biathlon
(crédits: Izvestia)

 

Pour cette édition 2014, vu la forte augmentation des participants, Moscou n’a pas hésité à dépenser plus de 20 millions d’euros pour moderniser et élargir les infrastructures du polygone d’Alabino. Les règles s’assouplissent pour accepter la participation des BMP avec des parcours dédiés; les pistes et obstacles sont améliorés, élargis et allongés, avec pour cette édition, du tir sur cible mobiles radiocommandées terrestres et aériennes. Mais également franchissements d’obstacles, parcours amphibie, une grande place pour la remise des médailles aux équipages et leurs montures, une partie exposition statique, des emplacements pour du tirs en mouvement, un PC modernisé et une tribune de 5000 places. Rien que ça! Les autorités militaires russes précisent néanmoins que ces parcours serviront également durant l’année à l’instruction des équipages de blindés russes. A vos pronostics!

 

Pour les curieux, à voir ce petit film Youtube sur le Tank Biathlon de l’année dernière, qui ne comptait la participation que de T-72

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5 mars 2014 3 05 /03 /mars /2014 18:30
Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky

Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky

 

2/3/2014 Or Heller - israeldefense.com

 

The reform in the IDF Armored Corps is taking shape. The IDF Chief Armor Officer, Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky, in an exclusive interview with Israel Defense

I am not sure where I would rather be with all of the threats we face today," begins the IDF Chief Armor Officer, Brig. Gen. Shmuel Olansky. "On foot behind a rock, or inside the Merkava Mark-IV tank fitted with the Aspro-A/Trophy system or on board the APC moving alongside that Merkava tank."

In view of the realization that wars have changed and reality has changed, the IDF Armored Corps is changing as well. Brig. Gen. Olansky is very clear and confident about the principles of the reform he is currently leading. "Alongside the tanks, which lead the battalion combat effort, we want to prepare the combat task force for the challenges facing it by empowering the armored/mechanized infantry within the armored (tank) battalions. In each armored battalion, we are assembling a combat support company that includes a mortar platoon, a surveillance element capable of calling in and directing fire support, and a reconnaissance platoon. All of these elements, along with the tanks that will continue to lead the maneuver, will make up a battalion-size combat task force that is relevant to today's battlefield. We have here a new world of content in the Armored Corps – combat reconnaissance."

What is the timetable for the implementation of the new plan?

"We intend to recruit the first company out of the November 2013 recruitment class. These recruits will take the complete training course, thirty weeks at the IDF Armored Corps School, where they will learn the Armored Corps occupational skill and then be divided into their respective specialized skills: scout, mortar operator and observer/surveillance operator. The graduates will make up the combat support companies within the armored battalions. We are currently reorganizing the entire tank OrBat of the IDF."

Will you be making adjustments in the Armored Corps training courses and seminars?

"Certainly. I am currently assembling armored/mechanized infantry companies just like those of the infantry brigades, possessing the same capabilities with the exception of extended operations on foot, as they will operate near the tanks. We have an opportunity here to empower the remaining elements. Today's armored/mechanized infantry warfighter looks exactly the same as an infantry warfighter, with the exception of the purpose-specific weapons, which they do not need."

The Aspro-A/Trophy system has, until now, operated effectively on the Gaza line in isolated and rare incidents of antitank fire. But how would this system operate during the third Lebanon war opposite a rainstorm of antitank missiles fired at each tank?

"That's just it. This system is excellent. The technology was considered fictional ten years ago. I suggest we refrain from terrorizing ourselves. Antitank fire does not come as a rainstorm. Even in antitank-saturated scenarios we have a range of capabilities for coping with the threats. As our maneuver becomes more substantial, the capabilities of the Aspro-A/Trophy system will come more significantly into play. Additionally, our range of capabilities will include a surveillance capability – for spotting the antitank threats; our surveillance elements will be able to call in and direct the fire of Keshet 120mm mortars; our reconnaissance platoon will possess the ability to recognize the antitank threats in advance, and our tanks will possess the ability of firing a round at the threat."

"Do Not Mourn the Syrian Army"

What do we know about the state of the Syrian armor after more than two and a half years of a bloody civil war? Is it still a significant player?

"Firstly, we know that it is much better trained now, as it has been fighting. It brushes with the opposition forces in the context of the civil war. At the same time, they have also experienced wear as a result of the on-going fighting, but it still exists. I do not know how many tanks the Syrian Army has lost in the civil war, they have been fighting for two and a half years. On the other hand you realize that people who fight become more proficient and stronger. The Syrian armor is definitely a significant player in the Middle East. I would not hasten to mourn the armored divisions and the land maneuvering capability of the Syrian Army."

But even in your presentations you focus on the fact that the fighting has shifted from the front line into the depth of the territory, namely – a war of rockets and missiles against the Israeli rear area, so how does the Armored Corps fit in?

"Even before the civil war in Syria broke out, we had observed those trends in the Syrian Army. The Syrian Army disbanded armored units and established commando units instead. They acquired antitank systems and demolition capabilities. The Syrians developed a substantial rocket layout. These were not just the trends within the paramilitary organizations. We observed the same trends in the Syrian Army, too. At the same time, they still have armored divisions and tank brigades that use T-72 tanks. They are there, and they are well-trained."

How would an encounter between a T-72 tank and a Merkava Mark-IV tank look in 2013? Is there any chance here for a fair fight?

"There is no fair fight here. The Merkava Mark-IV tank is a true masterpiece. It possesses capabilities that are superior to those of any other tank worldwide, and no one even comes close. This applies to crew protection, to trafficability and to fire control. In some aspects it is 'only' in first place. With regard to most aspects, however, it is far beyond anything else out there."

If the third Lebanon war should break out tomorrow morning, in what way will the maneuver executed by the Armored Corps be different in view of the lessons derived from the summer of 2006?

"The maneuver will be much stronger and faster, with a complete envelope of structured and precise intelligence gathering and fire employment activities. We will see combined operations of tanks with infantry and assault engineering elements, but a maneuver is still a maneuver. Its objective is to transfer strength from the contact line deep into the enemy territory. Just like in all of the wars that we had, that is what we will see in our future wars – a battalion-size combat task force with massive strength and firepower, which protects itself and reaches the point where its strength is utilized to maximum benefit – through firepower, through its scoring capabilities. In view of the threats we face today, I believe there's no escaping the need to maintain a strong and fully-prepared ground layout and to employ it when necessary in order to bring the campaign to an end as soon as possible.

"We would not be able, opposite Lebanon, to maintain a campaign of wearing out the opponent through the use of fire, like we did in Operation Pillar of Defense, for instance. Many people say 'here, we saw during Operation Pillar of Defense that a maneuver is no longer necessary.' But in Operation Pillar of Defense, the very fact that the maneuver was poised and ready to launch cut the duration of the fighting short. Secondly, Lebanon and Syria are not the same as the Hamas in Gaza. They will not be influenced by strategic players (like Egypt) as Hamas was. In Lebanon and Syria, if we want to bring about a prompt conclusion of the campaign, we will have no other choice but to maneuver into the enemy's centers of gravity, and the armored forces will execute and lead that maneuver, as they know how to do it quickly and forcefully."

How will a task force maneuver if it is made up, theoretically, of Merkava Mark-IV tanks fitted with the Aspro-A/Trophy antitank missile interception system on the one hand, while the infantry elements still ride in the outdated and vulnerable M113 APCs?

"I think that if you examine the land solution, you will realize that it is a good solution. Would I prefer something better? Of course I would. We do not live in a bubble and we realize that the defense budget is a derivative of the economic situation. It is a restriction that applies to us which I cannot ignore. Where I would have liked to invest the extra money is a question I ponder all the time. I think that as long as the M113 APC operates in the environment of a complete battalion system, I will have no doubts about committing to battle the battalion combat task force and all elements thereof."

What was your contribution as Chief Armor Officer to the staff work ordered by the decision of the Chief of Staff to disband six tank brigades using the old 'Patton' tanks?

"We are disbanding layouts that are outdated layouts that had reached the end of the road. The logic here is both conceptual and operational. It is not that we had called out a random number and then went on to look for what we could disband. Obviously, we would prefer that instead of the brigades we disband ten more Merkava Mark-IV brigades would have been established, but we live in a certain reality that we cannot ignore. The people at IDF GHQ sat down and thought and conducted discussions and carried out simulations and examinations, but eventually you realize that some layouts had reached the end of the road, like the 'Patton' and Merkava Mark-I tanks. But let's talk about the bright side – next year, the IDF 7th Armored Brigade will be converted to a Merkava Mark-IV brigade!"

Still, when there are voices at IDF GHQ who speak about the end of the armor-versus-armor battle era, what is the future you envision for the tank in the IDF?

"I think that precisely at the 40th anniversary of the Yom-Kippur War, we realized what our forefathers had understood since the days of the Bible: that the land maneuver has always been and will always be necessary in order to gain an overbalance in a war. The armored forces will be right there at the head of the land maneuver, with the tanks in front, surrounded by the envelope. We will reach the end of the maneuver era when we have reached the end of the era of wars. I still do not see an end to the era of wars. But if we do not train and practice, we will be less proficient – it's all very straightforward."

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21 novembre 2013 4 21 /11 /novembre /2013 19:50
Army reservists conduct live firing exercise

A white-hot round is fired from a Challenger 2 tank's gun [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

 

21 November 2013 Ministry of Defence and Defence Infrastructure Organisation

 

Reservists of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry have trained alongside former regular soldiers in a live firing exercise on Lulworth Ranges, Dorset.

 

Normally based at squadrons in Bovington, Salisbury, Cirencester, Barnstaple and Paignton, the reservists spent their weekend being rigorously tested at Five Tips Range – one of the premier firing ranges in western Europe – to make sure they are ready to become reserve crewmen on the Challenger 2 main battle tank, and to carry out important support roles such as medics in the future British Army.

By this time next year, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry will formally become the only armoured reinforcement unit in Britain and will be working towards fully integrating with the British Army’s 3 regular armoured units: the Queen’s Royal Hussars, the King’s Royal Hussars and the Royal Tank Regiment.

As a result, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry will also become one of only a handful of reserve units to be a part of the British Army’s reaction forces; ready to deploy anywhere around the world to protect Britain’s interests and national security.

 
Army reservists conduct live firing exercise
A Challenger 2 main battle tank races across the Five Tips Range, near Lulworth in Dorset [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

This challenging and exciting new role was bestowed upon the Royal Wessex Yeomanry following the publication of the government white paper ‘Reserves in the Future Force 2020’ earlier this summer, detailing the future structure of the British Army and how it will operate. It also outlined the creation of a well-trained, well-funded, well-equipped and fully integrated reserve force.

In all, 4 tanks were involved in the exercise, each one crewed entirely by reservists and commanded by a former regular soldier. Everyone in the crew from the commander to the gunner, loader and driver were continuously tested by regular soldiers from one of the units that the Royal Wessex Yeomanry will be paired with in the future.

The teams worked together in the cramped and intense atmosphere inside the hull of the Challenger 2 tank to fire the weapon’s main armaments, the 120-millimetre (mm) gun and the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun – engaging and destroying multiple targets whilst travelling at more than 25 miles per hour across difficult terrain.

 
Army reservists conduct live firing exercise
A reservist passes an armour-piercing round through the hatch of a Challenger 2 main battle tank [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

Commanding Officer of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, Lieutenant Colonel Chris MacGregor, said:

The capability of a tank comes through its crew. It’s not the individuals inside it. So, one of the things they’ll be practising is that interaction and integration and, in many ways, what you’ll find inside a Challenger tank is the microcosm of all the changes we’re making to the Army in that we have integrated crewmen.

In some of the tanks there may be a regular, and you’ve got reservists who are normally a civilian in some other occupation, and they are having to come together to work in absolutely harmonised ways to get the effects that you’ve seen today to reach that military capability.

 
Army reservists conduct live firing exercise
Army reservists take aim with a Challenger 2 main battle tank [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

One of the Challenger 2 tank gunners was Lance Corporal Rob Stiff, a senior IT project manager. Lance Corporal Stiff is a former regular soldier with 7 years in the infantry with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment behind him.

Now Lance Corporal Stiff is a reservist serving with C Squadron, Royal Wessex Yeomanry. On returning to the military as a reserve he said:

I missed the camaraderie, I missed the guys and I missed doing something that fulfilled me completely. The Army always gave me that. I didn’t leave the Army because I’d fallen out of love with it; I wanted to start a new career before I was too old, and this gives me that fix.

I get to be with guys and girls of the completely same mindset. We’re all here for the same reason; good banter, good laugh, work hard, play hard, and we’ve got a really worthwhile role now in the Army going forwards.

Army reservists conduct live firing exercise
The shape of a Challenger 2 main battle tank emerges from the smoke and mist on the Five Tips Range, near Lulworth in Dorset [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

Months of hard graft over countless weekends have been put in by the reservists in sophisticated simulators to earn the prerequisite qualifications to enable them to operate to the best of their ability inside the Challenger 2 tank.

The Army Reserve aims to recruit up to its full manning of 30,000 trained soldiers, with up to an additional 8,000 soldiers in training, to provide an integrated and trained Army by 2018.

Army reservists conduct live firing exercise

British Army reservists stand atop a Challenger 2 main battle tank [Picture: Sergeant Russ Nolan, Crown copyright]

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20 novembre 2013 3 20 /11 /novembre /2013 17:50
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards badge on a Challenger 2 tank's tompion [Picture: Corporal Mark Webster RLC, Crown copyright]

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards badge on a Challenger 2 tank's tompion [Picture: Corporal Mark Webster RLC, Crown copyright]

 

20 November 2013 Ministry of Defence

 

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have bid farewell to the Challenger 2 main battle tank and welcomed in the Jackal armoured vehicle.


 

With 60% of the regiment deployed on operations in Afghanistan, the Rear Operations Group in Bad Fallingbostel, northern Germany, led by Officer Commanding Major Steve Walters, formed up to pipe the last of the tanks out of the barracks that have been their home for nearly 30 years.

This is one of the first significant steps of the Army 2020 programme which sees the formation of the Adaptive and Reactive Forces.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are currently serving as part of 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, but under reroling and a move to Leuchars in 2015, the regiment will become part of 51 (Scottish) Brigade.

The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Cattermole, spoke to his soldiers in Kabul with fond sadness at the departure of the Challenger 2 main battle tank but also of the great opportunities that will come as they rerole to light cavalry.

A Challenger 2 main battle tank (left) and a Jackal armoured vehicle
The Challenger 2 main battle tank (left) is being replaced by the Jackal armoured vehicle [Picture: Corporal Mark Webster RLC, Crown copyright]

Lieutenant Colonel Cattermole said:

Today marks a historic day in our 335-year history as our 3 remaining Challenger 2 tanks leave Wessex Barracks in Bad Fallingbostel.

Since our last deployment on Challenger 2 in 2008, the regiment has continued to conduct armoured training but has frequently reroled to fulfil counter-insurgency and training operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, today, 75 years from when our predecessors first took to tank soldiering we will hand over our tanks and focus entirely on our future as Britain’s leading light cavalry regiment.

We will integrate fully with the new Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and shall stand together as Scotland’s Cavalry.

The last of the Challenger 2 main battle tanks is piped out of Wessex Barracks
The last of the Challenger 2 main battle tanks is piped out of Wessex Barracks in Bad Fallingbostel [Picture: Corporal Mark Webster RLC, Crown copyright]

Corporal Stevie Barrett, who has qualified as a Challenger 2 driver, operator, gunner and most recently a crew commander, said:

It’s a sad day for the regiment to be fair, as the tanks have been around for a very long time, but it’ll be good to go onto something new and a new role. The regiment is very capable of doing that and so it will be good to step up and move on.

I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead and doing something new will keep the guys interested. As part of the Rear Operations Group we will be doing instructors’ courses and commanders’ courses so that when the guys come back we can teach them.

Corporal Andy Stewart drove the first Jackal into Wessex Barracks to mark the regiment’s new start. He said:

This is a big part of the regiment’s history; it’s a big part of my history. When I came I started on tanks and I have been on operations in the Challenger 2 as well.

However, it’s quite exciting to be part of this whole new transition to working on a new platform (vehicle) and being here on the day when the regiment will move into the future.

I’ve had good times with the Jackal on operations and in my training. It is one of the few vehicles in the Army that genuinely put a smile on my face when I got to drive it. People think it looks vulnerable, but it’s really quick and really effective.

It is a really reliable piece of kit and you can tell a lot of money and preparation has been put into it to make sure the vehicle is ready for us. We’re moving on and everybody likes a challenge – that’s why you join the Army.

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19 novembre 2013 2 19 /11 /novembre /2013 18:45
photo Dylan Mohlala

photo Dylan Mohlala

18 November 2013 by Guy Martin - defenceWeb


The South African Army hosted the annual Exercise Seboka open day on November 15 at the Lohatla training ground in the Northern Cape, which played host to more than 120 armoured vehicles that engaged in live-fire training. Click here to access the gallery.

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5 juin 2013 3 05 /06 /juin /2013 20:55
1er RS : Passation de commandement au 1er escadron

04.06.2013 1er Régiment de Spahis

 

Le 1er escadron est aux mains du capitaine Yann MONSEGU depuis le 30 mai dernier. C’est au cours d’une cérémonie sur la place d’armes du quartier Baquet que le capitaine Maxime LAUDET a rendu avec beaucoup d’émotion son commandement après deux années passées à la tête du 1er, dont 4 mois dernièrement en mission à Djibouti. Son successeur connaît bien la maison puisqu’il a toujours servi au 1er escadron d’abord comme chef de peloton puis comme officier adjoint. « L’escadron est entre de bonnes mains » comme l’a souligné le capitaine LAUDET qui devait dans quelques jours rejoindre son nouveau poste à Paris.

 

Le reportage photo

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