By Milly Cunningham

During a visit to India on 21/22 April 2022, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told journalists: ‘We are currently training Ukrainians in Poland in the use of anti-aircraft defence, and actually in the UK in the use of armoured vehicles.’ 120 armoured vehicles had been supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces by the UK.

As reported by the BBC, The Mirror and The Daily Mail, on 23 April a Russian intelligence source told RIA Novosti that at least two teams from the UK’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) forces had arrived at a military base near Lviv in western Ukraine, travelling from ‘the city of Hereford in the UK, where SAS headquarters is located’. The source described each group as consisting of eight to ten officers, specialising in sabotage, guerrilla warfare, and the recruitment of agents in hostile territory (in other words, areas controlled by the Russian military), adding, ‘These aren’t ordinary special forces. They’re intellectuals. In each group there is always an ideologist – a professor of sorts – and the rest are experts in their specific areas’. [1] [2] 

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it would look into media reports of the arrival of the SAS teams, especially considering that SAS forces have established themselves as ‘experts in organising mass protests, assassinations of political figures as well as preparing terrorist attacks’.  RT’s view of the SAS: ‘When deployed in conflict areas, SAS sabotage teams usually operate under the guise of medical or humanitarian workers, including the White Helmets’. [2] This group, founded by British military officer James Le Mesurier, became renowned for their faked videos of alleged atrocities by the Syrian armed forces.

Talks about British arms sales to Ukraine seem to have started in October 2021. Army Technology web site quotes The Times: ‘The UK government is reportedly holding talks in Ukraine on their first weapons deal…said to represent the first time the UK had sold weapons to an eastern European country…The talks are over the supply of maritime Brimstone missiles and air-to-surface Brimstone missiles for Ukrainian vessels [and] also cover the supply of missiles for aircraft…The UK has only provided Kyiv with training and non-lethal equipment in the past.’ [3]

Forces Net gave further details of the weaponry the UK was supplying to Ukraine. It reported (17/1/22): ‘The Defence Secretary confirmed the first weapons systems arrived in Ukraine today ... “A small number of UK personnel will provide early stage training for a short period of time, within the framework of Operation Orbital, before returning to the UK,” Ben Wallace told MPs.’ [4] Operation Orbital is the British programme to train Ukrainian forces.

On 25 February the site reported ‘The NLAW – next generation light anti-armour weapon – has a reach of up to 1 kilometre and has been supplied to Ukraine by the UK’. [5] On the supplies of NLAW, Wikipedia quoted various sources: ‘Preceding the...Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK supplied 2,000 NLAW systems to Ukraine, with another 1,615 delivered by 9 March 2022…On 24 March 2022, the UK pledged to deliver a further 6,000…NLAWs were the most numerous and advanced guided anti-tank missile in Ukraine as of April 2022…The unit cost is US$30,000 – 40,000.’ [6]

Alongside these weapons, the government was sending additional Javelin anti-tank systems; loitering munitions, which hover over the battlefield before attacking their target; Starstreak air defence systems; as well as ballistic helmets, body armour and night vision goggles. [7]

The International Donor Coordination Centre in Stuttgart was established with servicemen and women from the British Army 104 Logistic Support Brigade, following the first International Donor Conference convened by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. This was on 25 February - a day after the Russian military intervention started. In April there was a Second International Donor Conference where the UK brought together more than 35 international partners. 

In early April, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence hosted a Ukrainian delegation on Salisbury Plain to demonstrate UK equipment which will contribute to future planned support packages. The report added: ‘The UK has a deep and longstanding bilateral defence relationship with Ukraine and since 2015 has trained over 22,000 as part of Operation Orbital and the UK-led Maritime Training Initiative.’ [8] As well as armoured vehicles, Britain planned to send new anti-ship missile systems. The Prime Minister had also announced ‘a further £100 million worth of kit for Kyiv, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry’, and guaranteed an additional £385million in World Bank lending to Ukraine, taking total UK loan guarantees to £770million. [9] Defence Secretary Ben Wallace indicated on a visit to Romania on 8 April that the heavily armoured vehicles would be Mastiff six-wheel-drive patrol vehicles. [10]

WHAT ARE THE WEAPONS? ARMS MANUFACTURERS PROFIT FROM WAR 

The Mastiff patrol vehicle carries eight troops plus two crew. It is currently on its third variation – no report on whether this is the type supplied to Ukraine. It is armed with the latest weapon systems, including a general purpose machine gun, a heavy machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher. Mastiffs are manufactured by the US company Force Protection Inc. In an original order the UK Ministry of Defence bought about 108, worth about £35m – these vehicles were deployed in Iraq during December 2006. During 2007 the Ministry of Defence announced the purchase of another 140 Mastiffs in a contract worth around £100m. [11] Mastiff 2 was deployed in Afghanistan from 2009. [12]

Wikipedia provides further details about some of the weaponry being supplied by the UK to Ukraine. The NLAW was developed in Sweden by Saab Bofors Dynamics on behalf of the British and Swedish defence authorities who bought the system in a joint venture. It is mainly produced in the UK by Team MBT LAW UK, which includes 14 subcontractors, most notably Thales Air Defence, formerly Shorts Missile Systems, a joint venture between a French and a British firm which in 2000 became solely owned by the French firm. [6] Starstreak is a short-range man-portable air-defence system also manufactured by Thales.  Nicholas Drummond, a defence industry consultant, posted on Twitter (14/8/20) that the cost of Starstreak was £100,000 per missile, with the cost per engagement £1,800 (five to six rounds at £300 per round).

The Brimstone missile was used extensively in Afghanistan and Libya. It was developed by MBDA UK for Britain’s air force. The cost per missile was quoted as £175,000 each in 2015.  Brimstone is a ‘fire-and-forget’ missile which is loaded with targeting data by the weapon systems officer prior to launch. [6] It was also deployed by the RAF on the Tornado jets that attacked Syria in 2015. [13]

MBDA, a developer and manufacturer of missiles and missile systems, is a joint venture between Airbus, Leonardo, and BAE Systems. Its headquarters are in Le Plessis-Robinson, France. The joint venture is 37.5% BAE Systems, 37.5% Airbus, and 25% Leonardo. Airbus Defence and Space has its corporate headquarters in Ottobrunn, Germany, has a presence in 35 countries, employs 40,000 people from 86 nationalities and contributes to 21% of Airbus revenues. Leonardo is an Italian transnational headquartered in Rome. It is the eighth largest defence contractor in the world based on 2018 revenue. The Italian government holds 30.2% of the company’s shares and is its largest shareholder. 

BAE Systems is a British transnational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London. It is the largest arms contractor in Europe, and ranked seventh largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. As of 2017, it is the biggest manufacturer in Britain.  Its largest operations are in the UK and US, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defence. In 2017, 98% of BAE Systems’ total sales were military related.

BAE Systems is indirectly engaged in production of nuclear weapons. Through its share of MBDA it is involved with the production and supply of the ASMP missile, an air-launched nuclear missile which is part of France’s nuclear stock. The company is also the UK’s only nuclear submarine manufacturer and thus produces a key element of the UK’s nuclear weapons force. BAE Systems is the main supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence.  In the year ended 31 December 2021, its turnover was £19,521 million, its profit before tax £2,110 million, its net profit £1,912 million, and its earnings per share 55.2 pence, up from 40.7 pence at the end of December 2020 [6]  

(1) General accuses Boris Johnson of disclosing military secrets, RT, 23/4/22

(2) Russia to investigate alleged SAS activities in Ukraine, RT, 23/4/22

(3) UK reportedly in talks to sell weapons in first arms deal with Ukraine, Army Technology, 21/10/21

(4) UK providing light anti-armour defensive weapons to Ukraine amid Russian tensions, Forces Net, 17/1/22

(5) Ukraine: Russian tanks destroyed by UK weapons, Forces Net, 25/2/22

(6) Wikipedia, quoting a range of sources

(7) UK to bolster defensive aid to Ukraine with new £100m package, uk, 8/4/22

(8) UK Defence Ministers host Ukrainian government to plan future military aid, uk, 7/4/22

(9) Britain to supply Ukraine with 120 armoured vehicles, Forces Net, 10/4/22

(10) Britain will send armoured vehicles to bolster Ukraine’s fightback against Russia, The Telegraph, 8/4/22

(11) Mastiff 2 Force Protection Vehicle, co.uk

(12) Mastiff 2 Protected Patrol Vehicle, Army Technology, 9/9/09

(13) Brimstone Missile Joins Syria War as UK hits Islamic State, Benjamin D. Katz, Bloomberg, 3/12/15

New Light Anti Tank Weapon of the type supplied to Ukraine – pic by Stuart Hill

‘The UK has a deep and longstanding bilateral defence relationship with Ukraine and since 2015 has trained over 22,000 as part of Operation Orbital and the UK-led Maritime Training Initiative.’