Somali Army
The UK is playing a leading role in international support for improved security in Somalia, and will now provide an additional £21m of funding. This will complement existing UK support, including training by British Military personnel of Somali National Army and African Union forces, police mentoring, and work on stabilisation and countering violent extremism.
NATO Not Obsolete
Following a string of foreign policy about-turns, President Donald Trump declares ‘NATO is not obsolete’ in direct contradiction to previous campaign trail statements, which so worried America’s old allies. He also said NATO members still need to pay their fair share for the European security umbrella. At a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump thanked members for their support of his decision to launch 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on civilians.
Fake Tanks
The US Army invites bids on building a modification for Humvees to make them look like Russian T-72 tanks apparently to help the army simulate realistic battle scenarios in training. They seem to suggest that the fake tanks will be used for the military’s version of laser tag. The T-72, originally built by the Soviet Union, is one of the world’s more common tanks and has been used by Russia, Ukraine, Syria, and even ISIS.
Romania Reluctant
The collaboration between Romania’s state-owned automotive plant Moreni and Germany’s Rheinmetal has stalled. It was only in November last year that the deal was struck for a joint funded programme to build 8x8 armoured vehicles for Romania’s defence ministry, but it seems the two governments could not agree on the status of the mixed capital company set to manage the project so progress has halted.
