|
Although the artillery is organised into Regiments, much of a 'Gunner's'
loyalty is directed towards the battery in which he serves. The guns
represent the Regimental Colours of the Artillery and it is around
the batteries where the guns are held that history has gathered. A
Regiment will generally have three or four gun batteries under command.
The
Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) is also part of the Royal Regiment of
Artillery and its three regiments have been included in the totals above.
There is considerable
cross-posting of officers and soldiers from the RA to the RHA, and
some consider service with the RHA to be a career advancement.
TRAINING
Artillery recruits spend the first period of recruit training
(Phase 1 Training, Common Military Syllabus) at the Army Training
Regiment – Pirbright, the Army Training Regiment –Bassingbourn or the
Army Foundation College – Harrogate.
Artillery training (Phase 2) is carried out at the Royal School of
Artillery (RSA) at Larkhill in Wiltshire. During Phase 2 intensive
training is given in gunnery, air defence, surveillance or signals.
Soldiers also undergo driver training on a variety of different
vehicles. After Phase 2 training officers and gunners will be posted
to RA units worldwide, but almost all of them will return to the RSA
for frequent career and (Phase 3) employment courses.
The Royal Artillery is undergoing a transformation. As when gunpowder
lifted the range of the bow and arrow to that of the cannon, currently
modern technology both in space and on the ground is showing signs of
yielding ever greater range and accuracy to the artillery.
Greater ability to fix
locations in depth and the ability to fire projectiles accurately over
longer distances is transforming the horizons for modern artillery. Base
bleed ammunition reduces drag by burning chemical compounds at the rear of
the projectile and results in greatly increased range. Similarly,
technology has discovered that there is an optimum relationship between
projectile range, diameter and barrel length. Longer ranges had used to
mean greater beaten zone or dispersion of the fall of shot.
Micro technology now makes
it possible for on-board computers and navigation systems to provide a
long-range shell with a once only correction, which brings the round back
onto a more precise route to the target. Re-barrelled British Artillery
will enter the next decade capable of firing accurately to double their
present range.
Rocket artillery is
reaching ever further towards the enemy rear areas. The next generation of
rocket artillery rounds is looking beyond a range of 80 kms and designers
are also looking at precision guided terminal sub- munitions. In addition,
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are flying deeper into enemy territory and
sending back ever more accurate target data which will be used by the
artillery of the future.
The manned aircraft could
carry a man and deliver a weapons load with pinpoint accuracy (in the
right conditions) far beyond the range of an artillery observer. This
situation is about to be reversed, and there will probably be little
support for sending a man where an artillery observation vehicle can go
for a fraction of the cost and the same likelihood of striking the target.
This is likely to happen
within the next decade and the term 'Depth Battle' will have real meaning
for the Artillery. Once this happens they will have an increasingly
important role in shaping the future battlefield. Attacking an enemy with
ground troops in the field will be less costly if all his command and
control headquarters up to 100 km behind the lines have already been
identified and destroyed.
ARTILLERY EQUIPMENT
The diverse equipment available to
artillery and the computerised locating and fire control systems now
coming into service, combined with 'intelligent' munitions and long range
weapon platforms are creating another
revolution in tactical thinking. In the longer term these developments may
have the same effect on land warfare as the emergence of the tank.
The Indirect Fire Precision
Attack (IPFA) project is designed to give the Royal Artillery the ability
to strike out to targets at ranges of 150 kms with pinpoint accuracy - up
to four times the range of current in-service systems.
In late 2001, a £9 million contract was awarded to BAE Systems to provide
the army's next generation of guided artillery rounds and rockets. IPFA is
one of a number of projects that have been designed to give the artillery
dramatically increased range and effect on the target area.
Artillery has always been a
cost effective way of destroying or neutralising targets. When the cost of
a battery of guns, (approx £15 million) is compared with the cost of a
close air support aircraft, (£25 million) and the cost of training each
pilot, (£4 million +) the way ahead for governments with less and less to
spend on defence is clear.
Air Defence is a vital part
of the role of the Royal Artillery and updates to the Rapier system
continue. Batteries have been upgraded to Field Standard B2 with radar
target tracking and Field Standard C which has uprated technology and the
ability to carry out dual simultaneous targets engagement.
Early 2005 there were
two Regiments equipped with HVM, one in the UK and one in Germany. The
Germany based Regiment has SP HVM mounted on Stormer tracked vehicles.
In addition, the close air
defence systems have been enhanced by the Air Defence Alerting Device (ADAD)
for Javelin and HVM, and the Air Defence Command, Control and Information
System (ADCIS).
The Royal Artillery
provides the modern British armoured formation with a protective covering
on the battlefield. The close air defence assets cover the immediate
airspace above and around the formation, with the field artillery reaching
out to 30 kms in front, and 60 kms across the flanks of the formation
being supported. An armoured formation that moves out of this protective
covering is open to immediate destruction by an intelligent enemy.
|
