Britannia Radio

NEWS RELEASE 25 June 2010: Release time immediate   DEFENCE CAMPAIGNERS HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR PERSISTENT SURVEILLANCE IN AFGHANISTAN   “Dragoon Fund” established to provide private sponsorship for new, cost-effective surveillance aircraft to save British lives.   With the British death toll in Afghanistan exceeding 300, and with IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) accounting for eight out of ten casualties, the campaign group UKNDA (United Kingdom National Defence Association) is supporting a project that could provide increased “Persistent Surveillance” cover as a cost-effective and efficient means to reduce significantly the IED threat to our troops in Helmand and elsewhere..   The need for Persistent Surveillance has already been highlighted by senior US and UK military figures such as Gen. David Petraeus (Commander of US Central Command, covering Iraq and Afghanistan) and Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt (Britain’s former Chief of the General Staff). However, while the Allies’ surveillance capability is good, it is rarely available for more than a few hours each day.   Gen. Dannatt has said: “We need to roll out more equipment so that we have permanent 24/7 surveillance over the most difficult areas and so we can target the Taliban as they are laying these things.”  Col. Stuart Tootal, who commanded 3 Para in Helmand , and who resigned from the Army in protest at the lack of resources and equipment for our troops, has warned: “If [soldiers] take risks due to shortages and the absence of a coherent and properly resourced strategy, the casualty rate will be higher and success will be elusive.” Persistent Surveillance would have a hugely beneficial impact on British casualty figures.   The UKNDA, which campaigns for increased resources for Britain ’s Armed Services, says that urgent consideration should be given to the purchase and delivery of additional aircraft to provide Persistent Surveillance. With Apache helicopters costing £46,000 per hour to operate, and the UK Defence budget continually squeezed to compensate for over-spending by other Government departments, the UKNDA suggests that low-cost reconnaissance aircraft could provide round-the-clock tactical aerial surveillance cover.   Surveillance experts point out that SMAs (Small Military Aircraft), successors to the Austers and Pipers used so effectively during WW2, could be flown inexpensively and in large numbers, continuously, by day and night above the roads and tracks where the Taliban repeatedly lay their IEDs. The operational cost of such SMAs could be as low as £200 per hour – making them a very much more readily affordable alternative to helicopters, and at significantly less cost than UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).   One such aircraft is the Dragoon, which has been designed specifically for the task of Persistent Surveillance. It has been highly praised by Ministry of Defence test pilots as an ideal aircraft for the role.  The Dragoon Project has been invited by NATO to provide up to ten Dragoons to participate in a pre-deployment exercise to be held in the United States in August to prove the aircraft’s ability to provide almost constant surveillance. The UKNDA believes that successful results and an objective assessment from this trial could be the quickest means of helping to get this capability to the front line. However, as funding is not currently being made available by the MoD for production of the Dragoon, in order to provide Dragoons for this exercise it is necessary to raise funds for these inexpensive aircraft by public subscription and/or through commercial sponsorship.   UKNDA Chief Executive, Cdr. John Muxworthy, says: “In World War II the public rallied round and supported Spitfire Funds to purchase these vital fighter aircraft for Britain ’s defence. Today the rallying cry should be ‘Buy a Dragoon and help save British lives’. Sponsorship of Dragoons offers companies and communities an opportunity to demonstrate their support for the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan in a tangible and meaningful way. The UKNDA supports the introduction of the Dragoon Fund to provide aircraft for pre-deployment trials in the US . These trials should demonstrate to the military and the policy-makers the great potential of this agile and versatile light aircraft to help, support and save the lives of our servicemen and servicewomen in Afghanistan . We hope that many organisations, corporate bodies and individuals will sponsor the Dragoon.”   For details of sponsorship, please email dragoons@mac.com   -Ends   Media contact: Cdr. John Muxworthy, RN, tel 07721 624980, email ceo@uknda.org; or Andy Smith, tel 07737 271676, email pro@uknda.org.