A chance to honour past heroes and show we can still stand up to tyranny
ALL D-Day anniversaries are important. But with our world becoming increasingly dangerous, there is more poignancy than ever in marking our fightback against tyranny in Europe.
On the 80th anniversary of that critical, awe-inspiring undertaking of bravery, it’s no surprise that the Parachute Regiment are seeking to honour their predecessors who landed in five battalions the night before D-Day to destroy vital bridges and gun batteries. Without that, the beach landings would have failed.
Yet as things stand, the Paras’ hopes of putting on a large-scale, multi-plane parachute drop have been limited to a single aircraft and just 100 of them jumping out – all because of the unavailability of the RAF’s heavy-lift aircraft.
Thankfully the decision has now been elevated to Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, so our contribution to this international tribute, attended by the King, might yet improve. Even so, the issue demonstrates a sad and simple truth: today’s RAF lacks heavy-lift transport capacity after the Hercules fleet, which served our nation so well for more than 50 years, was scrapped to save money.
As I repeatedly warned, getting rid of this versatile warhorse was a terrible mistake. Increased global threats are already making ever heavier demands. Military exercises in Estonia, humanitarian evacuations from Sudan, aid airdrops in Gaza, along with the routine support to our interests across the world, mean that our transport fleet is running at full capacity.
But the loss of the Hercules has also had an operational impact.
Tailored to support our elite 16 Air Assault Brigade and Special Forces, it could do so in environments that its bigger replacement, the A400M Atlas, is not suited for.
Given the global situation, it was only a matter of time before Rishi Sunak laid bare the scale, complexity and diversity of the threats we face. His warning – together with the Defence Secretary’s securing of a rise in UK defence spending – gives us a chance to re-evaluate our defence posture and, in particular, to review our heavy-lift capability.
Although the nature of conflict changes with technology, some aspects remain the same. As we invest in drones, long-range missiles and cyberweapons, let’s not dismiss the relevance of traditional combat mass for which transport aircraft are essential.
IF OUR Special Forces (arguably the best in the world) are hindered by the absence of the Hercules, we have a problem. At this dark time, the D-Day anniversary is a stark reminder of the courage required to defend our freedoms when we fail to prevent a dictator from advancing in the first place. While RAF operational issues will always impinge on commemorative events, I hope that the Defence Secretary will use this one to send Putin a powerful message.
With aircraft full of our elite soldiers jumping from the skies, we not only honour our past heroes who stood up to tyranny. We also show we can and will do it again.
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