Royal Marines to be transformed into new 'special forces' commando unit in armed forces shake-up

THE Royal Marines are to be transformed into a new into a new Future Commando Force (FCF) to be deployed around the world on an ‘enduring basis’ in a major overhaul of the armed forces.
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The Ministry of Defence said the FCF will take on many of the traditional tasks of the special forces, the SAS and SBS, alongside a new army ranger regiment announced last week.

The changes are to be be set out in a defence command paper, as forces are braced to lose some ‘industrial age’ capabilities with older tanks, ships and warplanes to be axed or phased out early.

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The biggest loser is expected to be the army, amid reports that around 10,000 troops are to be cut, reducing its overall strength to around 72,500.

Pictured: Royal Marines from 45 Commando XRAY Company FSG (Fire Support Group) and members of ASG (Armoured Support Group) fire heavy weapons in Norway 2021. Photo: LPhot James ClarkePictured: Royal Marines from 45 Commando XRAY Company FSG (Fire Support Group) and members of ASG (Armoured Support Group) fire heavy weapons in Norway 2021. Photo: LPhot James Clarke
Pictured: Royal Marines from 45 Commando XRAY Company FSG (Fire Support Group) and members of ASG (Armoured Support Group) fire heavy weapons in Norway 2021. Photo: LPhot James Clarke
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The shake-up is also expected to see Portsmouth-based warship HMS Trent being moved to operate out of Gibraltar while investment in new space tech could bring a boom to aerospace firm, Airbus’s satellite-building HQ in the city.

Following the publication last week of the Integrated Review of foreign and defence policy, ministers say the changes are necessary to create a more agile military capable of countering evolving threats around the globe.

It will mean forces spending more time deployed overseas, either on operations or training, to support allies and to pre-empt and deter hostile powers such as Russia, identified in the Integrated Review as the ‘most acute threat’ to the UK.

The badge on the arm of a Royal Marines Commando as they prepare to storm a compound during a live exercise demonstration at Bovington Camp in Dorset. The Royal Marines are to be transformed into a new Future Commando Force (FCF) to be deployed around the world on an "enduring basis" in a major overhaul of the armed forcesThe badge on the arm of a Royal Marines Commando as they prepare to storm a compound during a live exercise demonstration at Bovington Camp in Dorset. The Royal Marines are to be transformed into a new Future Commando Force (FCF) to be deployed around the world on an "enduring basis" in a major overhaul of the armed forces
The badge on the arm of a Royal Marines Commando as they prepare to storm a compound during a live exercise demonstration at Bovington Camp in Dorset. The Royal Marines are to be transformed into a new Future Commando Force (FCF) to be deployed around the world on an "enduring basis" in a major overhaul of the armed forces
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The FCF will see the Royal Marines evolve from an ‘amphibious infantry’ held at readiness in the UK to a versatile, special operations-capable force ‘persistently forward-deployed’.

It will receive over £200m of direct investment over the next decade to carry out maritime security operations and to ‘pre-empt and deter sub-threshold activity, and counter state threats’.

The head of the army General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith indicated at the weekend the creation of the rangers alongside the FCF would free up the special forces to focus on the ‘most persistent and lethal threats’ associated with ‘hostile state actors’.

Ahead of the publication of the command paper, defence secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘From striking Daesh terrorists in Iraq, disrupting drug shipments and deterring Russian aggression in the Baltics, our armed forces already reach where others cannot.

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‘In the coming years, we will broaden the spectrum of this worldwide engagement even further.

‘Across a vast global footprint, we will be constantly operating to deter our adversaries and reassure our friends, integrating with our allies, and ready to fight should it be necessary.”

The command paper will set out plans for HMS Trent operating from Gibraltar, supporting Nato allies in the Mediterranean and joining counter piracy patrols in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of west Africa.

Overall, there will be more money for new capabilities such as electronic warfare and the development of autonomous systems such as drones.

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The National Cyber Force will be expanded and there will be a new space command to co-ordinate the UK’s military and commercial space operations.

The army’s Challenger 2 main battle tanks are expected to be cut by a third and the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle and the C-130J Hercules transport aircraft taken out of service altogether.

Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said: ‘Further army cuts could seriously limit our forces’ capacity simultaneously to deploy overseas, support allies and maintain strong national defences and resilience.

‘There’s a gulf between the government’s ambitions and its actions, which is set to grow with this new review.’

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