An experimental company of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (2 R YORKS) have been exercising on Salisbury Plain Training Area testing new capabilities and innovative equipment as the Army’s Future Soldier, Next Generation Combat Team (NGCT).
Corunna Company Group 2 R YORKS were Embedded into the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish battlegroup during the recent Exercise Wessex Storm, incorporating Phalanx Platoons as a new concept developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) following research as to ‘what a future force might look like’.
The company is part of the Experimentation and Trials Group (ETG) which over the last year integrated all the trials and development units across the British Army and now includes 2 R YORKS as an experimentation Battalion.
Phalanx Platoons will form the heart of the NGCT, incorporating recently developed structures, tactics, techniques, and procedures in order to demonstrate and prove if they are more effective than the Army we have now.
Colonel Toby Till from the ETG explains the structure of the NGCT: “It will have an infantry element at the core that is the socket that we are going to plug in a whole range of all arms capabilities. We are bringing in the Royal Engineers, the Royal Artillery, and a half squadron of Household Cavalry for the mounted close combat element, to build and prove not only how a combat element might operate but also how a full range of other capabilities might be used across the force.
“Our role in accelerating modernisation for the British Army is trying to grab those technologies which some people think are in the future, which are really here and now and getting them in to the field army as quickly as possible, by proving their utility on exercises like Wessex Storm.”
Our role in accelerating modernisation for the British Army is trying to grab those technologies which some people think are in the future, which are really here and now and getting them in to the field army as quickly as possible
Industry partners have been a vital part of the journey and during the Wessex Storm exercise, the future combat workforce structure was tested and enhanced with Uncrewed Aerial Systems, Uncrewed Ground Sensors, Uncrewed Aerial and Ground Vehicles and loitering munitions.
The soldiers exercised with the latest generation night capability and sighting systems, and the communication systems to enable the Enhance Dismounted Situational Awareness System which is aimed at improving Command and Control at company level.
Commanding Officer 2 R YORKS, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Wade-Smith, said: “The use of modern technologies and learning from our industry partners is key, but so too is maximising advantage through the human capability and optimising the combat soldier’s lethality through physical and psychological readiness.
“We are all pushing the boundaries in every area, seeking to exploit existing capabilities and justify the requirement for new ones.”
We are all pushing the boundaries in every area, seeking to exploit existing capabilities and justify the requirement for new ones
“A mentality of innovation – learning, adapting, unlearning and relearning has allowed 2 R YORKS to push the boundaries using what we have today whilst thinking about what we must have tomorrow.”
He continued: “Objectively and when measured against a traditional rifle platoon, I think we can confidently predict that we can find the enemy faster, decide what capability will neutralise the enemy quicker, and then bring those combined arms assets to effect with the greatest lethality so that the UK Army can fight and win first time.”
On the evolution of warfighting and the NGCT, Colonel Till, said:
“We have started at the light end of the capability spectrum and developed a Light NGCT, with enhanced sensors, decision making and lethal effectors through the integration of the Human Machine Teaming project from D Futures and the Dismounted Situational Awareness programme for D Programmes.
“The Company successfully operated at a higher tempo, inflicting greater casualties on the adversary and at a higher tempo…“What it looks like in the future, I can’t tell you, but I can tell you that the company group we had on Exercise Wessex Storm, really proved its worth.”