Troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Rifles (3 Rifles) have joined forces with Finland’s Kainuu Brigade to take part in Exercise Northern Star, some 43 miles from the Russian border.
A Rifleman from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles takes up a defensive position during Exercise Northern Star.
A Rifleman from 3 Rifles learning what it is to train in the Nordic landscape made up of vast forests.
This dual training collaboration follows the winter Exercise, Northern Axe, with around 4,500 soldiers from NATO countries taking part, including France, Hungary, and the United States.
The Finns are serious about defence, and learning from each other we can work better together. What we are looking at doing is to increase our lethality to kill the enemy further away and quicker
A stronger NATO
An Uncrewed Aircraft System lifts off during Ex Northern Star to be tested in the Finnish forests.
Soldiers from France, Poland, USA, UK and Finland demonstrate the multi-national dimension of Exercise Northern Star.
As a new NATO member, joining the alliance in 2023, the exercise will build relationships, closer ties and is an ideal two-way learning opportunity. For 3 Rifles, it’s a chance for personnel to familiarise themselves with the Nordic landscape made up of vast forests and thousands of lakes.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Redon. Commanding Officer, 3 Rifles:
“It’s a strategically important location for NATO and it gives us the chance to train and develop our tactics in challenging environments.
The Finns are serious about defence, and learning from each other we can work better together. What we are looking at doing is to increase our lethality to kill the enemy further away and quicker.”
New Technology proving a gamechanger
This Exercise isn’t just about tactical skills or traditional peer on peer challenges; it’s also about building closer ties with NATO partners and utilising the very latest technology.
3 Rifles are part of 11th Brigade, one of the British Army’s drone equipped formations who specialise in uncrewed aerial systems at low and mid-level altitudes, that intercepts, engages and deceives the enemy. As such, 3 Rifles have recently been re-designated as one of the new cutting-edge Near Surface Infantry Battalions.
With ‘Ghost’ and ‘Bolt,’ you can make a decision faster and you can kill things further away. What that does is it increases our lethality, it also increases our survivability, because you haven't got to be there to kill something
Exercise Northern Star has provided the ideal platform for the battalion to use sensors and effectors at range, and all controlled from a remote Command Post.
One of these, is ‘Ghost’ an Autonomous Uncrewed Aircraft System, designed for medium-range reconnaissance and surveillance. It provides frontline infantry with real-time intelligence, target detection, and communication capabilities.
A soldier 3 Rifles preparing an Autonomous Uncrewed Aircraft System named “Ghost”.
Data collected by ‘Ghost’ which looks a bit like a small helicopter, is sent to a Command Post and once a target or enemy is identified, information gathered is sent to the ‘Bolt’, a use once drone, referred to as a one-way effector, which has onboard munitions. ‘Bolt’ will speed to its identified mission target destroying both the enemy and it.
Soldiers from 3 Rifles using a one-way effector Uncrewed Aircraft System named "Bolt".
Soldiers demonstrating the use of a one-way effector, an Uncrewed Aircraft System named "Bolt".
Major Steve Watts. Exercise Conducting Officer, 3 Rifles said:
“With ‘Ghost’ and ‘Bolt,’ you can make a decision faster and you can kill things further away. What that does is it increases our lethality, it also increases our survivability, because you haven't got to be there to kill something, you can send a sensor forward, and that's really critical as we look to the future. “
3 Rifles soldiers were also fitted with the ATAK (Android Tactical Assist Kit), also called TAC system, equipped with GPS, which gives them the ability to see each other's location, what is happening around them and where the enemy are.
A soldier from 3 Rifles monitoring the live feed from an Uncrewed Aircraft System to feed into the lattice network.
Major Watts added:
We’re using a ‘lattice’ network, which means everything is joined together. So, the people on the ground that have a TAC on their chest can see what the drone is seeing. It can show that an enemy aircraft has entered your area. It can give instant situational awareness, and that's all key, because once you join together like that, you can pass information, and therefore you can become more lethal.
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