The Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land Challenger 2 advanced technology demonstrator features a new Rheinmetall turret armed with the L55 120mm smoothbore gun. © RBSL
The UK’s armoured fist By By Ian Kemp The Royal Armoured Corps (RAC), in parallel with the British Army as a whole, is undergoing sweeping changes in organisation and equipment. The Labour government’s 1998 Strategic Defence Review reorganised the Army into two deployable divisions: the 1st (UK) Armoured Division stationed in Germany with three armoured brigades; and, the 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division with three mechanised brigades. The Conservative-led coalition government’s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review resulted in the new ‘Army 2020’ structure which grouped the service’s heavy units into five multi-role brigades each with one armoured regiment, one armoured reconnaissance regiment, one armoured infantry battalion, one mechanised infantry battalion and two light role infantry battalions. The structure was designed to support enduring operations at the brigade level such as those then underway in Afghanistan.
T
he multi-role brigade structure was never implemented, as in June 2012, the Army introduced a new Army 2020 structure optimised for warfighting. The 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division was renamed the 3rd (UK) Division and given command of three 1st, 2nd and 12th - armoured infantry brigades each consisting of a Type 56 armoured regiment, an armoured cavalry regiment, two armoured infantry battalions, and one ‘heavy protected
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mobility’ infantry battalion. The division and the Army’s 16 Air Assault Brigade would comprise the Reaction Force for rapid deployment and warfighting. The Adaptable Force, to support both warfighting and enduring operations, consists of a pool of Regular and Army Reserve units assigned to seven – later reduced to four – regionally based infantry brigades for training and administrative purposes, all grouped under the 1st (UK) Division, as the 1st Armoured Division was retitled in 2014.
