REME Strategy: Succeeding on Operations

As the Global context continues to evolve and Defence sets more ambitious targets, the Field Army is working to maximise every opportunity to enhance the equipment programme, develop our relationship with industry and exploit the whole force approach. The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) and Commander Field Army (CFA) want to ensure the British Army can fight and win wars on land; this means their staff are focused on delivering the modernisation programme and Mobilise the force.

It is an exciting time, but there are challenges we are all facing across the full spectrum of equipment from DCC to armoured vehicles. Mobilise is focused on in service equipment and meeting the AOO commitments, in line with Defence Tasks, whilst Modernise seeks to address the future challenges anticipated later in the decade and beyond.

Equipment Branch personnel are involved in supporting operations, training, routine activity, Granting in Kind (GiK), ‘How We Fight 2026’ (HWF26), the New NATO Force Model (NNFM) planning and Improving Defence Outputs (IDO).

The British Army currently has just over 11,000 personnel deployed on non-permanent commitments across 104 countries. c.4,700 of these are deployed outside of Europe representing nearly 25% of our deployable force. Activities include those captured in the graphic.

Additionally, the British Army currently has c.6,500 personnel deployed across Europe, rising to c.10,000 at the end of 2022. This equates to just over 75% of the British Army’s activities taking place in Europe currently.

With circa 1,000 REME personnel deployed at any one time, it goes without saying that our Corps continues to deliver against our primary purpose, to deliver success on operations as per the newly released Corps strategy.

Support to GiK

Equipment Branch are continuing to support Ukraine by means of Granting in Kind (GiK) of Mission Ready (MR) platforms; complete with weapon systems, sustainment packages, technical training and technical reach back for some of the more complex platform systems. To date, we have granted over 350 platforms from our own inventory, as well as supporting the assurance for commercially provided platforms. This has required significant work from the ES community from both Field Army and Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), and will likely continue throughout 2023 and into 2024.

To enable the generation and sustainment of a deeper and broader selection of UK in-service equipment as GiK for Ukraine, HQ Field Army Equipment Branch, through the Land Operations Command (LOC), have been informing a number of ministerial requests. Details such as availability of platforms, ES Materiel and consequences for our own commitments have been fed into TF KINDRED in MOD to enable key decisions. Field Army force elements, especially REME and Babcock personnel have worked tremendously hard to prepare the equipment provided so far. Work continues to consider more equipment to GiK, to gear up and fund the supply chain to replenish material already consumed in support of GiK, and to minimise any ongoing impact on our own capability.

Our ES Plans team are actively working on the NNFM to understand the implications for ES across the Army. Op LYNOTYPER will be used to test assumptions and potentially reset (or prove) Field Army equipment capability to ensure the British Army can meet its NATO commitments.

In addition, HQ Field Army is focusing on supporting the ‘How We Fight 2026’ work that is being driven by CFA. This raises fascinating questions for the ‘Support Enterprise’ especially whilst trying to blend equipment from the modernise programme into the mobilised force. Focus areas will consider some of the following:

From Enterprise to Alliance

Most of our support arrangements are linear and hierarchical, driven by efficiency yet often ridden with bureaucracy. For too long we have confused efficiency and agility. Therefore, as the Field Army move to a world described by HWF26, we must move towards an alliance approach, where joint decision making, shared acceptance of risk and coherent activity is better delivered. We must have more commercial agility. A key enabler for the enterprise approach is the evolution (or pragmatic application) of Government procurement rules which are currently too rigid to deliver what we need. We must shift the dial in Army and DE&S scrutiny and commercial areas to allow a faster procurement chain; that work is ongoing right now.

Embedding Data

We must, and are, becoming better informed by data. By embedding data in our performance, the Field Army can better steer scarce resource onto the most important priorities. Key for the support arena is the ability to model supply/demand risks in order to mitigate in advance rather than continually react to issues that affect operations and training. Being able to look forward in time (modelling); and backward in space (enterprise approach) will be a game changer. #OneTeam #OnePlan #OneNumber.

We must also get much better with technology as an example the Field Army needs to make better use of advanced manufacturing techniques to buy out supply chain risk. This must also be supported by a skills review of our people to make sure we have the mindsets and behaviours to be creative in combat (all part of the HWF26 work).

SPTC Reframe

Alongside all this is the critically important SPTC Reframe work. The current 10-year contract with Babcock to provide in-barracks ES, depth repair and the inventory and repair management of our material, and much more, runs out in 2025. The future programme to deliver support and wider equipment improvements (LIOS – the Land Integrated Operating Services) is not expected to deliver immediately in 2025, therefore, the bridge between the current contract and LIOS - a reframing of the SPTC - is required to provide improvements to the services we rely on. This is a major commercial undertaking which requires HQ Field Army to reset the requirement provided in 2013 to reflect the changed landscape of Future Soldier, our commitments and the imminent replacement of many of our major platforms.

Safety Focus

Another major focus within the HQ is safety. As part of the changes brought about by last year’s AOM review, AHQ is transferring their ownership/responsibilities for the safety of in-service Land equipment nearer to the user. Facilitated by a newly forming organisation, the Capability Safety Group (CSG), HQ Field Army are now reviewing the first tranche of safety responsibility transfers. A comprehensive transition period will be necessary, and the safety system will need to be suitably managed throughout. The premise of moving safety responsibility for in-service capability nearer to the point of use remains sound, but the scale of effort to achieve this in good order is significant. Although much of the effort associated with this change will fall to staff in HQ Field Army, for certain specialist equipment or kit with a well-defined user community, there will be a greater role for users to play in managing capability safety.

Programme GAUNTLET

And most recently the AHQ, DE&S and Field Army has launched

Programme GAUNTLET. An enterprise approach work strand commenced on the 17 Jan 23 consisting of Field Army, Army HQ, DE&S, Babcock & RBSL to develop innovative ways to overcome the support challenge of CR2 ensuring that all outputs (GiK, FE@R, FE@S, UK BAU & Future) continue to be met.

The programme is a step change in collaboration and truly is an enterprise approach. The staff are sprinting to investigate GiK support requirements, which is a materiel challenge both in volume and velocity, but the focus is on UPKEEP activity only (within Field Army).

The NNFM in 2024+ is both a supply and engineering challenge so will focus on both UPKEEP and UPDATE activity. Finally, the programmes team are also looking at the Modernisation challenge that will cover UPKEEP, UPDATE and UPGRADE activities – from now until CR2 OSD and the arrival of CR3 the team are looking at ways to improve availability, readiness as well sustainability in the future. If successful it will form a blueprint for future support arrangements under LIOS.

Stored Fleet

And finally, the Stored Fleet which many will recall required significant investment. Following the discovery of asbestos at Ashchurch and the re-positioning of significant elements of our fleet to Germany, work has intensified to deliver storage facilities to meet the Army’s future demands. As a result, SOF readiness has increased from a low bar of c.25% in 2020 to a more acceptable c.75% across all SOF areas. In addition, demolition/construction has begun under the Vehicle Storage and Support Programme to deliver improved buildings in Ashchurch with down-stream plans for Monchengladbach taking shape for improved storage facilities in Europe.

In sum, the Field Army Equipment Branch is at the helm of some significant change. Wrestling with current Mobilise challenges and balancing with longer-term Modernisation issues keeps us busy, as well as supporting the current Main Effort; the conflict in Ukraine. With new responsibilities and authorities under the AOM – not least a forensic review and focus on safety - the Branch is very well served by our incredible staff to meet the challenge of both today and tomorrow.

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