09:04 GMT, November 20, 2009 Israeli infantry units are testing robots for use with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), its web site reports. The 24-kg I-Robot can climb stairs and stretch, thanks to its long neck; it is carried and operated by two soldiers. The I-Drive, weighing just three kilograms, is carried and operated by one soldier. It can be thrown freely and always lands on all fours, sending a picture from six different cameras.

The two robots transmit realistic and clear pictures and were designed to provide precise situation reports on the battlefield, especially in urban areas, including residential buildings and narrow passageways. The IDF also have the Eyeball, which is not a robot by definition, but a small ball with an internal camera.


Budgetary pressures halt British Army Reserves training

British Army Reserves, known in the United Kingdom as the Territorial Army (TA), have been ordered to stop training for six months due to intense pressure on government budgets. Drill-hall instruction, weekend exercises and all other training associated with the TA will be stopped temporarily.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said there would be no impact on the hundreds of “weekend warriors” serving in Afghanistan, because reservists train with their regular Army counterparts before deployment to Helmand province.


British troop increase contingent upon three conditions

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced October 14 that the number of British troops in Afghanistan will increase by 500 to 9,500. Prime Minister Brown told British MPs that the reinforcements would be subject to three conditions: troops had to be properly equipped; Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was seriously damaged by allegations of fraud and corruption, must be committed to a program of “Afghanisation,” including the security forces; and there had to be co-ordination with other NATO countries.


U.S. Army partners with Indian Army in training exercise

The U.S. Army will conduct the first ever joint training exercise with the Indian Army this month, the U.S. Army Times reports. The exercise involving 17 U.S. Army Stryker vehicles and forces-on-the-move will take place in India.

It will place Indian soldiers in Stryker vehicles in an effort to refine joint operations. The two armies will share tactics, techniques and procedures related to counter-terrorism and counter-IED operations.


More training time on soldier care needed

The top enlisted U.S. Army soldier has told senior U.S. NCOs he wants them to spend more time teaching junior sergeants how to take care of soldiers. Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston spoke to a group of high-ranking NCOs October 6.

SMA Preston said the NCOs are “great warriors,” and know how to lead on combat missions, but back in the garrison, they do not know how to take care of soldiers and deal with situations that arise in the lives of their soldiers and their families. SMA Preston said the professional development of NCOs has suffered due to the high op tempo of the Army.


Last of Spanish troops return from Kosovo
The last Spanish service personnel in Kosovo returned home in late September. Some 22,000 Spanish military personnel, 9 of whom lost their lives while serving in Kosovo, were deployed there over the past decade.

Spanish troops were part of the NATO-led security mission Kosovo Force (KFOR) and served with Multinational Brigade West, based in Pec, in an operation called Sierra Kilo. The final personnel to serve brought back the last Spanish flag that flew over Base Espana in Istok. It will be displayed in the new Army museum in Toledo.


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International update compiled by Paul Mooney 
 

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