United Kingdom Special Forces
Encyclopedia
The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a UK Ministry of Defence
Directorate
which also has the capability to provide a Joint Special Operations
Task Force Headquarters. UKSF is commanded by Director Special Forces (DSF), a Major General
.
's Special Air Service
(SAS) and the Special Boat Squadron Royal Marines
(SBS), which was renamed the Special Boat Service
at the same time, into a unified command, based around the former Director SAS who was given the additional title of Director Special Forces. The directorate has been expanded by the creation of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment
and the Special Forces Support Group
.
) in common.
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provides fixed-wing and rotary-wing support to UKSF.
Four units of the Army Air Corps (AAC) and the Royal Air Force
(RAF) are thought to have the task of supporting British Special Operations:
Six Hercules C.3 (C-130K-30), upgraded in C.3A standard (with more countermeasures and navigation systems), were added to the "SF Flight" because of SF needs after 11 September 2001 attacks.
http://www.army.mod.uk/specialforces/11260.aspx UKSF Support Squadron
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
Directorate
Directorate
A directorate is an agency usually headed by a director, often a subdivision of a major government department.* Immigration and Nationality Directorate* Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah * Veterinary Medicines Directorate...
which also has the capability to provide a Joint Special Operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
Task Force Headquarters. UKSF is commanded by Director Special Forces (DSF), a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
.
Formation
UKSF was formed in 1987 to draw together the ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS) and the Special Boat Squadron Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
(SBS), which was renamed the Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
at the same time, into a unified command, based around the former Director SAS who was given the additional title of Director Special Forces. The directorate has been expanded by the creation of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing is a joint-service organisation which provides aviation support to United Kingdom Special Forces, using both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. The Wing is based at RAF Odiham....
, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment
Special Reconnaissance Regiment
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment or SRR is a Special Forces regiment of the British Armed Forces. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces under command Director Special Forces, alongside the Special Air Service , Special Boat Service and the Special...
and the Special Forces Support Group
Special Forces Support Group
The Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
.
Roles and tasks
UKSF assets undertake a number of roles, with a degree of interaction and interoperability:- Counter-terrorismCounter-terrorismCounter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
- Covert reconnaissanceReconnaissanceReconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
- Special reconnaissanceSpecial reconnaissanceSpecial reconnaissance is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organisations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detection by the enemy. As a role, SR is distinct from commando operations,...
- Direct actionDirect action (military)In the context of military special operations, direct action consists of: "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy,...
- Close protectionBodyguardA bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
- Counter-revolutionary warfareCounter-insurgencyA counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
- Reconnaissance of the deep battlespace
- Offensive operations in the deep battlespace
- BattlespaceBattlespaceBattlespace is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea, and space to achieve military goals. It includes the environment, factors, and conditions that must be understood...
preparation in transition to warTransition To WarTransition to war is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization military term referring to a period of international tension during which government and society move to an open war footing... - Infrastructure disruption
- Capture of subjects of interest
- Human intelligence (HUMINTHUMINTHUMINT, a syllabic abbreviation of the words HUMan INTelligence, refers to intelligence gathering by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as SIGINT, IMINT and MASINT...
) collection - Defence diplomacy
- Training of other nations' armed forces
Insignia
The badge of each UKSF unit shares a representation of the Sword of Damocles (or ExcaliburExcalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
) in common.
Special Forces units
Royal Navy
- Special Boat ServiceSpecial Boat ServiceThe Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
- Special Boat Service (Reserve)Royal Marines ReserveThe role of the Royal Marines Reserve of the United Kingdom is to support the regular Royal Marines in times of war or national crisis. The RMR consists of some 600-1000 trained ranks distributed among the five RMR Centres within the UK...
- Special Boat Service (Reserve)
Army
- 21 Special Air Service (Reserve)
- 22 Special Air ServiceSpecial Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
- L Detachment (Reserve)
- 23 Special Air Service (Reserve)
- Special Reconnaissance RegimentSpecial Reconnaissance RegimentThe Special Reconnaissance Regiment or SRR is a Special Forces regiment of the British Armed Forces. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces under command Director Special Forces, alongside the Special Air Service , Special Boat Service and the Special...
Special Forces Support Group
- Special Forces Support GroupSpecial Forces Support GroupThe Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
- 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
- F Company, Royal Marines
Signals
- 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment18 Signal Regiment is a Regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army and provides communications and information systems support to the force elements of the United Kingdom Special Forces...
- 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron, attached to 22 SAS
- 267 (SRR) Signal Squadron, attached to the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR)
- 268 (UKSF) Signal Squadron, specialist sp to UKSF
- SBS Signal Squadron, attached to the Special Boat Service
- 63 (SAS) Signal Squadron, reserve unit attached to 21 and 23 SAS
Aviation
The Joint Special Forces Aviation WingJoint Special Forces Aviation Wing
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing is a joint-service organisation which provides aviation support to United Kingdom Special Forces, using both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. The Wing is based at RAF Odiham....
provides fixed-wing and rotary-wing support to UKSF.
Four units of the Army Air Corps (AAC) and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) are thought to have the task of supporting British Special Operations:
- 8 Flight Army Air Corps8 Flight Army Air Corps8 Flight Army Air Corps is one of the Independent Flights within the British Army's Army Air Corps. 8 Flight is attached to the Special Air Service and based alongside them in Hereford....
, which has four Eurocopter AS 365N DauphinEurocopter DauphinThe Eurocopter SA 365/AS365 Dauphin 2 is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter .-Design and development:...
light utility helicopters and two Aérospatiale GazelleAérospatiale GazelleThe Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...
helicopters. The aircraft are painted in civilian colours (which are regularly changed) and are rumoured to be used in counter-terrorist missions. - 47 Squadron (RAF)No. 47 Squadron RAFNo. 47 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Hercules from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.-First formation:No. 47 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed at Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire on 1 March 1916 as a home defence unit, protecting Hull and East Yorkshire against attack by German...
, operating special forces versions of the C-130 Hercules. These are six Hercules C.1 (C-130K), modified after the Falklands WarFalklands WarThe Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
(an RWRRadar warning receiverRadar warning receiver systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected. The warning can then be used, manually or automatically, to evade the detected threat...
and AN/ALQ-157 infrared countermeasures device were added); three have been lost. - Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW)
- 7 Squadron (RAF)No. 7 Squadron RAFNo. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.-Formation and early years:No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squadron of the RFC to be formed before the First World War, but has been disbanded and reformed...
, uses Chinook HC.2 heavy-lift helicopters (equivalent to the CH-47D Chinook). This squadron took part in Operation BarrasOperation BarrasOperation Barras was the name given to a hostage rescue operation by the British Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Parachute Regiment in Sierra Leone on 10 September 2000...
in 2000.. - 651 Squadron (AAC), which uses Defender AL.1Britten-Norman Defender|-External links:*...
fixed wing aircraft - 657 Squadron (AAC), which uses Lynx AH.7Westland LynxThe Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
helicopters
- 7 Squadron (RAF)
Six Hercules C.3 (C-130K-30), upgraded in C.3A standard (with more countermeasures and navigation systems), were added to the "SF Flight" because of SF needs after 11 September 2001 attacks.
See also
- United Kingdom Special Forces SelectionUnited Kingdom Special Forces SelectionUnited Kingdom Special Forces Selection is the selection and training process for members of the United Kingdom's three Special Forces formations: 22 Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Special Reconnaissance Regiment...
- British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
- Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
- List of special forces units
External links
- Official UKSF (Reserve) website (Broken Link)
- Artists Rifles Advice & Training, a discussion forum for potential SAS Reserve (21 & 23) recruits
http://www.army.mod.uk/specialforces/11260.aspx UKSF Support Squadron