My heart sinks at getting handfuls of troops involved against Russian mercenaries in the heart of Africa….
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/m...ssia-hgbdwcsg7
Military chief reveals secret new role for special forces against China and Russia
Britain’s special forces will take on a new covert mission against China and Russia as they shift their focus to countering “big state adversaries”, a senior military chief has revealed.
Brigadier Mark Totten said that the SAS and SBS would have more time and assets for “higher risk” counterstate tasks requiring more detail, planning and specialist expertise. The Royal Marines will take over the units’ traditional roles.
Army sources said special forces might be given “politically treacherous” tasks such as training the navies of countries near the
South China Sea to better defend against Chinese hostility.
Totten is in charge of a 4,000-strong “future commando force” of Royal Marines who will “burden-share” with Britain’s elite units. They will base themselves in small numbers around the world carrying out counterterrorism operations, deterring mercenaries and responding to crises.
They will also use technology such as fish drones and artificial intelligence, and carry out “deception” operations with fake signals or diversionary forces to confuse an enemy.
Totten, who joined the Marines in 1998, said: “What we will be able to do is allow [special forces] to focus on more difficult, more complex, counter-Russia, counter-China [tasks].
“It takes real specialist expertise, so we will allow them to have more time and people to address those and we can conduct some of the tasks, such as maritime counterterrorism for example, or partnered operations, where it is difficult, where there is a higher risk.”
His comments are the first official acknowledgment that special forces will be tasked with tackling the threat from China and Russia.
Normally the government does not comment on the activities of the troops, although earlier in the year the head of the army, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, admitted they would be asked to take on “hostile states” more generally.
It is thought the highly secretive operations could involve troops operating alongside MI6 to mount surveillance against Chinese and Russian intelligence and military units. Part of their job will be to track adversaries and build a picture of the changing and “accelerating” nature of the threat.
An army source said: “You’re not going to get a gang of guys running around China.” However, the source said they could, for example, pop up around the South China Sea to train other navies in sensitive situations.
“You could send 25 guys from special operations to Africa carrying out counterterrorism and send four guys from the SAS to somewhere in the South China Sea as this would need to be lower profile and is politically more treacherous.”…..
Royal Marines will also be deployed east of Suez and could go to the Indo-Pacific ready for any conflicts that may arise. He said they could provide teams that could conduct training and “if there is a crisis that bubbles up we’ve got a footprint on the ground.”….
They could also act as a deterrent to the Wagner Group, Russian mercenaries believed to be carrying out the Kremlin’s bidding, by having a presence in countries where they would not normally be.
“I’m not saying that we will move into a direct confrontation as in military to mercenary but . . . you don’t make it easy for them because they have to think about what we are doing and what we will see,” he said, adding that it was an “indirect” way of taking them on.
The army will also get a Rangers regiment for special operations, easing pressure on the SAS. Modelled on the US Green Berets, it will have its first mission in Africa……