UK enters first day of lockdown as military bolsters fight
Boris Johnson addressed the UK on 23 March and announced further restrictions to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
The new measures increase the likelihood that the armed forces will play a greater role in supporting public services over the coming weeks.
At least 50 military personnel have started distributing personal protective equipment to National Health Service (NHS) facilities across the country, with the numbers likely to rise to 250 once the distribution network is running at full capacity.
Alongside this, military planners have visited London’s Excel centre with counterparts from NHS England to determine if the centre could be used as a makeshift hospital if required.
Additionally, the RAF has been called on transport critically ill COVID-19 patients in Scotland where an A400M aircraft was used to take a patient from the Shetland Islands to an intensive care unit in Aberdeen. The A400M then returned to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The RAF remains on standby to support public services and aid in repatriation flights if requested by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Defence Notes
-
UK makes big moves to fix “broken” defence procurement system ahead of major review
The changes are intended to meet greater need and deliver more value for money.
-
US companies invest in production capabilities to satisfy DoD’s hunger for cutting-edge capabilities
BAE Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin have been betting on new facilities and innovative manufacturing technologies to speed up the development of new solutions.
-
Just Released: Military Training Technology Report October 2024 now available to read
How the latest portable simulation solutions can deliver JTAC training wherever it is needed
-
Irish defence budget increased by just €100 million despite €25 billion surplus
The budget of more than €1.3 billion is a record figure for the Irish Defence Forces but almost a quarter is to meet to meet the pensions costs of Defence Forces Veterans and their dependents.