UK Mali Contingent MRX With Slingshot, T7 UGV and D40 Drone

Harris T7 Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) in foreground - this Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robot is used by the UK Task Group's EOD team to mitigate risks posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) [Crown Copyright: Ed Low]

Light Dragoons and Royal Anglians have completed an MRX (Mission Rehearsal Exercise) ahead of their UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Images and video rushes released today by UK MoD, taken on Salisbury Plain and Stanford Training Areas, show the British Army contingent bound for United Nations MINUSMA duties in Mali on a pre-deployment MRX using new equipment including:-

Spectra Group Slingshot
Harris T7 EOD UGV
DefendTex D40 UGL-launched Drone
Avinc Puma AE UAV

The UK Task Group Signals Officer tests the new Slingshot communications system
[Crown Copyright: Dan Harrison]
DefendTex D40 Drone in operation – it is deployable directly from an under-slung grenade launcher
[Crown Copyright: Ed Low]

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The MoD photos and videos were accompanied by the following press release:-

Press Release, 30 October 2020: The 300-strong UK Task Group destined for Mali have completed their Mission Rehearsal Exercise ahead of their upcoming deployment to support the UN. There they will help to promote peace and counter instability in the region.

A soldier from the Royal Artillery attached to the UK Task Group prepares the ‘Puma’ Unmanned Air Vehicle for launch during a tasking [Crown Copyright: Ed Low]

Having completed integration training in July of this year, the soldiers of the UK Task Group donned the famous blue UN beret on Thetford and Salisbury Plain training areas in October as they underwent final assessment by the Mission Training and Mobilisation Centre. The troops were put through a range of realistic scenarios that they may encounter in Mali while supporting the UN, from engaging with locals in a complex social landscape to conducting patrols and dealing with suspected IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).

Soldiers from the Light Dragoons clear a path for their vehicle patrol by sweeping their Vallon VMR3 detectors along a path [Crown Copyright: Dan Harrison]

Commanding Officer Lt Col Robinson said: “The UN mission is all about stabilising Mali, attempting to deliver that political reconciliation and protecting the people from the consequences of violence.

“No one in Africa or indeed Europe wants a failed state in North Africa, spreading instability throughout the region, so our mission is just a part of that wider mission in order to prevent that from happening.”