Handout photo dated 27/02/11 issued by the Ministry of Defence of Chinook helicopters as they transport troops from the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment to launch Operation Tora Zhemay VI (Black Winter in English) a huge air assault operation in Zaborabad, Afghanistan, which began on Sunday February 27, 2011. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday March 15, 2011. The Shropshire-based battalion, responsible for security in Helmand's Nad-e Ali district, mounted the helicopter insertion into Zaborabad, using 15 helicopters, with cover provided by fast jets. It was the biggest such operation for 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment since the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. More than 500 Royal Irish soldiers took part in the assault, codenamed Operation TOR ZHEMAY VI (Black Winter in English), bolstered by Afghan National Army soldiers as well as colleagues from 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, and the US Marine Corps. See PA story DEFENCE Afghanistan. Photo credit should read: Captain Andy Whitehead/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA Wire
PLEASE NOTE: This image may be used for current news purposes only. It may not be used, reproduced or transmitted for any other purpose without first obtaining a copyright license available from the MoD, Crown Copyright Unit. Email: DIPR-CC@mod.uk
Mark Leftly11 February 2014
Government contractor Babcock International today confirmed it is in the running to buy the Ministry of Defence body that services and upgrades the army’s armoured vehicles.
The Defence Support Group is valued at up to £300 million and has been integral to Britain’s operations in Afghanistan, quickly fixing damaged equipment from a specially designed workshop in Camp Bastion. DSG’s work has saved the MoD £90 million in Afghanistan since 2009.
However, DSG is one of the state-backed bodies that Government believes could be better run by the private sector. Babcock highlighted DSG as the major new “significant opportunity” in its £18.5 billion bid pipeline, in a trading update today.
