The taskforce set up to fight the cuts - part of plans aimed at saving about 50m - has already met Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy. An official announcement yesterday confirmed that the MoD will reduce its work at South Uist missile range and remove all staff from a radar tracking station on St Kilda. If the hon. Jobs axed at island missile range. Member wants, namely, seeing how far we can reduce to the absolute minimum the demands that we shall have to make upon land and the expenditure that we shall have to incur out of the taxpayers' money. It is in the far northeast of Scotland. He said: "We have decided after looking at the figures that the jobs will be saved. Friend bear in mind that, provided defence considerations are not prejudiced, this saving of 15 million is very welcome indeed? Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. I recognise the need to clarify the position as quickly as possible. "I have already pledged my support to the comhairle in any constructive representations they wish to make to the MoD and UK Government.". Fruits. While appreciating some of the reasons why events, including Sputniks, have made this project abortive and out of date, at the same time will the Minister realise that it has caused the utmost disturbance to local people, that it has put some out of their homes and land, and some out of jobs? One of the first priorities would be to ensure an extension of the 30-day consultation period on the proposals. The range offers the largest area in the UK for the live-firing of rockets and missiles. Modernization programs are underway, including a replacement for the Ohio-class submarine, next generation land-based ICBMs, a new long-range nuclear capable . Published by Statista Research Department , Sep 30, 2022. He added: "We can confirm that our catering contractor, Elior, has now concluded its work to determine the resourcing requirement for its management of the scaled-back facilities.". The range is said to be the largest of its kind in Europe. [CDATA[ Will the right hon. google_ad_height = 600; The US is the world's biggest user and developer of unmanned aircraft - including the 38m MQ-9 Reaper. As the right hon. Isle of Barra Mr Kennedy's office said the minister has promised to visit the test site if new proposals on how it is run are submitted. Mr. Woodburn: Where we are A reduction in expenditure which would otherwise have been incurred I regard as being a saving[Interruption.] MoD officials believe the closures will save it 50m. The fragile Western Isles economy was dealt a bitter blow yesterday (Wednesday) with confirmation that 125 jobs are to go at the Ministry of Defence missile testing station in the Uists. It had been proposed to cut 125 jobs as part of a wider programme of defence savings aimed at reducing MoD costs by 40m. Mr. Bellenger: MISSILEMAP is an interactive data visualization by Alex Wellerstein, an associate professor of Science and Technology Studies in the College of Arts and Letters at the Stevens Institute of Technology . Video, Why we know so little about the battle for Kherson, 'Go back to Africa' remark halts French parliament, Trump drops strong hint about 2024 White House run, Twitter to make job cuts after Musk takeover, The Albanian gangs luring migrants to the UK, Dutch wolves to be paintballed to scare them away, Imran Khan: Shock at attack on Pakistan ex-PM, Kyrie Irving suspended over anti-Semitic posts. White Sands Missile Range is nestled on the east side of the Organ Mountains, about 27 miles from Las Cruces on US 70. Oban If it wasn't for the fight put up by the taskforce, the Hebrides range could have become another victim of this 'cut and shut' approach. As with the announcement of proposals to build the range in 1957, news of the planned closure was greeted with howls of disapproval, and claims that the islands' economy would be ruined as a result. Callander and the Trossachs Fresh plans are expected later this year. Islanders' views on the establishment of the range were also the subject of a 1961 documentary, Rocket Range Benbecula. The Hebrides Rocket Range, set up in the 1950s, has sites on Benbecula, North and South Uist and a radar station on the remote St Kilda archipelago. Mr. Maclay: For one couple interviewed for the documentary the building of the rocket range made Benbecula a target for the Russians. Clyde - two jobs to go with changes to control of underwater sonar and magnetic ranges With a weight of 8.8t, the R-36M is also the heaviest ICBM in the world. Highland Perthshire Spaceport 1 joined forces with East Anglian firm Gravitilab Aerospace Services to launch the flight test vehicle, named after Ada Lovelace, the 19th century English mathematician who is considered the world's first computer programmer. [^BBC News - Hebrides Range 'ideal' for testing civilian drones Retrieved February 09, 2011.^], In July 2011, The MoD announced that the Hebrides Range would have a secure future for at least the next five years, and that QinetiQ (operating the facility on behalf of the MoD) would be looking at cost effective upgrades, for the range and its related sites. The development programme of the Ministry of Supply was in certain respects reduced, with the result that spare capacity was thrown up at the rocket range at Aberporth; and also, as a result of the reduction in the size of the fighter force, the number of firings which it was necessary to carry out for the purposes of training that force was obviously also reduced. In case the hon. "When Jim Murphy and I met with the local taskforce in London in July, I undertook to visit the Hebrides range and St Kilda during the consultation period. Mr. MacMillan: Gentleman says, I hope that there may be savings. The Kalibr is a family of naval cruise missiles, including the SS-N-30, a subsonic weapon equivalent to the U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile. Almaty Kazakhstan Isle of Lewis Whilst versions of the AN/FPS-117 are capable of detecting ballistic missiles the Type 92 does have this capability but is only used for detecting aircraft. Mr. Emrys Hughes: THE defence minister Quentin Davies will today face a demonstration by young islanders protesting at planned jobs cuts at a weapons testing range in the Outer Hebrides. Photograph: Peter Russell/MPL International Ltd, announcement in June by the defence minister Quentin Davies. Is the work at a standstill or is it not? Now, apparently, the project is being virtually abandoned and the local people brushed aside, with no further help from his Ministry. May I press the Minister to tell us what the saving is? google_ad_format = '120x600_as'; This web site and its pages are licensed for personal, private, or non-commercial use only. While officially the Hebrides range will remain open, trials will be controlled remotely and as a result the command and control centre on South Uist and one of the accommodation blocks at West Camp in Balivanich will close. The Hebrides Range Taskforce has now called for the trialling of unmanned aerial vehicles to be fully embraced. DAVID ROSS, Highland Correspondent June 25 2009. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas), because I think he understands the situation. The SNP group on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Western Isles council, has joined forces with local Nationalist MSP Alasdair Allan and MP Angus MacNeil in condemning the proposed losses. He said if the crofting stopped, the grasslands would be lost. The savings and staff reductions are to be achieved by 2028, the MoD said. In 2012, an Iranian official . "This is devastating news for this community, which has cooperated with the Ministry of Defence and its contractors for over 50 years, and come to depend heavily on them for work.". Defence contractor QinetiQ runs the sites on South Uist and Benbecula on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, along with one on St Kilda. Will my right hon. Quentin Davies, minister for defence procurement, will be left in no doubt as to the consequences if QinetiQ, the private contractor running the Hebrides Range, is allowed to move the command and control centre for missile firing to Aberporth in South Wales in an effort to save 50m. The cuts were made at the Hebrides Rocket Range after. The construction of the site came in the wake of the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War - the stand-off between East and West edged by a real fear of nuclear holocaust - and the race to develop weapons of mass destruction. I refer not only to the disturbance which has been caused in the minds of the people locally, but also to the hardship to some who have been forced from their homes and land; to others forced from their jobs; and to others forced to sell their livestock, without any hope of restoring their livelihood in the foreseeable future. Original format: 16mm. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), a member of the taskforce, also welcomed the move not to change the running of missile tests. Round about here virtually every household will have somebody working for QinetiQ, and most will have two," said Fr MacDonald. Gentleman did not hear what I said in reply to an earlier question, when I explained that as a result of the changes in defence policy, announced in the Defence White Paper last, April, the development programme of the Ministry of Supply[Interruption.] When the switch was pulled at 5:29 a.m. Mountain War Time on July 16, 1945, to detonate the world's first atomic bomb, that historic moment marked the first test conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. At the end of the war, RAF Benbecula became Benbecula Airport, helping link Benbecula and the Uists with the rest of Scotland. Mission. 'Missile trials' At present 215 people work at the Benbecula range, but acceptance of the modernisation proposals would see 125 jobs cut. That argument was accepted yesterday by Murphy. This disastrous proposal from the MoD and QinetiQ will be fought strenuously by this community.". Long range weather outlook for Benbecula includes 14 day forecast summary: Day Local Time Dir Speed/ Gust Temp/ Feels Like Humidity Pressure Cloud Amount Precip Amount Weather; Tue 25 Oct: 00:00: SW. 21 / 31 mph 54 / 48F 90%: 996 mb Low level cloud: 52%. [^BBC News - Future of UK's largest missile range secure says MoD Retrieved August 24, 2011.^], In August 2011, Defence minister Peter Luff made a two-day visit to the range.Defence minister Peter Luff is making a two-day visit to the UK's largest missile range. [^BBC News - Defence minister Peter Luff visits Hebrides Range Retrieved August 24, 2011.^]. The taskforce set up to fight the cuts - part of plans aimed at saving about 50m - has already met Mr Murphy. About 125 jobs are set to be lost at a missile test firing range on the Western Isles are to go, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced. Up to date, about million has been spent on works, almost all of which will be needed for the surface-to-surface rocket range, with which we are proceeding. The radar station on Hirta - the largest island on St Kilda - tracks missiles test fired from ranges in the Western Isles. SNP MP Angus MacNeil said he was seeking clarification from the UK Government and QinetiQ on what was planned for the sites. Mr. Sandys: September 14, 2009. The expenditure in 195758 will be about 500,000. "We believe it could earn considerable amounts, not just for QinetiQ, but also the government. asked the Minister of Supply what expenditure had been incurred by his Department on South Uist Rocket Range. A socio-economic study has been commissioned by Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE). "The promised cost savings would simply have moved costs from one government department to another. When the Royal Artillery pulled out, defence technology company QinetiQ took over the management of the site and there was a local campaign to keep the facilities open. Twenty jobs linked to an underwater range near Raasay, off Skye, are also expected to go, along with two at a site on the Clyde. I was privileged to be part of those efforts in 2009, and since then the Uist Economic Task Force has been active in pressing the case for the development of Uist, one of Scotlands most economically fragile rural communities. I would refer the hon. National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. These buildings on the summit of Ruabhal on the Hebridean island of South Uist are the Range Control Unit for the South Uist Missile Range. This civilianisation programme managed to keep many of the jobs in the Uists, jobs that are again under threat. Allen Woodrow. Steve Wadey, QinetiQ chief executive officer, said: This contract amendment represents a huge step forward in the modernisation of UK Defence test and evaluation to enable the safety and operational advantage of our Armed Forces in the 21st century. Mango; Orange; Vegetables. The fact remains that since Labour came to power in 1997, more than 9,000 defence jobs have disappeared in Scotland. It has speed Range of 3 Mach and range of 300 to 500 Km. Benbecula has a long military history An airfield to the north, built during World War II, became the control centre for the Hebrides rocket range, established during the Cold War and is now Benbecula Airport, An army base was established here in 1958 and is one of the main employers on the island as it is the headquarters for those who service the South Uist missile testing range. Is the Minister aware that fairly definite statements have appeared in the Press that this rocket range is to be abandoned, and can he say whether this information is correct or whether it is intelligent anticipation? Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and taskforce chairman, said the announcement was good news for the islands. ", Ministers abandon plan to shut QinetiQ's Benbecula base and sack 125 workers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Rockets fired from the MoD range on the island of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides. "There is a real career structure. Let me be quite clear about that I, also, recognise the unfortunate effects of leaving people in a state of uncertainty, and for that reason I am doing everything I can to speed up a decision. We are very concerned by the possibility that the base on Hirta would no longer be manned. "It is the task force's aim to ensure that any decision which claims to make savings for one arm of the government takes full account of the true social and economic impact on the community, including the potential costs of creating and funding an economic recovery plan. The MoD plans to scale back its operations at a key missile test range on the Western Isles of Scotland, leaving the Armed Forces with just one missile testing range in the entire UK. Cuts are being made as part of an effort by the MoD to make 50m savings. The Minister of Defence (Mr. Duncan Sandys): Mr MacNeil said: "This is really a warning shot to the defence minister that if he does axe the jobs, the defence select committee will still maintain an interest in what is going on and there are a number of questions around the haste with which the decision has been made.". It refused to comment on speculation about jobs. Mr Boyle said: "If you look at the wildlife on the islands, up to 50% of it is reliant upon active crofting. Even with the strongest missiles. //-->,
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