British Chemical Warfare Unit: Falcon Squadron Royal Tank Regiment (Interviews)

Falcon Squadron, part of the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army, was disbanded several years ago, but was recently reinstated due to growing chemical warfare threats.

The vehicles, which are attached to 22 Engineer Regiment, are air tight and pressurised inside so that toxic chemicals cannot seep in. The four crew can stay inside for up to six days if necessary, going to the lavatory in plastic bags.

The logistics war game in the Jordanian desert outside Aqaba is to test the British Army's ability to put a force of up to 30,000 troops and vehicles into the field.

Those taking part include:
1,450 soldiers
500 military vehicles including:
Mastiffs
Jackals
Fuchs nuclear, biological, chemical reconnaissance vehicle
Transporters
Land Rovers
Very high readiness field hospital

The vehicles based in Warminster, Wilts, are designed for a battlefield role, but Army sources said they were likely to be called up to help in the event of a major chemical, biological or radiation crisis or attack in the UK.

The specialist reconnaissance unit of armoured sniffer vehicles is in the final stages of being made ready, five years after it was cut to save money.

The vehicles were last used on operations in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when they went ahead of armoured columns to spot chemical weapons threats.

The spread of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons skills and the plundering of deadly stockpiles in countries such as Syria by Islamic State means the chances of British troops facing the threat on a future battlefield is growing, commanders believe.

Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil) has used mustard or chlorine gas against Kurdish fighters in recent weeks.

The Telegraph saw the vehicles of Falcon Sqn, The Royal Tank Regiment, in their final stages of preparation in the Jordanian desert before they are expected to go on full alert later this year.

The unit of air tight armoured vehicles, costing around £1.5m each, is designed to scout ahead of troops to find and identify potential chemical, biological or nuclear hazards on the battlefield.

The spread of materials and knowledge across the Middle East means troops are more likely to come across them, either during an attack, or by accident.

Both Bashar al Assad’s regime and Isil are accused of using chemical weapons in Syria and Col Muammar Gaddafi’s State mustard gas stockpiles were overrun by rebel groups in the 2011 Libyan uprising.

The squadron’s eight German-built Fuchs chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicles use probes to take and analyse suspect samples with a built-in mass spectrometer. Crew then feed back their discovery by secure link to scientists at the Ministry of Defence’s top secret Porton Down laboratories.

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