Experts in close combat and urban operations, the 2nd Battalion, as part of 11 Brigade, serves as the Near Surface Operations Battalion. They specialise in the use of drones and other uncrewed platforms to gather vital battlefield intelligence. Additionally, they are trained to detect and counter enemy forces employing similar technologies against British troops.
Out Think. Out Fight
I write once more from the high Mojave Desert, with the majority of 2nd Battalion The Royal Yorkshire Regiment currently deployed forward on Project CONVERGENCE CAPSTONE 6 (PCC6) in Fort Irwin, California. The rest of the Battalion remains in the UK, with Quebec conducting Mission Specific Training, and the rear party in the safe hands of our Quartermaster, Maj Kitridge, holding the line back in Barracks.
Much has changed in the 2nd Battalion since the last Regimental Journal update in Jan 26. The key change for the Battalion was the move from the Experimentation and Trials Group to 11 Brigade with effect from 1 Jun 26. With our return to the line comes a return to operations and a new role.
That role will be a ‘Near Surface Infantry Battalion’. While those still serving will be well aware of the need to fight in the ‘near surface’, our veterans and wider families will clearly recognise the importance of learning from the drone-on-drone fight happening in Ukraine. As the leading edge of 11 Brigade’s ‘Near Surface Covering Force’, 2 R YORKS will be central to that new way of fighting.
The year so far has been focused on the preparation for PCC6, a US-led experiment with a full US Division ‘in the box’, through which the Battalion will conduct bespoke experimentation to support the modernisation of the British Army. We have spent weeks on Salisbury Plain integrating dozens of new technologies, networks, sensors and weapons, and conducting a Command Post Exercise to explore how brigades will fight with the new equipment being purchased for the Army: Yorkshire soldiers again at the forefront of technologies and tactics, shortening the links from factories to foxholes.
Along with 12,000 other NATO troops on PCC6, from the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the 2 R YORKS BG (with Alma /Helmand and a company from 1 IG) is employing drones, Loitering Munitions, Interceptors and more to demonstrate how the Army might fight in the near future. It’s an unforgiving environment, with temperatures exceeding 50°C, and a complex mission facing our soldiers. PCC6 is our final act as the Army’s Experiment Battalion, and we are proud of our contribution to the Army’s future and grateful to the ETG for the empowerment and opportunities it has provided us over the years.
Despite operational commitments and a division-level experiment, the Battalion was honoured to support the Regiment in exercising our freedom across Yorkshire. Five days and six parades, from Keighley to Bridlington, left our troops with sore feet and tired arms from countless hours of rifle drill. However, they also left with heads held a little higher after representing the Regiment in front of their families and friends, and the people of Yorkshire.
Finally, as the world stares at an ever-unstable Middle East, Quebec are preparing to protect the UK’s interests by deploying some of the Battalion’s growing capability to protect our skies from the drone threat. They deploy immediately after summer leave, and we wish them well – a full update will follow soon.
Fortune Favours the Brave.
Get a flavour of what being in 2 R YORKS means