Army Firepower Shakes Salisbury Plain

The full force of British Army firepower has been brought to bear on Salisbury Plain.
Invited guests have been treated to a ground shaking demonstration of what the UK can bring to a fight.
The rather drearily named Land Combat Power Visit is actually a full on live firing exercise, staged for the benefit of politicians, civil servants and other defence decision makers, as well as visiting diplomats.
It is a truly amazing spectacle. From Challenger Two tanks firing on the move, mortars and 155 rounds raining down on the Plain to dismounted infantry storming an objective, it really does have it all.
There's even live firing of a Javelin missile, a LAWS anti tank rocket and a brief cameo by the backbone of UK air power, in the shape of an RAF Tornado GR4.
While there's no question that the people that have come to see this demonstration will be wowed by the sheer power on display, there is a serious side too.
It is a way of 3rd UK Division showing that, as the army's reaction force it is ready for whatever it may be called upon to do.
The international nature of the guests makes the point too that Britain, through the troops on display here, stands ready to intervene far from UK shores.
All those present will know that the world is an increasingly difficult place, and that for all the cuts that the British forces have seen, they are still to be reckoned with.