Inside the pretend village the place British troops are coaching to battle Putin’s troopers in Ukrainian-style fight
- ‘Platoon 24/7: Preparing For War’ continues on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm
Soldiers in the British Army’s largest infantry regiment are preparing for potential war with Russia at the UK’s only training area to replicate a Ukrainian conflict zone.
Troops are practising for the challenges posed by fighting in urban environments at Copehill Down, a unique Ministry of Defence facility on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
The latest episode of Channel 5‘s ‘Platoon 24/7: Preparing for War’ has provided a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the close quarters battle training centre.
Soldiers from The Rifles were told they must defeat an enemy force hidden inside three buildings in the facility which has been created to look like a bombed town.
The exercise was held in the days before the recruits were deployed to a Nato training area in Germany to spend a month preparing for battle in eastern Europe.
Captain Mike Lindgren, the officer commanding D Company, 5th Battalion, The Rifles, tells the documentary: ‘A war with Russia would be soldiers versus soldiers.
‘They’ve got the same kind of equipment that we have, similar training with different methods. That fight would end up potentially in places that look a little bit like this.’
He says there is ‘probably no greater challenge than urban environments in war because they are ‘supremely confusing’ and ‘communications don’t work too well’.
Copehill Down is a Ministry of Defence training facility on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire
Copehill Down is located in the middle of the villages of Shrewton, Chitterne and Tilshead
Copehill Down is the UK’s only training area to replicate a Ukrainian conflict zone
Soldiers are told they must defeat an enemy force hidden inside three buildings in the facility
Captain Mike Lindgren is the officer commanding D Company, 5th Battalion, The Rifles
The exercise was held in the days before the recruits were deployed to a Nato training area
Dylan Green, Ryan Dutton, Callum Hancock, Owen Morris and Will Halliday in ‘Platoon 24/7’
Captain Lindgren adds: ‘The enemy isn’t directly in front of you, the enemy could be above you, to the left of you, it could be below you in sewer systems etc.
‘We’re looking for Riflemen to demonstrate that will to fight, to go into a building in the dark where you know there’s people who aren’t your friends and kill them at really close range.’
Speaking about the exercise, he also says: ‘It’s in your face, it’s close and personal. For the young soldiers, it will be very intense.’
Copehill Down – technically known as a ‘Fighting in Built Areas’ (FIBUA) facility – is located in the middle of the villages of Shrewton, Chitterne and Tilshead.
The site was built in 1987 to resemble a German village in Bavaria before being expanded over the years, including a £190,000 ‘shoot house’ in 2015.
A further £325,000 project at the time also added new alleyways, tunnels, compounds and high-level walkways to the area.
The second episode of the documentary, which airs tonight at 9pm, comes after the first showed the Rifles training to kill enemies in close quarter combat with bayonets while preparing for battle.
A Challenger 2 tank during previous land combat training at Copehill Down in October 2018
Soldiers simulate an advance with Warrior armoured vehicles at Copehill Down in October 2019
A training exercise at Copehill Down in October 2018 to prepare for an urban warfare situation
The recruits have been undergoing brutal training over six months while being readied for possible frontline deployment in eastern Europe.
They were shown being taught to eliminate targets at close range under ‘Sword Lane’ training.
This is designed to test the soldiers’ physical and mental endurance and teach them ‘controlled aggression’ while under extreme exhaustion and little sleep.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to put British boots on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over.
British and French forces will be placed in ‘military hubs’ in Ukraine as part of peacekeeping efforts in the event a ceasefire is brokered, the Prime Minister said last month.
They would help to train Ukrainian troops and protect stocks of weaponry, aimed at deterring future Russian aggression, it was revealed following a meeting of the coalition of the willing in Paris.
The coalition of some 35 countries has been meeting since March last year to hammer out a means of protecting Ukraine from further attempts by Russia to seize its territory once the war is over.
‘Platoon 24/7: Preparing For War’ continues on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm
