Are British Troops Training for WWIII in California's Mojave Desert?

While Britain and other NATO members insist they are not fighting Russian forces in Ukraine, they have given large quantities of arms along with intelligence, military planning and training to Kiev's forces.

British troops are training with their US counterparts for a conflict in Europe and the Pacific with a wargame in the Mojave desert, British media reports

Some 450 soldiers, including members of the British Army's crack Rangers unit that was formed just last year, have flown to the 1,000-square-mile Fort Irwin site in California for the Project Convergence exercise.

According to the report, they, along with US and Australian counterparts, will test new combat techniques developed from lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine — on plains resembling the country's steppes.

The first stage of Project Convergence, which saw limited British participation, simulated a war breaking out on a Pacific island — just as the US has stepped up support for Taiwan and its claims of formal independence from China.

The second phase involved "swarms" of drones searching for targets, fast, light vehicles racing around the desert and British M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) firing on positions spotted by US F-35 strike fighters.

The exercise included testing of several new autonomous vehicles — of the sort widely used by both sides in Ukraine — by the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment's RAS platoon, standing for 'Robotic and Autonomous Systems' in order to "catch up" with tactical innovations in the Russian military operation.

“We’ve seen some of the capabilities in the news in Ukraine,” said 2 Yorks' Major Andy Sawyer. “Some things we need to bring in rapidly and other things we’re experimenting with.

Models used in the exercise include the Anglo-French Watchkeeper and US-made Puma reconnaissance drones and the Mission Master unmanned autonomous all-terrain cargo vehicle from Germany's Rheinmetall, which resembles the vintage Big Trak programmable toy truck.

Rheinmetall's new Mission Master Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle

© James Tweedie/Twitter

NATO and its member states have insisted they are not involved in the conflict in Ukraine. But the US, UK and others have supplied large quantities of arms, intelligence, military planning and training for Kiev's forces — both before and after Russia launched its special military operation on February 24.

At least three UK citizens who were until recently serving in the British armed forces have been killed fighting as part of president Volodymyr Zelensky's 'Foreign Legion'.

The Fort Irwin base reportedly resembles a movie ranch, with plywood mock-ups of Middle Eastern villages complete with domes and minarets built by actual Hollywood set designers.

For the latest war game, the sets were populated by Russian-speaking volunteers who post photos and videos of any embarrassing behaviour by the troops on mock social media networks named “Fakebook” and “Twatter”.