UK enters first day of lockdown as military bolsters fight
Boris Johnson addressed the UK on 23 March and announced further restrictions to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
The new measures increase the likelihood that the armed forces will play a greater role in supporting public services over the coming weeks.
At least 50 military personnel have started distributing personal protective equipment to National Health Service (NHS) facilities across the country, with the numbers likely to rise to 250 once the distribution network is running at full capacity.
Alongside this, military planners have visited London’s Excel centre with counterparts from NHS England to determine if the centre could be used as a makeshift hospital if required.
Additionally, the RAF has been called on transport critically ill COVID-19 patients in Scotland where an A400M aircraft was used to take a patient from the Shetland Islands to an intensive care unit in Aberdeen. The A400M then returned to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The RAF remains on standby to support public services and aid in repatriation flights if requested by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Defence Notes
-
![Amazon Project Kuiper emphasises user-friendly solutions for multi-domain connectivity (Studio)]()
Amazon Project Kuiper emphasises user-friendly solutions for multi-domain connectivity (Studio)
At DSEI 2025, Shephard's Alix Valenti spoke to Project Kuiper's Rich Pang about the importance of enabling seamless communication between allied forces such as NATO members in challenging operational environments.
-
![DSEI 2025: Raytheon UK CEO highlights RTX skills, innovation and UK footprint]()
DSEI 2025: Raytheon UK CEO highlights RTX skills, innovation and UK footprint
At DSEI 2025, James Gray, Managing Director and CEO of Raytheon UK (part of RTX), outlines the company’s century-long presence in the UK and its evolving role across defence, aerospace, cyber, and training domains.
-
![Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft]()
Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft
The procurement and acceleration production plans – some of which still await approval – across the air and land domains will aim to strengthen the operational needs of the Israel Defense Forces.
