Chinese Military Implanting Tracking Devices Causes British Military to Delay Issuing New King’s Crown Insignia.

With the Chinese Communist Party’s expanding ambitions and military threats becoming increasingly apparent, the Western world is facing confusion and unease in dealing with the world’s second-largest economy. Concerns over Chinese-manufactured badges potentially containing tracking devices have led the UK Ministry of Defence to delay the release of military cap badges made for the upcoming coronation of King Charles.

According to the Financial Times, various British military regiments that wear royal badges on their berets are in the process of replacing the cap badges from the favored “St Edward’s Crown” design of the late Queen Elizabeth with the “Tudor crown” design chosen by King Charles.

However, this process is becoming complicated as Wyedean Weaving, based in Yorkshire, is contracted to produce the badges, with some of the production capacity coming from factories in China.

A senior UK defence official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Financial Times that the rollout of the cap badges has been delayed due to concerns that tracking devices or GPS transmitters could be embedded in the badges, and the UK lacks the capability to manufacture these products quickly and cheaply.

The UK Ministry of Defence stated that “the procurement of the new cap badges will proceed once its requirements are finally determined.”

In the UK, officers typically wear embroidered badges, while badges for other ranks are made of metal – used for identifying soldiers in regiments, which can be worn on berets or other military headgear.

Many regimental badges also feature crown motifs or the initials of the monarch’s name. However, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, these badges must be replaced.

In the year 2022, Wyedean won a three-year subcontract worth £2.9 million from the US-listed defense services company Leidos to provide badges for the UK military. Leidos has a direct contract with the UK Ministry of Defence.

Wyedean stated that the family-owned business is awaiting final approval to progress with badge production.

Since its establishment in 1964, Wyedean has been producing military equipment for the British Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The company made a small number of badges for last year’s coronation parade of King Charles.