3 juin 2015 Quelle: Redaktion der Bundeswehr 06/2015 15E16302

Pour les sept ans à venir, la Bundeswehr a confié à Airbus Helicopters la mission d’assurer un niveau optimum de disponibilité, de fiabilité et d’aptitude au vol aux 15 hélicoptères H145M (anciennement EC645 T2). Photo Ch. Abarr  - Airbus Helicopters

02.06.2015 par Aerobuzz.fr

Les Forces armées allemandes (Bundeswehr) et Airbus Helicopters ont signé un contrat de services global concernant les nouveaux hélicoptères H145M, dont l’entrée en service au sein de l’armée de l’Air allemande est prévue dans le courant de cette année.

D’une durée de sept ans, cet accord global de services et d’assistance en coopération permettra d’assurer un niveau optimum de disponibilité, de fiabilité et d’aptitude au vol aux 15 hélicoptères H145M (anciennement EC645 T2) que comptera la flotte allemande. Ces appareils seront principalement exploités lors de missions accomplies avec les Forces d’intervention spéciales KSK (Kommando Spezialkräfte).

3 juin 2015 bonnenouvelle.ch (EPD/Protestinter)

Le rapatriement de la chapelle du camp de l'armée allemande de Masar-i-Scharif, en Afghanistan, qui commémore les soldats tués sur place, est en pourparlers. Le canada avait procédé à une action similaire en 2012. De nombreux soldats allemands voudraient que la chapelle qu'ils ont construites eux-mêmes soit rapatriées en Allemagne après le retrait complet des forces militaires allemandes.

Le rapatriement ne concernerait pas l’ensemble du bâtiment, mais les pièces principales de l’édifice, dont l’autel ou l’arc de voûte qui ont été conçus avec un soin tout particulier. Depuis fin 2014, un cénotaphe, qui se trouve déjà au bord du Schwielowsee à Potsdam fait mémoire des soldats allemands tués en Afghanistan. D’après les pourparlers engagés par Sigurd Rink, aumônier militaire protestant, la parcelle pourrait accueillir aussi les éléments qui seraient rapatriés de la chapelle. Ce qui constituerait encore un autre symbole, différent de celui du monument actuel, a expliqué l’aumônier militaire de l’Eglise protestante allemande. Il a rappelé que cinquant-six soldats allemands ont été tués en Afghanistan, et qu’il était important de privilégier une culture du souvenir. La chapelle représentait jusqu’à aujourd’hui pour les soldats refuge et protection, a-t-il souligné. Selon le prélat, les deux grandes églises d’Allemagne, catholique et protestante, soutiennent le projet. Sigurd Rink est optimiste: le transport ne devrait pas être un problème pour l’armée, mais sans son appui, la chose est moins facilement envisageable. L’arc de voûte à lui seul pèse vingt-deux tonnes.

Un mémorial canadien a accueilli en 2012 un cénotaphe rapatrié

En novembre 2012, le Canada avait créé un précédent: le cénotaphe de la force opérationnelle installé à Kandahar, en hommage aux soldats canadiens morts en Afghanistan, a été rapatrié à Trenton, en Ontario. Il s’agissait d’un monument constitué de plaques commémoratives, qui avait été dressé sur le camp militaire. Une partie du monument est cependant restée dans le pays, pour y faire mémoire de l’engagement canadien en Afghanistan, au cours duquel 158 soldats canadiens ont perdu la vie.

May 25, 2015: Strategy Page

In the last week troops searching Bouira province (120 kilometers southeast of the capital) have found two weapons caches containing machine-guns, rifles, RPGs, grenades, ammo, 13 bombs,  components for 31 more bombs and various items of military equipment. This comes in the wake of two clashes on the 19 th and 20th that left 25 Islamic terrorists dead. The troops were specifically searching for a base where they believed a meeting of ISIL members was being held. This gathering was discovered and troops were able to carry out a surprise attack that left 22 Islamic terrorists dead. Pursuit of the survivors left another three dead on the following day.

This area has been a base for Islamic terrorists since the 1990s and most of the Islamic terrorists in the area were known locally as Jund al Khalifa and long affiliated with AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). In September 2014 this group renounced its ties to al Qaeda and declared its allegiance to ISIL. Only two months before that AQIM leaders had reaffirmed their allegiance to al Qaeda and condemned ISIL, which had recently declared a new caliphate (Islamic empire run by ISIL). Since joining ISIL Jund al Khalifa has become a lot more violent. Small groups of AQIM have been hiding out in the coastal mountains east of the capital for years and troops and police are constantly searching the thinly populated mountains and forests of Bouira province.

In the wake of these Jund al Khalifa losses the government announced that only small remnants of Islamic terrorist groups remained in the country. So far this year 59 Islamic terrorists have been killed compared to about 100 for all of 2014.

Since April the army has increased patrols on the borders with Libya, Mali and Niger. This is to stop or discourage smugglers in general and Islamic terrorists in particular. Since early April this effort has led to nearly 700 arrests. Troops have also seized lots of contraband, including weapons and explosives. The patrols have also seized caches of good the smugglers leave near the border for other groups to pick up and move to customers inside Algeria.

Algeria is cooperating with Interpol to update their border control databases with information apparently captured from ISIL in Syria and Iraq about thousands of ISIL members. Interpol wants help in identifying these people and obtaining any background information on them. This is part of a growing international effort to share data on Islamic terrorists in order to interfere with their movement and help lead to the capture (or killing) of these terrorists.

May 19, 2015: In the southwest (Adrar Province near the Morocco border) soldiers found a smuggler hideout where smuggled items were hidden. Troops seized ten AK-47s, an RPG 7 rocket launcher (with three rocket grenades), five radios and over a thousand rounds of ammunition. It’s unclear if these items were headed for Algeria or Morocco.

May 18, 2015: Officials met with the commander of AFRICOM to discuss cooperation with American efforts to deal with Islamic terrorism in North Africa and especially Libya.

May 16, 2015: Southern neighbor Mali signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels. These Tuareg rebels and Islamic terrorists (from Mali and neighboring countries) took over most of northern Mali in 2012 and remained in control until a 2013 French-led invasion restored government control. Most of the Islamic terrorists were killed or fled to Libya and Niger. Algeria beefed up its security on its Mali border and hosted several rounds of peace negotiations between the government and the rebels. Not all rebels signed the peace deal and some are still fighting.

May 14, 2015: Across the border near the mountain town of Kasserine Tunisian soldiers killed four Islamic terrorists. Army and police patrols have been scouring the area since the March terror attack in the Tunisian capital that left 22 dead (most of them foreign tourists). 

Islamic terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founder of Islamic terror group Al Mourabitoun has apparently been replaced as leader of Al Mourabitoun. This became clear when Al Mourabitoun recently announced it was joining ISIL and that Internet announcement was followed by one from Belmokhtar disagreeing with the decision to leave AQIM for ISIL. But the ISIL move was later confirmed and so was the fact that Belmokhtar was no longer in charge at Al Mourabitoun, which is currently based in southern Libya. Belmokhtar is the Algerian Islamic terrorist responsible for the January 2013 natural gas facility attack in southern Algeria that got 37 workers killed. Al Mourabitoun was formed in August 2013 when two Islamic terrorist factions merged and pledged allegiance to AQIM. For a while Al Mourabitoun was detected operating in northern Mali and Niger. One faction was an al Qaeda splinter group led by Belmokhtar who had a reputation for always escaping the many efforts to kill or capture him. Belmokhtar was number two or three in AQIM but formed his own splinter group in late 2012. The French and American pressure in Mali and the Sahel left Belmokhtar short of cash and prospects, so returning to al Qaeda was a way to remedy those problems. Al Qaeda has always had access to more cash and other resources than most other terrorist organizations and that’s why it remains such a visible player. Belmokhtar denounced ISIL as being religiously unfit, but he might also be concerned about that fact that ISIL is in a much more precarious financial position than AQIM.

May 12, 2015: In Batna (500 kilometers east of the capital) Islamic terrorists ambushed and killed four local village defense volunteers. AQIM is still active in this area and attacks the defense volunteers whenever possible because these groups hinder movement by Islamic terrorists by manning roadblocks and reporting suspicious activity to the security forces. Elsewhere along the coast (Ain Defla, 100 kilometers west of the capital) soldiers ambushed and killed two Islamic terrorists.

May 9, 2015:  Another AQIM faction (Katiba Skikda) declared allegiance to ISIL. Based east of the capital, near the Tunisian border, Katiba Skikda is one of the many Islamic terrorist groups facing elimination because of years of pressure from the security forces and lack of public support. That means fewer new recruits and constant shortages of cash and supplies. ISIL is seen as a higher profile group that uses new tactics (more savage violence) to get results where al Qaeda tactics have failed. To many counter-terrorism experts these moves to ISIL seem more an act of desperation than anything else.

May 7, 2015: About a hundred kilometers east of the capita (Tizi Ouzou) troops came upon eight bunkers apparently built and still used by Islamic terrorists. The soldiers recovered weapons and other equipment. Further east (Skikda, 500 kilometers east of the capital) troops found 25 bombs hidden by Islamic terrorists.

May 3, 2015: Troops killed three Islamic terrorists in Bouira province (120 kilometers southeast of the capital). Near Ain Defla (100 kilometers west of the capital) soldiers killed two Islamic terrorists over the last two days.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire

The U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $28.2 million contract to develop several design concepts for the Future Fighting Vehicle (FFV) Phase 1 effort. General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

As part of the FFV Phase 1 effort, General Dynamics will develop design concepts for the next generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). The company will conduct trade studies, requirements analysis, modeling and simulation (M&S) and assess technology capability and maturity to support each of the three design concepts.

Work will be performed by existing employees in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of November 2016.

More information about General Dynamics Land Systems is available at www.gdls.com.

2 juin, 2015 Pierre Brassart (FOB)

En 2010 était dissoute la 4ème Brigade aéromobile, la seule de ce type dans l’armée française. Cette brigade était l’héritière de la 4ème Division aéromobile qui était, durant la Guerre froide, le fer de lance de l’armée de Terre française. Dans le cas d’un affrontement avec le Pacte de Varsovie, la première unité française à être déployé en Centre-Europe aurait été la Force d’action rapide (FAR). De la taille d’un corps d’armée, elle comprenait cinq divisions légères (parachutiste, alpine,…) et, parmi elles, la 4ème Division aéromobile. Cette division comprenait trois régiments d’hélicoptères de combat (1er, 3ème et 5ème RHC) et un régiment d’infanterie aéromobile (plus deux régiments de soutien). Cette unité aurait été un véritable poing anti-char pour stopper les divisions mécanisées soviétiques.

Le 1er juillet 1999, la 4ème Division aéromobile devient, avec la restructuration de l’armée de Terre, la 4ème Brigade aéromobile. Elle perd son régiment d’infanterie (le 1er RI qui est remotorisé sur VAB) mais gagne un quatrième régiment d’hélicoptères de combat (le 6ème RHC) qui sera dissous en 2007. En 2010, la brigade est dissoute, les régiments revenant au commandement des forces terrestres.

Avec la parution de la LPM actualisée, la reformation d’une brigade, non plus aéromobile mais bien aérocombat, est avancée. Pour l’instant, l’ALAT est composée des 3 RHC, du 9ème Bataillon de soutien aéromobile (BSAM) et de son école. La reformation de la brigade aéromobile/aérocombat permettra de rassembler tous les moyens en hélicoptères de l’armée de Terre (hors FS) sous une seule autorité, celle du commandement de l’ALAT (COMALAT). Selon la nouvelle structure de l’armée de Terre, la Brigade aéromobile ne comprendra ni le BSAM, ni de régiment d’infanterie. Il s’agira bien d’une brigade à vocation interarmes mais qui n’est pas interarmes en soi. Ses unités et équipages sont appelés à être dispatchés en fonction des missions auprès des unités des autres brigades.

Le Gazelle sont plus qu’avantageusement remplacées par les Tigre, mais combien seront-ils au final?

Sur le plan matériel, 7 Tigre supplémentaires porteront le modèle de 60 à 67 hélicoptère, tous au les hélicoptères qui seront livrés seront au standard HAD. De plus, l’intégration sur les Tigre d’une « roquette de précision métrique » est prévue par l’actualisation de la LPM. Ce type de munitions, développées en France par TDA Armements, une filiale de Thales, et similaire dans l’idée à l’APKWS américain, permet de coupler la précision d’un missile avec la charge explosive d’une roquette, pour un prix bien moins important que celui d’un missile. Pour ce qui est des NH90, 35 sont attendus au terme du programme de la LPM, 9 étant en service actuellement, pour un total de 44. 26 Cougar modernisés doivent également, à terme, rejoindre le parc d’hélicoptères (la moitié ayant déjà été livrée). Au fil des livraisons, les Puma devraient progressivement quitter le service, alors que les Caracal sont affectés au COS. En ce qui concerne les Gazelle, tout ce que l’on sait c’est qu’elles ne seront que progressivement remplacées par les Tigre. Entre 2015 et 2019, un nouvel hélicoptère (Caïman, Cougar rénové ou Tigre) sera livré chaque mois à l’armée de Terre.

Les Puma vont progressivement faire leurs adieux à l’armée de Terre

Il aurait pu être intéressant de réfléchir à une organisation qui aurait fait de cette brigade aérocombat, une vraie force interarmes, prête à intervenir avec ses unités propres sur un théâtre donné. Intégrer ne serait-ce qu’un régiment d’infanterie aurait fait de celui-ci une vraie unité aéromobile, entrainée à travailler avec les hélicoptères de combat et transportée par les hélicoptères de manœuvre. Les Britanniques suivent ce chemin avec la 16th Air Assault Brigade qui comprend des régiments d’infanterie, d’artillerie et du génie parachutistes ainsi que des unités d’hélicoptères, notamment l’ensemble des Apaches britanniques. La 101ème Division aéroportée américaine reprend également ce principe (elle est d’ailleurs référencée comme une air assault division).

Les Apache apportent une puissance de feu appréciable à la 16th Air Assault Brigade

Une autre solution aurait pu être d’intégrer un RHC au sein des toutes nouvelles divisions qui viennent d’être ressuscitées avec le nouveau modèle de l’armée de Terre. Les Américains, par exemple, intègre une brigade d’aviation de combat au sein de chacune de leur division. Là encore, cela permet à chaque unité de disposer de ses moyens aériens propres, avec lesquels elle est habituée à fonctionner.

Les grandes unités américaines sont largement pourvues en hélicoptères

Evidemment, les Américains disposent de moyens incomparables avec ceux de l’armée française et, le rassemblement de l’ensemble des voilures tournantes sous un seul commandement à probablement un sens en termes d’économies d’échelle et de commodités logistique et financière.  Espérons que la reformation de cette brigade ne soit pas qu’un exercice mathématique dans le but d’augmenter artificiellement le nombre de brigades alignées par l’armée de Terre. Selon le CEMAT, « à sa tête, un état-major sera capable de mener des opérations de troisième dimension : raids en profondeur, flanc-garde ou opérations à caractère interarmes, comme l’utilisation d’hélicoptères de manœuvre pour transporter une force, saisir un pont, récupérer des otages, exfiltrer des personnes ».  Les états-majors des RHC n’en étaient pas capable auparavant ?

May 31, 2015: Strategy page

Disagreements over a proposed peace deal in the north have led to more violence from factions that disagree with the deal that most northern rebels are willing to  accept. The violence has forced over 60,000 civilians to flee their homes. Most of the violence is between the holdout rebels and Mali troops or local pro-government militias.

The UN sponsored peace talks hosted by Algeria produced a peace deal in March that most northerners agreed was workable and was signed on May 15th. But not all those who were supposed to sign actually did. The UN persuaded those willing to sign to go ahead and do so and negotiations would continue with those who were not satisfied. The holdouts are radical factions of the rebel alliance that insist on more autonomy than the government is willing to provide. If the additional talks fail everyone who did sign agreed to outlaw the holdout factions. Some of these dissident factions are believed responsible for the upsurge in violence in the north during May, although some of the attacks are Islamic terrorists still operating up there. Between these holdouts and the active Islamic terrorists it is obvious that for a significant minority of northerners the war for independence (or global Islamic conquest) is not yet over. Some of these separatists are seeking a religious dictatorship. This is definitely not wanted by the majority of northerners. Most of the holdouts want more autonomy and money, which is more popular up north but unthinkable to the 90 percent of Malians that live in the south.

At least 49 peacekeepers have been killed since they began operations (mostly in the north) during mid-2013. Currently there are 11,500 peacekeepers in Mali, most of them in the north. The Mali peacekeeping force, is composed of about a thousand French and (mainly) African troops and is suffering a death rate of 240 per 100,000 per year (a standard measure of such things.) That’s higher than the 2013 rate (200) in Afghanistan. That was down from 587 in 2010, which was about what it was during the peak years in Iraq (2004-7). The action in Mali is less intense than in Afghanistan or pre-2011 Iraq. Total casualties since mid-2013 are only about 200 dead and wounded. Most of the Islamic terrorists from Mali moved to bases in southern Libya and are now regularly moving south to carry out operations in northern Mali. All this is possible because Libya is undergoing a civil war, mainly up north along the coast and no one bothers with Islamic terrorists who only kill across the border in Mali. There is a similar problem in Afghanistan with Islamic terrorists operations from several sanctuary areas in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

A Tuareg separatist group (CMA or Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad) is believed responsible for most of the recent violence in the north. Even as peace talks continued CMA kept carrying out attacks, often in revenge for past defeats or (real or imagined) “atrocities” by Mali troops from the south or local pro-government militia. Groups like CMA want more Tuareg autonomy and especially want control over the growing mining operations in the north and the cash they generate. The majority in the south and central government is definitely not willing to do that.

May 30, 2015: In the north (Gao) a rocket was fired into a peacekeeper camp but there were no injuries.

May 28, 2015: In the north (Timbuktu) a peacekeeper vehicle was attacked, leaving three peacekeepers wounded.

May 25, 2015: In the capital peacekeepers clashed with unidentified armed men and one peacekeeper was killed and another wounded.

May 23, 2015: In the north (Gao) CMA rebels temporarily captured a rural town (Tessit), looted the place and kidnapped some people before they withdrew the next day (to avoid the expected counterattack).

May 21, 2015: In the north (Gao) there were more clashes between CMA rebels and local pro-government militias. Some Mali troops were also involved and CMA claimed the soldiers executed six civilians. That claim is still being investigated. The violence in this area has been going on for three days. One of the civilians killed was a local employee of a foreign aid group, which then announced it was shutting down operations in the area until the violence died down.

May 20, 2015: In the capital someone fired on a compound used by peacekeepers. Two grenades were also thrown but failed to explode. A civilian guard was wounded and it is still unclear who was behind the attack.

May 18, 2015: In the north (Kidal) French commandos carried out a raid that left four Islamic terrorists dead. These included senior leaders of AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and Ansar Dine (a largely Malian Islamic terror group). AQIM operates throughout North African (which Arab speakers call the Maghreb) but is currently suffering heavy losses as many personnel defect to ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). This sort of thing is happening all over the Islamic world as the more fanatic Islamic terrorists seek to identify with what appears to be the most successful Islamic terrorist group at the moment. This particular raid was very important for France has the two Islamic terrorist leaders were believed responsible for the murder of two kidnapped French journalists in 2013. France made it clear that this raid was part of the ongoing operation to capture or kill those responsible for killing those two French citizens and that France had a long memory. This was meant to dissuade future attacks on French civilians.

Later in the day CMA rebels ambushed Mali troops near Timbuktu and killed three soldiers.

May 15, 2015: The government signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the north. These Tuareg rebels and Islamic terrorists (from Mali and neighboring countries) took over most of northern Mali in 2012 and remained in control until a 2013 French-led invasion restored government control. Most of the Islamic terrorists were killed or fled to Libya and Niger but the local Tuareg rebels stayed. Algeria beefed up its security on its Mali border and hosted several rounds of peace negotiations between the Mali government and the rebels. Not all rebels signed the peace deal and some are still fighting. Meanwhile there were celebrations in the south and in the capital over 200,000 people demonstrated in favor of the peace deal. In the north there was fear of more violence. Hours after the peace deal was signed CMA gunmen clashed with pro-government militias in the north. The CMA decision to continue fighting is not popular in the north either and that is who CMA is fighting with other tribal groups up there that want peace more than the degree of autonomy CMA is demanding.

May 14, 2015: Islamic terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founder of Islamic terror group Al Mourabitoun has apparently been replaced as leader of Al Mourabitoun. This group has long been responsible for terror attacks in northern Mali, especially against peacekeepers. The departure of Belmokhtar as leader of the group probably won’t change that especially since Al Mourabitoun recently announced it was joining ISIL and that Internet announcement was followed by one from Belmokhtar disagreeing with the decision to leave AQIM for ISIL. But the ISIL move was later confirmed and so was the fact that Belmokhtar was no longer in charge at Al Mourabitoun, which is currently based in southern Libya. Belmokhtar is the Algerian Islamic terrorist responsible for the January 2013 natural gas facility attack in southern Algeria that got 37 workers killed. Al Mourabitoun was formed in August 2013 when two Islamic terrorist factions merged and pledged allegiance to AQIM. For a while Al Mourabitoun operated in northern Mali and Niger. Belmokhtar was number two or three in AQIM but formed his own splinter group in late 2012. The French and American pressure in Mali and the Sahel left Belmokhtar short of cash and prospects, so returning to AQIM in early 2013 was a way to remedy those problems. Al Qaeda has always had access to more cash and other resources than most other terrorist organizations and that’s why it remains such a visible player. Belmokhtar denounced ISIL as being religiously unfit, but he might also be concerned about that fact that ISIL is in a much more precarious financial position than AQIM. The switch to AQIL will probably mean that Al Mourabitoun will be more active in trying to kidnap foreigners in northern Mali and hold them for ransom.

May 11, 2015: In the north (Timbuktu) CMA rebels ambushed an army supply convoy killing nine troops, wounding twelve and getting away with some of the vehicles. Elsewhere in the north (Gao) a Dutch armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb but none of the Dutch peacekeepers were injured. The 450 Dutch troops are in Mali mainly to operate and maintain four helicopter gunships and three transport helicopters.

May 17, 2015: Strategy Page

The U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAS (unmanned combat air system) continues to break or make records. Thus in 2015 this included the world's first fully autonomous aerial refueling in April, performed with a KC-707 tanker. During the last few years this unmanned combat aircraft has successfully carried out numerous operations aboard aircraft carriers. These tests were often firsts for UCAS. Thus an X-47B made its first catapult launch from an aircraft carrier on May 14th 2013. That was followed by several touch and go landings on a carrier. The first carrier landing, as expected, followed soon after. Later in the year more flight tests further stressed the capabilities of the automatic landing system, especially in high speed and complex (different directions) winds. The autolanding systems passed all these tests. The X-47B was also the first UAV to land and be off the carrier deck in less than 90 seconds, just like manned aircraft. There were a lot of other tests to see how effectively and reliably the X-47B could operate on the carrier and hanger deck and do it alongside manned aircraft. All this is part of a long-term navy plan to introduce an UCAS replacement for the F-35 (which is soon to replace the F-18s) in the 2030s. But if the UCAS progress continues to be swift and the costs low (compared to manned aircraft), the F-35 could find its production run much reduced to make room for an UCAS.

While software controlled landing systems have been around for decades, landing on a moving air field (an aircraft carrier) is considerably more complex than the usual situation (landing on a stationary airfield). Dealing with carrier landings requires more powerful hardware and software aboard the aircraft. The navy expected some glitches and bugs and appears to be rapidly catching up to the reliability of commercial landing software (which has been used very successfully on UAVs) within months rather than decades.

Rather than begin development on the slightly larger X-47C, which was be the first naval UCAV to enter service, the navy changed that plan and is now seeking new designs for a UCLASS (unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike) aircraft. There will be a competition by development aircraft in 2016. It’s likely, but not certain, that one of those 2016 competitors will be the X-47C.

All this comes after the navy rolled out the first X-47B in 2008. This was the first carrier-based combat UAV, with a wingspan of 20 meters (62 feet, and the outer 25 percent folds up to save space on the carrier) and stay in the air for up to twelve hours. The 20 ton X-47B weighs a little less than the 24 ton F-18A and has two internal bays holding two tons of smart bombs. It is a stealthy aircraft. As it exists right now the X-47B could be used for a lot of bombing missions, sort of a super-Reaper. The navy has been impressed with the U.S. Air Force success with the Predator and Reaper. But the propeller driven Reaper weighs only 4.7 tons. The much larger X-47B uses a F100-PW-220 engine, which is currently used in the F-16 and F-15.

The X-47C was expected to be closer to 30 tons and have a payload of over four tons. The X-47B was never mean to be the definitive carrier UCAV, but the navy hoped it would be good enough to show that unmanned aircraft could do the job. Normally, "X" class aircraft are just used as technology demonstrators. The X-47 program has been going on for so long, and has incorporated so much from UAVs already serving in combat that it was thought that the X-47 may end up eventually running recon and bombing missions as the MQ-47C. But in February 2015 the navy stated that the X-47B was too costly and insufficiently stealthy to become it's carrier UCAV, and the two prototypes will be turned into museum exhibits upon completion of all flight testing, extant and length of which is not ultimately decided yet.

The U.S. is far ahead of other nations in UCAS development, and this is energizing activity in Russia, Europe, and China to develop similar aircraft. A Chinese UCAS, called the Li Jian was photographed moving around an airfield under its own power back in early 2013, which is the sort of thing a new aircraft does before its first flight (which took place in November, 2013). Since 2011 the Li Jian has been photographed as a mock up, then a prototype, and now taxiing around and in flight. The Li Jian is similar in size and shape to the U.S. Navy X-47B.

It’s generally recognized that robotic combat aircraft are the future, even though many of the aviation commanders (all of them pilots) wish it were otherwise. Whoever gets there first (an UCAV that really works) will force everyone else to catch up, or end up the loser in their next war with someone equipped with UCASs. China may have just copied pictures of the X-47B, or done so with the help of data obtained by their decade long Internet espionage operation. Whatever the case, the Li Jian is not far behind the X-47B.

These aircraft are meant to operate like current armed UAVs or like cruise missiles (which go after targets under software, not remote, control). Enemy jamming can interfere with remote control and you have to be ready for that. This means pre-programmed orders to continue the mission (to put smart bombs on a specific target, the sort of attack cruise missiles have been carrying out for decades) or attempt that but turn around and return to base if certain conditions were not met (pre-programmed criteria of what is an acceptable target). Fighter (as opposed to bomber) UCASs can be programmed to take on enemy fighters (manned or not) with some remote control or completely under software control. This is the future and China wants to keep up.

The U.S. Navy has done the math and realized that they need UCASs on their carriers as soon as possible. The current plan is to get these aircraft into service by the end of the decade. But a growing number of navy leaders want to get the unmanned carrier aircraft into service sooner than that. The math problem that triggered all this is the realization that American carriers had to get within 800 kilometers of their target before launching bomber aircraft. Potential enemies increasingly have aircraft and missiles with a range greater than 800 kilometers. The X-47B UCAS has a range of 2,500 kilometers and is seen as the solution.

The Department of Defense leadership is backing the navy efforts and spurring the air force to catch up. At the moment, the air force is cutting orders for MQ-9s, which are used as a ground support aircraft, in addition to reconnaissance and surveillance, because American troops are being pulled out of Afghanistan, and it is believed Reaper would not be very useful against China, North Korea, or Iran. But, as the Navy is demonstrating, you can build UCASs that can carry more weapons, stay in the air longer, and hustle to where they are needed faster. The more the navy succeeds, the more the air force will pay attention and probably use a lot of the navy developed UAV hardware and software technology.

01.06.2015 par Olivier Berger, grand reporter à La Voix du Nord
 

L'actualisation de la loi de programmation militaire (LPM) 2014-2019 passe à l'examen de l'Assemblée nationale cette semaine. Un sursaut financier qui semble d'emblée salvateur. Mardi 26 mai, Laurent Collet-Billon, le délégué général à l'armement, était entendu en Commission de Défense. L'idéal pour faire un point sur les équipements (où l'on reparlera des C-130 Hercules), les calendriers et autres reports de charges... 

Programmes Scorpion, ravitalleurs MRTT, missiles M51.3, satellites de renseignement électro-magnétique CERES, quatrième sous-marin Barracuda, le programme 146 a globalement tenu la route depuis le début de la LPM. Il note un décalage sur la commande du deuxième système de drones Reaper (trois engins, deux cockpits). Mais les succès 2015 du Rafale à l'exportation soulagent largement l'exécution de la Loi de programmation militaire.

Selon le DGA, même le fardeau des reports de charges auraient tendance à se réduire (2,3 milliards d'euros fin 2013, fin 2014 et légère amélioration en 2015 grâce à 250 millions d'euros du Plan d'investissement d'avenir PIA).

Des étalements de commandes et de livraisons sont toutefois négociés par la direction des programmes et mis en œuvre, notamment pour le système d'équipement du fantassin FELIN, mais aussi pour l'A400M, les hélicoptères NH90 et Tigre, le Rafale, les frégates multi-missions et les sous-marins nucléaires d'attaque Barracuda. Avec 18 % d'augmentation des commandes à l'exportation en 2014 (8,2 milliards, dont 50 % pour l'Arabie saoudite, y compris le contrat DONAS pour l'armée libanaise), les industriels conservent la santé. Et 2015 (grâce au Rafale) devraient se révéler exceptionnelle.

L'actualisation des équipements

L'actualisation de la LPM permettra l'achat d'équipements nouveaux pour 1,5 milliard et un effort sur l'entretien programmé des matériels de 500 millions entre 2016 et 2019. La moitié de ces deux milliards provient de crédits budgétaires supplémentaires.

On n'entend plus le DGA s'arc-bouter sur la création des sociétés de projet qu'il jugeait indispensable au financement. Le vent politique et budgétaire a tourné. On le subodorait dès février... Comme la disparition des recettes exceptionnelles au profit de solides crédits budgétaires.

- Marine. La vente d'une FREMM à l'Egypte entraîne la livraison d'une nouvelle en 2019. Le nombre final est de 8 FREMM au lieu de 11 et du lancement du programme de frégates de taille intermédiaire (FTI, première livraison des cinq commandées en 2023). Un tonnage de 4 000 tonnes correspondrait mieux au marché export que la FREMM de 6 000... Quatre BSAH (bâtiments de soutien et d’assistance hauturiers) et quatre B2M (bâtiments multi-missions) seront commandés contre deux et trois prévus.

- ALAT. La priorité hélicoptères ne se dément pas : 7 Tigre supplémentaires et 6 NH90 terrestres sont commandés.

- Air. Le vieillissement des Lockheed C-130 Hercules et certaines difficultés de l'A400M vont entraîner l'achat de quatre nouveaux C130 (commandes en 2016), a priori, d'occasion (la version H, la version J étant trop chère). Avec pour certains le ravitaillement en vol des hélicoptères (le souci majeur de l'A400M). D'autres C-130 seront équipés de missiles pour les besoins des forces spéciales... Enfin, les difficultés du parachutage par portes latérales sur l'A400M pourraient tout bonnement entraîner un changement de parachute (comme sur les C17 en leur temps).

Les ventes à l'export du Rafale vont modifier les livraisons à l'armée de l'air. Elle en recevra finalement vingt-six.

- Autres achats supplémentaires. 25 pods de désignation laser pour les Rafale, régénération des véhicules blindés légers (VBL).

Conclusion en guise d'avertissement prudent : " La décision de redéployer ces crédits ne laisse aucune marge en cas de reprise de la progression des indices économiques : à défaut d’obtenir dans ce cas un abondement des crédits du programme 146, il faudrait inévitablement redéfinir une partie du contenu physique de la LPM. "

02/06/2015 M. Bernard Edinger - armée de Terre

La première utilisation de gaz de combat à grande échelle sur le front de l’Ouest pendant la Première guerre mondiale eut lieu le 22 avril 1915 près d’Ypres en Belgique par les forces allemandes contre les troupes françaises.

« Nous avons vu le ciel absolument obscurci par un nuage jaune-vert qui lui donnait l’aspect d’un ciel d’orage », devait témoigner un médecin de bataillon cité par l’historien Yves Buffetaut.

« Nous étions alors dans les vapeurs asphyxiantes. J’avais l’impression de regarder au travers de lunettes vertes. En même temps, l’action des gaz sur les voies respiratoires se faisait sentir : brûlures de la gorge, douleurs thoraciques, essoufflement et crachements de sang, vertiges. Nous nous crûmes tous perdus. »

Un autre médecin, Octave Béliard, qui était en seconde ligne, vit refluer « des hordes sans chefs qui fuyaient. Des régiments entiers avaient jeté leurs armes, tournaient le dos à l’ennemi. Des hommes se roulaient par terre, convulsés, toussant, vomissant, crachant le sang. Et une terrible odeur  charriée par le vent, entra dans nos narines »

Toutefois, le nuage se dissipant, les troupes françaises se ressaisissent. Les forces allemandes, méfiantes du gaz, n’exploitent pas vraiment leur succès.

En dépit des immenses effets  psychologiques résultant de son usage, les pertes causées par les gaz pendant la Première guerre mondiale furent relativement limitées, en partie grâce aux  masques de plus en plus performants. Dans l’armée française, « seulement » 8.000 morts dus aux gaz sur 1.4 million tués pendant la guerre. Et 190.000 dangereusement atteints sur quatre millions.

source SHD
 

2 juin 1676 : bataille de Palerme. Durant la guerre de Hollande (1672-1678), le maréchal de Vivonne, général des galères de France, bat (avec ses adjoints bientôt prestigieux : Tourville, Duquesne, Forbin,…) une flotte hispano-hollandaise et donne à Louis XIV la suprématie en Méditerranée. Il surprend l’ennemi en train de se reconditionner dans le port de Palerme et sans perdre un seul bâtiment, lui cause de terribles dégâts. Vivonne a commencé sa carrière dans la cavalerie où il montre courage et esprit puis demande à servir sur mer avant de finir sa vie auprès de Louis XIV qui l’apprécie pour ses nombreuses qualités.

2 juin 1781 : prise de Tobago (Antilles). Le lieutenant général de Grasse débarque 1000 hommes aux ordres du marquis de Bouillé dans la baie de Courlande après avoir fait croire aux Anglais qu’il voulait attaquer l’ile de Sainte Lucie (250 km au Nord).

voir La stratégie de la Marine Française de l’arrivée de Sartine à la victoire de Chesapeake

2 juin 1805 : reprise du rocher du Diamant par les Français (La Martinique). Les Britanniques occupent l'îlot au large de la Martinique depuis janvier 1804 dans le cadre de la guerre que se livrent les Français et les Anglais pour le contrôle des Antilles. Le rocher du diamant est un promontoire permettant de surveiller le canal entre la Martinique et  l’ile de Sainte Lucie. Défendu par une petite garnison (une centaine d’hommes) et des canons hissés à son sommet, le rocher remplit la fonction d’un « vaisseau immobile » de sa majesté d’où le nom donné par l’amirauté britannique, HMS Diamond Rock. Le futur contre-amiral français Cosmao en attaquant, sur ordre de Villeneuve, la garnison retranchée sur l’ilot, a percé d’un coup de boulet de canon les citernes d’eau, obligeant celle-ci à se rendre.

2 juin 1898 : le capitaine Simond découvre le vecteur de la peste (Karachi – actuel Pakistan). Affecté au service de santé des colonies, le capitaine-médecin Paul-Louis Simond met en évidence le rôle de la puce du rat dans la transmission de la maladie (de la puce au rat), lors d’un séjour aux Indes anglaises où sévit une épidémie de peste. Il est l’un des plus grands épidémiologistes français. Il termine sa carrière en tant que directeur du service de santé de l’Indochine après avoir effectué de très nombreuses missions scientifiques (Chine, Empire ottoman, Indes …).  

2 juin 1940 : Saint Exupéry reçoit la croix de guerre.  Suite à une mission au-dessus de la ville occupée d’Arras, Saint Exupéry est cité à l’ordre de l’armée. C’est d’ailleurs cette mission qui lui donnera la matière pour son ouvrage Pilote de guerre, d’abord paru en anglais sous le titre Flight to Arras.

02/06/2015 Armée de l'air

Le commandant de l’EATC (european air transport command - commandement européen du transport aérien) a rencontré le directeur de la sécurité aéronautique de l’état (DSAÉ), le vendredi 22 mai 2015, à Villacoublay.

La direction de la sécurité aéronautique de l’état a présenté ses activités au général Badia (Lutwaffe), commandant de l’EATC, accompagné du « Senior National Representative français », le colonel Kolm. Celles-ci concernent la mise en œuvre des normes européennes de navigabilité, les EMARs (european military airworthiness requirements), dans les programmes A400M et A330 MRTT. Le développement et l’application de ce corpus réglementaire visent à permettre une maintenance croisée des stocks de pièces mutualisés sur l’A400M entre la France et l’Allemagne d’une part, et la Grande Bretagne d’autre part.

L’EATC, opérationnel depuis 4 ans, exploite jusqu’à 223 avions de transport de 20 types différents, appartenant à 7 nations fondatrices dont la France, l’Allemagne, les Pays-Bas et la Belgique, rejointes depuis par l’Espagne, le Luxembourg et l’Italie. Cette exploitation commune permet de tirer le meilleur parti des flottes de chaque état-membre.