18 December 2013 by Guy Martin – defenceWeb

Saab has not given up on the idea of established a Gripen Fighter Weapon School and continues to offer the concept to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), in spite of its earlier refusal.

Anne Lewis-Olsson, Saab’s Head of Communication Sub- Saharan Africa, told defenceWeb that the company has not given up on the idea and still wishes to establish such a facility, which would train fighter pilots initially from Gripen countries.

In July last year Saab announced at the Farnborough Air Show that it would establish the School in South Africa, but shortly afterwards the SANDF denied the whole affair.

Saab had planned to run the first course with at least six students in late 2013 using between four and six South African Air Force (SAAF) Gripen C/D fighters.

A 1 000 square metres building at AFB Overberg would have been dedicated to the school and would have included briefing and debriefing rooms, a lecture hall, lunchroom, locker rooms, a gym and sauna, offices and IT infrastructure. South African and Swedish Air Force instructors would have conducted the course, Saab said.

Although the SANDF has denied that it will host the School, Saab believes there is still sufficient interest from the SA Air Force to possibly one day establish the facility as South Africa is the preferred location due to favourable weather and the vast test range in the southern Cape. However, Lewis-Olsson cautioned that these things take time and that much patience is needed. For instance, Saab is still waiting for the SA Air Force to issue a Gripen support contract – the SAAF had been living on interim support contracts, but since April had no support contracts at all.

Saab has said that the Fighter Weapon School would be a fantastic opportunity for the SAAF as it would give local pilots skills and flying time and would showcase South Africa’s capabilities to the rest of the world. At present the SAAF Gripen fleet of 26 is being underutilised, with 12 placed in rotational storage.

Saab has a large presence in South Africa, mainly due to the SA Air Force’s Gripen purchase and subsequent offset investments. In fact, Saab South Africa is the largest Saab defence division in the world, after the parent company in Sweden, with around 700 people being employed in South Africa. Saab South Africa comprises Saab Grintek Defence, Saab Grintek Technolgies and Omnigo. Turnover for Saab South Africa was R1.4 billion this year. Of this, 9% is invested into research and development.

Chris Skinner, Vice President, Head of Marketing and Sales and Commercial, Saab Grintek Defence, told defenceWeb that Saab is looking to participate in many of the programmes that form part of the SANDF’s Strategic Capital Acquisition Master Plan (SCAMP). For instance Saab has answered the Request For Information (RFI) for Project Chutney, which is seeking to acquire new long range, mobile tactical, air traffic control and precision approach radars. As Saab only manufactures a couple of these types of radars, the company will seek a partner for Chutney. For Project Saucepan, which seeks to acquire maritime surveillance aircraft, Saab is offering its Saab 340 and 2000 platforms, which could be available within a year. The company has also provided border camps for the SANDF.

Saab would also like to be involved in many other SANDF projects, such as Projects Sepula and Vistula (armoured vehicles and trucks), Biro (patrol vessels) and the upgrade of the Valour class frigates.

Saab also hopes to sell its Skeldar unmanned aerial vehicle in Africa, especially for things like anti-poaching, anti-piracy and peacekeeping operations – the United Nations is for the first time operating UAVs in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Saab South Africa also has numerous other business avenues, such as naval ESM and countermeasures systems, field camps, security etc. Command and Control and security are major fields for Saab, especially as security is such a huge business in South Africa.

Skinner said that Saab Grintek Defence exports between 70 and 75% of its products. “Without exports I don’t think we’d survive,” as the SANDF is not ordering much at the moment, although there are many procurement projects underway. Skinner said the last couple of years have been tough in South Africa as there are many projects underway, yet funding has not been made available. However, he said that with the changes in the Department of Defence and state contracting company Armscor, things will improve in the future.

18.12.2013  Par El Hadji Mamadou Gueye - yabiladi.com

La marine marocaine serait-elle intéressée par les nouveaux sous-marins espagnols? Tout semble en tout cas l’indiquer. Selon des sources espagnoles, le royaume aurait des vues sur le dernier sous-marin S-80 construits sur le chantier naval de Navantia à Carthagène.

Le vice-amiral Mohamed Laghmari, l'inspecteur général de la marine marocaine, a visité hier les installations de la marine espagnole à Carthagène. Il s’est également rendu au Centre des opérations et de surveillance de l'action maritime (COVAM) où des explications lui ont été fournies sur les fonctionnements, les missions et la capacité de cette structure.

Toutefois, selon la MAP, cette visite s’inscrit seulement dans le cadre de la mise en place d'un lien de coopération en matière de lutte contre les risques environnementaux et de la pollution marine.

MOSCOU, 18 décembre - RIA Novosti

Les missiles Iskander seront déployés là où Moscou le jugera utile, a indiqué mercredi le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou, commentant la préoccupation de l'Otan suite à l'apparition de ces missiles près des frontières de l'UE.

"Un grand bruit s'est récemment élevé suite aux informations concernant le déploiement d'Iskander au "mauvais" endroit. Sur le territoire de la Russie, nous en déployons là où bon nous semble", a déclaré M.Choïgou devant les étudiants à l'Université technologique Tsiolkovski (MATI)

Et d'ajouter que la Russie était en mesure de contrebalancer le projet américain de défense antimissile en Europe (ABM).

"Nous ne restons pas les bras croisés, en observant (le déploiement du bouclier antimissile, ndlr). Notre science, nos concepteurs et nos usines travaillent, croyez-moi, très efficacement. Nous avons avec quoi riposter", a souligné le ministre.

Le déploiement de systèmes de missiles de courte portée Iskander-M dans la région de Kaliningrad (enclave russe sur la Baltique) a été signalé samedi dernier par le quotidien allemand Bild.

Le ministère russe de la Défense a pour sa part affirmé lundi que le déploiement des batteries d'Iskander-M sur le territoire de la Région militaire Ouest (dont Kaliningrad fait partie) ne constituait pas une violation des traités internationaux.

Les missiles tactiques de haute précision Iskander-M sont destinés à détruire différentes cibles terrestres: rampes de lancement de missiles, pièces d'artillerie longue portée, systèmes de défense antimissiles ou antiaérienne.

Fin 2011, Dmitri Medvedev, alors président de la Russie, a promis de déployer des missiles Iskander dans la région de Kaliningrad afin de contrebalancer le projet américain prévoyant la mise en place d'un bouclier antimissile en Europe.

Dec. 18, 2013 - By ZACHARY FRYER-BIGGS and AWAD MUSTAFA – Defense News

Prince Turki Al Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, last week accused the Obama administration of working behind Riyadh's back and planning other steps in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON AND DUBAI — The White House this week issued a presidential determination to facilitate the sale of weapons to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The move by the Obama administration shows the rapid development in events since Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans this month in Bahrain to sell weapons to the Gulf Cooperation Council as a block, as opposed to selling to individual nations within the council.

According to the document issued Monday, the White House wants to confirm the eligibility of the Gulf Cooperation Council to receive defense articles and defense services under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act.

“I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and defense services to the Gulf Cooperation Council will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace,” the document stated.

The move by the White House follows last week’s announcement at the GCC Summit in Kuwait to establish a Joint GCC Military Command.

According to a State Department official, the GCC is being designated for future sales, however, congressional approval has yet to be established when deals flow to Congress.

On Dec. 7, in Manama, Hagel said the Pentagon “will better integrate with GCC members to enhance missile defense capabilities in the region,” adding “the United States continues to believe that a multilateral approach is the best answer for missile defense.”

Officials at the State Department said that over the past several years, the US and the GCC have explored ways to expand multilateral defense cooperation in response to evolving regional security challenges.

“The United States and the GCC agree on the strategic imperative to building better multilateral defense ties as a complement to the strong bilateral relationships the US has with gulf partner states,” the State Department added.

“The US-GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum, US Central Command-led multilateral exercises and the quarterly Air and Air Defense Chiefs Conference are but a few of the examples of our combined efforts to coordinate at the policy and operational levels.”

Officials added that the determination is the next step in improving US-GCC defense collaboration as it enables the GCC to acquire defense articles to improve interoperability and enhance critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic-missile defense, maritime security and counter-terrorism.

However, the actual provision of defense articles or services to the GCC would be considered on a case-by-case basis, consistent with US law and policy.

Various other international organizations are eligible to receive US defense articles and services, such as NATO, the UN, and the AU. “The designation reflects our strong commitment to the GCC and our desire to work with our gulf partners to promote long-term regional security and stability.”

Despite the significance of the move, analysts view it as an “appeasement to Saudi Arabia.” Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said the recent statements by Saudi officials signified a dissatisfaction with US policy.

On Saturday, Prince Turki Al Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, said in Monaco that the Obama administration is working behind Riyadh’s back and planning other steps in the Middle East.

“The presidential determination shows support for Saudi Arabia’s plan for a unified GCC approach,” he said.

“This support comes within a defense and security sphere in which the GCC are more robustly banded than other sectors, such as economic levels, social policies and others,” he added.

He said Saudi policy is fixated on protecting monarchies while pursuing Bashar al-Assad’s removal, which “does not necessarily jibe with other GCC states points of view.”

TEWKSBURY, Mass., Dec. 18 (UPI)

Raytheon announced Wednesday it has begun building the 12th AN/TPY-2 ballistic missile defense radar for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

The AN/TPY-2 is a mobile X-band radar that provides long-range acquisition, precision tracking and discrimination of short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

It can be deployed in either terminal or forward-based mode.

"Beginning production of a 12th AN/TPY-2 ballistic missile defense radar is so important because this X-band sensor is the backbone of U.S. missile defense around the globe," said Dave Gulla, vice president of Global Integrated Sensors in Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business. "The U.S., our warfighters, allies and security partners can count on the AN/TPY-2 because it has performed flawlessly in every test to date against all categories of ballistic missiles."

Production of the 12th AN/TPY-2 comes under a $172.2 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense awarded this month.

Raytheon has delivered eight of the radars to the U.S. military under an earlier contract.

The 100th F-35 joint strike fighter rolls off the assembly line at Fort Worth, Texas, last week. (Alexander H. Groves/Courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

Dec. 18, 2013 - By AARON MEHTA – Defense News

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The cost of a fully equipped F-35A joint strike fighter will drop to $85 million by 2019, according to a top Lockheed official, as long as the program continues to increase quantities.

That figure, calculated at $75 million in 2013 dollars, includes engines and all weapon systems for the conventional-takeoff-and-landing fifth-generation fighter, said Lorraine Martin, the head of Lockheed’s F-35 program, during a Dec. 13 press briefing.

The briefing was held at Lockheed’s F-35 production facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a ceremony celebrating the rollout of the 100th joint strike fighter. Travel and accommodations were paid for by the company.

In the most recently negotiated batch of aircraft, low-rate initial production lot 7 (LRIP-7), an engine-less F-35A came in around $98 million. If Lockheed can meet this cost goal, it would make the fifth-generation fighter competitively priced with fourth-generation aircraft such as the F-16 and F/A-18, a major boost for a program that has been criticized for being cost-prohibitive.

Costs for the jump-jet F-35B and aircraft carrier F-35C variants are less clear, due in part to the small number produced so far. The F-35A is by far the most popular model and has higher quantities, giving company officials a clearer sense of per-unit costs.

Achieving those cost reductions will require an increase in quantities, and while Martin expects orders to increase, she emphasized that quantity is quickly becoming the key price driver for the program.

“Quantity matters. Quantity absolutely matters right now on this program,” Martin said. “The [production] learning curve is still important, and it’s still enabling us to get work content off the line that’s not as efficient as it could be, but you start to learn that stuff. The silly stuff you learn fast and, as you go forward, you start to really refine how you produce the aircraft. Then the big driver to bring cost out is quantity.

“We’re at the point where we need both of them, and soon, quantity will be the biggest driver for us,” Martin continued. “If you buy more, they will be cheaper. There just is no doubt.

“We have been flat for four years, around 30 [to] 36 aircraft. If it doesn’t increase, it will dampen out our ability to get costs out.”

Whether there is an increase in the number of planes ordered for LRIP-8 will depend on the US budget situation. That lot is being negotiated with the Pentagon, and Martin said her company submitted pricing options for “variable quantities” of planes to give the Defense Department flexibility based on the budget situation.

Rising quantities and lowering costs don’t just benefit DoD and its partner nations. As Lockheed gets costs under control, Martin said the company hopes profit margins will increase.

“You would expect, for any aircraft program, you know how to do it better [as time goes on] and you’re hoping you’re able to do that in a predictable way, both for the government and for your own profit margins,” Martin said. “The program at the beginning was very challenged, so our margins have not been what you would want them to be going forward.

“My job is to ensure I know what it costs to build the aircraft, that what it costs to build an aircraft is reasonable and attractive to our customers, and that I can get a reasonable profit on top of that. And as I get that equation put together, I think the margins will come up.”

Looking forward to 2014, Martin expects to see increased international orders for the plane, including the rollout of the first F-35 from Italy’s final assembly and check-out (FACO) facility toward the end of 2014.

There are no plans to open FACOs outside of the two planned locations in Italy and Japan, according to Martin, who added that the Japanese FACO should be completed on schedule. She confirmed that a FACO component is not part of the F-35 deal being negotiated between the US and South Korea.

LINKOPING, Sweden, Dec. 18 (UPI)

Saab of Sweden is integrating MBDA's Meteor missile system on Gripen E fighter aircraft under a contract from the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration.

The order from FMV for integration of the beyond-line-of-sight, air-to-air weapon system is worth nearly $29.3 million.

Saab said the order is in addition to an FMV contract issued in February for development and modification of the Gripen E, a multi-role fighter produced by Saab.

"The additional order secures the implementation of integration of the weapon system Meteor for Gripen E," said Ulf Nilsson, head of Saab's Gripen product unit. "It also confirms Gripen's position as the leading fighter system with a flexible design that offers great possibilities to integrate new capabilities."

Meteor, manufactured by France-based MBDA, was developed under a collaborative project involving Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain. At the end of June 2013 Saab, in cooperation with FMV, conducted the first test firing of the serial production configuration of Meteor.

18 décembre 2013 Romandie.com (AFP)

WASHINGTON - La Maison Blanche a décidé de publier dès mercredi l'intégralité d'un rapport sur les pratiques de surveillance de l'Agence américaine du renseignement (NSA) remis au président Barack Obama, a annoncé son porte-parole.

Ce porte-parole, Jay Carney, a justifié cette publication par l'apparition de fuites selon lui erronées dans la presse depuis que le document a été livré vendredi à M. Obama par un groupe d'étude, créé dans la foulée des révélations de l'ancien consultant de la NSA Edward Snowden l'été dernier.

Ce rapport détaille plus de 40 recommandations que la Maison Blanche est en train d'examiner. M. Obama, qui a rencontré mercredi les auteurs de ce document à la Maison Blanche, doit prononcer en janvier un discours sur la régulation des activités de la NSA, a rappelé M. Carney.

Le président américain avait promis dès le mois d'août plus de transparence, tout en mettant en avant la nécessité de ces programmes.

Mardi, il avait reçu à la Maison Blanche des dirigeants de grandes sociétés informatiques et d'internet, qui l'avaient justement exhorté à la transparence.

18.12.2013 CESA

Prix Clément Ader : Monsieur Rémi Laplace est Docteur en informatique, doctorat soutenu à l’université de Bordeaux 1 sous la direction du professeur Serge Chaumette. Ses domaines de recherche sont la flotte de terminaux mobiles, réseaux DTN, les essaims de drones et la validation des preuves formelles d’algorithmes.

La thèse de M. Laplace, Applications et services DTN pour flotte collaborative de drones, porte sur la mise en place d’une flotte de drones et le portage sur celle-ci d’applications distribuées utilisant des communications asynchrones, sans intervention du sol. L’étude concerne les drones à voilure tournante. L’objectif de ce travail est de montrer la faisabilité de la mise en essaim d’une flotte coopérative de drones autonomes communiquant par échanges de messages de type broadcast asynchrone et de référencer les problèmes techniques, humains et réglementaires soulevés par ce dispositif.

Prix René Mouchotte : Monsieur Kévin Martin est titulaire d’un master 2 professionnel « études européennes et internationales » spécialité "enjeux et dynamiques de l’intégration européenne". Dans le cadre de ses études, il a réalisé des stages au sein du groupe Safran-Snecma au département des affaires IES (information économique et stratégique) ainsi qu’au sein de la fondation pour la recherche stratégique (FRS) au pôle "industries de défense".

A travers son mémoire, La coopération des Etats et des industries aéronautiques européennes de la Défense à travers les démonstrateurs technologiques U.C.A.S, l’auteur se propose d’appréhender les coopérations européennes futures sur le segment des avions de chasse et plus particulièrement des drones de combat : il examine ainsi en quoi les programmes de démonstrateurs technologiques aéronautiques représentent un défi pour la construction de la politique et de l’industrie européenne de défense. Le mémoire dresse dans ce cadre un état des lieux de la coopération de recherche en matière de défense à travers les programmes aéronautiques. Il analyse ensuite plus précisément les démonstrateurs technologiques.

NEW YORK (Nations unies), 18 décembre - RIA Novosti

Le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU a prorogé mercredi de six mois la présence de la Force des Nations unies chargée d'observer le désengagement entre Israël et la Syrie (FNUOD) sur le plateau du Golan.

La résolution ad hoc soumise conjointement par la Russie et les Etats-Unis a été adoptée à l'unanimité.

Les effectifs de la FNUOD comptent 1.250 personnes. Déployé en 1974, ce contingent veille au cessez-le-feu entre la Syrie et Israël.

La partie du Golan contrôlée par la Syrie est depuis longtemps le théâtre d'affrontements entre les troupes fidèles au président Bachar el-Assad et les groupes armées de l'opposition. Les belligérants utilisent du matériel blindé et l'artillerie.

Les casques bleus sont déployés dans la "zone tampon" créée au lendemain de la guerre arabo-israélienne de 1973 pour séparer physiquement les troupes syriennes et israéliennes. La zone tampon constitue de facto une partie du territoire syrien occupée et annexée par l'Etat hébreu.

L'appartenance du plateau du Golan est au cœur du conflit entre Israël et la Syrie.

18 décembre 2013 Paul Fauray

17 December 2013 by ADIT - The Bulletin - defenceWeb

.Since the fall of the Gaddafi regime and the foreign military intervention in the country, the need to rebuild security through a stable and capable army in Libya has become urgent. Indeed it is becoming vital to fill Libya’s security vacuum, and efficiently fight against the country's growing chaos, the militia violence, and al Qaida.

Many countries and private entities are interested in benefitting from the risky endeavour of training the Libyan armed forces, and expanding their influence within the resource rich country. Through different partnerships with different countries, Libya is starting to enhance its army capacity through training and mentoring arrangements on several fronts:

The European Union is focusing on training Border Guards and the Coast Guard under a border mission called Eubam (EU Border Assistance Mission). According to the mission’s blueprint, the EU objective is to take Border and Coast Guard "battalions" out of the field, train them in secure locations, and "redeploy" them into action. Eubam's 111 personnel will be unarmed (albeit heavily guarded by private contractors) and many of them will have civilian backgrounds in EU police and customs. But the EU document notes that Eubam should also recruit people with "military expertise" to "provide specialist skills."

After cancelling an October tender to secure Eubam training, the European Union (EU) launched one-on-one negotiations with bidders, including Argus Security Projects. To date, 40 Eubam personnel that are already present in Libya are protected by Argus, which also secures the European official representation office in Tripoli.

Italy, as Libya’s former colonial power, still remains a major interlocutor and donor in Libya, as far as energy and security issues are concerned. As reported by EUobserver and according to the Eubam paper, it seems that Italy set aside at least 250 million euros for Libya for 2012 and 2013, the vast majority of which is being spent on security projects, run by Italy's defence and interior ministries, including:

• Training 60 Libyan border guard officers in Vicenza, Italy

• Teaching 65 Libyan infantrymen at Italy's Army Infantry School in Cesano

• Training 280 Libyan military police in Tripoli

• Teaching another 150 civilian police in using anti-drug sniffer dogs and in forensic crime scene investigation.

Rome is also sending a naval boat to Libyan waters to stop "weapons smuggling," restoring seven Libyan naval vessels and donating 20 VBL Puma armoured vehicles. In addition, two Technical Agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation between Rome and Tripoli were signed. One of these agreements concerns the employment of Italian remotely piloted aircraft to support Libyan authorities in border control activities in southern Libya. Moreover, as reported by Reuters, Libya is going to build a satellite surveillance system with Italian expertise to help secure its borders to stem the flow of Islamist militants and illegal immigrants. Another agreement on training Libyan personnel has also been signed, and will be implemented either in Libya or in Italy, in order to improve common security.

France has already agreed to train 1 000 Libyan police in counter-terrorism and plans to train another 1 500, Foreign minister Laurent Fabius said on the sidelines of a regional border security conference in the Moroccan capital Rabat, as reported Reuters. In addition, still according to EUObserver, France is currently training 75 bodyguards to protect Libyan VIPs, 30 Libyan airmen, 20 naval officers as well as 72 naval divers. These training sessions have been delivered partly by DCI AIRCO and NAVFCO since early 2013.

The United Kingdom is also very keen to enhance the Libyan Army’s capabilities. The Foreign Office acknowledges that the British Army is training 2 000 Libyan soldiers in basic infantry skills. Furthermore, according to an undisclosed source close to the security services, the British are currently conducting training Libyan intelligence agents in a secret location somewhere in Scotland.... Meanwhile, London has appointed a "Defence Assistance Team" within the Libyan Ministry of Defence, plus a "strategic adviser" to the Ministry of the Interior.

Germany is helping to prevent nuclear fuel in Libya's Tadjoura research centre from getting into the wrong hands. It is also spending 600 000 euros on "disposal of chemical weapons" and 800 000 euros on securing Libya's stocks of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

The US and some of its allies in the region - including Jordan, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates - are also working on a big scale. According to EUobserver and Commentary Magazine, Washington is going to train between 5 000 and 8 000 Libyan soldiers and a separate, smaller unit for specialized counterterrorism missions - potentially in Bulgaria, as reported by The Complex. The US has already launched a $20 million programme on "justice sector reform, arms control and land border security," which involves "contracted personnel" from private security firms in Libya and US personnel in "neighbouring countries," such as Morocco.

A group of 220 Libyan soldiers recently flew to Turkey to start three and half months of military training. The soldiers are the first group of a total of 3 000 troops who will be trained at the Egirdir Commando School, as part of an agreement between the two countries.

Denmark, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain are also about to implement military training or assistance projects, although on a smaller scale. According to a recent statement from Libya's oil ministry, the country is currently producing just 700 000 barrels a day, but could quickly get back to pre-war levels of 1.4 million barrels if things go well.

EU and US oil contracts aside, Libya may soon have a lot of money to spend on security equipment, public infrastructure and military hardware. It is therefore urgent to provide a stable environment necessary to achieve this kind of bright future… The bees are therefore flying around the Honey pot…