May 21, 2013 idrw.org (source FG)

Israel may act to stop any attempt to transfer Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles from Syria to Lebanon. Such a scenario is possible if the Assad regime in Syria feels it is losing control of the country in a future phase of its civil war.

According to reliable sources, at least one shipment of Russian-made S-300 missiles has been transferred to Syria.

Israeli sources say this act is a “game-changer” – especially as Syria is the middle of a bloody civil war.

Israeli sources said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) may have to act on “developing” circumstances in Syria. The S-300 missiles would pose an immediate threat to Israeli air force (IAF) aircraft flying in the area.

The sources confirm that at present there are two possible scenarios – an attempt to hit an IAF aircraft flying over Lebanon, and the transfer of some of the S-300s to the Hezbollah terror organisation in Lebanon.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on 16 May that his country plans to go ahead with its shipment of S-300 missiles to Syria.

He added that  the deal had been sealed before recent air strikes on Syria reportedly carried out by Israel.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Moscow last week to urge Russian president Vladimir Putin not to sell the state-of-the-art anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.

However, the long effort that culminated in the meeting of the two leaders failed.? The missile – one of the most advanced types used by the Russian army – can neutralise aircraft at a long distance with high precision, thanks to a sophisticated radar system combined with special sensors on the missile itself.

The S-300 missile, according to experts, is capable of overcoming part of the defence systems installed at present on board the IAF’s aircraft.

The system can simultaneously handle several targets, and launch missiles according to the perceived level of threat from each target.

The S-300 missile is 7 metres long and weighs 1.5t. It’s armed with a warhead weighing more than 70kg. The missile is effective at ranges up to 150km, at an altitude of up to 30km.

Foreign sources say the IAF is familiar with the capabilities of the S-300 – this after Israeli pilots flew simulated missions against batteries of the type, that are in use by some unidentified country.

One thing is clear – In addition to an unprecedented effort to get real-time intelligence about Syria’s chemical weapons, now Israeli sensors are pointing at the S-300s already in the country.

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 20 (UPI)

Swedish manufacturer Saab is upgrading its bid for Brazil's long-delayed FX-2 jet fighter purchase plan, even as it weighs challenges from formidable rivals Boeing and France's Dassault.

Saab is one of the three leading contenders for Brazil's jet fighter replacement program, said to be worth $6 billion-8 billion but wants to make sure its jet will compete successfully for roles in both the Brazilian air force and navy.

Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault's Rafale-M have already demonstrated their multirole fighter capabilities extend from air force to naval operations. Saab ran tests on a naval version of its Gripen NG with the aim to show that its jet, if successful in the FX-2 competition, will be equal to the tasks demanded of an all-rounder combat aircraft.

The three companies have invested millions in positioning themselves for a Brazilian decision on the FX-2 acquisition program, which is no nearer the crunch time than it was at when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff put off consideration of the project last year.

Brazil's FX-2 jet fighter acquisition program coincides with a vigorous campaign by the government and local defense industry to develop indigenous aviation industry.

The long delay in the FX-2 program has fed speculation that Brazil may push off again a decision on buying new jet fighters to replace its aging MiG planes. There are also signs the government in backing Brazilian industry initiatives to develop manufacturing capability related to the jet fighter program as much as possible.

Brazil's Embraer has advanced aviation manufacturing capacity that moved over a few years from executive jet making to light attack aircraft and tactical transport and airborne jet refueling systems. But Embraer is many years from developing a jet fighter all on its own.

Saab remains serious about its "Sea Gripen NG" and has been working on the idea since their May 2011 announcement, Defense Industry Daily said on its website.

The Brazilian navy is expected to buy its own fighters to equip a new aircraft carrier and will expect its aircraft to be the same type as those to be chosen by the air force at the end of the FX-2 competition.

That prospect has pitted Saab against proven naval fighters Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault's Rafale-M. The plane maker recently organized a test flight for its JAS-39D "to verify the design's basic suitability for naval conversion," Defense Industry Daily said.

Besides Brazil, Saab identified future demand for naval fighters in countries like India, Italy and the United Kingdom which, in the coming years will be commissioning new aircraft carriers in their navies, Saab's Gripen blog said.

"According to Saab, there is a real and viable market for this type of aircraft," former Brazilian naval aviator Romulo Sobral said in the blog post.

Aiming this market, the company is developing a naval version of JAS-39 Gripen, called "Sea Gripen," which aims to be a variant of its Gripen NG contender in Brazil's FX-2 program.

May 21, 2013 ASDNews Source : Kraken Sonar Systems Inc.

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. announced today that a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, Rhode Island was a complete success.

NUWC Division Newport is one of two divisions of the U.S. Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Its mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems and countermeasures.

In October 2012, NUWC Division Newport and Kraken entered into a CRADA to evaluate the performance of Kraken’s AquaPix® Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (InSAS) deployed from a REMUS 600 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) owned and operated by NUWC.

During 26 AUV missions NUWC and Kraken collected significant amounts of InSAS data in Narragansett Bay and in Block Island Sound against both deployed targets and targets of opportunity.

Kraken’s AquaPix® InSAS demonstrated the capability of generating high resolution imagery to ranges as distant as 200 metres from the sensor. The sonar also demonstrated the capability of generating bathymetry that correlated well with corresponding SAS imagery and compared favourably with bottom maps obtained from an independent bathymetric survey. These test results demonstrated the suitability of a REMUS 600 AUV for hosting an AquaPix® InSAS sensor capable of generating wide swath high resolution imagery and bathymetry.

"The CRADA with NUWC was an important test and evaluation of our AquaPix® sonar," said Karl Kenny, President and CEO of Kraken. “We are very pleased to have demonstrated the mature performance of our system. These results will give customers an added degree of confidence in deploying Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar solutions.”

Kraken’s AquaPix® InSAS provides much higher resolution imagery at greater ranges than conventional side scan sonars. This is done by replacing traditional sonar hardware with sophisticated signal processing software. The principle of Synthetic Aperture Sonar is that the transducer array length is “synthesized” up to 25 times longer than its actual physical length.

Synthetic Aperture Sonar provides image quality unmatched by conventional sonars and is a key technology whenever high resolution seabed imagery is required. Kraken’s AquaPix® generates detailed 3cm resolution images at ranges to over 200m. In addition, Interferometric SAS can simultaneously deliver 3D bathymetric imagery that enables precision digital terrain models of the seabed. The highly accurate bathymetric data provided by the AquaPix® InSAS exceeds IHO S44 special order requirements.

May. 20, 2013 - By ZACHARY FRYER-BIGGS – Defense News

CAZAUX AIR BASE, FRANCE — The French defense industry — facing a global marketplace where major spenders are confronting budget uncertainty and emerging markets are swarmed by companies aggressively competing for any growth opportunity — appears to be turning to an old environmental adage: reduce, reuse, recycle.

The reduction comes in the form of low-cost weapon development that leans on simulation to cut the number of field tests needed to certify weapons. Many systems are designed to reuse equipment in their overall architecture, allowing upgrades without wholesale acquisition. And in the case of the air-to-ground modular weapons or “Hammer” program, the new precision-guided munitions recycle unspent dumb bombs by adding a booster and guidance system.

“Customization of established technology and systems is not just a prudent approach, it’s the key to innovation and competitive advantage for most product markets in defense,” said Steve Grundman, principal at Grundman Advisory. “In the 21st century, there probably are a handful of military product markets that are nascent enough that competitive advantage requires cutting edge, but most of what militaries need are not ‘higher-faster-farther,’ but ‘better-quicker-cheaper.’ ”

On a recent tour here organized by the French Defense Ministry and sponsored by a number of French defense companies ahead of the Paris Air Show next month, both government testers and industry representatives emphasized the efforts to keep costs down.

Take the Hammer system. The new laser version of the weapon was tested and approved in April after only three live firings, two on stationary targets and one on a moving target truck. Instead of dropping the bomb to verify the laser system was working during early-stage testing, an aircraft was flown with the bomb still attached through much of what would be the weapon’s flight path as the instrumentation and target tracking were tested.

And the weapon itself takes advantage of existing stocks of 250-kilogram bombs by adding a booster to the back of the bomb and several different guidance options as a module on the front.

The system has been specifically designed for the Dassault Rafale fighter jet, but could be made to work with any aircraft, said Helene Romagnan, program manager for Direction Generale de l’Armement, the French military’s procurement agency.

“It isn’t planned, but it could be done fast if the need arises,” Romagnan said.

However, DGA prefers that countries buy Rafales and use the Hammer as a closely integrated weapon, she said.

Another weapon on display here was the 1-meter precision rocket, part of the larger Meter Precision Munitions (MPM) program designed to take traditional munitions systems such as artillery and mortars and convert them for use as precise munitions delivery systems.

The common warhead intended to be used for the different systems developed by the MPM program would deliver high-energy munitions to a concentrated area. By design, the explosion would be limited to an effective radius of 20 meters, allowing for precise strikes with minimal collateral damage.

The development of the MPM program is set to cost the French government €20 million euros (US $ 25.7 million), with industry picking up the tab for the development of each individual system.

The rocket version, developed by the Thales company TDA Armements, again used new development techniques to avoid a large number of live firings. The rocket was put on a five-axis simulator to test the guidance system without having to put the rocket on a helicopter.

The new rocket can be fired using the existing rocket tubes on the Eurocopter Tiger, and actually creates less wear and tear on the system by using induction connections to the helicopter systems instead of the wires traditionally attached to rockets.

“It’s really a more intelligent solution,” said TDA engineer Aurelie Buisson. “It’s much safer and more reliable.”

Although the emphasis during the tour here was on cost measures, that doesn’t mean the French defense industry isn’t still pushing the envelope. The surface-to-air missile platform/terrain system, designed as a competitor to the US Patriot missile defense system, uses an Aster missile that has a novel means of course correction. Instead of pushing the nose of the missile using thrusters, essentially changing the direction the weapon is headed, boosters are used to jump the entire body of the missile in one direction.

But the emphasis of nearly every program on display was the methods used to keep costs down and make the product affordable for global customers.

It’s a technique that most global competitors are turning to, Grundman said. “If the French have good examples of this approach, kudos to them, but they would not be alone.”

May 20, 2013 By Ross Babbage - Flashpoints

Is Australia’s new submarine program being driven by careful assessments of the country’s future defense strategy or more by short-term electoral considerations? This is a key question leading up to Australia’s national elections on September 14.

The Labor Party government revealed back in May 2012 that it had ruled out the option of a nuclear-powered submarine and commissioned detailed assessments of four conventionally-powered options:

-       An existing off-the-shelf foreign design.

-       A modified off-the-shelf foreign  design

-       An evolved Collins-class design

-       Development of a completely new submarine design in Australia.

Then, when Prime Minister Gillard released the 2013 Australian Defense White Paper on May 3, she announced she’d narrowed the options to the last two. The prime minister also confirmed her commitment to purchase 12 new submarines, which she said would be assembled in South Australia.  In addition, she revealed that the government had commissioned the development of a land-based facility to enable the full-scale testing of submarine propulsion, system integration and support services.

In order to provide sufficient time for this process of design, testing, construction and commissioning, the Minister for Defense, Stephen Smith revealed that the six existing Collins-Class submarines would be extended until at least 2038. No plans were released for the maintenance and upgrading of the Collins Class boats, nor estimates of the costs of operating these boats for 45 and possibly even 50 years.

In light of these developments, what are the main issues now confronting Australia’s new submarine program?

First, it should be noted that there is a strong prospect that the Australian government will change following the national elections in September and that the decisions announced in this month’s White Paper may not be sustained. The opposition parties have announced that if they return to government they will review all defense policies and publish a new White Paper within 18 months.

Second, whoever is in government during the next three years will be choosing the nature of the new submarine program at a time when the regional strategic environment is changing markedly. The most important shift is the substantial growth in China’s military capability and its assertiveness in a number of regional disputes. The Chinese defense budget has risen an average 14 percent annually during the last fifteen years, the PLA-Navy has launched some 50 new submarines since 1995 and Chinese cyber, intelligence and maritime operations have been widespread and deeply intrusive. Most of Australia’s allies and friends in Asia are worried and working to strengthen their defenses. United States and allied dominance of the Western Pacific can no longer be assured in the medium term. Moreover, in contrast to the Cold War, the focus of superpower competition is not on the other side of the world, but in Australia’s backyard.

These developments have fundamental implications for Australian defense strategy and for what prudence dictates the Australian Defense Forces should operate in the 2030-2060 timeframe. All Australian governments will prefer to focus on encouraging positive political and security partnerships with China, North Korea, India, Indonesia and other regional powers. However, given the continuing shift in the strategic balance, defense planners cannot overlook the possibility that in some future contingencies Australia might be subjected to serious coercion and even attack.

In these circumstances, Australian defense planners need to think deeply about the strategy they would employ if the country were directly challenged. Some commentators argue that Australia should focus on small, relatively inexpensive submarines that in a crisis could attempt to mount a barrier defense in Australia’s immediate approaches. The main problems with this strategy are that such a barrier defense would always be porous and it would not force a coercive major power to halt its attacks.

If the Australian Government wishes to have a strong capacity to deter and dissuade a major power, it needs to invest in more than barrier defenses. It needs the capacity to reach out at great distance and threaten targets that the opposing side’s decision-makers value most. Australia, as a non-nuclear weapon state, has only a few options for applying strong strategic leverage (and deterrence) over a long range. Powerful submarines, strong cyber capabilities, advanced air and special force strike capabilities and combined operations with the United States are the primary options.

This logic confers a special strategic importance to Australia’s submarine choice. The new submarines are not just another military capability. While transport aircraft, armored vehicles and supply ships all have important roles to play in the Australian Defense Force, they cannot generate the strategic leverage and the deterrence power of advanced long-range submarines. The types of submarines and associated underwater systems the next Australian cabinet selects will give the country a strong deterrent and leverage in future serious crises, or they will preclude it from having the necessary capacity to use underwater forces to defend Australia with anything but a porous barrier defense.

In the context of this strategic logic there are, unfortunately, no simple, easy or low cost options for a new class of submarines. The off-the-shelf European boats may appear to be relatively cheap but they fall far short of Australia’s operational needs. They are too small, their payload is too limited and their range and time on station is too short. They cannot easily be refitted with the advanced US-supplied combat data and other systems that are already fitted to the Collins boats. Hence they would not be easy to integrate into Australian or allied operations.

The evolved Collins option would provide a much larger submarine, with greater range, endurance and weapon loads. The evolved Collins would also provide a substantial boost to Australian industry. This option would come at a much higher cost and carry availability risk as the first of these boats would probably not be available until 2035.

The option of a completely new design submarine would permit the development and production of an even larger submarine – almost certainly the largest conventionally-powered submarine in the world. This option would place the greatest pressure on Australian industry. These boats would be optimized for long-range, long endurance operations but they would entail acceptance of even higher costs and higher levels of risk. New design boats would also take longer to design, develop and build with the first vessel probably not being commissioned until about 2038.

As with the evolved Collins option, these boats would also be “orphan” submarines in the sense that they would not be operated by any other navy and Australia would need to carry the very substantial design authority and other overhead costs for the full life of the class.

Some commentators have assumed that there is no penalty for Australia in proceeding slowly and cautiously with this program. The problem with this relaxed approach is that the Collins boats are wasting assets that are losing their technological advantage and growing much more costly to maintain. The Collins Class already imposes prohibitive costs on the budget to maintain and these are likely to continue growing. This raises the serious possibility that Australia may not be able to operate a credible submarine force through most of the 2020s and 2030s. Attempting to extend the life of the Collins boats is like trying to maintain a 1993 vintage racing car and expecting it to routinely win races until it is phased out of service in 2038 or 2045. This stretches credulity.

What Australia really needs is a class of large submarines that have been fully proven in another navy, are currently in series production and can perform all of the tasks that the Australian Government requires with low risk and high reliability. This submarine force needs to be available at a comparable cost to the evolved Collins and new design options and capable of operating seamlessly with United States forces. The first of Australia’s new submarines should also be available for commissioning within a decade.

Remarkably, there is a class of submarines that meets all of these requirements well; the United States Virginia Class. The only problem is that like the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China, India and Brazil, Australia would need to accommodate itself to operating submarines with nuclear propulsion.

Ross Babbage is Founder of the Kokoda Foundation and Managing Director of Strategy International (ACT) Pty Ltd.

21 mai 2013. Guysen News International

La Corée du Sud a déployé des dizaines de lance-missiles antichars israéliens de type Spike, (dits missiles Tamouz en Israël) achetés à la compagnie sécuritaire Rafael, à la frontière nord-coréenne, indique un responsable militaire sud-coréen officiel cité par l’agence Yonhap. Ces missiles chargés de protéger la frontière, ont été déployés dans les îles de Baengnyeong et de Yeonpyeong. Ils peuvent toucher l’artillerie du littoral nord-coréen. « Des dizaines de missiles peuvent détruire les infrastructures souterraines de Pyongyang et toucher des cibles mobiles », a ajouté ce responsable militaire.

May 16, 2013 ASDNews Source : Raytheon Corporation

A Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired from the USS Lake Erie destroyed a complex, separating short-range ballistic missile target with a sophisticated separating mock warhead.

Despite stressing conditions designed to challenge the missile's discrimination capabilities, the SM-3 successfully engaged the target using the sheer kinetic force of a massive collision in space.

"Combatant commanders around the globe echo the desire for more SM-3s in the fleet, because their confidence in the defensive capabilities of the missile is extraordinarily high," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "Today was the third successful test of Raytheon's next-generation SM-3, and it should give us all great assurance in our nation's ability to take on a wide range of ballistic missile threats."

The test marks the 23rd successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense. Assessment data gained during this test will be used to support an upcoming SM-3 Block IB production decision.

"Previous tests of the Raytheon SM-3 Block IB proved the weapon against a unitary target and a separating target with a complex debris scene," said Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-3 program director. "This flight test continues to prove the robustness of the missile's discrimination capabilities against threats that are representative of what we'd see in wartime conditions."

The SM-3 is a defensive weapon used by the U.S. and Japan to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Based on the highly successful SM-3 Block IA currently deployed around the world, the SM-3 Block IB incorporates an enhanced two-color infrared seeker and the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System, a mechanism that propels the missile toward incoming targets.

21/05/2013 45eNord.ca (AFP)

L’armée nigériane a annoncé lundi avoir repris cinq localités aux islamistes dans l’État de Borno (nord-est) et elle a décidé d’envoyer mille hommes en renfort, au sixième jour de l’offensive contre les insurgés de Boko Haram dans cette région.

L’armée a «sécurisé les environs de New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo et Chikun Ngulalo après avoir détruit toutes les bases terroristes situées autour de ces localités (…) et assure la protection et la liberté» des habitants, a déclaré le général Olukolade, porte-parole de l’armée nigériane, dans un communiqué.

Toutes ces localités sont situées à proximité de la frontière camerounaise et étaient considérés comme des fiefs du groupe islamiste.

Des milliers de Nigérians ont fui vers des villages du nord du Cameroun.

«Depuis que le Nigeria a décrété l’état d’urgence, ils viennent ici (…) à la moindre détonation», a affirmé à l’AFP lundi une source sécuritaire camerounaise, soulignant que ce sont «des milliers» de Nigérians qui sont arrivés dans l’arrondissement de Fotokol (nord) depuis la semaine dernière

Lorsqu’il a décrété le 14 mai l’état d’urgence dans les États voisins de Borno, Yobe et Adamawa, le président Goodluck Jonathan a reconnu que les insurgés avaient pris le contrôle de certaines zones d’où ils avaient retiré le drapeau nigérian et chassé les représentants de l’État.

Selon les témoignages recueillis précédemment par l’AFP auprès d’habitants, New Marte et Krenoa avaient été les cibles de frappes aériennes par l’armée nigériane, au début de l’offensive la semaine dernière.

Parallèlement, «le siège des armées a approuvé le déploiement de 1 000 soldats supplémentaires dans l’État d’Adamawa et 200 d’entre eux sont déjà arrivés à Yola», la capitale, a déclaré à l’AFP le Lieutenant Ja’Afar Nuhu, porte-parole de l’armée dans cet État.

«Ces soldats supplémentaires vont être déployés dans des zones de tensions dans lesquelles ont eu lieu des attaques terroristes», a-t-il précisé.

L’armée a déclaré dimanche que «les terroristes délogés (étaient) en déroute». Mais une source sécuritaire a confié à l’AFP sous couvert d’anonymat que «l’opération n’est pas aussi facile que prévu».

À Maiduguri, capitale de l’État de Borno et fief historique de Boko Haram, où un couvre-feu permanent est en vigueur dans 12 quartiers, les patrouilles militaires se sont intensifié, lundi, des soldats tiraient en l’air depuis leur véhicule pour libérer le chemin à leur passage, selon des habitants.

L’armée a annoncé lundi y avoir arrêté «environ 120 terroristes alors qu’ils organisaient l’enterrement d’un de leurs commandants» tué la veille.

Les activités commerciales ont presque totalement cessé dans cette ville de plus d’un million d’habitants, a constaté un journaliste de l’AFP, et les gens se sont plaint d’avoir de plus en plus de mal à gagner de quoi vivre.

«Je vends de l’igname, d’habitude je gagne au moins 5 000 nairas (environ 33 $) par jour mais les ventes ont chuté depuis jeudi», s’est inquiété Ba-Kaka Kolo. «Hier, j’en ai vendu à crédit parce qu’un client m’a dit ne plus avoir d’argent».

«On voulait que Boko Haram soit stoppé, mais ce couvre-feu et le blocage des routes affectent notre économie», a-t-il regretté.

Pour couper toute possibilité de ravitaillement des islamistes, l’armée impose un blocus de la région. Conséquence, le prix des denrées grimpe à Maiduguri et dans les localités du nord de Borno, les camions de marchandises ne pouvant circuler librement à l’entrée et à la sortie de la ville.

Jusqu’à présent, l’offensive a fait «quelques dizaines» de morts parmi les insurgés et 3 victimes parmi les soldats, selon l’armée. Il est difficile de vérifier ces informations de source indépendante, et de mesurer l’impact du conflit sur la population civile, car les liaisons téléphoniques sont coupées dans les États de Yobe et Borno.

Les forces de l’ordre nigérianes ont souvent été accusées de violation des droits de l’homme et d’abus envers les civils, au cours de leur répression de l’insurrection islamiste.

Selon l’ONG Human Rights Watch, les attaques de Boko Haram et la répression de l’insurrection par les forces de sécurité ont fait 3 600 morts depuis 2009.

En 2009, l’armée avait pilonné plusieurs quartiers de Maiduguri pendant une vaste opération contre les islamistes, qui avait fait plus de 800 morts dans toute la région.

À lire aussi:

Nigéria: l’ONU s’en mêle et menace Boko Haram de poursuites pour crimes contre l’humanité >>

Nigéria: frappes aériennes et encerclement pour affaiblir les islamistes de Boko Haram >>

L’armée nigériane lance un assaut contre les islamistes de Boko Haram >>

21 mai 2013 Par Elodie Vallerey - Usinenouvelle.com

Le ministre français de la Défense Jean-Yves Le Drian a confirmé ce choix lors d'un voyage officiel aux Etats-Unis le 17 mai.

La France opte donc pour des drones MALE (moyenne altitude longue distance) Reaper pour remplacer ces Harfang vieillissants. En visite à Washington les 17 et 18 mai, Jean-Yves Le Drian a évoqué cette acquisition avec son homologue, le secrétaire américain à la défense Chuck Hagel.

Il a confirmé l'information dans une interview au "Grand rendez-vous Europe1-Itélé-Le Parisien le 19 mai : "Il y a aujourd'hui deux pays au monde qui construisent des drones, les USA et Israël, nous sommes entrés en contact avec les uns et les autres pour pouvoir en acquérir immédiatement", a précisé le ministre français de la Défense.

L'objectif immédiat reste le conflit au Mali. Ainsi, la France doit acheter deux drones Reaper, des drones de surveillance et de combat fabriqués par l'américain General Atomics, pour une livraison avant la fin 2013

Selon Le Drian, la France a "raté le rendez-vous des drones, ce qui est invraisemblable pour une nation qui a un savoir faire technologique, aéronautique, électronique considérable avec des entreprises majeures qui étaient en situation de pouvoir le faire".

En prenant ses fonctions au ministère de la Défense en mai 2012, le ministre confie avoir constaté l'absence de perspective industrielle française sur les drones, qui sont pour lui "un outil indispensable (...)". "Seulement, (en France) il n'y en a pas. Alors qu'est-ce-qu'on fait ? on attend que peut-être un jour certains industriels décideront d'agir d'ensemble pour le produire ? mais ça sera quand ? dans dix ans. (...) il y a une urgence et j'assume cette responsabilité", a-t-il justifié.

"Il faut donc aujourd'hui que, sur notre demande, les industriels français et européens se mettent en relation pour élaborer ce que pourra être demain le drone de nouvelle génération qui sera pas uniquement français, puisqu'il y a la même demande du côté allemand et du côté britannique", a incité le ministre lors de cette interview.

21.05.2013 Ouest-France 

L’engin est virtuel, mais intéresse déjà les marines étrangères, qui ont pu en voir la démonstration en video.

Dans le cadre de son service recherches et développement, le pôle ingénierie de DCNS-Lorient invente les bateaux du futur.

En eaux peu profondes

Le SMX 26, conçu par l’architecte naval Marie Nicod, est un sous-marin capable de naviguer en eaux peu profondes. Il pourrait même rentrer dans un avant-port. Cet engin serait parfaitement adapté aux nouvelles menaces subies au niveau international : piraterie, narcotrafics, terrorisme.

Comme un train d’atterrissage

Il dispose même de trois roues rétractables (à l’image d’un train d’atterrissage) pour lui permettre de se poser sur le fond.

21 mai 2013 comptes-publics.fr

Mardi 21 mai 2013, la commission de la défense de l’Assemblée nationale entend une présentation sur la sécurité de l’information et la cyberdéfense par Agnès Mignot

21 May 2013 By Kang Seung-woo (Korea Times) – Pacific Sentinel