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8 mai 2013 3 08 /05 /mai /2013 07:33
Liban : Déploiement de la FCR en secteur espagnol

07/05/2013 Sources : EMA

 

Du 15 au 18 avril 2013, un sous-groupement tactique interarmes (SGTIA) de la Force Commander Reserve (FCR), s’est rendu sur le  camp Miguel Cervantes dans le secteur Est de la zone d’opération de la Force Intérimaire des Nation Unies au Liban (FINUL) placé sous commandement espagnol.

 

Ces déploiements permettent de développer l’interopérabilité entre les militaires français et les troupes déployées dans le secteur Est et avec lesquelles la FCR peut être amenée à effectuer des patrouilles de contrôle de zone. Dans ce secteur sont déployées entre autres des unités indiennes et indonésiennes.

 

Le SGTIA, composé d’une soixantaine de militaires était armé par un peloton de l’escadron d’éclairage et d’investigation (EEI) du 4e régiment de dragons (4e RD), une section de la compagnie d’infanterie du 152e régiment d’infanterie (152e RI), et un groupe du génie.

 

Durant 4 jours, ce SGTIA a effectué des patrouilles conjointes avec une dizaine de soldats libanais et une dizaine de soldats indiens.

Liban : Déploiement de la FCR en secteur espagnol

Dans le même temps, la compagnie d’infanterie de la FCR, issue du 152e régiment d’infanterie (152e RI), a dispensé des instructions techniques et tactiques sur l’Armement Léger d’Infanterie (ALI). Ils ont présenté le VBCI (Véhicule Blindé de Combat d’Infanterie) ainsi que les matériels spécifiques du génie tels que la tenue de démineur, ou encore la sonde électromagnétique. Le dernier jour a été consacré à des exercices de tirs conjoints avec les soldats indiens et indonésiens. A cette occasion les Français ont pu s’entrainer au tir avec les fusils d’assaut de dotation de ces deux armées, l’INSAS indien et le SS1 indonésien.

Liban : Déploiement de la FCR en secteur espagnol

Présente depuis 1978 au Liban, la France est le cinquième pays contributeur de la Force intérimaire des Nations unies au Liban (FINUL), avec près de 900 soldats, derrière le Népal et l’Italie (1000 soldats chacun), l’Indonésie (950 soldats), et l’Inde (880 soldats).

 

La France arme la Force Commander Reserve (FCR) qui est en mesure d’agir en moins de trois heures au profit de tous les contingents déployés sur l'ensemble de la zone d’action de la FINUL, dans le cadre de la résolution 1701.

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8 mai 2013 3 08 /05 /mai /2013 07:20
The bow of the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) was mounted on the ship in early April. The ship will remain in the drydock in which it was built until November.

The bow of the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) was mounted on the ship in early April. The ship will remain in the drydock in which it was built until November.

 

May. 6, 2013 By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS  - Defense News

 

WASHINGTON — The launch of the US aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford has been moved back from July to November, a consequence of production delays identified two years ago.

 

The move comes weeks after the US Navy and shipbuilder Newport News Shipbuilding moved the ship’s delivery from September 2015 — which has been the contracted date for some years — to early 2016.

 

“We've been tracking and reporting schedule risk for several years and actively working to retire that risk,” Chris Johnson, a spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) said May 7 in an email. “Following a detailed review of the schedule in February 2013, the Navy and the shipbuilder concluded that a delay in the launch would allow the shipbuilder to complete the remaining critical path work and allow for increased outfitting to most economically complete the ship.”

 

Earlier, Johnson acknowledged the problems associated with the first ship of a new design.

 

“Certainly it’s not ideal, but in this case it is very much a first-of-class issue. And those ships have challenges.”

 

The Ford is the first of the CVN 78-class carriers, the first new US carrier design since the mid-1960s. The 100,000-ton ships — the largest warships in the world — are also the first to be entirely designed using computer-aided design technologies.

 

Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the only shipbuilder in the world capable of building full-sized nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

 

The shipbuilder, in a statement released Monday, acknowledged its problems in making up the schedule delays. HII’s statement in full:

 

“Working closely with the Navy, we have revised the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) launch date from July 2013 to November 2013. Although actions to resolve first-of-class issues have retired significant schedule risks, the revised launch date allows increased outfitting and ship construction that are most economically done prior to ship launch.

 

“As the first new design carrier beginning construction in more than 40 years, CVN 78 is designed to provide increased capability and reduced total ownership cost by about $4 billion compared to Nimitz-class carriers. For this first-of-class ship, construction commenced in parallel with design completion based on earlier decisions at [the] Department of Defense. Ongoing design during the construction process caused delay and inefficiencies in procurement, manufacturing, and assembly.

 

“We have demonstrated that delaying launch (and therefore delivery) to allow for increased outfitting and construction prior to launch is the most economical path forward to deliver the tremendous capability and affordability improvements resident in Ford. “

 

NAVSEA also released a statement on the shift in launch date:

 

“The CVN 78 launch date will be revised from July 2013 to November 2013, and delivery will be shifted to second quarter FY 2016. Although shipbuilder actions to resolve first-of-class issues have retired significant schedule risks to launch and stabilized schedule performance, they have not been able to overcome the 17 weeks of schedule pressure identified two years ago.

 

“The Navy and the shipbuilder concluded last month that a delay in the launch would allow the shipbuilder to complete the remaining critical path work and allow for increased outfitting to most economically complete the ship. The ship is expected to be 70 percent complete at launch, well prepared for subsequent shipboard testing.

 

“Ongoing design and new technology development during the construction process caused delays in material procurement, manufacturing and assembly.

 

“First-of-class producibility issues [that impacted the schedule included] the use of thinner steels which caused difficulties with structural erection; new processes for advanced coating systems; and qualification of new material components. The shipbuilder recommended a delay in launch in order to accomplish greater completion levels prior to launch and thereby enable the lead ship to be completed most economically. The Navy agreed.

 

“As reported by the Navy previously in its December 2011 CVN 78 Selected Acquisition Report, the Navy projects a most likely total ship end cost of $12.887 billion. This includes the cost of construction, government furnished equipment, and design funding of $3.3 billion for non-recurring engineering which is the investment in the 11 ship class design (not just the lead ship of the class, CVN 78). Current shipyard construction cost estimates are consistent with this Navy estimate from 2 years ago.”

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8 mai 2013 3 08 /05 /mai /2013 07:20
AIM-120 AMRAAM (right) fitted in a weapons bay of a F-22 Raptor photo USAF

AIM-120 AMRAAM (right) fitted in a weapons bay of a F-22 Raptor photo USAF

May. 7, 2013 By AARON MEHTA  - Defense News

 

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force has requested $841 million in the fiscal 2014 budget for tactical missiles, a jump of nearly $200 million from proposed 2013 levels.

 

The money would fund the purchase of 1,164 missiles, up from 991 in the 2013 proposed base budget. In total, the US Defense Department wants to spend $5.34 billion for “missiles, spacecraft, rockets and related equipment.”

 

The largest financial request is for 199 of Raytheon’s advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs), for which the service requested $340 million. The US Navy, which also uses AMRAAMs, has requested 54 missiles. The budget request also notes that foreign military sales of the AIM-120C7 model are projected at the rate of 200 per year.

 

The Air Force has also requested $291.1 million for 183 joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSMs) designed by Lockheed Martin. An autonomous, air-to-ground precision weapon, the JASSM comes in two models: the baseline version and the extended-range (JASSM-ER) model, which improves the range by more than two and a half times. In the fiscal 2014 request, 80 of the missiles will be of the ER variety, but going forward, the service expects to phase out purchases of the baseline model by fiscal 2017.

 

Other tactical weapons the Air Force has requested include 225 Sidewinder missiles for $119.9 million, 144 small diameter bombs at $42.3 million, and 413 Hellfire missiles designed for use by Predator unmanned aircraft. The Hellfires will cost $48.5 million

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 19:55
Le ministre de la Défense a présidé à Bayonne l’hommage national rendu au sergent Stéphane Duval

 

07/05/2013 Ministère de la Défense

 

Le ministre de la Défense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, était cette après-midi au 1er régiment de parachutistes d’infanterie de marine (1erRPIMa) à Bayonne, pour présider l’hommage funèbre national rendu au sergent Stéphane Duval, mortellement touché dans des combats contre l’ennemi, lundi 29 avril, dans la région de Tin Keraten, au nord-est d’Imenas, à une centaine de kilomètres au nord de Gao.  Le sergent Duval est tombé alors qu’il appuyait les forces maliennes.

 

« Au moment de prendre la parole, je m’incline avec respect devant la douleur qui pèse dans le cœur de chacun – je pense à votre famille, je pense à vos frères d’armes », a souligné le ministre lors de son éloge funèbre. « Mais dans la gravité de cette cérémonie, j’entends aussi la fierté de tous devant l’exemple de votre dévouement et de votre bravoure. Cette fierté, je la partage, comme le Président de la République et la Nation entière, rassemblée par votre nom, celui d’un soldat mort pour la France.»

Le ministre de la Défense a présidé à Bayonne l’hommage national rendu au sergent Stéphane Duval

Jean-Yves Le Drian a rappelé le parcours du sergent Stéphane Duval, entré dans l’armée de Terre comme engagé volontaire au 1erRPIMa à 22 ans.

 

Pour le ministre de la Défense : «Votre action de combat, en appui de nos frères d’armes maliens, illustre de manière saisissante le sens de l’engagement de la France au Mali.»

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 18:50
Draft agenda - 16 May 2013 - Subcommittee on Security and Defence

 

Meeting Thursday 16 May 2013, 10.00 – 13.00

Brussels - Room: Altiero Spinelli (1G-2)

1.         Adoption of agenda

2.         Chair’s announcements

 

With the Council and Commission and EEAS

Jointly with the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development

3.         Exchange of views with Dioncounda TRAORÉ, Interim President of Mali

* * *

Jointly with the Committee on Foreign Affairs

4.         Presentation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs' and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence's study on the positions of Russia and China in the UN Security Council in the light of recent crisis

* * *

5.         EU's military structures: state of play and future prospects

            AFET/7/11451

                        2012/2319(INI)         

Rapporteur:

Marietta Giannakou (PPE)

PR – PE506.335v01-00
AM – PE508.239v01-00

Responsible:

AFET –

 
  • Further consideration of draft report
  • Consideration of amendments

6.         Any other business

7.         Next meeting(s)

  • 20 May 2013, 19.15 – 20.45 (Strasbourg)
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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:55
Livre blanc de la défense : où est la réflexion stratégique ?

07/05 Par Alain Ruello – lesEchos.fr

 

Les banalités recensées tout au long de ces 160 pages laissent perplexe, quand on sait que ce document est censé tracer la nouvelle stratégie de sécurité de la nation pour les quinze années à venir.

 

S’il existait un prix Goncourt des poncifs, il est fort probable que le jury le décernerait à l’unanimité cette année au Livre blanc de la défense. Pour celui qui est prêt à y consacrer le temps nécessaire, sa lecture attentive est édifiante à de nombreux égards : la collection de banalités, de truismes et d’enfoncements de portes ouvertes tout au long des 160 pages laisse pour le moins perplexe venant d’un document qui, doit-on le rappeler, est censé tracer la nouvelle stratégie de sécurité de la nation pour les quinze années à venir.

 

Entre rappels historiques, géographiques et autres définitions qu’on pourrait croire tirées tout droit de Wikipedia, le tout sans aucune illustration, il ressort de ce Livre blanc un sentiment de platitude. Après neuf mois de réflexions, on pouvait espérer un peu plus de profondeur d’analyse, un peu plus de prise de risque. Petite sélection des meilleurs passages que n’aurait pas renié M. de La Palice.

 

Pour ceux qui ne s’en seraient pas rendu compte, on nous rappelle page 11 que « nous vivons dans un monde où le développement des réseaux et la circulation toujours plus intense des personnes, des marchandises, des capitaux et des informations relativisent la notion de frontière ». Au moins, le décor est planté. Un peu plus loin : « Face aux risques et aux menaces, la première condition du succès demeure la volonté déterminée d’y faire face en consentant l’effort nécessaire. » Soit.

 

Un peu de rattrapage scolaire pour continuer : « La France est présente sur tous les océans et sur la plupart des continents, notamment grâce aux outre-mer » ; « L’ouverture de la France au monde est également renforcée par la participation active de notre pays à de nombreuses organisations multilatérales » (liste fournie) ; « Membre fondateur de l’Union européenne, la France appartient à un ensemble de 500 millions de citoyens unis par des valeurs communes de démocratie, de justice et de paix. » Pas faux…

 

Nous voilà arrivés au chapitre II consacré aux « fondements » de la stratégie de défense et de sécurité nationale. Il en ressort (après de longues réflexions ?) que la France entend inscrire «  ses actions dans une légitimité nationale et internationale ». Le lecteur est rassuré. Enfonçons le clou pour les sceptiques : « Comme les autres membres de l’Union européenne, la France estime qu’un ordre international fondé sur le droit plutôt que sur la force est une condition essentielle de la sécurité internationale. » C’est dit.

 

Plongeons à présent dans l’état du monde pour y lire qu’une « crise majeure en Asie aurait des conséquences économiques, commerciales et financières très sérieuses pour l’Europe ». Petit rappel historique au passage : « La péninsule coréenne reste divisée par l’une des dernières frontières issues de la guerre froide. » Plus près de chez nous, avec d’importantes élections en vue, « l’Afghanistan s’apprête à vivre une période charnière de son histoire ». Ce que les talibans, on l’imagine, doivent se répéter tous les jours…

 

Le meilleur peut-être : « Une épidémie peut devenir pandémie si elle n’est pas enrayée dès l’origine. » A méditer ! A moins que ce ne soit cette sentence imparable sur la mondialisation : « C’est un accélérateur et un amplificateur, pour le meilleur comme pour le pire. » Ou celle-ci : « Une catastrophe naturelle ou technologique peut provoquer un dysfonctionnement grave des structures publiques et privées, voire un grand nombre de victimes, les blessés nécessitant des soins parfois très spécialisés, notamment en cas d’atteinte par des produits chimiques ou des radiations nucléaires. »

 

Trois autres perles pour finir : « L’Union européenne est désormais dans une situation de voisinage avec la Russie » ; « Un conflit dans le golfe arabo-persique pourrait avoir des répercussions graves et variées » ; « Notre capacité à mettre en œuvre nos accords en coordination étroite avec nos alliés est indispensable. » Quant au chapitre sur l’industrie, la concentration de déclarations d’intention est impossible à résumer, faute de place.

 

Dire qu’il a fallu une commission en grande pompe, nommée par décret de la République, pour aboutir à cela : des parlementaires, des hauts fonctionnaires, la fine fleur de l’armée française, des personnalités « qualifiées », deux étrangers « embedded », le tout sous la baguette d’un conseiller maître à la Cour des comptes. Conseil à ceux qui ne l’auraient pas encore lu   se limiter à la « conclusion récapitulative » (pages 133 à 140).

 

Soyons juste, le Livre blanc 2008 préfacé par Nicolas Sarkozy incorporait aussi son lot de banalités. A sa décharge, c’était le premier depuis 1994 : la nécessité de dépoussiérer la stratégie de sécurité nationale imposait d’en passer par là. Mais, avec celui qui vient d’être rendu public, on sombre dans le consensus mou. A tel point que la partie « utile » se limite aux priorités stratégiques (quasi inchangées), mais surtout au budget et à ce qui en découle : le format de l’armée. Et pour cause, puisque le fait majeur depuis 2008, c’est la crise de l’endettement qui impose un nouveau déclassement de la Grande Muette.

 

Plutôt qu’un nouveau Livre blanc, il eût sans doute été plus utile de se contenter d’une actualisation du contexte géostratégique en quelques semaines, pour attaquer plus tôt la préparation de la loi de programmation militaire, dont tout va dépendre en fait.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:35
Boeing, others investing in South Korea

SEOUL, May 7 (UPI)

 

Boeing and six other U.S. companies have reportedly promised to invest $380 million in South Korea.

 

The pledges of direct foreign investment were made Monday to South Korean government officials visiting the United States along with South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

 

"The decisions of the seven U.S. corporations demonstrate their trust in the South Korean economy without regard to various uncertainties in the country," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick said.

 

"Based on the new administration's resolute diplomatic and security policies, we will make active and strategic efforts to attract foreign direct investment."

 

The Korea Times newspaper reported that Boeing will invest $120 million to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul center for F-15K Slam Eagle avionics components in South Gyeongsang province. The facility will be the first Boeing MRO facility in Asia.

 

U.S. company Curtiss-Wright will invest $30 million in South Korea to shore up its capacity in nuclear reactor valves, while Almost Heroes, an animation studio, will make a $20 million investment for creation of products to will be screened in the United States.

 

The newspaper quoted the minister as saying the other U.S. companies would invest in solar cells, leisure facilities and logistics centers.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:35
Japan, Taiwan Upgrade Strike Capability

May. 6, 2013 By WENDELL MINNICK and PAUL KALLENDER-UMEZU    Defense News

 

TAIPEI AND TOKYO — Japan’s main movements on precision strike involve upgrading its Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet fleet with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) capability, and working on a more accurate surface-to-surface missile.

 

Taiwan, meanwhile, is pushing forward on a variety of secret missile programs designed to punish mainland China for daring to cross the center line of the Taiwan Strait. These include a new land-attack cruise missile, medium-range ballistic missile, and two new anti-ship missiles powered by ramjets.

 

Japan is focused on deterring and defending against raids by foreign guerrillas and special operations forces, with JDAMs considered a useful tool against such forces. Since 2011, the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) has been steadily adding JDAM capability to its F-2 fighter, spending ¥2.1 billion (US $21.4 million) to equip 12 fighters with JDAM kits in 2011, ¥2.8 billion in 2012 for 20 fighters, and ¥1.3 billion this year to equip an undisclosed number of F-2s.

 

Defense Ministry spokesman Takaaki Ohno said the MoD plans to equip its F-2s with what it calls “JDAM capability.”

 

Unconfirmed Japanese press reports say the JDAM kits are for Mk-82 225-kilogram bombs. Japan’s fleet of F-2s also carries a range of free-fall bombs with GCS-1 IIR seeker heads. The ASDF’s fleet consists of 63 F-2s and about 150 Mitsubishi F-15J and 45 F-15DJ Eagles, and it still flies around 80 aging Phantom F-4s of various stripes.

 

The MoD is spending ¥1.3 billion to develop a surface-to-surface missile with improved guidance and extended range to succeed the Type-90 surface-to-surface missile. To reduce cost, the missile will be developed based on the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Type-12 surface-to-ship missile. The missile can be guided by updated target information from helicopters. The Type-90 ship-to-ship missile is a 260-kilogram solid-propellant and ship-launched variant of the turbojet engine-propelled 150-200 kilometer range SSM-1.

Japan, Taiwan Upgrade Strike Capability

Taiwan's Missile Confusion

 

In Taiwan, the Cloud Peak missile program is a land-based, supersonic, anti-ship missile system, according to a Taiwan defense analyst with close ties to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).The news is contrary to previous media reports that Cloud Peak is the same as the medium-range ballistic-missile (MRBM) program or that it is the new land-attack cruise missile (LACM).

 

The MND did not respond to requests for further program information.

 

The defense analyst said the MRBM project exists but is a separate program.

 

“Don’t know its current project name. It’s been changed many times since the early 2000s, when it was originally known as Ti Ching, which literally meant ‘Distant Pacified,’ ” which is traditionally associated with barbarians to the far west of China, the analyst said.

 

Cloud Peak is an extended-range supersonic anti-ship cruise missile, based on a much enlarged version of the Hsiung Feng-3 anti-ship missile, intended to be land-based and used against invasion fleets from China’s southeastern coast, he said.

 

“In fact, this is the production project name for the system formerly known by the code name for its base construction project: Hsiang Yang or Xiangyang,” he said.

 

The Cloud Peak’s range and payload capabilities fall well under Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Category 1 limitations, “so I doubt it would attract significant US opposition just yet,” he said.

 

The MTCR is a voluntary partnership among nations to stop the proliferation of missile technology allowing for payloads of 500 kilograms and a range of 300 kilometers.

 

The Taiwan source said the Obama administration wants to distance itself from major new Taiwan arms sales and “has been urging Taiwan to go asymmetric.” The US government will “basically try to stay out of Taiwan’s way, so long as Taipei keeps any such counterstrike projects low-key.”

 

Despite Taiwan’s best efforts to develop precision strike weapons, the source said Taiwan could not defeat an all-out Chinese attack.

 

China has roughly 1,500 Dong Feng 11/15 short-range ballistic missiles targeting the island and an unknown number of LACMs, according to Pentagon estimates.

 

Taiwan has also begun fielding its first LACM, the Hsiung Feng 2E. The Missile Command’s 601 Group has three squadrons of the system deployed in ground-mobile launchers. In photos widely published throughout the Internet, the launchers are painted pastel blue and disguised as “Red Bird Express” delivery trucks.

 

Taiwan’s Navy has begun fielding its first ramjet supersonic anti-ship missile, the Hsiung Feng 3, aboard its Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, and might also deploy it on the Lafayette and Knox-class frigates, MND sources said. Known as the “carrier killer,” it has a range of 150 to 200 kilometers.

 

The objective is “to complicate Chinese strategic calculations by raising the strategic uncertainty of military action against the island, to disrupt the tempo of People’s Liberation Army operations, thereby mitigating their intended effects and affording Taiwan more time to seek outside assistance/intervention,” the Taiwan defense analyst said

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:30
photo Rafael

photo Rafael

May. 6, 2013 By BARBARA OPALL-ROME – Defense news

 

Adapts Older 1,000-lb. SPICE for JSF

 

TEL AVIV — Israel’s state-owned Rafael is expanding its SPICE family of autonomous, jam-resistant, surgical standoff weapons with a new 250-pound missile against fixed and moving targets.

 

Now in advanced development, the newest version of the company’s Smart, Precision Impact, Cost-Effective (SPICE) weapon — known here as SPICE250 — features the same day-night electro-optical seeker and advanced scene-matching algorithms that allow 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound SPICE missiles to autonomously home in on preplanned targets some 100 kilometers away.

 

Like the much larger, combat-proven SPICE weapons, the downsized SPICE250 is designed for “one-shot, one-kill” without having to rely on satellite guidance or target coordinates, industry sources here said. The new SPICE250 features advanced data link communications, a multieffect warhead and inherent bomb damage assessment capabilities that optimize the standoff system for strikes against moving targets.

 

“We believe SPICE250 will be a compelling extension of the SPICE family. It’s a versatile system relevant for all target sets, with the ability to engage a single pixel and nothing else,” said Yuval Miller, Rafael’s director for air-to-surface systems.

 

Miller said the SPICE250 has the potential to answer operational needs now supported by a combination of munitions, including laser- and GPS-guided standoff penetration weapons.

 

“It could very well change the way air forces organize their inventory and build their force,” he said.

 

Miller said the firm already is under contract to supply SPICE250 to the Israel Air Force and is working to expand its portfolio of international customers.

 

The Rafael executive said the new weapon could be integrated on a variety of platforms, with initial plans focused on F-16Is.

 

In an interview following the November 2012 Pillar of Defense campaign in Gaza, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) brigadier general said the service aims to enhance its air-to-ground strike arsenal with systems offering greater precision and multimission flexibility.

 

The officer, head of the air branch on the IAF staff, said the service employed nearly 100 percent precision-guided munitions against 1,400 separate targets during the eight-day Pillar of Defense operation, with success rates “in significant excess of 90 percent.”

 

The IAF general did not mention SPICE or other specific weapons slated for multiyear funding, but credited local industry for its “intimate knowledge of our cur­rent and future operational requirements.”

 

The Rafael SPICE, particularly the 2,000-pound version, was proven in Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon; the December 2008-January 2009 Cast Lead operation in Gaza; and most recently in the Pillar of Defense anti-rocket war in Gaza.

 

Israeli defense and industry sources said the SPICE250 would provide a locally made option to requirements now answered by the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) by Chicago-based Boeing or the new SDB II by Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon.

 

Israel has procured hundreds of the Boeing SDBs for launch against fixed targets from F-15Is.

 

The Raytheon SDB II is slated for low-rate production later this year and has not yet been offered to foreign customers. In addition to its planned use against moving targets by a broad range of manned fighters and bombers in the U.S. inventory, SDB II has been proposed for launch by the MQ-9 Reaper UAV.

 

SPICE1000 for JSF

 

In parallel, Rafael plans to integrate its 1,000-pound SPICE on Israel’s planned fleet of F-35I Joint Strike Fighters (JSF).

 

The US government has not yet authorized Israel to integrate its own weapons into the F-35’s internal bays, but a defense source in Washington said permission is likely to be codified in negotiations toward a follow-on contract for remaining aircraft.

 

“There are understandings that could be implemented in follow-on agreements,” a US defense source said. “We understand Israel’s desire to integrate unique weaponry and subsystems [into the F-35] and they understand our concerns, especially regarding the risks involved in making changes to such a highly integrated fifth generation fighter.”

 

He added that that prospective US permission would likely be limited to JSFs destined for Israel, and probably would preclude Israeli exports of internally carried JSF weaponry and subsystems.

 

“Our intention is to have the 1,000-pound version actually integrated into the bay,” Miller said. “It will take time, but there is a specific intention by our IAF customers to do this.”

 

With its 100-kilometer precision standoff capabilities and 1,000-pound warhead, Miller said SPICE1000 offers added value not yet planned for the F-35.

 

“The IAF is convinced of its added value and is working with the relevant Israeli and US authorities to make it happen,” he said.

 

According to the website of JSF prime contractor Lockheed Martin, internally carried strike systems now include: 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions; GBU-12 Paveway IIs, the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), SDBs; and SDB IIs.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:30
Northern Israeli Airspace Closed

6/5/2013 Or Heller - israeldefense.com

 

IDF instructs northern Israeli airspace be closed until May 9th. The last time the airspace was closed was during the Second Lebanon War

 

Due to the tension involving Syria, the IDF has instructed that the Israeli northern airspace be closed until Thursday, May 9, in order to prevent disruptions to the activity of IAF aircraft.

 

The last time that the northern Israeli airspace was closed was during the Second Lebanon War. As a result of the closure, the Israeli airline Arkia has cancelled its internal flights between the cities of Haifa and Eilat.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:20
P&W's F100U Engine Powers 1st Arrested Landing of X-47B Unmanned Demonstrator

May 7, 2013 ASDNews Source : Pratt & Whitney

 

Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy have conducted the first fly-in arrested landing of the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator.

 

Conducted May 4 at the Navy's shore-based catapult and arresting gear complex, the test represents the first arrested landing by an unmanned aircraft. It marks the beginning of the final phase of testing prior to carrier-based trials planned for later this month.

 

Pratt & Whitney's F100-PW-220U engine and exhaust system successfully powered the X-47B during the shore-base test.

 

"Our team worked closely with the Navy and Northrop Grumman to get ready for this important test and Pratt & Whitney's propulsion system performed well, allowing the aircraft to launch and complete planned activity during the fly-in arrested landing," said Jimmy Reed, director of Advanced Engine Programs for Pratt & Whitney. "We look forward to making history when our engine powers the aircraft during the first unmanned carrier trials later this month."

 

The arrested landing test culminates more than three months of shore-based carrier suitability testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The testing included precision approaches, touch-and-go landings, and precision landings by the X-47B air vehicle.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:20
L-3 selects Rockwell Collins for USAF EC-130H avionics upgrade program

 

 

May 7, 2013 ASDNews Source : Rockwell Collins, Inc

 

L-3 Platform Integration has selected Rockwell Collins as the avionics solution provider for a communication, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) avionics upgrade for the U.S. Air Force EC-130H aircraft.

 

The EC-130H CNS/ATM program calls for upgrading the Air Force’s legacy EC-130H Compass Call aircraft with proven, cost-effective avionics that provide compliance with international CNS/ATM airspace standards meeting necessary calendar year 2020 navigation performance mandates. The EC-130H CNS/ATM avionics suite will also address issues with diminishing manufacturing sources, lowering life cycle costs over the next 20 years.

 

”Our avionics solution provides the EC-130H aircraft with cost-effective CNS/ATM avionics upgrades that meet present and future civil airspace requirements,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager of Airborne Solutions.

 

Rockwell Collins is a leading provider of cost-effective C-130 avionics upgrades, having completed more than 125 C-130 upgrades worldwide over the last decade. This program will provide Air Force EC-130H pilots with some of the most advanced communication and navigation equipment along with improved situational awareness to help them accomplish their missions.

 

Together, L-3 and Rockwell Collins offer proven C-130 CNS/ATM compliant systems and low-risk integration capabilities. The companies have worked together on military avionics and systems upgrades for other military customers and have direct experience working together on CNS/ATM-compliant solutions for other U.S. Department of Defense programs.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 17:20
Canada Drives Toward Precision Weaponry

May. 7, 2013 By DAVID PUGLIESE – Defense news

 

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA — The Canadian military’s concern about civilian casualties, as well as improving its operational capabilities on land, sea and air, is driving a push toward more precision strike weapons.

 

The Canadian Forces has projects underway to acquire precision-guided artillery shells for the Army, upgraded torpedoes for the Navy and is planning for a family of network-enabled weapons for its future fighter aircraft, said military officers and industry representatives.

 

The Canadian Forces declined to comment on future precision strike plans. But at an April 9 meeting with defense industry executives in Ottawa, Royal Canadian Air Force officers listed the purchase of “low collateral damage weapons” and network-enabled weapons as service priorities. Network-enabled weapons are precision munitions with the ability to have targeting information updated in flight using a common data link, as well as allowing other aircraft to direct the weapon.

 

“The bottom line is that it comes down to return on investment — making sure these expensive weapons hit their target — and return on morality,” said Randall Wakelam, a professor at the Canadian Forces Royal Military College who specializes in precision effects on the battlefield.

 

That return on morality, he noted, is based on the desire to avoid civilian casualties, both for political and public relations purposes and because of moral issues.

 

The Army plans to order more Excalibur precision-guided artillery rounds, with a contract expected in the summer. Canada was among the first nations to use the BAE-Raytheon round in combat.

 

In the realm of improving operations, the Navy is upgrading the accuracy of its Mk-48 torpedoes. Through the US Navy this summer, the Royal Canadian Navy will order 36 Mod 7 advanced technology torpedo conversion kits to upgrade some of its existing Mk-48 torpedoes. Those torpedoes will be used by Canada’s Victoria-class submarines, and the conversion kits will provide the weapons with improved accuracy in shallow waters.

 

Denny Roberts, vice president of Raytheon Canada, said the Air Force has purchased the company’s Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and plans to acquire more air-to-ground Enhanced Paveway II weapons to replace the stocks used during the Libyan war.

 

He noted that the next-generation fighter aircraft that Canada hopes to purchase within five years will also need its own precision weapons.

 

The military estimates it will spend CAN $270 million (US $267 million) to CAN $300 million for its initial purchase of new weapons for those aircraft, according to the two-page report, “Estimating the Cost of Replacing Canada’s Fighter Jets.” The report was released Feb. 13 by the Library of Parliament’s research organization.

 

The Air Force has asked for and received briefings on extended-range AMRAAMs and small-diameter bombs, which improve striking at moving targets in all-weather conditions.

 

“They’ve been doing their homework,” Roberts said. “The use of so-called dumb weapons is over for Canada, and you’re seeing all three services go for more precision effects.”

 

Lessons learned from Canada’s participation in the 2011 Libyan war are partially behind the move to boost precision-strike capability.

 

Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, who helped coordinate the NATO air campaign over Libya, highlighted in 2011 and 2012 the need for acquiring munitions that limited damage to vital infrastructure while allowing for precision targeting. Bouchard, now retired, has pointed out that NATO forces were, at times, restricted in their ability to attack targets because of the proximity of civilians.

 

“We have to be able to operate in an environment where targets will be between two buildings, beside a school, between a school and a hospital,” Bouchard told journalists in February 2012. “We must have systems that can actually make the difference, attack the target you have to attack with minimal collateral damage being caused by a shock wave or, obviously, the impact of a larger-yield weapon.”

 

During the conflict, Canada introduced a number of measures aimed at improving strike capability or limiting civilian deaths.

 

Roberts, a former CF-18 fighter pilot, pointed out that the Air Force outfitted its Paveway IIs with a “height of burst” capability. That allowed pilots to determine the altitude at which the bomb exploded, controlling its range of lethality.

 

Air Force CF-18s also dropped joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) during the campaign. The JDAM system uses GPS signals to guide the weapon.

 

Brig. Gen. Derek Joyce said in 2011 that the JDAMs were used because weather conditions over Libya made the use of laser-guided munitions more difficult.

 

He said Canada introduced JDAMs in the final days of the fighting, dropping 13 of the weapons

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:50
Kosovo : exercice « Silver Saber »

07/05/2013 Sources : EMA

 

Du 26 au 30 avril 2013, deux pelotons de l’escadron d’éclairage et d’investigation français (EEI) de l’opération Trident ont participé à l’exercice  Silver Saber au camp de Vrlo de la police du Kosovo à Pristina.

Kosovo : exercice « Silver Saber »

Silver Saber mettait en action près de 500 militaires de la Kosovo Force (KFOR) et une cinquantaine de policiers kosovars. Coordonné par l’Etat-Major de la KFOR, il avait pour objectif de mettre en œuvre les savoir-faire techniques et tactiques de contrôle de foule (CRC) utilisés par les unités en charge de cette mission opérationnelle.

Kosovo : exercice « Silver Saber »

Cette manœuvre interalliée a impliqué les éléments du bataillon de manœuvre tactique du Kosovo (KTM), du battle group multinational Est (MNBG-E), les unités multinationales spécialisées (MSU), avec la participation de la mission européenne EULEX et la collaboration d’unités de la police du Kosovo (KP). Silver Saber s’est déroulé en trois phases : une phase théorique, une phase d’entrainement et enfin une phase de restitution, le 30 avril.

Kosovo : exercice « Silver Saber »

Cet exercice, en plus des procédures habituelles de contrôle de foule, a incorporé au niveau tactique, l’utilisation de gaz lacrymogènes, de lancers de grenades fumigènes à main, de gestion des médias, et d’intervention d’unités d’EULEX et de la police du Kosovo.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:45
Libye: le ministre de la Défense renonce à sa démission

07 mai 2013 16h17 Romandie.com (AFP)

 

TRIPOLI (Libye) - Le ministre libyen de la Défense, Mohamed al-Barghathi, a renoncé mardi à sa démission annoncée quelques heures plus tôt, suite à une demande du Premier ministre Ali Zeidan, a annoncé le gouvernement dans un communiqué.

 

Le chef du gouvernement a demandé au ministre de la Défense de renoncer (à sa démission), a expliqué le gouvernement.

 

Le ministre a fait part de sa compréhension, tenant compte des circonstances que traverse le pays, et a affirmé qu'il continuait dans ses fonctions, a-t-il ajouté.

 

Dans son communiqué, le cabinet a indiqué qu'il n'avait pas reçu de lettre officielle de démission de M. Barghathi.

 

Je me trouve contraint, malgré l'opposition de mes collègues ces derniers jours, de présenter ma démission volontairement et sans hésitation, avait déclaré le ministre deux heures plus tôt devant des journalistes.

 

Je n'accepterai pas que la politique soit exercée par la force des armes dans notre nouvel Etat, avait-il dit.

 

Cette annonce semblait motivée par une loi sur l'exclusion politique des anciens collaborateurs et responsables de l'ancien régime qui pourrait concerner M. Barghathi, qui était commandant des forces de l'armée de l'air du temps du dictateur déchu Mouammar Kadhafi.

 

La loi controversée adoptée dimanche par l'Assemblée nationale libyenne, sous la pression des milices armées, devrait entrer en vigueur dans un mois.

 

Mardi, des miliciens maintenaient le siège des ministères de la Justice et des Affaires étrangères à Tripoli pour réclamer en particulier le départ du chef du gouvernement.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:40
Fifth-Generation Jet Tests May Start in July - Air Force

AKHTUBINSK (Astrakhan Region, south Russia), May 7 (RIA Novosti)

Tests of Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 fighter jets in the Chkalov state flight test center in Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan Region in south Russia may start in July, Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said.

“In two months,” he said Monday when asked when the center would start tests of such jets, adding that the first serial fifth-generation jet may be manufactured in 2014-2015.

United Aircraft Corporation President Mikhail Pogosyan said in April Russia will start state flight tests of the T-50 in 2014.

The fighter jets will enter service with the country’s armed forces in 2016, and not 2015 as was previously announced, President Vladimir Putin said at a live Q&A session with the Russian public in April.

The Defense Ministry had earlier said the jet would be ready in 2015.

Russian Fith-Generation t-50 Fighter Jet

The T-50, also known as PAK-FA (future tactical fighter aircraft), first flew in January 2010 and was presented to the public at the Moscow Air Show in 2011.

The T-50, which will be the core of Russia's future fighter fleet, is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft featuring elements of stealth technology, super-maneuverability, super-cruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar.

Bondarev also said some 60-70 military airfields will be built or reconstructed for Russia’s Air Force by 2020.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:35
FA-50 lightweight fighter (KAI photo)

FA-50 lightweight fighter (KAI photo)

Korea Aerospace has won a second Korean air force production order worth about $1 billion for an unspecified number of FA-50 lightweight fighters. (KAI photo)

May 7, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Korea Aerospace Industries; issued May 7, 2013)

 

KAI Contract for Mass Producing the FA-50

 

KAI announced on May 6th that the company concluded the contract for mass producing the FA-50, amounting to approximately 1.1 trillion won with The Defense Acquisition Program Administration ("DAPA"). In accordance with the contract, subsequent to the first mass production contract which was signed on 2011, KAI plans to deploy the aircraft (first production portion) for preparing for the actual battle beginning in August and seek its entire force integration until 2016.

 

The FA-50 is a light combat aircraft which was developed based on the T-50, a supersonic advanced trainer in order to replace the military's superannuated fighters, like the F-5E/Fs and A-37s. The FA-50 combat aircraft is able to load up to 4.5 tons of weapons including the basic weapons like air-to-air/air-to-surface missiles and machine guns as well as precision guidance bombers such as JDAMs, or joint direct attack munitions and multi-purpose precision guidance CBUs (or cluster bomb units). Also, the FA-50 fighter, complete with a night vision apparatus, has a mission capability both in the daytime and in the night time and boasts its improved self-protection ability for the aircraft itself.

 

“The FA-50 aircraft is excellent in performance compared with the price. Through the operation of the home-grown airplane which is high in terms of operation ratio and is low in terms of maintenance cost, the Korean military's self-reliance defense potential will be doubled," an official at the military said. KAI won the order for the FA-50 PBL, or Performance Based Logistics project in November last year and is in charge of the development and production, stepping forward the subsequent support of the airplane.

 

KAI told, "Through the Korean military's operation ability for the actual battle and KAI's thorough logistics support, the confidence in the performance, safety and follow-up ability of the aircraft are further enhanced, which will accelerate the exports of the home-grown airplanes including the FA-50."

 

In October last year, the FA-50 airplane was verified in terms of a flight safety test of about 1,300 items and acquired the Korea's Type Certification for the first time in the Korea's fighter-class aircraft, securing a bridgehead for exports. KAI, which set a goal for exporting more than 1,000 T-50 series airplanes forecasts positively the exports of the FA-50 and makes effort to export the T-50 series airplanes to other nations, like the Philippines, Iraq and Chile.

 

Thanks to the fact which the worldwide replacement demand for the old and superannuated F-5 and A-37 airplanes is on the increase more and more but the light attack aircraft which is able to substitute those planes is only the FA-50 model or something like it, KAI makes a positive evaluation on exporting the FA-50. The air forces of the nations in the world operate both the high-intensity mission fighters and low-intensity mission fighters at the same time, depending on their operation purpose.

 

In the meanwhile, KAI has won the orders for the FA-50, amounting to approximately 3 trillion won, including the contract thus far and is sailing smoothly to achieve the goal of 6.2 trillion won which the company set this year. "Thanks to the successful large-scale export contracts in the first half of this year, including the order amounting to 1.2 trillion won with Boeing in April in succession to the deal for fuselage parts worthy of approximately 460 billion won with Airbus in March, KAI predicts that its goal set for 2013 will be achieved without difficulty," told KAI.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:35
A BMP-2 Sarath infantry combat vehicle of the Indian Army. Photo: courtesy of Flickr user cell105/SuperTank17.

A BMP-2 Sarath infantry combat vehicle of the Indian Army. Photo: courtesy of Flickr user cell105/SuperTank17.

7 May 2013 army-technology.com

 

The Indian Army will upgrade its entire Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty-2 (BMP-2)/2K infantry combat vehicle (ICV) fleet in an effort to enhance their capability to address operational requirements, the country's defence minister AK Antony has announced.

 

In a written response to the Lok Sabha, Antony said the estimated Rs8bn ($0.14bn) project involved armament upgrade of BMP-2/2K infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to BMP-2M standard, and acquisition of a new powerpack for the IFV.

 

Upgrades include integration of latest generation fire control system, twin missile launchers and commander's thermal imaging panoramic sights, anti- tank guided missiles, as well as automatic grenade launchers.

 

Speaking about the long-pending procurement of 100 155mm/52 calibre tracked self-propelled howitzers, Antony said three domestic vendors, including two private companies, have been selected for trial of their equipment.

 

Without disclosing the vendors' identity, the defence minister noted that the selection forms part of the government's efforts to 'give higher preference to indigenous capacity in the defence sector'.

"The army is seeking a powerpack with a minimum 380hp to replace the BMP-2 ICV fleet's existing UTD-20 powerplant."

 

The army is seeking a powerpack with a minimum 380hp to replace the BMP-2 ICV fleet's existing UTD-20 powerplant, and eventually its performance in cross-country mobility, as reported earlier by The Times of India.

 

A second-generation amphibious IFV, the BMP-2 is also called Sarath in the Indian Army's service, and is manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak under license from Russia.

 

More than 1500 BMP-2s are currently operational with the army in various roles, such as armoured ambulance, armoured vehicle tracked light repair, armoured amphibious dozer (AAD), armoured engineer reconnaissance vehicle (AERV), NBC reconnaissance vehicle (NBCRV), carrier mortar tracked, and unmanned reconnaissance vehicle.

 

The vehicle's chassis is also modified and developed into versions such as the Nag anti-tank missile carrier (NAMICA) and the Akash air-defence missile system.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:35
DOD Report on China Details Military Modernization

May 7, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued May 6, 2013)

 

WASHINGTON --- A Defense Department report released today describes China’s military modernization and the Chinese army’s interaction with other forces, including those of the United States, a senior Pentagon official said today.

The annual report -- titled “2013 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” -- went to Congress today and covers China’s security and military strategies; developments in China’s military doctrine, force structure and advanced technologies; the security situation in the Taiwan strait; U.S.–China military-to-military contacts and the U.S. strategy for such engagement; and the nature of China’s cyber activities directed against the Defense Department.

David F. Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, briefed Pentagon reporters on the report. He noted that the report, which DOD coordinates with other agencies, “reflects broadly the views held across the United States government.” The report is factual and not speculative, he noted.

Helvey said the trends in this year’s report show the rising power increasing its rapid military modernization program. “We see a good deal of continuity in terms of the modernization priorities,” Helvey noted, despite the 2012 and 2013 turnover to new leadership, which happens roughly every decade in China.

The report notes China launched its first aircraft carrier in 2012 and is sustaining investments in advanced short- and medium-range conventional ballistic missiles, land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, counter-space weapons and military cyberspace systems.

Helvey noted these technologies all bolster China’s anti-access and area-denial capabilities.

“The issue here is not one particular weapons system,” he said. “It's the integration and overlapping nature of these weapons systems into a regime that can potentially impede or restrict free military operations in the Western Pacific. So that's something that we monitor and are concerned about.”

Helvey said the report provides a lot of information, but also raises some questions. “What concerns me is the extent to which China’s military modernization occurs in the absence of the kind of openness and transparency that others are certainly asking of China,” he added.

That lack of transparency, he noted, has effects on the security calculations of others in the region. “And so it's that uncertainty, I think, that's of greater concern,” he said.

Helvey added the report noted China has “increased assertiveness with respect to its maritime territorial claims” over the past year. China disputes sovereignty with Japan over islands in the East China Sea, and has other territorial disputes with regional neighbors in the South China Sea.

“With respect to these claims, we encourage all parties to the different disputes or interactions to address their issues peacefully, through diplomatic channels in a manner consistent with international law,” he said.

Helvey noted China’s relations with Taiwan have been consistent. “Over the past year, cross-strait relations have improved,” he said. “However, China's military buildup shows no signs of slowing.”

China also is building its space and cyberspace capabilities, Helvey said. He noted that in 2012, China conducted 18 space launches and expanded its space-based intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, navigation, meteorological and communication satellite constellations.

“At the same time, China continues to invest in a multidimensional program to deny others access to and use of space,” Helvey said.

Addressing China’s cyber capabilities, Helvey said the Chinese army continues to develop doctrine, training and exercises that emphasize information technology and operations.

“In addition, in 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the United States government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to [Chinese] government and military organizations,” he added.

Helvey noted a positive trend in U.S.-China engagements over the year, including several senior-leader visits culminating in then-Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s visit to Beijing in September.

The two sides also explored practical areas of cooperation, he said, including the first counterpiracy exercise conducted in September by Chinese and U.S. forces, followed by the U.S. invitation to China to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2014.

“We'll continue to use military engagement with China as one of several means to expand areas where we can cooperate, discuss, frankly, our differences, and demonstrate the United States' commitment to the security of the Asia-Pacific region,” Helvey said.


Click here for the full report (92 PDF pages) on the Pentagon website.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:35
Breaking Down Australia’s Defense White Paper 2013

May 07, 2013 By Rory Medcalf - thediplomat.com

 

Australia has set out to define its military strategy -- with China and the U.S. very much in mind. Rory Medcalf from the Lowy Institute gives us his take.

 

In an increasingly contested Asia, with China rising and America rebalancing, middle powers are struggling to redefine their defense strategies.  One such player, Australia, has now done so in a way that seeks to reconcile its extensive national interests with a close U.S. alliance, a web of new Asian security partners and a relationship of mutual respect with China.

It almost succeeds, but stumbles on a critical factor – money.  The current Australian Labor government is underspending on defense and so far the conservative opposition – likely to win power in an election due this September – is not promising much more.

Four years ago, the then Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd launched a defense white paper amid furious concern about China’s destabilizing rise. A much stronger Australian Defence Force was promised with new-generation submarines, cruise missiles, and joint strike fighters. This blunt document and its unusually clumsy diplomatic handling added to a drumbeat of political mistrust between Australia and its largest customer.

But a lack of credible budgeting undermined this vision of projected Australian firepower, and Canberra was caught committing the cardinal sin of statecraft: speaking loudly whilst carrying a small stick, the opposite of Teddy Roosevelt’s dictum.

With a quite different defense white paper launched last Friday, successor Prime Minister Julia Gillard treads a notably more cautious line, declaring that Australia "does not approach China as an adversary." China is listed this time as a military partner, complete with bilateral exercises, confidence-building dialogue and even an Australia-China Military Culture and Friendship week. 

The document builds on Ms. Gillard’s optimistic narrative of a prosperous ‘Asian Century’. It offers some even-handed and sophisticated appraisals of U.S.-China relations, and some acknowledgement of the need to watch for and manage risk, but does not fully convey how the Asian strategic environment is deteriorating and the possibilities of conflict rising.

So whereas the Chinese saw the Rudd plan as a red rag, it is tempting to caricature Australia’s new strategy as raising a white flag.

That is certainly not fair: alliance commitments still feature fundamentally in Canberra’s military strategy. The white paper says Australia will uphold a rules based-order, is prepared "to conduct conventional combat operations to counter aggression or coercion against our partners," and commits to buying electronic warfare aircraft that could help in such a contingency.

It also confirms steps to use Australian territory in support of the Obama Administration’s Asia pivot, beyond the presence of Marines in Darwin. Notably, airfields in northern Australia and the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean will be upgraded. This needs to be done for Australia aircraft anyway, notably the new P-8A Poseidon fleet currently being acquired, but will open the way to their possible future use by the U.S. military.

Notably, the white paper rejects the idea, advanced by prominent scholar and former official Hugh White, that Australia will somehow have to choose between the United States and China, and emphasizes the likelihood that those powers will succeed in avoiding major conflict.

The white paper also redraws the map of Australian security in a way that may not appeal to Beijing. It makes Australia the first country officially to define its region of strategic interest as the Indo-Pacific. This in itself is not an anti-China move, since the Indo-Pacific is above all an objective description of the super-region in which China is rising, given its large economic, energy and diplomatic equities across the Indian Ocean. And it is a natural fit with Australia’s two-ocean geography and the increasing attention being paid to resources development and military infrastructure in the country’s sparsely-populated north and west.

Still, like the multilateral forums which Australia’s new security policy also endorses (such as the East Asia Summit), this bold promotion of a broad Indo-Pacific canvas may discomfort Beijing insofar as it dilutes China’s influence and cements India’s place in the Asian power game.

From a diplomatic point of view, Canberra’s new document is an admirable balance between affirming alliance ties and not unduly insulting China. Indeed, defense diplomacy is one of the paper’s big themes, with pages devoted to how Australia’s small military is busy deepening constructive engagement all around the region, from Indonesia to India to Vietnam and Japan as well as China.

Yet it is hard to the escape the suspicion that one reason diplomacy gets such a big run in a supposedly military document is that it is much cheaper than preparing for war. For the worst-kept secret of Australian defense policy is that the fiscal cupboard is pretty much bare. The Australian economy has done much better than most developed economies in the post-financial crisis era, but the government still faces a serious budget deficit and a long list of domestic spending priorities in an election year.

This cut-price approach will make it increasingly hard for Australia to possess the cutting-edge forces it would need to contribute substantially to high-end contingencies alongside the United States in Asia. Moreover, highly constrained defense spending is at odds with the white paper’s expansive view of Australia’s national interests and military tasks – from stabilizing South Pacific nations to patrolling the Indo-Pacific commons and protecting the nation’s vast territories and offshore resources.

Last year Defense Minster Stephen Smith pointed to Pentagon austerity post Afghanistan as a precedent for Australia to extract its own peace dividend. This line was too clever by half.

While U.S. military spending is coming down from the unsustainable heights of  4.7% of GDP, Australia’s has hovered at 1.8% since 2001. Last year this was slashed to just 1.56% of GDP, its lowest level since the 1930s.

Australia is resigning itself to a European level of defense spending in a turbulent Indo-Pacific Asia where most military budgets are rising and competitive arms modernization is well advanced. This developed country risks letting its technology edge erode and its strategic weight slip away.

Whilst both sides of Australian politics claim to aspire to an eventual return to defense spending around 2% of GDP, neither is making that a priority.  

In particular, Australia is showing itself in no rush to acquire new submarines, even though it says it will press ahead with building 12 to replace its troubled fleet of six.

In the absence of strengthened maritime capabilities any time soon, Australia is starting to realize the alliance value of its strategic real estate.  An American space-tracking radar is being set up in Western Australia, increased rotations of U.S. bombers through Australian airfields are likely, and greater U.S. Navy access to Australia’s Indian Ocean coast may be next.

But a latent uncertainty in all of this may lie in what Australians think. There is already wariness among Australian elites as to how integrated the U.S. and Australian militaries should become. Even the most pro-alliance voices would naturally want Australia to have a say before it found itself at war.

Polling by Australian think tank the Lowy Institute shows that 55 percent of Australians are comfortable with U.S. bases in their country. But nobody knows for sure how Australians would feel if such bases became launch-pads for action in an Asian century gone wrong. So rather than resolving the nation’s security uncertainties, the new policy document confirms how difficult this will be to manage in the years ahead.

Rory Medcalf is director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute, Sydney. Follow him on Twitter: @Rory_Medcalf

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:30
Turkey's Otokar Unveils New Tracked Vehicle

May. 7, 2013 - By BURAK EGE BEKDIL – Defense news

 

ANKARA — Turkey’s leading armored vehicles manufacturer, Otokar, has revealed what it views as the most strategic indigenous vehicle ever developed by a local company, a tracked armored tactical vehicle, the Tulpar.

 

Analysts said that once the Tulpar has hit serial production, it would end Turkey’s dependence on imported tracked vehicles. But they also say the Tulpar may have to find export markets rather than win huge domestic orders.

 

“The Tulpar is a vehicle the Turkish military needed in large quantities. But the current peace process with Kurdish insurgents will probably mean less local demand than potentially foreign demand for a vehicle like this,” said one London-based analyst.

 

After three decades of civil strife with its autonomy-seeking Kurdish minority and nearly 40,000 deaths, the Turkish government earlier this year launched ambitious peace talks with the militant Kurds. The Kurdish separatist PKK promised to withdraw from Turkish territory as of May 8 in return for broader political rights and constitutional recognition. Turkey, the US and the EU recognize the PKK as a terrorist entity.

 

“The Tulpar is a strategic product for the Turkish military. It is designed to fight all anti-tank assets along with the new-generation tanks Turkey will possess,” Serdar Gorguc, general manager for Otokar, told reporters.

 

The Tulpar boasts an advanced ballistic and mine resistant body and modular armor technology. It can carry an entire infantry squad.

 

Otokar unveiled last year the country’s first national main mattle tank, the Altay, with top government officials promising the program would be completed “one or two years” ahead of time.

 

In 2008, Otokar signed a $500 million contract with the country’s procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries. Under the deal, Otokar will finish building four prototypes of the Altay this year, two years ahead of the original schedule. The four prototypes will undergo performance tests throughout 2013.

 

The SSM selected South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem for overall technical support. Turkey’s Aselsan was chosen as the fire control system and command, control and communications system subcontractor. Also, state-owned MKEK was selected as the subcontractor for the 120mm primary weapon, and Roketsan was tasked with the job to provide the armor.

 

Procurement officials said the serial-production agreement for the Altay would be effective probably in 2017, and together with the expected foreign orders, a first batch of at least 200 tanks is expected to be produced. The Altay probably will be the world’s most modern tank in the 60-ton category by then, Turkish procurement officials say.

 

Otokar also produces several other armored vehicles, the best known being the Cobra, a four-wheel-drive vehicle, used for reconnaissance and area control purposes by the Turkish security forces and the armies of several other countries.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:30
OEF / CTF 150 – CTF 151 : rencontre en mer

07/05/2013 Sources : EMA

 

Le 30 avril 2013, profitant de leur croisement au large de l’Arabie, le bâtiment de commandement et de ravitaillement (BCR) Somme, déployé dans le cadre de la CTF 150 depuis le 14 avril, et la frégate Port Victoria, bâtiment amiral de la CTF 151, ont effectué une rencontre à la mer.

 

A l’invitation du capitaine de vaisseau Jean-Michel Martinet commandant la CTF 150, le contre-amiral singapourien, Hock Koon Giam, commandant la CTF 151, a rejoint le bord du BCR pour discuter des modalités concrètes d’une coopération entre les deux TF lors de patrouilles effectuées dans la même région maritime. A cette occasion, les deux COM TF ont également pu échanger des informations sur la zone traversée.

OEF / CTF 150 – CTF 151 : rencontre en mer

Composante maritime de l’opération Enduring freedom (OEF), la TF 150 contribue à améliorer la connaissance des mouvements maritimes de cette zone sensible afin de lutter contre le terrorisme et ses réseaux de soutien dans la région du golfe d’Adenet de l’océan Indien. Au moins un bâtiment français participe en permanence à ses actions de surveillance, de collecte de renseignement sur les trafics et d’interdictions maritime.

OEF / CTF 150 – CTF 151 : rencontre en mer

De son côté, avec la force européenne Atalante (TF 465) et la force déployée par l’OTAN dans le cadre de l’opération Ocean Shield (TF 508), la TF 151 fait partie des trois forces internationales de lutte contre la piraterie opérant au large de la Somalie. Formée par une coalition emmenée par les Etats-Unis, la TF 151 assure la sécurisation de l’International Recommanded Transit Corridor (IRTC) dans le golfe d’Aden.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:30
Etats-Unis: un projet de loi déposé au Sénat pour armer les opposants syriens

WASHINGTON, 7 mai - RIA Novosti

 

Le président de la commission des Affaires étrangères du Sénat américain Robert Menendez a déposé lundi soir un projet de loi permettant de livrer des armes à l'opposition syrienne, annoncent mardi les médias occidentaux.

 

Ce projet autoriserait le gouvernement à "fournir une aide létale et non-létale à l'opposition syrienne armée". Les groupes seraient sélectionnés selon plusieurs critères, dont les droits de l'homme, le terrorisme et la non-prolifération. Les systèmes portables de missiles sol-air seraient spécifiquement exclus. Actuellement, les Etats-Unis s'abstiennent de livrer des armes aux opposants du président syrien Bachar el-Assad.

 

Le texte prévoit également de former les opposants armés, de créer un fonds de 250 millions de dollars destiné à former les institutions du pouvoir lors de la période de transition, ainsi que des sanctions à l'encontre de ceux qui livrent au régime actuel des armes ou des hydrocarbures.

 

Pour entrer en vigueur, le document doit être approuvé par la commission, par les deux chambres du Congrès et signé par le président des Etats-Unis.

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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:26
 
07.05.2013 Les lieutenants de la division d'application de l'école de l'infanterie sont à Mourmelon pour une phase de spécialisation sur VBCI.
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7 mai 2013 2 07 /05 /mai /2013 16:20
The US Army's new CASUP-updated OH-58F Kiowa Warrior helicopter during its first flight at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Photo: courtesy of Denise DeMonia.

The US Army's new CASUP-updated OH-58F Kiowa Warrior helicopter during its first flight at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Photo: courtesy of Denise DeMonia.

 

3 May 2013 army-technology.com

 

The US Army's new cockpit and sensor upgrade programme (CASUP) modernised OH-58F Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopter has conducted its first ceremonial test flight at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

 

Designed to address obsolescence issues in the aircraft and its sensor capabilities, the CASUP programme converts the existing OH-58D Kiowa Warriors into OH-58F models, which represents a major modernisation to the helicopter in the last 20 years.

 

A significant change is the relocation of the helicopter's mast-mounted sensor payload, featuring improved optics, infrared sensor, laser pointer and laser spot tracker, to the front to help pilots better acquire targets in challenging conditions.

 

Kiowa Warrior Training and Doctrine Command capability manager colonel John Lynch said the decision, which leaves aircraft slightly more exposed to threats, follows consideration of operations conducted over the past 12 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

"With the linkages that are provided through communications, through manned-unmanned teaming in the current generation of aircraft as opposed to the original OH-58D in the late 1980s, and teaming with other aircraft such as the AH-64 Apache, we believe we will be able to overcome that risk and still perform the mission in major combat operation-type environment," Lynch said.

 

Weighing 160lb lighter than the D model, the OH-58F helicopters feature a new digital cockpit that can be customised to display mission related information, doubled processing speed, as well as separate map and data viewing capability for the pilot and co-pilot.

 

Meanwhile, the Redstone Arsenal has already started production of Prototype Qualification 1 OH-58F, as the army is awaiting a decision to either pursue Kiowa Warrior replacement programme, called Armed Aerial Scout (AAS), or overhaul the helicopter with a service life extension programme (SLEP).

 

If approved, the SLEP programme will cover production of a total of 368 OH-58F Kiowa Warriors from 2017 to 2025.

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