source defense.gouv.fr

08/09/2011 Direction générale de l'armement

La Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) a commandé à Panhard General Defense, le 6 septembre 2011, 200 PVP destinés à l’armée de terre. Cette commande s’ajoute au marché initial de 933 PVP passé en 2004 et dont le dernier exemplaire sera produit en décembre 2011. Ces 200 PVP supplémentaires seront livrés en 2012.

Le PVP est un véhicule 4x4 moderne, équipant les cellules de commandement des unités d’artillerie et de génie, ainsi que certaines unités spécifiques de l’infanterie parachutiste et alpine, de la circulation et du renseignement. Aérotransportable, blindé et très mobile, il peut transporter jusqu’à 4 passagers. Il dispose d’une mitrailleuse de 7,62 mm qui, pour certains emplois, est installée sur un tourelleau téléopéré de l’intérieur du véhicule. Le PVP est déployé au Liban depuis fin 2009 et en Afghanistan depuis début 2010.

Les PVP sont produits sur les 2 sites industriels de Marolles-en-Hurepoix (Essonne) et Saint-Germain-Laval (Loire). Le programme PVP a représenté jusqu’à présent un total d’environ un million d’heures de travail pour Panhard et ses sous-traitants.

The Nimrod MRA4 project was axed photo BAE Systems

07/09/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

Late last year, the UK armed forces were rocked by the effects of a Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) process overseen by a new coalition government determined to tackle a massive budget deficit head-on.

Almost 12 months later, the defence industry will gather for its largest post-SDSR coming-together at the Defence & Security Equipment International show, or DSEi, which will be held in London's Docklands on 13-16 September.

Since the event was last held two years ago, the UK has lost its fixed-wing carrier strike capability with the early retirement of its BAE Systems Harrier GR7/9s, and seen its replacement maritime patrol aircraft, BAE's Nimrod MRA4, axed after a programme investment of over £3 billion ($4.8 billion).

Also gone are two of the Royal Navy's three Invincible-class aircraft carriers and the Royal Air Force's last Panavia Tornado F3 fighters and Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft. Two squadrons equipped with the Tornado GR4 strike aircraft have also recently been disbanded, with the move having also trimmed a fleet that is expected to remain in use until around 2020.

Dramatic in nature, these cuts were adopted against a backdrop of the UK's recent withdrawal of forces from Iraq, and with plans in place for the country to end its combat commitment in Afghanistan around 2015, following the progressive transfer of control to local authorities. But the rise of the "Arab Spring" movement in nations across the Middle East and North Africa throughout this year has provided an unexpected test for a military hard-hit by the spending cuts introduced by UK defence secretary Dr Liam Fox.

In announcing the recommendations of the SDSR last October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said his country's coalition government was seeking to tackle an investment "black hole" inherited from the previous Labour administration, which it valued at £38 billion. Failure to tackle this shortfall now could result in a more "severe recalibration in the future", Fox told the Royal United Services Institute's Air Power conference in London in mid-July.

The SDSR has received much criticism for the swift nature of its completion and the severity of its cuts. Speaking at the same event, one analyst described the process as having been "four years in anticipation, but only four months in gestation".

Sir Brian Burridge, Finmeccanica UK's vice-president, strategic marketing, and formerly one of the RAF's most senior ranking officers, drew a different analogy when referring to the loss of key capabilities. "The concern is that this government might come out of the supermarket without a balanced meal, and that the next time it goes the shelves will be empty," he said.

© SAC Simon Armstrong/Crown Copyright Tornado GR4s will serve until around 2020

DSEi will provide a focus for the UK's defence contractors to pursue already planned deals and fresh business, both at home and on the international stage. It will also highlight the security opportunities available, with London preparing to host the Olympic Games in mid-2012.

Speaking at a pre-show media briefing on 6 September, minister for international security strategy Gerald Howarth identified the role that global defence and security sales could play in helping to repair the UK's economic prospects. "Exports are critical to a sustainable recovery," he said. "The UK defence industry is proving itself to be well-placed to weather the storm."

With UK defence exports having totalled around £6 billion in 2010 - when it was second only to the USA in terms of total exports - and security systems around £2 billion more, selling on the global stage is a vital requirement at a time of domestic squeeze. Current targets include closing a proposed government-to-government deal to supply Eurofighter Typhoons to Oman, and a campaign to offer the same type for India's medium multi-role combat aircraft deal.

The Typhoon made its combat debut for the UK as a multi-role platform earlier this year, with the RAF employing the type's air-to-surface weapons against regime targets in Libya. Perhaps crucially for the European type, the fighter also looks set to receive an active electronically scanned array radar enhancement, while MBDA's Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile also should be available for operational use from around 2015.

But more attention at DSEi will be given to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which will be on display as a full-scale mock-up. However, reflecting the UK's last-minute decision to swap to the C-model carrier variant, the design on show will be in the short take-off and vertical landing guise.

To meet the Joint Combat Aircraft requirement from late this decade, the F-35C will be flown from the Royal Navy's (RN's) two future aircraft carriers, with the combination to reintroduce a big-deck operating model last employed by the UK in the late 1970s.

© BAE Systems F-35Cs will fly from the UK's future carriers

One source previously involved with the JSF programme describes the SDSR's surprise variant switch as potentially "one of the most catastrophic procurement decisions ever made". Abandoning years of experience in flying vertical/short take-off and landing Harriers could end up costing UK taxpayers billions of pounds extra, the source claims, as a result of the additional training needed to ensure pilots maintain proficiency. Regaining this skill is already a focus of attention, with the RN looking to train a new cadre of Fleet Air Arm officers on US Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The UK's exact requirements for the F-35 have yet to be set, but the Ministry of Defence has previously identified a need for up to 138 of the aircraft. An initial three F-35Bs were ordered to participate alongside the US military during initial operational test and evaluation of the new aircraft, but the allies are working out the details of a deal to exchange the last example for an F-35C.

The new type could achieve initial operating capability as a land-based asset from roughly 2018, before launching embarked operations around 2020. Its introduction must be balanced with the planned draw-down of the Tornado GR4 force: an activity that Fox says will be "particularly challenging".

Some level of funding commitment will be required next year, to cover the order of long-lead items for an initial batch of around 16 aircraft to be built during the programme's low-rate initial production phase.

"We are still in the midst of the post-defence review figuring our conversion from -35B to -35C, and there's an awful lot of work still in that rescheduling process," says Air Marshal Kevin Leeson, the UK's chief of materiel (air).

For now, while the UK's carrier strike capability lapses, the strong performance of the Army Air Corps' Westland/Boeing Apache AH1 attack helicopters over Libya in May 2011 from HMS Ocean has highlighted one likely means by which the nation could respond to other such contingencies until its future aircraft carriers and F-35Cs enter use.

Plans to buy the JSF were safeguarded in July, when the government announced a planned £3 billion increase in defence spending for the five-year period starting 2015-16. This sum will help to cover initial spending on the F-35C, as well as the costs of converting both Queen Elizabeth-class carriers with catapults and arrestor gear.

The commitment also enabled the MoD last month to sign a £1 billion order for 14 Boeing CH-47 Chinook HC6 transport helicopters and to complete the acquisition of three Air Seeker (RC-135 Rivet Joint) surveillance aircraft. A memorandum of understanding covering logistics support activities and capability updates for the latter fleet until 2025 was also recently signed, with this valued at more than $850 million. The aircraft will replace the retired Nimrod R1s from 2014.

One glaring capability shortfall created by the SDSR has yet to be addressed, however. The cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 has left the MoD having to improvise on the provision of long-range maritime patrol aircraft cover by using RAF Lockheed C-130J transports and RN AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin HM1 shipborne helicopters.

Proposals have been made by industry to adapt some C-130Js to assume the role on a more formal basis, but other contractors are looking at any potential demand to field a smaller aircraft, possibly using an airframe such as the Alenia Aeronautica C-27J or Hawker Beechcraft King Air. With money to remain tight for some years to come, the idea of acquiring a more dedicated type - such as Boeing's 737-based P-8, now in development for the US Navy - seems fanciful.

© Crown Copyright The Apache/Ocean pairing could sail again

Importantly, the costs associated with supporting NATO's Libyan operation since March have been covered from the Treasury reserve, and not the over-stretched defence budget.

The Libyan campaign has underlined the importance of the pending introduction of 14 Airbus A330-200-based Voyager tanker/transports from late this year, and of past investments in weapons systems such as MBDA's Storm Shadow cruise missile and dual-mode Brimstone air-to-surface missile, and Raytheon Systems' Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. It has also highlighted the value of the Bombardier Global Express-based Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft's synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indication sensor, months after it was identified in the SDSR for disposal after the needs of Afghanistan.

The jury is still out as to whether the government's cuts to date and commitment for a future spending increase will cover the armed forces' procurement plans. Answers could be quick in coming, however, with an independent body having been tasked with conducting an "affordability audit" late this year on the MoD's top projects.

Looking at the likely equipment spending bill out to 2018-19 in his Defence Analysis publication, military analyst Francis Tusa says: "The spend curve looks far from balanced, and [SDSR] could well cause as many troubles as it resolved." He adds: "The extra 1% annual defence budget rise is only kicking in after 2015, so one has to ask how the books have been balanced prior to that time, when some £3 billion in funding will be needed."

6.09.2011 Konstantin Bogdanov -- french.ruvr.ru

 06.09.2011 par P. CHAPLEAU Lignes de Défense

Selon Gérard Longuet, le ministre de la Défense, le coût des opérations en Libye va atteindre "330 millions d'euros". C'est ce qu'il a précisé, ce matin, à Rennes, lors de la séance de clôture des Universités d'été de la Défense.

Dans un premier temps, le ministre a rappelé qu'une première estimation, en juin, avait permis d'avancer une facture de l'ordre de 160 millions d'euros. "On va doubler cette somme", a-t-il précisé devant les "universitaires".

Puis lors d'un point presse, il est revenu sur ce chiffre et précisé "qu'à ce jour, ou disons au 30 septembre", le coût des opérations aéronavales françaises (phot EMA, prise sur un BPC) sera de "330 millions" d'euros.

Rappelons que les USA avaient déjà dépensé 896 millions de dollars (621 millions d'euros) au 31 juillet (pour lire mon post du 25 août, cliquer ici). L'équivalent du coût de trois jours d'opérations en Afghanistan.

Puisque l'on parle d'argent et d'opex, le surcoût pour 2011 a été estimé à "400 millions d'euros", selon Guy Teissier, le président de la commission de la Défense à l'Assemblée. 630 millions avaient été budgétés; or, la facture des opex dépasse déjà le milliard d'euros. Selon Gérard Longuet, le surcoût sera "mutualisé". En clair, le budget de la Défense ne sera pas pénalisée, juste le porte-monnaie de l'Etat (donc celui du contribuable).

Puisque l'on parle encore d'argent, Gérard Longuet "cherche  encore" quelque 220 millions d'euros, histoire de régler un vieux contentieux (une histoire de frégates) et une amende infligée à la France. Il espère quelques recettes exceptionnelles ou des économies (refrain qui va devenir un tube).

September 5, 2011 defpro.com

On September 1, 2011 at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant’s airfield – a subsidiary of JSC IRKUT Corporation, pilots of Algerian Air Force performed first solo flights on the Yak-130 combat trainer jet.

Three months course of theoretical and practical trainings preceded those flights. Algerian pilots along with the IRKUT’s flight crew made more than 100 flights on the Yak-130 combat trainer jet and were allowed to solo flights. Earlier a large number of Algerian engineers and technicians also attended the training course manual on the Yak-130 aircraft.

Yak-130 Combat Trainer, developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, was chosen as the main aircraft for basic and advanced training of Russian Air Force pilots. Yak-130 can provide top-class pilots training to handle Russian and foreign-made combat aircraft of the generations 4+ and 5. Yak-130 aircraft is the basic component of the training complex including integrated system of the objective control, educational computer classes, flight and specialized training apparatus.

Since February, 2010 Yak-130 are being supplied to the Russian Air Force.

IRKUT Corporation performs the contract signed in 2006 for the Yak-130 delivery to Algeria. Negotiations on Yak-130 delivery to other countries are underway. The Yak-130 market capacity is estimated at 250 aircraft until 2015.

Serial production of Yak-130 aircraft on the Irkutsk aviation plant (IAP) is conducted with complex use of modern digital technologies.

5 septembre 2011 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

Le dernier sous-marin opérationnel de la marine canadienne a été retiré du service pour entretien jusqu’en 2016. La marine canadienne n’a plus aucune capacité sous-marine, ce qui soulève la question de l’avenir de la flotte sous-marine.

Les sous-marins canadiens, qui ont déjà couté environ 900 millions $, ont connu de nombreux problèmes d’entretien, qui les ont empêché d’être opérationnels pendant de longues périodes.

En juillet dernier, un article rappelait qu’un des sous-marins, le HMCS Windsor, était arrivé au Canada à l’automne 2001 mais, depuis, n’avait pris la mer que 332 jours.

Le HMCS Corner Brook, endommagé lorsqu’il a heurté le fond de l’océan pendant un entrainement en juin dernier, est maintenant bloqué à quai. Il va être réparé et modernisé pendant une période d’entretien programmée actuellement en cours.

Mais la marine canadienne a confirmé qu’il n’était pas prévu que ce sous-marin reprenne la mer avant 2016.

Le HMCS Chicoutimi, endommagé en 2004 par un incendie qui avait tué un officier, est toujours indisponible. Il ne reste donc que le HMCS Windsor et le HMCS Victoria, qui eux aussi, ne peuvent pas prendre la mer.

« La marine canadienne fait désormais tout pour que le HMCS Victoria et le HMCS Windsor puissent reprendre la mer au début 2012, » a déclaré le Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens, porte-paroles de la marine. « Le Victoria effectue actuellement des essais à la mer en prévision de son retour en mer. »

Il a indiqué que le Victoria devait effectuer ce mois-ci une plongée d’essai dans le port d’Esquimalt « afin de vérifier l’étanchéité du sous-marin et les fonctionnalités d’autres systèmes importants. »

Mais un expert, Martin Shadwick, estime que les dernières nouvelles des 4 sous-marins sont un nouveau revers pour le programme.

« Tous les arguments utilisés il y a 15 ans par la marine canadienne pour justifier l’achat de sous-marins sont toujours valables, mais ils n’ont pas pu donner aux hommes politiques d’exemples concrets parce que les sous-marins ne sont pas assez disponibles, » explique Shadwick, professeur à l’Université de York. « Les sous-marins sont donc beaucoup plus vulnérables aux réductions budgétaires. »

Il souligne que la survie à l’avenir de la force sous-marine pourrait être remise en cause si les problèmes continuent.

Référence : Times Colonist (Canada)

source rusnavyintelligence.com

2 septembre 2011 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

La Marine russe a procédé aux premiers essais d’appontage du Ka-52 dans sa version navalisé. Ces hélicoptères doivent être embarqués sur les futurs Mistrals russes.

Référence : RusNavy Intelligence

CANBERRA, Australia, Sept. 1 (UPI)

Australia's Defense Department hit back at criticism over its MU90 lightweight torpedo purchase from the weapon's French and Italian manufacturers.

A written statement by the Defense Ministry said all essential documentation from the manufacturers is in English and not, as reported by Australian media, in French or Italian only.

An article in some Fairfax Media newspapers and "more widely reported in the electronic media" contains "information that is wrong and misleading," the ministry said.

The Age newspaper in Melbourne, under the headline "Navy at sea over French manual," savaged the government for going out to tender for a translation of the manufacturers' documents despite having spent several hundred million dollars on the much-delayed project.

The Age said the deal has dragged on 13 years, will cost $655 million and has been condemned by the government auditor.

The article said the Defense Department will pay $110,100 for the translation service and cover the cost of flights and accommodation the tender winner.

"Buy flat-pack furniture from a well-known Scandinavian chain store and you can be sure the instructions will be in English," the article said. "But spend hundreds of millions on European-built torpedoes for your navy and apparently that is not the case."

However, the Defense Department said "as a condition of contract, all key project documentation including technical instructions from the supplier has been delivered in English."

What is in need of translation is "additional test data from these countries as a way to reduce costs and minimize the number of formal ship trials for the Australian MU90 program" before the weapon is commissioned, the department said.

The statement noted that Australia is getting test-firing data ordinarily not included in such contracts but will save Australian taxpayers a lot of money.

"To date the French and Italian navy testing programs have involved the firing of over 200 MU90 torpedoes. It is the reports and data from these tests that is in French and Italian and needs to be translated into English," the Defense Department said in its statement.

Apart from Australia, the MU90 anti-submarine torpedo is used by the navies of Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and Poland. It is designed to outperform the U.S.-built Mark 46, torpedo designed by Alliant Techsytems.

The MU90 manufacturer, EuroTorp, is a consortium formed in 1993 by French and Italian defense companies specifically to design and build a new generation lightweight torpedoes.

EuroTorp companies are Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei, which has a 50 percent stake, DCN International with a 26 percent stake and Thales Underwater Systems, owning 24 percent.

The Defense Department statement also noted that the MU90 contract is an Acquisition Project of Concern. Being on the Project of Concern list -- set up in 2008 -- means the government is aware of escalating costs and lengthening delivery dates and is working with contractors to get the contract back on track.

In May, a report by the Auditor General blasted Defense for badly managing the torpedo purchase which, even though signed in 1998, has no firm delivery date.

'Planning and management was inadequate,'' the Auditor General said.

There had been ''an underestimation of … risk'' even though almost $400 million has been spent.

The project ''will not deliver the capability originally sought by the Australian Defense Force (military), with uncertainty surrounding what will be delivered."

The audit report said the government knew so little about the torpedo when they bought it, they ''believed the MU90 to be an off-the-shelf acquisition … already in service with the other navies. This was not the case.''

MU-90 lightweight torpedo (photo : Eurotorp)

28.08.2011 DEFENSE STUDIES

Aug 24, 2011 By Robert Wall aviation week and space technology

Moscow - Money alone cannot reinvigorate an air force after years of neglect—that is the painful lesson the Russian military is learning as it and the domestic industry work to modernize the country’s air force.

The influx of funding in the past two years has undoubtedly benefited industry, triggering a reversal of fortunes. But it also has brought to the forefront a raft of new problems, including how to meet the timetable for replenishing the air force fleet.

The size of the appetite for fighters was underscored by Russian air force chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, who says the service is looking to field five squadrons of Su-34s, or around 120 aircraft. The fighter program languished in development for years; the first operational unit was only established recently, more than a decade late. Four of the aircraft were handed over last year and six are due to be delivered this year, with 12 to follow each year thereafter.

But Zelin is concerned about fielding plans for the Su-35, Russia’s latest fighter, which is seen as an important element in the fleet renewal plan and also as a capability gap-filler until the fifth-generation T-50 arrives. The Su-35 program has suffered development delays, in part because of a ground accident with the third prototype three years ago that destroyed the aircraft, but also due to concern in the service that the Su-35 will not meet the Russian air force’s specifications. The fighter was initially designed for the export market when Russia’s industry was unable to secure funding at home.

Pressure is mounting on the Su-35 program also because of the aggressive time line that has been set for the T-50, which Zelin describes as the service’s top fighter priority. Two aircraft are in flight trials and United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) President Mikhail Pogosyan promises two more will be delivered this year. Plans call for the first preproduction T-50 to be handed over in 2013, with the production standard aircraft to become available in 2014-15.

But behind the scenes, military officials worry that the T-50 development and production milestones cannot be met, and they feel the Su-35 needs to be fielded quickly to address immediate equipment concerns.

In many respects, the Su-35 also serves as a technology pathfinder for the T-50. Both use the same Article 117S engines and their radar technology shares a heritage. The Su-35’s Irbis-E has a 350-400-km (220-250-mi.) detection range for targets with a 3-sq.-meter (33-sq.-ft.) radar signature and is both electronically and mechanically scanned. It has the ability to track up to 30 targets simultaneously and engage eight at the same time.

The Su-35’s laser targeting pod in particular could act as a trailblazer for the T-50. Plans call for the stealth fighter to use the large Article 110KS pod developed by UOMZ, although it would compromise the aircraft’s low observability. The Su-35, on the other hand, will likely use an internally mounted system, with a low radar cross section, that could migrate to the T-50.

Also helping to bolster the arsenal in the near term is a pending order for additional Su-30s. The Russian air force is expected to buy 28 Su-30SMs, the Russian version of the Su-30MKI Irkut has sold to the Indian air force. The Su-30SM would retain Western equipment from companies such as Thales and Safran in a rare departure from Russia’s emphasis on using domestic suppliers, says an industry official. The yet-to-be-announced contract for Su-30SMs also is expected to include an option for 12 aircraft, potentially to meet a not fully defined requirement from Russia’s navy aviation arm.

The concerns about fielding time lines go beyond the combat aircraft realm. Zelin notes that the Il-476 transport is due to be in service in 2013 but says,“we would like to have it earlier.” The current development activity will not allow that.

The fleet replacement worries are further illustrated by the troubles with the Tu-22M bombers belonging to the Russian navy’s air arm, which now fall under control of the air force. Obsolescence of engine parts has created a maintenance nightmare for the fleet and prompted the military to restart parts production of critical powerplant components. Zelin sees progress on this front and says that once the situation is improved the aircraft may be reassigned to the navy.

But there are limits to Russia’s appetite for new equipment. Despite the hopes of industry players such as MiG that the Russian air force will buy into a light fifth-generation fighter program, that does not look promising. Zelin suggests that more likely would be the acquisition of MiG-35s, which were initially developed for India. However, he tempers the prospect by noting that the issue is secondary to the T-50.

A huge Mastiff armoured vehicle overshadows a young Afghan boy, on his way to fetch water from the village well, in the Shahzad region of Helmand province - [Picture: Staff Sergeant Mark Jones, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

23 Aug 11 UK MoD - A Military Operations news article

A group of soldiers whose task it is to clear routes in Helmand province of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recently emerged from their Mastiff armoured vehicle unscathed when a device exploded underneath it.

31 Armoured Engineer Squadron (31 AES), 32 Engineer Regiment, normally based in Hohne in northern Germany, are currently part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group.

They are the leading route proving and clearance squadron and their job is to travel across the UK's area of operations in their Mastiff armoured vehicles to make sure routes are safe from IEDs and bombs.

On one of their many patrols recently, the team were clearing one of the main routes through Helmand when their vehicle struck an IED. Sapper Gareth Addy said immediately they knew what it was:

"There was a massive explosion that seriously rocked the vehicle. It was the biggest I've ever experienced. Immediately afterwards it went very quiet and then you start to realise what's happened and worry if everyone is OK."

The team quickly began their drills to assess the situation and check whether there were any injuries. Despite the size of the bomb and the force of the blast, none of the people in the Mastiff were hurt.

The vehicle sustained some damage, but, thanks to the armour and design of the Mastiff, it was only minor, and after a further assessment by the team of the route, the patrol continued with their journey.

Sapper Gareth Addy, 31 Armoured Engineer Squadron, ready to go out on patrol in his team's Mastiff vehicle - [Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Sapper Addy, aged 31 from Bridlington, who is a Mastiff driver and gunner, said it was only when they returned to Camp Bastion some hours later they realised how lucky they had been:

"The vehicles we use really do work and everyone now knows that, should the worst happen, they will do a good job of protecting us. In a strange way, that incident increased everyone's morale and confidence for the remainder of the tour."

The Mastiff is a heavily armoured, 6x6 wheel-drive protected patrol vehicle which carries eight people, plus two crew. It is used in Afghanistan to transport troops and protect large convoys as well as directly engaging the Taliban with its advanced weapons systems.

Although heavily armoured, these wheeled patrol vehicles have a less intimidating profile than tracked vehicles and give commanders on the ground in Afghanistan more options to deal with the threats they are facing.

Part of the Mastiff's resilience towards mine explosions comes from the fact that its hull is V-shaped, as opposed to flat, which pushes the force of any explosion outwards.

During Operation HERRICK 14, the engineers from 31 AES have played an important part in enabling both troops and locals to move more freely from one area to another and with greater confidence in their security.

31 AES is part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group, made up of Royal Engineers from both 32 Engineer Regiment based in Hohne, Germany, and 24 Commando Engineer Regiment based in Barnstaple, North Devon.

photo USAF

Aug 18, 2011 By Amy Butler aviation week and space technology

Washington- The General Atomics Reaper unmanned aerial system (UAS) may eventually go from hunting terrorists to hunting hostile ballistic missiles.

The U.S. Air Force’s Predator and Reaper UAS have been well-publicized workhorses providing intelligence and firepower on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arabian peninsula.

Now the Reaper may get a new mission as a frontline cueing system for the burgeoning U.S. missile defense architecture. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials say the Reaper and its Raytheon MTS-B sensor are showing promise. The system could plug a longtime gap by providing firing quality data to facilitate early intercept of ballistic missiles. MDA is exploring the technology and operational concepts for using electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) -equipped UAS to eventually achieve “launch-on-remote” capabilities with Aegis ship- and land-based SM-3 interceptors. This means the fidelity of UAS data would need to be high enough for commanders to launch an interceptor before Aegis radars capture the target.

Ballistic missile patrol is one of many potential missions for the large and growing Predator/Reaper fleet. As the Pentagon plans to draw down combat forces in Afghanistan—combat operations ended a year ago in Iraq—officials insist that intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets (ISR) will continue to support ongoing activities in these areas. But Pentagon planners are considering how these ISR resources can be reallocated or, if need be, modified to fill capability gaps for other missions.

UAS orbits could be placed to provide a “picket fence” of sensors if an area is expected to have hostile ballistic missile activity, says Tim Carey, vice president of intelligence for Raytheon.

MDA officials say data from early experiments show that “just a few orbits can provide substantial sensor coverage” for various regions.

Gen. Robert Kehler, who oversees U.S. Strategic Command, provides advice to the Pentagon on how to allocate ISR resources across the globe. Regional commanders in the Pacific, Africa, Europe and Central and Southern America feel the focus on U.S. Central Command and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have curbed their ability to monitor activities in their areas of operation. “Their view is that many of their ISR needs are not being met because of all the things we have placed in Centcom,” Kehler says.

A potential near-term application of UAS for missile defense is to support monitoring of North Korea. MDA plans to field the Persistent Tracking Satellite System (PTSS) as soon as fiscal 2016 to provide early launch detection and high-fidelity targeting data from space to ship- and land-based interceptors.

That plan, however, has two problems. First, even if fielded as planned, the sensor gap would not be closed until later this decade. Perhaps a larger issue is that funding for PTSS is in question.

Industry sources say MDA is struggling with a $4 billion budget gap in fiscal 2013-17, and a project as expensive as building satellites could slip or be axed altogether as Leon Panetta, the new defense secretary, searches for projects to cut in light of diminished funding and deficit reduction pressure.

The interim solution for MDA is to test and possibly field the Airborne Infrared system (ABIR), a UAS carrying the proper EO/IR sensors to support early intercept operations (a kill before a hostile missile reaches apogee), improved target discrimination and enhanced handling of the threat of missile raids (tens or more missiles fired nearly simultaneously).

Last year, MDA selected the Reaper as the platform of choice for the ABIR experimentation phase, which is ongoing. “If fielded, we envision a podded ABIR capability that could ride on a variety of unmanned or even manned platforms,” says Rick Lehner, MDA’s spokesman. Ultimately, platform decisions would be made in consultation with the Air Force and Navy if the system is fielded, as these services will be the operators.

Since 2009, MDA has conducted 10 flight tests in which ABIR was used for data collection. Six of these trials were observed using MTS-B-equipped Reapers and the remainder featured risk-reduction tests using ground-based sensors (see chart, p. 43). For these trials, at least two Reapers are needed to provide “stereo tracking.” Each EO/IR sensor provides a “flat” view, but triangulating the target provides higher-fidelity data.

A main objective in the trials has been to expose the MTS-B—which includes visible, shortwave IR and mid-wave IR sensors—to various scenarios and targets, from short-range to intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“We have been able to improve the pointing accuracy of the sensor [and] we have demonstrated automatic acquisition and tracking of the sensor required to meet system needs,” Lehner says. “Modeling indicates the agility of the sensor will substantially improve the raid-handling capability we currently have.”

Today, X-band radars—the AN/TPY‑2 and Sea-Based X-Band—are used for early tracking. Carey notes that the ABIR experiments are the first time EO/IR data have contributed to generating firing-quality data early in flight. (IR sensors typically provide only a cue to ground- and sea-based X-band radars.)

“They just never thought to look up” with the sensors, Carey says. “Everybody was surprised [by] the range at which we were able to detect the targets after burning and the accuracy with which we were able track them.”

The MDA has purchased four MTS‑Bs for ABIR experimentation, two last year and two this year, Carey adds. MDA is contributing to a larger Pentagon effort to develop the two-color MTS‑C; this will add a long-wave IR detection capability. While the short- and mid-wave bands are optimal during launch and rocket burn, a long-wave detector is better for tracking cold bodies, such as missiles after burnout, or plumes and exhaust.

Packaging short-, mid- and long-wave IR detectors on the same sensor ball, however, presents complex challenges, including design of proper cooling and meeting power requirements. One defense official suggests the MTS-C could be a year or more from being ready for work in this area. Lehner says the MTS‑C will be delivered in the summer of 2012 and begin testing shortly thereafter.

This time frame will be a key deciding point for the future of the program. Also next summer, MDA plans to conduct a launch-on-remote exercise. “To demonstrate launch on remote, we will provide real-time tracking data to [ballistic missile defense (BMD) command-and-control] nodes,” Lehner says. “The BMD command-and-control nodes then send [the data] to Aegis in a simulated engagement in the summer of 2012.”

Carey notes that in trials thus far, ABIR has generated virtual targeting data that can be compared against data from other sensors used in the tests. But he says more command-and-control and system architecture work is needed to make the system operational.

Early tests were highly manpower intensive; targets were acquired by hand and tracked by people. Software has been developed to automate that process. But officials need to develop an operational concept of how many UAS must be orbiting in what locations for an optimum chance of achieving early launch data if there is an unpredicted hostile launch. “If you put the aircraft in the right place and we know the test is coming, we turn it on and it will perform,” he says.

Through fiscal 2012, MDA has requested $178.5 million for ABIR. Depending on results of the flight trials, the agency plans to make a development and fielding decision around 2014.

14 août 2011 par Daniel Favre INFO-AVIATION

La Russie livrera cinq chasseurs MiG-29K/KUB à l’Inde d’ici la fin de 2011, a déclaré le 12 août Sergueï Korotkov, directeur général du groupe de constructions aéronautiques MiG.

« Signé en 2004, le contrat sera honoré d’ici la fin de l’année en cours. A l’heure actuelle, onze avions sur seize ont déjà été livrés », a rappelé M.Korotkov.

« Quant aux nouveaux contrats avec des clients étrangers, nous y travaillons », a-t-il indiqué avant d’ajouter que la compagnie disposait de plus de 100 contrats avec 20 États. Il s’agit de réparation, de modernisation, de livraison de pièces de rechange et de service après-vente.

En mars 2010, la Russie et l’Inde ont conclu un contrat d’un montant de 1,5 milliard de dollars prévoyant la fourniture d’un nouveau lot de 29 chasseurs embarqués MiG-29K/KUB à New Delhi. Le début des livraisons de ce lot est prévu pour 2012.

Le MiG-29K est une version navalisée, dérivée du MiG-29M. Le MiG-29KUB est une version biplace du MiG-29K spécialement conçue pour l’Inde. Le premier vol de l’avion de série a eu lieu le 18 mars 2008 sur l’aérodrome de Loukhovitsy.

Une demande « stable » pour MiG

Le portefeuille de commandes de l’avionneur russe MiG a dépassé 4 milliards de dollars, selon Sergueï Korotkov.

« Je dois noter que nos produits bénéficient d’une demande stable. Le portefeuille de commandes du groupe dépasse 4 milliards de dollars », a t-il précisé devant les journalistes à Moscou le 12 août.

Le groupe MiG achève également ses négociations avec le ministère russe de la Défense sur la livraison de chasseurs embarqués MiG-29K/KUB à la Marine russe et envisage de lancer des versions terrestres des chasseurs de ce type.