4 février Aerobuzz.fr

Thales a été choisi par Northrop Grumman Corporation pour lui fournir son logiciel de système de gestion du vol (FMS), l’i-FMS 200. Ce logiciel sera intégré à l’avionique de mission fournie par Northrop Grumman pour moderniser les hélicoptères UH-60L Black Hawk. La version modernisée des hélicoptères Black Hawk portera le nom de UH-60V.

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02/02/2015 Richard de Silva - DefenceIQ

According to a new study, there may be a need for investment in a “more offensive” surface warfare strategy, given the evolving global threat environment and the spectrum of utility for systems such as long-range missiles, directed energy and electromagnetic rail guns.

The research, conducted by Washington D.C.-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), recommended that the U.S. Navy not only invests further in these systems but looks to increase their impact by restructuring the surface fleet and embracing new tactics. It argues that controlling the waters in the coming years will play a particularly vital role in strategic defence, not least because of the increasing opportunity of interoperation between naval, air, land and space assets.

Analysts are looking towards the mid-2020s as a make-or-break deadline, a period in which it is envisaged that there will be a global focus on anti-access/area-denial. A2/AD has already been causing strategic pressures in the Persian Gulf, the East China Sea, and other waters that require multinational port access, shipping routes or military patrols. When done correctly, the tactic can prevent troops from landing by sea or limit the range at which surface vessels can support forces inshore.

In tandem, there is a renewed focus among many nations on the growing threat of ballistic missiles. Spurred further by the conflict in Ukraine, fears that were last at their height during the Cold War have returned, but since this time, anti-missile strategic focus has centred primarily on asymmetric threats, such as counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) systems.

A great deal of interest now lies on the US Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, comprising a network of warships designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and prior to reentry. Latest tests (as of November 2014) conducted by the Missile Defense Agency in the Pacific with recent upgrades have been reported as successful.

It is interesting to note that China has also identified a need to develop its seaborne missile capability and has announced that its own version of Aegis is also to expand with plans to launch eight new warships (Types 052C and 052D) to augment its ten existing destroyers and new aircraft carrier. Construction is to begin this year.

Most recently, the US Navy sees the deployment of two additional Aegis destroyers (F-100) in Spain his year as providing a “significant deterrent”, according to remarks made to Sputnik News Agency. A representative of US Naval Forces Europe stated that the placement of the vessels maximised “their operational flexibility for missions in the Atlantic and Mediterranean” while further enabling rapid response to any crisis.

The F100 Álvaro de Bazán class multi-role frigate is one of the few non-US warships to carry the Aegis Combat System and its associated AN/SPY-1 radar, along with ballistic resistant steel in the hull and anti-vibration power plants. Other nations to carry the honour are Japan, South Korea and Norway.

Captain Manuel Martinez-Ruiz, programme director for the F-100 (as well as overseeing the impending introduction of the F-110 frigates) – believes the vessels are up to the task of dealing with a range of threats in the coming years and have already demonstrated their value as an AEGIS component during recent exercises.

“The Spanish Navy’s F-100 Frigates have shown excellent AAW capabilities since the commissioning of F-101 Alvaro de Bazán in 2001, and having participated in numerous NATO, US and UNO Coalition operations,” Martinez-Ruiz told Defence IQ.

“On the other hand, frigate F-104 Mendez Nuñez had a limited BMS&T (ballistic missile defense surveillance and tracking) role at FTM-12 (Flight Test Maritime-12) while  Alvaro de Bazan conducted some interoperability tests during Maritime Theatre Missile Defence events during Combat Systems Ship's Qualification Trials. Recently, the F-100 C2 capabilities have been improved through Joint Range Extension.”

“While I consider land based asymmetric threats to be something to pay attention to in the future at the tactical level, I believe ballistic missile defence threats – both current and emerging – are something that impacts us on a more strategic and political level, and involves much more complex action among our agencies and nations. What is clear however is that the Spanish Navy’s future ships, such as the F-110 frigates, will be focused more on countering asymmetric threats.”

As technology evolves, the opportunities for surface warship capabilities are ever-increasing as long as the R&D funding can keep up. Of course, with rising complexities, new challenges also rear their heads, particularly when it comes to introducing new systems into an existing family of systems and then testing them within the parameters of a realistic scenario.

“I think the biggest challenge is to be able to characterise anti-aircraft warfare and BMD threats in order to operate them in a coordinated way by improving ‘detect-control-engage’ technology,” Martin-Ruiz explained. “The need to face emerging BMD and AAW threats at force level in this way requires an improved C2 architecture, sensor-to-shooter technology, as well as mission planning capabilities. Also, increasing radar sensitivity with electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities will be the next hurdle for radar technology.”

The field is further complicated by the increasingly urgent need to ensure that multinational systems are integrated alongside standardised methods and tactics, a situation that can only be achieved through continued multilateral naval exercises.

“That will be extremely important in the coming years,” Martinez-Ruiz confirms, “as will the need to increase interoperability among NATO and allied forces. New protocols such as JRE-C and more robust data link capabilities with images and progressive streaming video transmission mechanisms (for example, JPEG2000 based on wavelets) are possibly required to face asymmetric and emerging threats. There are some exciting multinational projects underway now such as NATO’s Smart Defence project and the MTMD forum in which our Navy is interested.”

Martinez-Ruiz will be briefing the delegation at this year’s Integrated Air and Missile Defenceconference (Seville, Spain, 16-18 March). He identified a specific set of focuses with which he hopes those attending will truly engage. These include European initiatives on AIMD, threat assessment and mission planning, characterisation of emerging threats, technology for asymmetric threats, and discussion on mission modules and UAVs.

27 janv. 2015 US Air Force

Since the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, the spectre of ‘hybrid’ tactics (or threats) is haunting both European and American security debates. This seems to suggest that this is a new, highly effective form of warfare which poses complex challenges to the EU, NATO, and their neighbours.

However, hybrid tactics are neither new, nor exclusively (or primarily) Russian invention. They are as old as war itself, and Western states have often used elements of it quite effectively, at least on a tactical level.

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Jihadist militants have long operated in the ­pockets of instability which stretch from Bamako to Bagdad. However, they have also been making the most of governance problems in the world’s biggest open space: the internet.

Forced to confront this fact, the governments of France, the UK and the US, among others, have already announced their intention to reinforce the powers of their intelligence agencies and ­strengthen cooperation with the private sector in a joint effort to spot and eradicate online ­extremist safe havens.

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26.01.2015 Par Yves Eudes - Le Monde.fr

LONDON – Jan. 27, 2015 – Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation is among the companies that have been awarded a contract by the government of the United Kingdom to provide a range of cyber security solutions.

Under this competitively awarded, seven-year framework contract, Northrop Grumman will provide engineering and development services in support of data security and information assurance.

"As a long-standing partner with the U.K. government, we are proud to have been selected to support the security of their digital domain and the protection of its citizens," said Kathy Warden, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "With more than 30 years of cyber security expertise that has been developed and deployed around the world, we look forward to continuing our work with some of the brightest industry and academic minds to deliver world class operational performance, scaled to the mission, and to increase our U.K.-based workforce that will support cyber innovators of the future."

"We have a well-established and growing presence in the U.K. and this strategically important contract award reflects the strong customer relationships that we have established here over the years," said Andrew Tyler, chief executive for Europe, Northrop Grumman. "We are committed to strengthening this partnership and to bringing our advanced cyber technologies and deep understanding of today's global security threats to this programme."

Northrop Grumman continues to invest in U.K.-based cyber security capabilities with new facilities in England, where it has set up an Advanced Cyber Technology Centre of Excellence, a global collaboration initiative to advance high-end solutions to our customers' most challenging cyber problems.

Northrop Grumman is also investing in the development of the next generation of cyber specialists. The company entered into a partnership with Cyber Security Challenge U.K. under which it has launched the youth-based cyber defence competition CyberCenturion in the U.K. aimed at building tomorrow's cyber workforce. Northrop Grumman is also mentoring a diverse set of small and medium enterprise partners and investing in research and development with select U.K. university partners.

Northrop Grumman is a leading provider of full-spectrum cyber solutions to the United States government and to allied nations around the world. The company builds cyber into every system, platform, and product that it produces in order to enhance mission assurance and resiliency, while investing both in innovative technology and cyber talent of the future. For more about Northrop Grumman in cyber, go to www.northropgrumman.com/cyber.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernisation to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

22-01-2015 par Nicolas Falez envoyé spécial à Londres- RFI

Une réunion de la coalition internationale qui lutte contre l’organisation Etat islamique, présente en Syrie et en Irak, doit se tenir ce jeudi 22 janvier dans la matinée. Plusieurs ministres des Affaires étrangères comme l’Américain John Kerry et le Français Laurent Fabius ont fait le déplacement. Les frappes de la coalition ont commencé en août dernier en Irak et se sont étendues à la Syrie le mois suivant.

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LONDRES, 19 janvier - RIA Novosti

Les services secrets britanniques ont intercepté les mails de journalistes étrangers, a rapporté lundi le journal The Guardian se référant aux données fournies par l'ancien employé de la NSA américaine Edward Snowden.

"Le Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), l'agence de surveillance auprès du ministère britannique des Affaires étrangères, a récupéré les courriers électroniques envoyés et reçus par les journalistes de grandes éditions britanniques et américaines dont les chaînes de télévision BBC, NBC, l'agence Reuters, les journaux The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Sun et The Washington Post", a indiqué le quotidien.

Selon The Guardian, le GCHQ a intercepté près de 70.000 messages électroniques lors d'un exercice de surveillance d'une dizaine de minutes un jour de novembre 2008. Pour ce faire, l'agence de surveillance a piraté des câbles de fibre optique.

"Les messages interceptés - des communiqués de presse et des discussions entre des journalistes et des rédacteurs - ont été stockés sur des serveurs du GCHQ et partagés sur son intranet. D'ailleurs, rien n'atteste qu'il s'agit d'une action visant les journalistes", a noté l'édition.

Selon d'autres données fournies par Edward Snowden, le GCHQ a surveillé les journalistes d'enquête, les considérant aussi dangereux que les terroristes ou les pirates informatiques. Plus de 100 journalistes britanniques ont adressé une lettre de protestation au premier ministre du pays. 

L'ex-consultant de la CIA et de l'agence américaine de sécurité nationale (NSA) Edward Snowden a transmis en juin 2013 une série de documents secrets dévoilant la surveillance pratiquée sur Internet par les services secrets américains et britanniques aux quotidiens Washington Post et Guardian. M.Snowden vit actuellement à Moscou où il bénéficie d'un titre de séjour délivré pour trois ans.

20 January 2015 naval-technology.com

BAE Systems has signed a contract with the US Navy to deliver critical system engineering, integration and testing support for its Aegis combat system.

Initially valued at $23m, the five-year agreement comes with an overall price of $120m.

As part of the Aegis technical representative engineering support services contract, BAE Systems will provide system development, integration, engineering and maintenance support.

BAE Systems Intelligence and Security sector president DeEtte Gray said: "Our Aegis system engineering experts have been working side-by-side with sailors for more than 40 years to modernise and strengthen the US Navy's fleet of Aegis-equipped surface ships.

"Together, we are enhancing the US Navy's combat readiness."

The Aegis system, which is reportedly the navy's most advanced and complex weapon system, integrates the latest-generation computers and radars to trace and guide weapons.

Vessels integrated with Aegis system upgrades will feature open architecture and technologies aimed at reducing overall ownership costs while ensuring military readiness for ongoing missile defence requirements.

More than 100 vessels from the navies of Australia, Japan, Norway, and Spain, as well as the US, have been, or will be, equipped with the system.

BAE also provides modernisation support for the navy's fleet of cruisers and destroyers equipped with the Aegis system.

19 janvier 2015 Romandie.com (AFP)

Washington - Le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry coprésidera jeudi à Londres avec son homologue britannique une réunion avec les pays membres de la coalition contre les jihadistes de l'Etat islamique (EI), a annoncé dimanche un porte-parole du département d'Etat.

Une vingtaine de ministres des Affaires étrangères, y compris de pays arabes, doivent participer à cette rencontre d'une journée, organisée coinjointement avec le chef de la diplomatie britannique Philipp Hamond et dont l'entourage avait fait état dès samedi.

L'objectif est de faire le point sur les efforts communs des pays participants dans leur combat pour affaiblir et défaire l'EI, qui avait conquis de vastes régions en Irak et en Syrie l'an dernier, a précisé le porte-parole de M. Kerry, Jen Psaki.

Cette réunion intervient dans la foulée d'une rencontre à Washington entre Barack Obama et le Premier ministre britannique David Cameron qui ont alors fait part de leur détermination à lutter contrer le fléau du terrorisme après les attentats qui ont endeuillé la France.

Trois jihadistes ont tué 17 personnes dans plusieurs actions à Paris en se revendiquant d'Al-Qaïda et du groupe Etat Islamique.

Selon un haut responsable britannique, la réunion de Londres aura lieu à Lancaster House, dans le centre de la capitale.

Il est vital de réfléchir à tout ce que nous pouvons encore faire pour venir à bout de la problématique des combattants étrangers, pour arrêter les financements de l'EI, d'améliorer l'assistance humanitaire et pour continuer notre campagne militaire coordonnée, avait expliqué ce responsable au quotidien Daily Telegraph.

Les discussions porteront essentiellement sur cinq sujets: les combattants étrangers, la campagne militaire contre des cibles de l'EI, ses sources de financement, ses communications stratégiques et l'assistance humanitaire, a précisé le haut responsable britannique.

Après la réunion de Londres, M. Kerry se rendra en Suisse pour participer au 45e Forum Economique Mondial (WEF) de Davos, a précisé son porte-parole.

18.01.2015 Le Monde.fr avec AFP

Les chefs des diplomaties britannique Philip Hammond et américaine John Kerry organisent une réunion des pays membres de la coalition contre les djihadistes de l'Etat islamique (EI) jeudi 22 janvier à Londres.

Les ministres des affaires étrangères d'une vingtaine de pays, dont les partenaires arabes de la coalition, sont attendus à cette journée de discussions. L'objectif est de faire le point sur les progrès réalisés dans la lutte contre le groupe extrémiste qui a conquis de vastes régions en Irak et en Syrie l'an dernier.

Lire aussi (en édition abonnés) après les attentats en région parisienne : Les pays arabes réaffirment à Paris leur appui à la coalition anti-EI

ARRÊTER LES FINANCEMENTS DE L'EI

Selon un haut responsable britannique, la réunion se tiendrait à Lancaster House dans le centre de la capitale anglaise, deux semaines après les attentats de Paris lors desquels trois djihadistes ont tué 17 personnes en se revendiquant d'Al-Qaida et de l'Etat islamique.

« Il est vital de réfléchir à tout ce que nous pouvons encore faire pour venir à bout de la problématique des combattants étrangers, pour arrêter les financements de l'EI, d'améliorer l'assistance humanitaire et pour continuer notre campagne militaire coordonnée », a ajouté cette source.

L'annonce de cette réunion intervient après une rencontre entre le président américain Barack Obama et le premier ministre britannique David Cameron, vendredi 16 janvier, à Washington.