Paris, le 7 avril 2014 Sagem (Safran)

Sagem (Safran) a signé avec le laboratoire Percro (Perceptual Robotics Laboratory) de l’école supérieure Sainte-Anne de Pise (Italie) un accord de coopération portant sur le développement des technologies de l’exosquelette.

Un exosquelette est une structure électromécanique autonome externe à l’organisme permettant de démultiplier les capacités physiques de l’être humain, pour le port de charges, la mobilité, et la précision. Le concept d’exosquelette bénéficie aujourd’hui des nouvelles ruptures technologiques, dans les domaines du traitement numérique, des senseurs miniatures et du contrôle.

Au titre de cette coopération, Sagem travaillera sur l’évaluation physiologique et biomécanique et l’école supérieure Sainte-Anne de Pise sur le contrôle, la mécanique appliquée et la mécatronique. Ce partenariat débouchera sur le développement et la fabrication de prototypes pour essais d’ici à 2017.

Ces développements pourront profiter de l’expertise reconnue de Sagem dans la gestion autonome de l’énergie et les technologies de contrôle et de stabilisation de plates-formes.

Le projet s’appuiera à la fois sur des financements européens du programme de recherche et d’innovation Horizon 2020 ^(1)> et des investissements financés par Safran.

Les technologies d’exosquelette offrent des perspectives considérables dans les secteurs civils et les forces armées, telles que la construction ou la conduite des premiers secours lors de catastrophes naturelles. Les exo prothèses se présentent comme des solutions améliorant l’autonomie des personnes handicapées ou à mobilité réduite, notamment les seniors dans leur quotidien. Ils ouvrent aussi des perspectives pour la robotique collaborative en industrie, ainsi qu’en logistique (augmentation des capacités de manutention, sécurité, lutte contre les troubles musculo-squelettiques, etc.).

Les projets européens associés à ces technologies sont pour Safran, à travers sa filiale Sagem, une opportunité nouvelle de coopération avec l’Italie en matière de recherche et de développement. Faisant un large appel à des technologies innovantes, cette opportunité s’inscrit pleinement dans la stratégie de Safran de s’engager pleinement dans des coopérations européennes (A400M, NH90, etc,) susceptibles à leur tour d’associer des PME innovantes.

⁽¹⁾ Horizon 2020 est le programme de recherche et d’innovation de l’Union européenne. Il recentre ses financements sur trois priorités : l’excellence scientifique, la primauté industrielle, les défis sociétaux. Il est doté de 79 milliards d’euros (en euros courants, Euratom compris), pour la période de 2014-2020. Entrée en vigueur : 1er janvier 2014.

Le laboratoire PERCO Perceptual Robotics Laboratory est l’un des centres les plus avancé dans le domaine de la robotique, de l’intelligence artificielle et de la réalité virtuelle. Fondé en 1994 par Massimo Bergamasco, professeur de mécanique appliquée de l’Université de Saint Anne de Pise. Le laboratoire a deux implantations, l’une à Pise, l’autre à Polo Sant’Anna Valdera de Pontedera.

Sagem, société de haute technologie de Safran, est un leader mondial de solutions et de services en optronique, avionique, électronique et logiciels critiques, pour les marchés civils et de défense. N°1 européen et n°3 mondial des systèmes de navigation inertielle pour les applications aéronautiques, marines et terrestres, Sagem est également n°1 mondial des commandes de vol pour hélicoptères et n°1 européen des systèmes optroniques et des systèmes de drones tactiques. Présents sur tous les continents via le réseau international du groupe Safran, Sagem et ses filiales emploient 7 500 personnes en Europe, en Asie du Sud-est et Amérique du Nord. Sagem est le nom commercial de la société Sagem Défense Sécurité.
Pour plus d’informations : www.sagem-ds.com

2nd April 2014 by Niklas Novaky * - europeangeostrategy.org

This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the European Union’s (EU) battlegroup (BG) concept. Despite the approaching milestone, the EU is unlikely to celebrate it with much fanfare. This is because, although the EU has deployed three Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) military crisis management operations since the first battlegroups became operational in January 2005, none of them have been a BG-operation.

The future of the BG-concept was subject to heated debate in the run-up to last December’s European Council, where EU heads of state and government focused on CSDP for the first time since the Lisbon Treaty’s entry into force in 2009. Over the years, many EU countries have become frustrated by the BGs because using them in crisis situations has proven extremely difficult, although they are often hailed as CSDP’s ‘flagship capability’.

The latest opportunity to use them came last year when the security climate in the Central African Republic (CAR) deteriorated. In March 2013, the Séléka group, a loose coalition of Muslim militias, overthrew the CAR government of President François Bozizé. After President Bozizé fled the country, Séléka-leader Michel Djotodia became the country’s President. However, the situation in the country deteriorated further after clashes between various Christian and Muslim groups escalated in the second half of 2013.

In order to contribute to the international community’s efforts to stabilise the situation in the CAR, the EU began to consider the option of deploying a BG in November. It was considered that the BGs would be an ideal instrument for providing temporary relief on the ground by stabilising the situation in Bangui, the CAR capital. However, the idea of deploying a BG collapsed quickly.

In the second half of 2013, the only BG on standby was led by the United Kingdom (UK). However, Britain’s conservative-led coalition government refused to discuss deploying the BG because it would have been extremely difficult for it to justify using the BG for its Eurosceptic domestic audience. In the first half of 2014, the only BG on standby was led by Greece. However, this BG could not be used either because it lacked financial resources. According to member state officials, Greece was also reluctant to deploy the BG for political reasons; since the country has gone through dramatic cuts to balance its budget, deploying the BG would not have been popular among the Greek public.

The EU’s inability to use the BGs in the CAR raises tough questions about the future of the BG concept. Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, for example, expressed recently that ‘there is something fundamentally wrong in the EU’s capabilities’ if the BGs cannot be deployed when there is a clear need to deploy them. Furthermore, Sweden’s Foreign Minter Carl Bildt saw that the Union’s failure to use the BGs in the CAR could even spell the end of the BG concept as we know it.

The Nordics’ frustration is not just words. At the Athens informal EU defence ministerial in February, Sweden proposed that EU defence ministers should hold a workshop to study the conditions under which the BG could be deployed in the future. According to Finnish Defence Minister Carl Haglud, this shows that the member states are finally waking up to the reality that the BG concept simply ‘does not work’ in its current form.

In the author’s opinion, there are two options for increasing the deployability of EU BGs. The first one is the modularity idea, which was featured in High Representative Catherine Ashton’s annual report on CSDP in October 2013. According to Ashton, BG modularity ‘would allow incorporating the modules provided by the member states most interested in a given crisis, avoiding a too rigid and prescribed composition of the EU BGs, and allowing for more proportionate contributions according to member states’ means’. In other words, rather than having a rigid pre-determined structure, BGs could be assembled from EU member states’ modules on a case-by-case basis.

Modularity is an idea worth testing because it would increase the BGs’ flexibility. However, it is unlikely that it would significantly speed up the EU’s military deployment process. This is because the deployment of BGs would still depend on EU member states’ willingness to contribute the required modules, which is not guaranteed to happen. As the case of EUFOR RCA has show, EU member states have difficulties generating enough forces even for a relatively small operation of 1,000 troops. Thus, it is unclear how BG modularity would change the current dynamics in the EU’s force generation process.

In order to work, modularity needs to be complemented with second parallel reform, i.e. increasing common funding for possible BG-operations. In the event that the EU decides to launch a BG-operation, the vast majority of the operation’s costs would currently be funded according to the principle of ‘costs lie where they fall’. This means that each member state participating in a BG-operation would be responsible for covering the expenses of its own contingent without external assistance. The only exception to this rule is a small amount of common costs, which are funded through the Athena mechanism.

To improve EU member states’ incentives to participate in BG-operations, common funding should be increased significantly. The best-case scenario would be to have the Athena mechanism fund the majority of BG-operations’ costs. This way EU member states would not have to worry about funding issues at the time when they are making a decision on whether or not to contribute modules to a possible BG-operation. In other words, the idea of using a BG should never again collapse because there would not be enough funding for it!

Sweden’s proposal to hold a ministerial workshop on EU BGs is a good one, although it is likely that resolving the BGs’ current structural problems will take much more than one workshop. However, if EU member states could implement modularity in an effective way and increase the level of common funding for possible BG operations, the deployability of EU BGs is likely to increase.

* Mr. Niklas Novaky is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Aberdeen. He is also a Visiting Researcher at the Institute for European Studies, Free University of Brussels. He writes here in a personal capacity.

Berne, 06.04.2014 - news.admin.ch

Ce weekend, divers médias ont parlé d’un « plan B » en cas de refus de l’acquisition de 22 avions Gripen lors du référendum le 18 mai 2014. Le DDPS se distancie de ces allégations et s’en tiendra en tous les cas aux décisions prises démocratiquement.

Ce weekend, divers médias ont parlé d'un « plan B » en cas de refus de l'acquisition de 22 avions Gripen lors du référendum le 18 mai 2014. Selon ces médias, il s'agirait d'acquérir tous les 15 ans une escadrille de 12 avions de combat qui pourraient être financés par la voie ordinaire et ne devraient alors pas être soumis à un référendum. La flotte actuelle de 86 avions de combat (32 F/A-18, 54 F-5 Tiger) pourrait ainsi être remplacée sur le long terme par 50 à 70 nouveaux avions.

Le DDPS tient à se distancer de ces déclarations.

Il ne serait en effet pas acceptable d'acquérir des avions de combat peu de temps après une décision négative du peuple. Dans le message au sujet de la votation, il est clairement dit que les avions ne seront pas achetés si la loi sur le fonds Gripen est refusée.

Selon les gens qui ont fait ces allégations, on aboutirait à une flotte de 50 à70 avions, mais leur raisonnement n'est pas clair. Les avions de combat ont une durée de vie d'environ 30 ans. Si l'on achetait 12 avions de combat tous les 15 ans, la taille de la flotte serait alors de 24 avions. C'est beaucoup trop peu pour garantir la sécurité de la Suisse, car c'est encore moins que la flotte actuelle des F/A-18 sans le Gripen.

Par ailleurs, l'acquisition de seulement 12 avions de combat pourrait, selon le modèle choisi, coûter 2 à 3 milliards de francs. En outre, une réduction du nombre d'avions accroîtrait les incohérences d'ordre économique, car une partie de l'infrastructure est quasi indépendante du nombre d'appareils achetés.

Enfin, il faut relever qu'un motif important pour le choix du financement de l'acquisition du Gripen au moyen d'un fonds était de donner la possibilité d'un référendum. Du point de vue purement financier, des acquisitions de cet ordre de grandeur pourraient aussi se faire par la voie normale, sans passer par un fonds.

Le DDPS est convaincu que l'acquisition de 22 Gripen est nécessaire pour la sécurité de la Suisse et de sa population. A elle seule, la flotte de 32 F/A-18 ne suffit pas, et l'acquisition proposée constitue une solution réaliste. Le DDPS s'en tiendra dans tous les cas strictement à la décision prise démocratiquement.

06 Apr 2014 By Anders Fogh Rasmussen – the Telegraph

Ukraine crisis shows that defence matters as much as ever. Every ally needs to invest in its armed forces, Nato's secretary-general warns in the Telegraph

Sixty-five years ago this month, Nato was born into a dangerous world. As the Soviet shadow deepened across Europe, 12 nations from both sides of the Atlantic committed to individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law determined to stand together to safeguard their security.

Those nations were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. They took the most solemn pledge that any country can take: an attack on one would be viewed as an attack on all.

Today’s Nato brings together a unique combination of the world’s strongest democracies with an integrated military structure, a permanent political decision-making process and a network of more than 40 partners from around the world. It is where Europeans and North Americans consult, decide and act every day on security issues that concern us all. We have learned much from the last 20 years of challenging operations, from Afghanistan to Kosovo, from Libya to the Horn of Africa. We are now more efficient and effective than at any time in Nato’s history.

We still live in a dangerous world, and the threats are more complex and unpredictable than 65 years ago. Some are new: cyber and missile attacks. Others are age-old: attempts to redraw borders by force. What has not changed is Nato’s commitment to our fundamental values and purpose. Our motto remains: all for one, one for all.

That solidarity is clear in our response to Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine and its continued breach of international law. Thanks to allies from both sides of the Atlantic, we have more than doubled the number of fighter aircraft policing the airspace of the Baltic States. We are patrolling the skies of Poland and Romania with Awacs early-warning aircraft and allies have boosted their presence in the Black Sea.

We are united in our determination to deter threats and to defend any ally at all times. We have strengthened our support for Ukraine and other partners in the region. And we have suspended cooperation with Russia; there can be no business as usual.

Nobody in Nato wants a return to the Cold War, but we see the Kremlin trying to turn back the clock and carve up Europe into new spheres of influence. We must stand up for our values, on which we have built a new and better Europe, and for the system of international rules that has underpinned prosperity and predictability.

This September we will hold a summit in Wales – a pivotal meeting at a pivotal time. We will make sure that we remain strong at home, active in managing crises, and engaged with our partners around the world.

Today’s crisis shows that defence matters as much as ever. So every ally needs to invest the necessary resources in the right capabilities. That means modern equipment, intensive training for our forces, and closer cooperation among Nato allies and with our partners. I know how challenging this is in today’s economic climate, but the security climate makes it vital.

In the long run, a lack of security would be more costly than investing now and we owe it to our forces, and to broader society. We all benefit from Nato’s protection; we all must be able to contribute to it. The alliance has kept us safe for 65 years. The bond between the democracies of North America and Europe remains the bedrock of our collective security. Nato has stood the tests of the past. We are ready to face the future.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the secretary general of Nato

06.04.2014 Romandie.com (ats)

Des partisans du Gripen ont déjà un plan B sous la main, au cas où le peuple refuserait l'achat des avions de combat. Le président de la commission de politique de sécurité du Conseil national, Thomas Hurter (UDC/SH), souhaiterait alors acheter les avions dans le cadre du budget ordinaire des forces armées.

Le conseiller national Thomas Hurter a confirmé une information parue dans plusieurs journaux dominicaux alémaniques. "En cas de rejet par le peuple de la loi sur le fonds d'acquisition du Gripen, on pourrait payer les avions par tranches via le programme d'armement de l'armée", a-t-il déclaré.

Après décision du Parlement, le Département de la défense pourrait ainsi financer tous les quinze ans une escadrille de 12 jets. De cette façon, les vieux F5-Tiger puis les F/A-18 pourraient être remplacés par 50 ou même 70 nouveaux avions de combat, sans passer par une votation populaire. Les forces aériennes suisses disposent actuellement de 86 avions.

Un achat par tranches aurait plusieurs avantages, selon M. Hurter. L'acquisition, aujourd'hui prévue dans un délai d'environ 15 ans, pourrait être raccourcie à 5 ou 7 ans. Ce qui permettrait de s'adapter plus rapidement aux innovations technologiques.

Volonté du peuple?

Un paiement par tranches via le budget de l'armée permettrait cependant avant tout d'éviter un financement particulier, tels les 3,126 milliards du fonds Gripen, et ainsi d'esquiver une votation populaire.

Le Parlement avait soumis la loi sur le fonds d'acquisition du Gripen au référendum facultatif, afin que le souverain puisse s'exprimer. Le référendum lancé par la gauche et les Verts a abouti, et les citoyens voteront sur l'achat des 22 avions suédois le 18 mai prochain.

L'UDC, parti de Thomas Hurter, insiste toujours sur le respect strict de la volonté du peuple. Selon M. Hurter, sa proposition respecte toutefois la volonté du peuple, car ce dernier s'est maintes fois prononcé en votation pour une armée et des forces aériennes fortes.

"Ce n'est en outre pas au peuple de se prononcer sur l'équipement de l'armée", a déclaré M. Hurter.

06/04/2014 Sources : EMA

Le 1er avril 2014, à Bamako, le général Marc Rudkiewicz a pris le commandement de la Mission Européenne d’Entraînement au Mali (EUTM Mali). Il succède au général Bruno Guibert.

La cérémonie a eu lieu en présence de M. Richard Zink, ambassadeur et chef de la délégation de l’Union Européenne au Mali.

Au cours de sa première année, la Mission Européenne d’Entraînement au Mali a assuré la formation de quatre groupements tactiques interarmes (GTIA) des forces armées maliennes (FAMA). Ces derniers sont désormais engagés en opération au nord du pays où ils assurent la sécurité des populations.

EUTM regroupe 560 militaires européens (provenant de 23 pays), dont 110 français. Elle assure deux missions : la formation des unités combattantes des forces armées malienne, ainsi que le conseil et l’assistance (Advisory Task Force – ATF) du Ministère de la Défense et des Anciens Combattants. Le pilier « conseil » permet d’appuyer la restauration des fonctions fondamentales de l’appareil de défense des forces armées maliennes.

French Army officials hope the government will purchase the Watchkeeper UAV. (UK Ministry of Defence)

Apr. 5, 2014 - By PIERRE TRAN – Defense News

Andrew Chuter contributed to this report from London.

April 4, 2014 by Craig Hoyle – FG

London - Saab has successfully test flown a key passive detection capability for its in-development Gripen E fighter, using dedicated test aircraft 39-7.

Developed by Selex ES’s Airborne & Space Systems division, the Skyward-G infrared search and track (IRST) sensor will give the combat aircraft a long-range means of detecting and identifying potential airborne threats, without the need to first switch on its active electronically scanned array radar. Secondary applications include the ability to act as a navigation and landing aid during darkness.

“The first flight in the Gripen E test aircraft with IRST has been performed with very good results,” says Hans Einerth, wing commander flying at Saab’s Linköping production and test site in Sweden. “Multiple targets were detected, tracked and identified, and the system works perfectly.”

Skyward-G comprises a sensor head unit installed in front of the fighter’s cockpit, and an associated processor unit box, which is stowed in the nose avionics bay. The entire system weighs less than 40kg (88lb), says Selex.

“The [IRST] integration and development work is progressing according to schedule,” says Saab. The company is producing three dedicated E-model test aircraft, with its current 39-7 asset being a modified D-model Gripen. The new-generation version should enter use in 2018, with operators expected to include Sweden, plus export customers Brazil and Switzerland; both have yet to finalise planned orders.

'Porton Man' mannequin at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down [Picture: Crown copyright]

5 April 2014 Ministry of Defence

MOD has invested £1.1 million in a robotic mannequin that will test protective suits and equipment for the UK armed forces.

MOD’s newest recruit is named ‘Porton Man’ after the home of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), at Porton Down in Wiltshire. Built using advanced lightweight materials developed for Formula One racing cars, he is able to walk, march, run, sit, kneel and can even lift his arms to sight a weapon like an infantry soldier.

More than a hundred sensors all over the robot’s body record data during tests, enabling scientists to carry out real-time analysis on equipment such as chemical and biological suits in a realistic but secure environment.

Jez Gibson-Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of i-bodi Technology in Buckinghamshire, the company that designed and built the mannequin. He said:

Our brief was to produce a lightweight robotic mannequin that had a wide range of movement and was easy to handle. Of course there were a number of challenges associated with this and one way we looked to tackle these challenges was through the use of Formula One technology.

Using the same concepts as those used in racing cars, we were able to produce very light but highly durable carbon composite body parts for the mannequin.

Mannequins have been used by Dstl in the past, but this animatronic version is unique to the UK. Dstl is also the only laboratory in the world that can use chemical warfare agents to assess the effectiveness of complete clothing systems such as the chemical, biological and radiological suits used by UK armed forces.

The Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said:

This technology, designed by a British company, is enabling the UK to lead the way in this important testing. Increased investment in science and technology by MOD is not only enabling battle-winning and life-saving equipment to be developed, but also helping innovative companies like i-bodi Technology to develop cutting-edge capability.

04.04.2014 EUTM Mali
 

L'armée de l'air turque a formellement accepté le premier de ses A400M commandés

04/04/2014 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr

Airbus Defence & Space a remis à la Turquie son premier avion de transport militaire avec un retard de plus de trois mois. Ankara a tenté de marchander pour obtenir de nouveaux avantages.

4 April 2014 by Norbert Thomas - EATC

With a start-up meeting on 6 February 2013, EATC Participating Nations (PN) - represented by their subject matter experts (SME) - decided to start a study with the aim to harmonize the handling of passenger and cargo regulations.

PN supported the idea agreed that the further development of the EATC Ground Operations Manual - in short EGOM - needs to incorporate more involvement of national experts.

Sharing the workload in six different working groups, ambitious timelines were set and EATC produced a first draft of the EGOM by August 2013 in order to send it to nations for a robust scan - and with the idea to receive respective comments in order to optimize the product.

To reach the common goal - ground handling personnel of the EATC PN should be able to load and unload any aircraft without asking for national advice - and to adjust final remarks within the plenum, therewas this week at EATC the need to go through all the content in detail - 360 pages(!) – and to implement a final writing session at EATC.

Therefore, the respective national SME’s in the different working groups as well as the responsible POC’s were invited to attend this intensive five-day working-meeting  from Monday 31 March on until today.

04-04-2014 French.china.org.cn

Les ministres de la Défense de cinq pays nordiques tiendront une réunion de deux jours le 8 avril à Tromso dans le nord de la Norvège pour discuter de la coopération et de la sécurité régionale.

Les ministres finlandais, danois, islandais, norvégien et suédois vont aborder la situation en Ukraine, le plan de cyber défense, le transport aérien tactique conjoint, le renforcement des capacités et le statut des divers projets de coopération nordique, a fait savoir jeudi un communiqué de presse diffusé par le ministère norvégien de la Défense.

Ils vont également échanger des informations et s'inspirer des expériences de coopération dans des opérations internationales en Afghanistan, en Syrie et au Mali.

"Les pays nordiques collaborent étroitement dans plusieurs domaines et nous vivons dans une époque où le dialogue constructif sur les sujets régionaux et mondiaux est très important", a indiqué le ministre norvégien de la Défense Ine Eriksen Soereide.

La Norvège assume la présidence tournante du forum de la coopération nordique de défense (NORDEFCO) en 2014.

Le NORDEFCO a été inauguré en 2009 pour renforcer la coopération nordique de défense.