20 Jun 2011 By Roland Gribben THE TELEGRAPH

Gearbox trouble has prevented Europe's costliest military plane from showing its paces in what had been billed as a "daring display" at the Paris Air Show.

Airbus was forced to abandon the public debut of the A400M, the troop carrier running four years late and developed at a cost of more than €20bn (£17.6bn) for Britain, France, Germany and four other nations.

The flypast, scheduled for today, would have been one of the highlights of the week-long show but the gearbox problem in one of the huge turbo-props is the latest setback for a project plagued by delays and squabbles which have extended to a row over the name.

Airbus has nicknamed the plane "Grizzly" but an indignant RAF intends to call the aircraft Atlas to reflect its endurance capabilities when it makes its debut at Farnborough next month. Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton has said "Grizzly" would be accepted "over my dead body."

There are doubts about whether Atlas will be cleared for take off in time for the British air show following the discovery of the gearbox problem. Domingo Urena-Raso, Airbus Military chief executive, said that "flight test requirements are very demanding at the moment."

The long development delays have exasperated politicians and air forces while engineers have wrestled with the technical challenges posed by the advanced turbo-prop technology. The programme was on the brink of cancellation last year but Britain and other buyers reluctantly agreed to stump up another €3.5bn to get the plane into service.

Industry sources have told Reuters that the gearbox problem was not the only technical setback discovered during flight tests that started in 2009. The massive propellers built by Ratier-Figeac, a French company indirectly owned by United Technologies, the US aerospace giant, developed cracks.

EADS, Airbus's parent company, has set its sights on selling 500 A400Ms.

PARIS, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire

New airlifter gains proven navigation system that operates independently of GPS

PARIS AIR SHOW -- Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) has been selected by Cassidian (an EADS company) to provide the TERPROM® terrain referenced navigation (TRN) system for the Airbus Military A400M versatile airlifter. The system will be provided by Goodrich's Sensors and Integrated Systems team in Plymouth, UK.

Goodrich will continue development activities to adapt, fully integrate and qualify the TERPROM system on the A400M beginning in the third quarter 2011. This follows completion in mid-2010 of a successful concept phase in which Airbus and Cassidian worked with the Goodrich team to validate the system's TRN capability inside the A400M aircraft architecture.

Daniela Dudek, A400M military – mission management system programme head, Cassidian Electronics said, "Goodrich's TERPROM system will provide the A400M with a battle-proven TRN capability that has been specifically designed for tactical transport operations. It will greatly enhance the situational awareness of the A400M crew, allowing them to operate with increased safety at low level, in poor conditions or when GPS is denied." The TERPROM TRN system will be embedded inside the A400M military mission management system, developed by Cassidian Electronics, EADS.

Martin Couch, avionics business director for Goodrich's Plymouth team said, "Integration of the TERPROM TRN system onto the A400M confirms the real benefits this system offers to military aircraft crews in today's intense operational scenarios.  The TERPROM system is highly accurate, passive and can be implemented in a wide variety of ways to suit different operational requirements and aircraft types."

TERPROM is a software-based system that references the actual terrain over which the aircraft is flying. It draws and combines information from the aircraft's radar altimeter and inertial navigation system with a digital terrain database, to give highly accurate terrain-referenced navigation and situational awareness - even in areas where GPS is not available. Its TRN capability calibrates errors within the aircraft inertial navigation system to provide a navigational accuracy of 15-30 meters. The system can be used for predictive ground collision avoidance, to enable more accurate terrain following flight, for wire and obstacle warning and cueing, and for passive target ranging. TERPROM is in use with 14 nations worldwide and equips over 5,000 military aircraft.

Colonel Tim Collins, who helped to lead the British army’s early campaign in Iraq, is one of the signatories of the letter Photo: ANDREW CROWLEY

18 Jun 2011 By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent THE TELEGRAPH

Senior defence figures have warned that cuts to Britain's military have endangered the nation's security, its relationship with the United States and the future of Nato.

Colonel Tim Collins, who helped to lead the British army’s early campaign in Iraq, has described the Afghanistan conflict as a “fashionable New Labour war” and said that the Ministry of Defence should not have to bear all the costs of taking care of soldiers who return with mental health problems.

Retired senior commanders in the Royal Navy, Army and RAF argue in a letter published in The Sunday Telegraph that the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) undertaken last October was a "badly rushed and myopic exercise ... driven more by fiscal considerations rather than a well informed objective review of strategy".

The former commanders, who are all members of the United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA), the most high profile and powerful military pressure group, claimed that by adopting an "accountant's approach to strategy" the armed forces were now in a "parlous" state.

The intervention comes with the armed forces in action in Libya and Afghanistan and at a time of growing disquiet in Whitehall over the SDSR, which is viewed by many within the military as a "cuts exercise" rather than a "strategic review".

The letter follow claims by all three defence chiefs that Britain's armed forces now lacked investment and were struggling to meet their operational commitments.

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the head of the Royal Navy, warned last week that the British fleet would only be able to fight in Libya for another 90 days before it had to make serious cuts in fire power elsewhere.

General Sir Peter Wall, the chief of the general staff, recently claimed that the Army was at risk of "serious decline" unless the government fulfils its pledge to increase defence spending after the 2015 election.

And senior RAF officers have told ministers that the RAF is now at risk of overstretch and morale within the service in the RAF was "fragile".

Meanwhile, senior Army chiefs were said to have been left "stunned" by the disclosure that twice as many Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers have volunteered for redundancy as expected.

More than 900 soldiers have applied for redundancy even though the Army was seeking 500 volunteers.

Today's letter warns that the destabilising effect of the "Arab Spring" in the Middle East and North Africa has only increased the need to rethink the defence review.

It goes on: "The twin pillars of Britain's security since the Second World War have been the 'Special Relationship' (what David Cameron and President Obama recently called the 'Essential Relationship') with America, and the Nato Alliance. Both these pillars are now at risk."

The list of former chiefs include Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon, a former head of the RAF, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Beverley, former head of the Royal Marines, Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham KCB, former vice chief of defence, Major General Patrick Cordingley, former Gulf War commander, Major General Julian Thompson, former Falklands War commander, Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, former fighter squadron commander, Colonel Tim Collins, former Iraq War commander and Commander John Muxworthy, one of the founders of the UKNDA.

The association was founded in 2007 to campaign for better funding for the armed forces. Its membership is composed of politicians, historians and former defence chiefs including Admiral Sir Michael Boyce and Lord Guthrie, who both served as chiefs of the defence staff.

The letter concludes: "The history of war, including all recent wars, shows that nearly all of them were unforeseen.

"The seven wars in which Britain was engaged for the last 30 years from the Falklands to Libya were all unexpected.

"And the unexpected 'Arab Spring' is sure to be only the beginning for more instability. Under these circumstances an accountant's approach to strategy is bound to fail.

"All three Services need a general capability and proper contingency reserve to be fit for the challenges ahead.

"Given the long lead times – 10 to 15 years, sometimes more – for major equipment provision, and the need to recruit and train servicemen and women to use them effectively, what we spend now will determine our defence effectiveness in the 2020s and beyond.

"Only provision based on wise foresight can ensure our long-term security. It represents the highest return in national investment we shall ever make."

A Ministry of Defence Spokesperson said: "The SDSR was undertaken in the context of the biggest budget deficit in post-war history and the need to take the right decisions to deliver a military force that meets the challenges of today and tomorrow.

"This required tough choices, but these were taken on the basis of clear military advice.

"As current operations are proving, we have the capability to project power and influence at very short notice. We continue to have the fourth largest military budget in the world with cutting-edge submarines, surface ships and fast jets, a new fleet of transport aircraft along with an army based around highly flexible multi-role brigades.

"The SDSR retained Tornado fast jets over Harrier because of their proven ground attack capability, which is now making a difference in both Libya and Afghanistan."

18 Juin 2011 Philippe Oswald – Décryptage libertepolitique.com

« Les jours de Kadhafi sont comptés », affirme le Premier ministre britannique David Cameron. « L’Alliance ira jusqu’au bout de sa mission », martèle le commandant de l’opération « Protecteur unifié » de l’Otan en Libye, le général canadien Charles Bouchard. C’est ce qu’on nous répète depuis des semaines. Espérons que ce n’est pas une nouvelle manifestation de la méthode Coué. Car le temps presse pour au moins trois raisons.

La première, à ne jamais perdre de vue, ce sont les victimes : selon l'ONU, le conflit en Libye a fait depuis le 15 février entre 10.000 et 15.000 morts, et contraint près d'un million de personnes à prendre la fuite. Il est plus que temps de mettre un terme à cette hécatombe et à cette hémorragie que l’intervention militaire alliée avait pour seule mission d’éviter (à ce propos, la spécialiste des situations de crise d'Amnesty International, Donatella Rovera, qui revient de trois mois passés en Libye, estime que le nombre de victimes de Kadhafi durant la première phase des événements est bien moindre qu'annoncé, et accuse les rebelles d’avoir commis eux aussi des atrocités en particulier contre les travailleurs immigrés africains qui n’avaient rien de « mercenaires » de Kadhafi -lire ci-dessous).

La seconde raison d’en finir avec la guerre, c’est l’épuisement des deux principaux contributeurs à la mission de l’Otan, le Royaume-Uni et la France : le chef de la marine britannique, l'amiral Mark Stanhope, a estimé que celle-ci ne pourrait maintenir le rythme de ses opérations jusqu'à la fin de l'année. Pour sa part, le chef d'état-major de la marine française, l'amiral Pierre-François Forissier, a évoqué « un problème de ressources humaines » et de maintenance. « Quand on est en opération, on ne fait plus d'école, plus de formation », a-t-il souligné. Si, le Charles de Gaulle restait engagé en Libye jusqu'à la fin 2011, « il ne travaillerait plus du tout en opération en 2012. » Or c’est notre unique porte-avion !

Les partenaires de l’Otan doivent composer avec un budget militaire « stagnant, voire déclinant » a reconnu quant à lui le général français Stéphane Abrial, commandant suprême allié pour la transformation, chargé notamment à l’Otan de réfléchir sur l’évolution des problèmes stratégiques. S’exprimant la semaine dernière à Belgrade, en marge d'une conférence de l'Otan, il n’a pas caché à la presse que « si les opérations durent plus longtemps, bien sûr que la question des ressources deviendra critique ».

De son côté, le secrétaire américain à la Défense, Robert Gates, ne s’est pas privé, à la veille de prendre sa retraite, de pointer la faiblesse des alliés de l’Alliance atlantique, en prenant l’exemple des opérations en cours en Afghanistan et en Libye.  Lui aussi s’exprimait la semaine dernière, mais à Bruxelles, au terme de deux jours de réunion des ministres de la Défense de l'Otan, pour dénoncer les « lacunes » tant militaires que politiques des Européens. Rappelant que les États-Unis contribuent à hauteur de 75 % aux dépenses de défense de l'Otan, Robert Gates a prévenu sans ambages que le débat sur le déficit budgétaire qui se déroule à Washington n’inciterait pas son pays à « dépenser de plus en plus en faveur de nations qui ne veulent visiblement pas allouer les ressources nécessaires ou entreprendre les changements nécessaires pour devenir des partenaires sérieux et capables pour ce qui relève de leur propre défense ». Et de prédire un avenir de l’Otan « sombre, voire lugubre ». Ambiance…Pour être sûr d’être entendu, Robert Gates en a remis une couche dans une interview à l’agence Associated Press (15 juin) en avertissant que l’Alliance atlantique « pourrait se briser », le fiasco libyen servant de révélateur.

La troisième raison pour laquelle le temps presse, c’est que les interventions militaires sont soumises à des échéances légales dans les pays démocratiques. En France, l'article 35 de la Constitution encadre une intervention de l'armée hors des frontières. Dans une première étape, le gouvernement se contente d’informer le Parlement de sa décision de faire intervenir les forces armées à l'étranger, « au plus tard trois jours après le début de l'intervention en précisant les objectifs poursuivis ». Mais « lorsque la durée de l'intervention excède quatre mois, le gouvernement soumet sa prolongation à l'autorisation du Parlement ». L'intervention française en Libye ayant commencé le 19 mars dernier, une session devra donc être programmée avant le 19 juillet. On peut s’attendre à des débats houleux,  alors que le coût des opérations supporté par la France est évalué à 1,2 million d'euros par jour. Qui plus est, nombre d’experts militaires estiment que l’intervention d’hélicoptères nous a fait entrer subrepticement dans une nouvelle phase, celle d’opérations terrestres. Selon eux, en effet, le combat terrestre de contact se compose  de trois pions : le combat "débarqué" de l'infanterie, le combat "embarqué" des chars, et l'aéro-combat des hélicoptères, bien différent des missions de l’aviation.

Aux Etats-Unis, l'intervention militaire en Libye est l'occasion d'un nouveau bras de fer entre Républicains et Démocrates. Le président de la Chambre des représentants, le républicain John Boehner, vient de mettre en garde le président Barack Obama quant à une éventuelle poursuite des opérations militaires américaines sans autorisation préalable du Congrès. En Grande-Bretagne, la prolongation est acquise jusqu’en septembre, mais le chef de la Royal Navy, l'Amiral Mark Stanhope, a averti que les priorités devront être repensées si l'opération lancée par l'Otan durait plus de six mois. D’autres pays engagés en Libye ont annoncé qu’ils mettraient les pouces d’ici peu, telle la Norvège qui rapatriera ses six chasseurs F16 le 1^er août.

Au-delà des moyens et des échéances, reste posée la question principale, celle de la finalité : pourquoi sommes-nous intervenus en Libye, pour quoi, pour qui nous battons-nous ? Nous avons déjà écrit ici la défiance que cette intervention nous inspirait.  Ce sentiment vient d’être conforté par le rapport réalisé à l’initiative du Centre international de recherche et d’étude sur le terrorisme et d’aide aux victimes du terrorisme (CIRET-AVT) et du Centre français de recherche sur le renseignement (CF2R), avec le soutien du Forum pour la paix en Méditerranée. Ce rapport a été réalisé par des experts en matière de défense et de sécurité, tels Yves Bonnet, ancien patron de la Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST), et Eric Dénécé, ancien officier-analyste à l’Evaluation et la Documentation stratégique du Secrétariat Général de la Défense Nationale, au terme d’un voyage d’étude dans les deux camps qui s’affrontent en Libye, à Tripoli du 31 mars au 6 avril, puis à Benghazi, du 19 au 25 avril. Sans nier la gravité des violations perpétrées par le régime du colonel Kadhafi,  les experts sont parvenus à la conclusion suivante : « L’étude des faits nous conduit à affirmer que la révolution n’est ni démocratique, ni spontanée. Nous sommes en présence d’un soulèvement armé organisé de la partie orientale du pays, dans un esprit de revanche et de dissidence ».

Alors que les révoltes populaires en Tunisie et en Egypte étaient dues surtout à l’aggravation de la crise économique, c’est plutôt la répartition du pactole pétrolier qui est en jeu en Libye, sur fond de vieilles défiances tribales, estiment ces experts. Ils n’hésitent pas à dénoncer le caractère mafieux de certains des acteurs de la rébellion, notamment à Benghazi, « épicentre de la migration africaine vers l’Europe » : « Le trafic humain s’est transformé en une véritable industrie, brassant des milliards de dollars. Une monde parallèle mafieux s’est développé dans la ville où le trafic est profondément implanté et emploie des milliers de personnes dans tous les domaines. » C’est précisément parce que le pouvoir libyen avait enfin entrepris de combattre ce cancer en collaborant avec les autorités italiennes que la « mafia locale » a « été en pointe dans le financement et le soutien à la rébellion libyenne » et que des gangs se sont livrés à des expéditions punitives contre « plusieurs centaines de travailleurs immigrés » de divers pays d’Afrique. Cette information a été confirmée le 16 juin à son retour à Paris par l’envoyée d’Amnesty International, Donatella Rovera, qui évoque une « chasse aux sorcières » meurtrière : « Des attaques inadmissibles contre les travailleurs migrants ont eu lieu, en particulier contre les subsahariens, a-t-elle rapporté. Et il y a une responsabilité des autorités politiques qui ont créé cette psychose sur les mercenaires. Certains ont été lynchés, d'autres pendus dans les places publiques. J'ai vu leur corps dans les morgues. Là, c'était la foule. Mais après j'ai retrouvé des corps par-ci par-là, pieds et mains liés une balle dans la tête... »

Le rapport précédent pointe aussi l’hétérogénéité du Conseil national de transition (CNT), l’organe politique de la rébellion, « coalition d’éléments disparates aux intérêts divergents, dont l’unique point commun est leur opposition déterminée au régime. Les véritables démocrates n’y sont qu’une minorité. »

On peut en effet nourrir légitimement des doutes sur l’attachement à la démocratie du clan des Sénoussis, qui pratiquent une « forme conservatrice et austère de l’Islam » et ne pardonnent pas à Kadhafi d’avoir  renversé en 1969 le roi Idriss, membre du clan. On éprouve les mêmes doutes vis-à-vis du président du CNT en personne, Mustapha Abdujabil al-Bayda, opposant de la dernière heure, qui n’est autre que l’ancien ministre de la Justice libyenne et le président de la cour d’appel de Tripoli ayant confirmé, par deux fois, la peine de mort prononcée contre les infirmières bulgares et le médecin palestinien, emprisonnés de 1999 à 2007 à Benghazi ! Plus grave encore, la présence en Cyrénaïque de jihadistes,  anciens du Groupe islamique de combat libyen (GICL), fondé en Afghanistan dans les années 1990 par des ressortissants libyens : « La région qui va de Benghazi à Tobrouk en passant par Derna représente l’une des plus grandes concentrations de terroristes au monde, avec un combattant envoyé en Irak pour 1.000 à 1.500 habitants » indique le rapport, citant une étude de l’Académie militaire de West Point. La conclusion s’impose : « La coalition militaire sous l’égide de l’Otan soutient une rébellion comprenant des terroristes islamiques.» N’est-ce pas déjà ce que les Américains avaient fait en Afghanistan il y a trente ans…avec des conséquences que nous continuons de payer aujourd’hui avec eux au prix fort ?

Pour lire ce rapport sur la situation en Libye :  http://www.cf2r.org/images/stories/news/201106/rapport-libye.pdf

June 17, 2011 defpro.com

Another challenging, long distance deployment for the Typhoon. Four aircraft in service with the Italian Air Force recently participated in the "Northern Viking" exercise held in Iceland from the 2nd to 10th of June.

The four fighters, with the support of a KC-130J air tanker and together with other Italian Armed Force assets, flew for the first time to Keflavik Air Base, in western Iceland.

The “Northern Viking 2011” is a joint exercise based on a bilateral treaty between the Government of Iceland and the USEUCOM - US European Command - to train and operate seamlessly with other multinational assets.

For the Italian Typhoons this training activity was an important opportunity to develop the ability to redeploy at a considerable distance from Italy and in operational conditions in stark contrast to those in Italy during the summer. As usual, for the Eurofighter Typhoons, this deployment was completed with a very high operational availability rate.

The “Northern Viking 2011” exercise developed realistic scenarios with a focus on validation of the air support tactics. During the exercise, Eurofighter pilots worked closely with naval forces and field-tested appropriate tactics for the current operational requirements.

The nations participating in the exercise were Italy; Iceland; United States; Norway; Finland and Denmark.

Jun 17, 2011 ASDNews Source : Babcock International

A major and visible milestone has been achieved in the Long Overhaul Period (Refuel) [LOP(R)] on Vanguard class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) HMS Vigilant with the successful completion of flood-up today (16 June) - the first time the submarine has been afloat in over two and a half years, since dry docking in November 2008. The LOP(R) is being undertaken by Babcock at Devonport Royal Dockyard.

The successful achievement of flood-up signals completion of some 80 per cent of the work programme on HMS Vigilant. Refuelling - a critical element of the three and a half year LOP(R) which dictates the overall programme duration - was successfully completed in November last year. This is supported by a major revalidation of all reactor systems and replacement of major equipment such as the main coolant pumps, reactor pressure vessel head and reactor instrumentation suite, and a significant commissioning programme. In addition, the LOP(R) has seen a significant number of upgrades to the tactical and strategic weapons systems, as well as a vital and substantial overhaul of the propulsion system including main engines, 700KW motor generators, refurbishment of the tailshaft, plus major external represervation work, and upgrades to the accommodation and mess areas.

Since completion of refuelling last autumn, the Vigilant LOP(R) team has been focused on commissioning submarine systems and reinstating the submarine structure to provide water-tight integrity assurance in readiness for flood-up, involving a step change in vessel condition and a substantial programme of work. This has included completion of trim, bilge and ballast systems testing and operational handover of emergency breathing, communications, flood alarms and fire fighting systems to ship's staff to support emergency response while afloat. Steam machinery trials in dry dock have also been successfully completed, providing an early operational test of the propulsion systems (except turning the main shaft) and demonstrating the quality of workmanship with very few defects.

Babcock Project Manager Phil Smith comments: "The significance of this milestone is huge, not just in terms of the programme, but in bringing together so many diverse groups of workers in a common cause. The submarine crew also had a vital part to play in the lead up, taking operational ownership of a number of systems. To have successfully achieved flood-up is a major milestone and highly visible demonstration of the excellent progress being made. Loop fill (filling the primary reactor circuit) follows closely in July, and our reactor production teams and reactor test team are driving hard for this milestone."

He adds: "The partnering agreement1 between Babcock and the MoD has without doubt contributed to this latest success - the fact that we strive together as one for the common goal at the coalface is key. This is a highly complex and challenging programme, and the joint project team is now firmly committed to meeting the remaining challenges and achieving the key programme milestones efficiently and effectively, to ensure successful delivery of the project within the agreed contract acceptance date next year, representing optimum value for money for the MoD and Royal Navy."

Flood-up will now be followed by a focus on final completion through a programme of reactor system testing and commissioning, and its integration with the propulsion systems through a series of 'Cold and Hot' operations (CHops). This will culminate in Power Range Testing (PRT) at the end of this year, where the new core achieves criticality for the first time, generating 'nuclear steam' to prove the propulsion plant and supporting sub-systems. HMS Vigilant will then sail from Devonport for sea trials in 2012.

Commenting on this key milestone, MoD Project Contract Manager Nick Febbrarro said: "An important requirement for the MOD is that HMS Vigilant is completed to the programme timescale or earlier. This very important milestone in the drive to meet this requirement marks the culmination of a comprehensive work package to return submarine systems and equipment back to service and in accordance with design intent. Completion of this milestone is testament to the application of a highly skilled workforce and the significant investment in time and resources by all stakeholders. During the commissioning phase we have worked in close co-operation with Babcock and the Ship's Company and are now in the best possible shape to take the project forward into the final phase of the LOP(R) including reactor commissioning."

HMS Vigilant is the third Vanguard class submarine to undergo a LOP(R) at Devonport. The project represents five years of activity (including the planning phase) and over GBP300 million to return the submarine to the fleet capable of fulfilling her role well into the 21st century. The massive project will involve more than 2.2 million manhours and a total of 2,000 personnel.

16 Jun 2011 By ALBRECHT MÜLLER, DefenseNews AFP

BONN – Germany's defense secretary has set up 11 project groups to fill in the details of the military's planned restructuring, which follows his May unveiling of defense policy guidelines.

"We really take up quite a lot there," Thomas de Maizière said at a June 10 kick-off presentation in Berlin.

The groups will work independently, but a steering committee will control the process, along with the task force on structural reform. The committee will include state secretary Rüdiger Wolf, Generalinspekteur general Volker Wieker and states secretary Stéphane Beemelmans.

All projects will have to make decisions relevant to the future basing by this fall, when defense secretary de Maizière wants to present the final concept.

In order from one to 11, the projects will:

■ Reshape the Bundeswehr's structure to a maximum of 185,000 personnel, including reservists; and a leaner command structure with new roles for the Generalinspekteur and the chief of staffs of the individual services.

■ Write the new basing concept of military and civilian elements.

■ Shape the German defense department's reduction from today's 3,100 military and civilian employees to 2,100.

■ Organize staff management and create a recruitment branch.

■ Plan a quick and socially acceptable reduction of the military and civil personnel to reach the final personnel headline goals.

■ Make coherent the Bundeswehr's education and qualification sector.

■ Create the new materiel and utilization management. Its goal is a new procurement process with an optimized IT.

■ Adjust the structures and optimize the processes in the infrastructure and service sectors.

■ Devise a new concept for the Bundeswehr's reserve force.

■ Works on governance and control.

16/06/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

Airbus Military is set to launch a new campaign of icing trials using A400M "Grizzly One", with the activity to come as its development fleet has also cleared its first 1,000 take-offs and landings.

Photographed in Toulouse, France by AirSpace user Commercial Aviation, the aircraft has recently been equipped with a distinctive orange housing on its upper fuselage. This contains a camera that will observe the leading edge of its all-composite wing during natural icing trials.

One of the images also shows the aircraft with red and yellow "chequerboard" markings on the wing, which Airbus Military says will assist it in assessing the degree of icing experienced.

© Commercial Aviation gallery on flightglobal.com/AirSpace

The forthcoming trials will build on earlier work performed with artificial ice shapes installed on another Grizzly. "Handling qualities remain outstanding despite the severe ice shapes in normal and failure conditions," Airbus Military said of the previous tests, which revealed that less of the wing required de-icing than had previously been forecast.

Grizzly One is also shown sporting a new-style A400M marking on its fuselage aft of the cockpit. This will be added to all development aircraft "in the very near future", Airbus Military said.

The company's current four development aircraft had flown a combined 535 sorties totalling 1,710h by 7 June. The company had by the same date performed a total of 1,040 take-offs and landings, with several having been conducted during single sorties since the type's flight debut in December 2009.

June 16, 2011 Andrew White, SHEPARD GROUP

Brussels - The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is considering options to fill a potential capability gap beyond the projected out-of-service date of 2015 for its fleet of MQ-9 Reaper UAVs, a senior service official has revealed.

Referring to the forthcoming initial operational capability of 2018 for the UK's Scavenger MALE UAV programme, Wg Cdr Gary Coleman, SO1 ISTAR Land HQ 2Gp, described how the RAF was 'looking at options of how to fill the gap at the moment'. In May, the Ministry of Defence said the move would extend the operational capability of the Reaper urgent operational requirement (UOR) until 2015 at least.

'I think the date 2015 is probably set for troop reductions [in Afghanistan] but I think we'll still be supporting Afghan National Security Forces with the Reaper as a UOR beyond that,' Coleman stated. He also described how Reaper currently covered some 80 per cent of Scavenger requirements and highlighted other potential candidates including Predator C, Talarion and Taranis. The UK and France are also considering a joint approach which could also satisfy Scavenger requirements.

Coleman also confirmed that the RAF was still planning on procuring the Additional Reaper Capability (ARC), comprising an additional five aircraft by the middle of 2012. This, he added, would provide the RAF with a capability to fly three orbits on a 24/7 basis with the use of 44 crews.

The ARC, worth an increased investment of some £135 million, coincides with the reconfiguration of 13 Squadron as a second Reaper unit.

Describing the Reaper UAV as a vital part of the RAF's existing force mix, Coleman said: 'The manned and unmanned force mix is the way we are going to go in the future. But it will not replace the GR4 [Tornado] or Joint Strike Fighter. It's niche capability is endurance and the manned and unmanned force mix.'

Having flown a total of 22,000 hours in Afghanistan between October 2007 and May this year, Coleman said 39 Squadron Reaper aircraft were flying approximately 1,000 hours of ISR missions a month. In total, the aircraft have launched over 160 munitions including AGM-114 Hellfires and GBU-12 laser guided bombs.

However, he added that the RAF was 'possibly identifying a requirement in the future for an even smaller yield munition than Hellfire' for close air support fire missions in complex urban environments.

'There is a clear demand for low yield weapons which may have enabled kinetic options against non-prosecutable targets,' he admitted while describing how three Hellfire munitions were typically fired for every GBU-12 laser guided bomb. Currently, RAF Reapers carry four Hellfires and two GBU-12 bombs on mission in Afghanistan, at operational altitudes of 30,000 ft and providing some 12 hours of endurance.

16/06/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

The UK Ministry of Defence has followed Australia's lead by establishing a Projects of Concern list that will expose the problems affecting some of its largest equipment acquisitions.

The Major Projects Review Board met for the first time on 13 June, when its members discussed the status of three development efforts with their respective programme managers. These included the British Army's Thales UK-led Watchkeeper unmanned air system deal, which has a main contract value of £635 million ($1 billion), and a total projected cost of almost £900 million, including support.

To provide the army with a fleet of WK450 air vehicles and associated equipment to meet intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance needs, Watchkeeper is due to enter operational use in Afghanistan late this year. Original plans had called for the capability to be available in February 2011.

Published last October, the UK National Audit Office's Major Projects Report 2010 revealed that Thales and its U-TacS joint venture partner Elbit Systems had "experienced some technical issues concerning system software development and integration, which have impacted the programme timescales".

The board will meet on a quarterly basis to review any of the UK's top 50 defence procurements - which have a combined value of more than £100 billion - that are running over budget or behind schedule. "Any project that the board decides is failing will be publicly named and shamed" if no improvement is reported by the time of its next meeting, the MoD said. Removal from the Projects of Concern list will be approved only on the demonstration of progress to resolve identified shortcomings.

Intended to help enforce tighter financial controls, the approach will "allow the public and the market to judge how well the MoD and industry are doing in supporting the armed forces and offering taxpayers value for money", the ministry said.

"I want shareholders to see where projects are under-performing so that the market can take action. Those responsible for poor project management must be brought to account," said defence secretary Liam Fox, who chairs the board. Other permanent members include minister for defence equipment, support and technology Peter Luff and chief of defence materiel Bernard Gray.

Thales is due to deliver a Watchkeeper programme update at the Paris air show on 21 June.

June 15, 2011 defpro.com

Heerbrugg, Switzerland | Vectronix AG, a leading manufacturer of handheld range finding and night vision equipment has been awarded a continuative contract by the Thales Prime Contract Management Office (PCMO) to supply an additional quantity of 1400 MOSKITO multi-function target acquisition units to the Ministry of Defence under the UK soldier modernization program FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology). This order increases the total quantity of MOSKITOs now to be delivered under this programme to over 4000 units.

MOSKITO will be utilized as the new Commander’s Target Locator (CTL). The unique multi-function device combines all essential day and night viewing, measuring and geo-location functions into one compact and user friendly device weighing less than 1.2kg, including its commercially available batteries.

Vectronix has been working closely with Thales PCMO and the MoD for the past several years to provide an integrated solution meeting the requirements of this important customer.

15/06/11 By David Learmount SOURCE:Flight International

A new area of segregated airspace in Wales is to be set aside specifically for testing unmanned aircraft from the West Wales airport/ParcAberporth Unmanned Aircraft facility.

The airspace from 28 July will be designated a Danger Area, but it will be active only when unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operations are scheduled.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority said that it has approved a request from the Welsh Government to establish additional segregated airspace near West Wales airport and the area to the east of it.

The airspace change was requested "to accommodate the future requirements for unmanned aircraft development", said the CAA, and a full local consultation process was undertaken before approval. The authority said it has ensured a commitment to ensure safe access for other aircraft through the provision of a Danger Area Crossing Service from the nearby Aberporth Radar air traffic control unit.

West Wales airport's managing director Ray Mann said: "The CAA announcement to allow this specialised airspace is now the strongest recognition that West Wales is the focal point for UAS development in the UK. The airspace adds significantly to the many specialised assets that already exist at the airport and gives Britain further opportunity to benefit from a market that is forecast to be worth £60 billion annually by 2020."

The UK has another UAV operating area near Boscombe Down in southern England, but that is purely for military use.