10/02/2012 Economie et technologie

Le Conseil franco-allemand de la défense et de la sécurité s’est déroulé le 6 février 2012 à Paris. A l’issue du Conseil, une déclaration commune aux ministres de la défense et des affaires étrangères allemands et français a été prononcée. Extraits.

credits Eads Astrium - source defense.gouv.fr

October 10, 2011 defpro.com

Earth observation military satellite contract increases Sofradir’s achievements in supplying state-of-the-art IR detectors for space

Paris, France | Sofradir, a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced infrared detectors for military, space and industrial applications, announces today that it has been awarded a multi-million Euro contract to manufacture Infrared (IR) detectors for the engineering and flight model phases for the MUSIS/CSO next generation Earth observation military satellites. These satellites will replace the current Helios 2 observational system.

Within the framework of the four-year MUSIS/CSO contract, Sofradir will deliver to Thalès Alenia Space France (TAS-F), a leading worldwide manufacturer of satellite and space equipment, high resolution custom design IR focal plane arrays for the optical imaging cameras. The exact value of the contract was undisclosed.

“After our successful involvement in the satellites Helios IIA and IIB, launched in 2004 and 2009 respectively, Sofradir is proud to be part of the MUSIS/CSO project and have the continued confidence of the French MoD and TAS,” said Philippe Bensussan, chairman and CEO at Sofradir. “Our expertise in developing state-of-the-art IR detectors for Earth observation applications will be further strengthened through this collaboration. We look forward to other opportunities to make our MCT IR detectors that operate reliably in harsh environments available for other challenging space projects in Europe and around the world.“

The CSO (Optical Space Component) is the French government’s contribution to the future MUSIS (MUltinational Spacebased Imaging System) that will include optical and radar space components. Astrium, a leading aerospace company, is the prime contractor for the CSO satellite development contract. The French space agency CNES awarded the contract to Astrium in 2010. CNES was delegated by the French procurement agency DGA to manage the project.

Sofradir first became involved in MUSIS/CSO in 2005, when it carried out a feasibility study and preliminary development of the IR detectors. Sofradir will complete delivery of all the IR detectors by 2015. These are based on Sofradir’s Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) technology, a highly complex semiconductor material that is unavailable to all but a few manufacturers in the world because it is tricky to master.

MCT IR technology

Sofradir has worked with Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT/HgCdTe) IR technology for 25 years. It is the only MCT IR manufacturer in the world, outside the US, to produce 4,000 – 4,500 units per year. This high volume provides two advantages: The ability to reproduce consistently IR detectors that exhibit the high levels of performance required for space applications. The high volume also generates an enormous amount of performance and reliability data, a valuable asset and prerequisite for guaranteeing product performance and reliability. Space contractors benefit from the continual improvements and innovation gained from this data.

source telegraph.co.uk

Annual Space Conference organized by SWF and IFRI

The conference will provide snapshot of the current governance situation of space programs and issues in three panels. The first one  will cover space governance after the Lisbon Treaty, assessing the overall policy and institutional consequences of the Treaty and providing analysis on the structural framework of European space governance. The second panel will look in more details at the governance issues of the Galileo and GMES programs. The last panel will be dedicated to the governance of security-related space programs, emphasizing both the role of specific institutions (EDA, EEAS) and the development of concrete programs (SSA, MUSIS). Last but not least, a keynote speaker will address the current diplomatic activity around the adoption of an international Code of Conduct in space.

8:30 – Registration and coffee
 
9:00-9:15 – The basics of European space governance
Christophe VENET, Research Associate to the Space Policy Program, Ifri
 
9:15-10:45 – Panel 1: European space governance after the Lisbon Treaty
The first panel will explore structural issues: the institutional interplay between the various European stakeholders, the implications of the Lisbon Treaty in terms of policy, the place of national actors in the European governance scheme and the burning topic of sustainable funding.

Moderator: Agnieszka LUKASZCZYK, Space Policy Consultant, Secure World Foundation
 
Policy implications of the Lisbon Treaty and governance evolutions
Gaëlle MICHELIER, Policy Officer, Space Policy & Coordination Unit, Enterprise and Industry DG, European Commission
 
What is the future role for national space agencies?
Jan KOLAR, Director, Czech Space Office
 
How to make space systems financially sustainable?
Maria BUZDUGAN, Legal Officer, EU satellite navigation programs: Legal, Financial and Institutional Aspects, Enterprise and Industry DG, European Commission
 
The legal framework of space activities in Europe
Tanja MASSON-ZWAAN, Deputy Director, International Institute of Air & Space Law, Leiden University
 
10:45-11:00 – Coffee break
  
11:00-12:30 – Panel 2: Governance issues for specific programs
The second panel will address the future governance perspectives of both Galileo and GMES as well as the issue of the future of procurement rules in Europe.

Moderator: TBC
 
Procurement rules: towards a third way?
Rik HANSEN, Research Fellow, Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, Leuven Catholic University
 
The future governance architecture of Galileo
Gérard BRACHET, Consultant in space policy, Vice-President of the International Astronautical Federation
 
GMES: which governance scheme after 2013?
Josef ASCHBACHER, Head, GMES Space Office, ESA
 
12:30-14:00 – Buffet lunch
 
14:00-14:30 – Keynote speech on the Code of Conduct for outer space activities
How is the international community warming up to the EU proposal?
Personal Representative on non-proliferation of WMD, European External Action Service
TBD
 
14:30-16:00 – Panel 3: The governance of Space & Security in Europe
The last panel will focus on Space & Security issues, addressing both institutional issues (the future role of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS) regarding space) and specific programs (MUSIS and SSA). 

Moderator: Laurence NARDON, Head of the Space Policy Program, Ifri
 
A growing role for EDA in space
Claude-France ARNOULD, Executive Director, European Defence Agency (TBC)
 
The use of space by the EEAS
Nicolas GROS-VERHEYDE, Journalist, author and editor of the blog Bruxelles2
 
MUSIS: The promises and limitations of multilateral cooperation endeavors
Olivier JEHIN, Editor of Europe Diplomacy and Defence, Ifri
 
16:00-16h30 – Wrap up of the day
Michael SIMPSON, Senior Program Manager, Secure World Foundation

Lieu : Conseil Central de l'Economie, avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée 17-21, Brussels
Organisateurs : contact: breux@ifri.org

Inscription

20/06/2011 Domitille Bertrand

Dans le domaine du renseignement d’origine spatiale, la France fait un nouveau pas, en se dotant du portail hôte d’accès au renseignement de l’observation spatiale (Pharos). Il permet de fédérer l’accès aux images de satellites européens d’observation de la Terre utilisés dans le cadre d‘opérations militaires et de renseignement.

« Jusqu’à maintenant, lorsque les forces françaises avaient besoin d’une vue satellite, pour de la veille stratégique ou un besoin tactique, elles en faisaient la demande au centre militaire d’observation par satellites (CMOS), à Creil. Une fois la requête traitée par le CMOS, les images étaient gravées sur DVD puis expédiées au demandeur. Et, pour chaque demande, il fallait analyser sur les segments sol (systèmes qui regroupent tous les moyens nécessaires à l’envoi, à la réception et aux traitements des données échangées entre les satellites et la Terre) des différents satellites, quel serait le meilleur à utiliser, en fonction de leurs heures de passage au-dessus de la zone à observer, des conditions météo et bien sûr du type d’image - radar, infrarouge… - demandé », explique Harold Hoff, architecte-concepteur d’ensemble du programme SSO (segment sol d’observation) à la direction générale de l’armement (DGA).

A partir de juin 2011, les requêtes et les recherches des usagers seront toutes rassemblées sur un système unique : Pharos, le portail hôte d’accès au renseignement de l’observation spatiale. « Parmi les avantages notoires, il faut bien évidemment souligner un gain de temps immense, puisque les images pourront être commandées directement depuis un théâtre d’opération extérieure où elles seront diffusées par voie électronique une fois produites » souligne Harold Hoff. Les données pourront également être archivées et partagées en ligne par toute la communauté Pharos (cette communauté regroupe les différentes armées et les services de renseignement français) reliée au système, ce qui permettra de disposer immédiatement d’images déjà produites ou d’éviter des commandes multiples sur une même zone.

« Simplifier le recours aux images satellites, en fédérant les données »

La France a accès à plusieurs systèmes d’imagerie satellite, systèmes complémentaires aux caractéristiques différentes :

- dans le domaine optique, on retrouve les satellites à très haute résolution Hélios qui seront complétés dès 2012 par le premier des deux satellites Pléiades, système à vocation civile et militaire ;

- dans le domaine de l’imagerie radar, des partenariats ont été mis en place avec l’Italie et avec l’Allemagne pour avoir accès à leurs systèmes nationaux, respectivement Cosmo-SkyMed et SAR-Lupe.

Ces deux systèmes satellitaires ont une même vocation : outils essentiels aux forces, ils permettent d’accéder à des renseignements stratégiques, en obtenant par exemple des éléments sur des positions, des capacités ou des matériels ennemis. Cependant, ils sont très différents : les satellites optiques sont comparables à des appareils photo numériques ultra-performants. Ils ont pour avantage de donner des images exploitables immédiatement, avec pour seule contrainte que l’observation soit réalisée de jour et en l’absence de couverture nuageuse (éventuellement de nuit pour les images infrarouges). À l’inverse, les satellites radar effectuent des prises de vues de jour comme de nuit, quelle que soit la météo sur la zone observée. De plus, ils sont plus difficiles à leurrer. Par contre, l’exploitation des images radar nécessite l’intervention d’un interprète d’images bien entrainé et disposant d’outils (poste d’exploitation) adaptés.

Un système franco-français

Si le cœur du Pharos est implanté lui aussi au CMOS à Creil, 18 cellules distantes sont réparties sur tout le territoire national et 16 cellules sont prêtes à être projetées sur des théâtres d’opérations extérieures. Ces cellules, constituées d’un serveur et d’un poste de travail, sont reliées entre elles grâce à une connexion sécurisée et chiffrée. Plus de 600 Go de données, issues de la production des segments sol, seront intégrées chaque jour dans Pharos. « Dès la fin de la phase finale de vérification prévue courant juin 2011 le porte-avions Charles-de-Gaulle pourra accéder à cette capacité au moyen de la station projetable qu’il a embarquée » ajoute Harold Hoff.

Le portail Pharos sera présenté au salon du Bourget 2011 comme un atout majeur dans le domaine du renseignement d’origine spatiale. Néanmoins, ce dernier né d’un travail commun entre l’état-major des armées (EMA), la DGA et les industriels Cassidian et Astrium (tous deux du groupe EADS) restera bien un système franco-français : « Nous touchons ici au domaine du renseignement ; les images, photos, documents commandés et archivés seront pour la plupart classés secret-défense.  Il en va de la sécurité des forces ! »

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 6 (UPI)

Israel's High-Tech Industry Association has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Indian counterpart to boost cooperation in advanced technology, a move that will undoubtedly increase the Jewish state's burgeoning defense sales to India.

The Jerusalem Post reports that industry executives see the accord with the Confederation of Indian Industry, signed June 1, leading to a convergence of "Israel's innovative prowess with India's huge and talented pool of human resources."

Trade between Israel and India -- one Jewish, one Hindu, both locked in conflict with Islamist terror groups -- hit $47 billion in 2010, with India moving into second place among the Jewish state's export markets.

That didn't include defense sales on more than $1 billion annually. India is engaged in a top-to-bottom upgrade and expansion of its armed forces.

This includes massive spending on combat aircraft and building up naval forces to project Indian power across the Indian Ocean, a vital energy and trade route between the Middle East and Asia.

"Increased arms spending has created a natural market for Israeli military technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles and airborne early warning radar systems," the Post said.

In recent years, Israel has consolidated defense links with India into a strategic relationship.

On April 20, 2009, India launched its 650-pound RISAT-2 satellite, built by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and carrying the same multi-spectral aperture radar as the Tecstar-1 satellite developed for Israel's military.

The Indians, with Israeli help, fast-tracked vital surveillance systems in the wake of the attack by Islamic extremists on Mumbai, India's commercial hub, in November 2008 in which 166 people were killed, five of them Israelis.

In January 2009, India took delivery of the first of three Phalcon all-weather AWACS, also built by IAI, the flagship of Israel's defense industry, under a $1.1 billion deal. The radar system, produced by Israel's Elta Industries, is built around the Russian-built Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft. Delivery was advanced by two months following the carnage in Mumbai.

The Phalcons made India the first state in South Asia to have advanced multi-sensor AWACs capable of providing tactical surveillance or multiple airborne and surface targets and able to gather signals intelligence.

As part of the Phalcon deal, the Israelis disclosed they would establish five factories in India to produce artillery shells, a project reportedly worth $250 million.

Ties like this will likely deepen through the high-tech accord because of an Indian requirement that local components account for 30 percent of any contract.

Israeli firms generally focus on developing cutting-edge software and worldwide exports in 2010 totaled around $29 billion.

Given the fast-growing markets emerging in India and China, the high-tech accord is tailor-made for Israel's export-heavy economy. The two countries are already discussing an agreement to remove trade barriers.

The Israelis are focusing on the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, home of the fast-growing software center at Hyderabad.

It is close to signing an agreement with Matimop of Israel, a government agency that facilitates multinational research and development projects.

Andhra Pradesh is becoming a high-tech industries powerhouse, with software exports of $8 billion in 2010.

Missiles are a key Israel-India connection, and that requires intensive high-tech cooperation.

In 2008, India signed a $4.1 billion deal to purchase a shore-based and seaborne anti-missile air-defense system based on Israel's Barak long-range naval weapon built by IAI.

In August that year, New Delhi signed a $2.5 billion contract with IAI and Israel's Rafael armaments company to jointly develop an advanced version of the Spyder surface-to-air missile.