28/01/2016 Armée de Terre

Pour la troisième année, les forces terrestres françaises et indiennes ont renforcé leur interopérabilité autour d’un exercice en milieu désertique et montagneux. Le 35^e régiment d’infanterie (35^e RI) et le 2^nd Garhwal Rifles Battalion (infanterie du Bengal) se sont donc retrouvés du 7 au 17 janvier dans le désert du Rajasthan (dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Inde) pour un entraînement placé sous le signe de la force (signification de « Shakti »). 

Shakti 2016 avait comme scénario une opération de contre-insurrection et de lutte contre le terrorisme dans le cadre d’un engagement sous mandat de l’ONU. Durant une dizaine de jours, les détachements franco-indiens ont partagé leurs expériences, savoir-faire et techniques de combat afin d’entretenir et renforcer leur coopération.

Si l’exercice a pris fin le 17 janvier, les fantassins de Belfort ont eu le plaisir de recevoir une invitation pour le peu originale : une participation au défilé du Republic Day, première historique témoin du partenariat étroit qui lie nos deux nations. Ainsi, les militaires du 35^e RI et les musiciens de la Musique de l’infanterie de Lyon ont défilé aux côtés de l'armée indienne, en présence du président de la République française en visite officielle. Dans la Déclaration conjointe franco-indienne du 25 janvier, ce dernier a d’ailleurs souligné l’importance des exercices militaires conjoints et mentionne l’exercice Shakti en vue de développer l’interopérabilité dans le domaine du contre-terrorisme, rappelant le succès des précédentes éditions qui ont permis aux forces de progresser. 

L’exercice Shakti 16 s’inscrit dans le cadre du partenariat stratégique signé en 1998 et prouve l’excellence du niveau atteint dans la relation militaire bilatérale.

Shakti 2013 avec le 13e BCA

16/01/2016 Le Point.fr (AFP)

Le pays pourrait acquérir "plusieurs centaines de chars" français Leclerc. Le contrat représenterait plusieurs centaines de millions d'euros.

Après le Rafale, la France pourrait vendre ses chars Leclerc. L'Arabie saoudite serait intéressée par l'acquisition de « plusieurs centaines de chars », a-t-on indiqué vendredi de source française. Les Émirats arabes unis sont déjà équipés de chars Leclerc. « On a entendu parler de cela par (le constructeur français) Nexter, ce serait une très bonne nouvelle », a-t-on indiqué au ministère français de la Défense. « On parle de quantités astronomiques de véhicules (...), plusieurs centaines de chars », a-t-on ajouté de même source.

Le groupe de défense français Nexter, qui s'est allié en 2015 à l'allemand Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), constructeur du char Leopard, a fermé sa chaîne de fabrication de Leclerc dans les années 2000, mais se dit en mesure de la relancer, selon cette source. L'armée française, qui dispose de 290 chars Leclerc, pourrait offrir des blindés prélevés sur son propre parc en attendant la « remontée en puissance » de la production, a suggéré cette source. « Probablement qu'on réfléchira avec nos propres matériels à aider cette phase de démarrage », a-t-on indiqué.

Une armée très bien équipée

En mars 2015, le ministère français de la Défense a notifié à Nexter un contrat pour la rénovation de 200 chars Leclerc, soit un contrat de 330 millions d'euros pour une livraison à partir de 2020. L'Arabie saoudite dispose des forces armées les mieux équipées du Golfe. Elle est traditionnellement une cliente des industries d'armement américaine et britannique mais se fournit aussi ponctuellement en Europe. Son armée de terre possède 600 chars lourds américains (200 Abrams et 400 M60A3).

Elle a négocié avec la France un contrat pour l'acquisition de 30 patrouilleurs rapides qui devrait « déboucher assez rapidement », a-t-on également précisé dans l'entourage du ministre de la Défense Jean-Yves Le Drian. En 2015, la France a vendu des équipements militaires pour environ 100 millions d'euros à l'Arabie saoudite, soit moins de 1% des exportations françaises d'armements (16 milliards d'euros au total), a-t-on précisé de même source. L'Arabie, principale puissance sunnite face à l'Iran, n'en est pas moins un partenaire stratégique de premier plan de la France dans la région.

November 3, 2015: Strategy Page

South Korea recently sold a hundred of its locally designed and made K9 155mm self-propelled howitzers to India for about $7.5 million each. South Korea has already sold 350 K9s to Turkey and 120 to Poland. While superficially similar to the American M109 the K9 is a heaver (46 tons versus 28 for the M109), carries more ammo and has twice the range (up to 56 kilometers in part because of a barrel that is a third longer). There is more automation on the K9, so it has a crew of five versus six on the M-109. South Korea thus joins Germany in their effort to build a suitable replacement for the elderly M109 design. To get the Indian sale South Korea had to agree to have the K9s assembled in India from South Korean components. This sale gives South Korea an edge in obtaining an even larger contract to supply India with several thousand towed 155mm howitzers. Because of corruption and political problems the Indian Army has not been able to buy any new artillery since the 1980s. The chief competitor for the Indian contract was Russia which offered its similar 42 ton 2S19. The K-9 won on the basis of technical capabilities, field tests and a South Korean reputation for quality and reliability.

The K9 and 2S19 are examples of the kind of system the United States sought to build to replace its 1960s era M109. The United States sought to build the 56 ton Crusader to replace the M109s. Crusader was very similar to the K9 but was too complex and expensive and the heavier weight was seen as a disadvantage for a country that has to ship its armored vehicles overseas to use them. For South Korea, Turkey and Poland that is not a problem and more heft (and protection for the crew) is an advantage.

One American innovation K9 users will probably adopt is the GPS guided Excalibur shell. This smart shell entered service in 2008 and changed everything. Excalibur has worked very well in combat, and this is radically changing the way artillery operates. Excalibur means 80-90 percent less ammo has to be fired to destroy a target and this results in less wear and tear on SP artillery, less time needed for maintenance, and less time spent replenishing ammo supplies and more time being ready for action.

Because of Excalibur (and other precision munitions) since 2001 operations in Iraq and Afghanistan provided very little work for the M109. The lighter, towed, M777 has proved more useful, especially when using the Excalibur shell. Currently, the army plans to keep newly upgraded versions of the M109 around until 2050. The army plans to acquire at least 551 upgraded M-109s by 2027, reflecting the impact of the Excalibur shell, and the number of older M109s that are still fit for service. The M109 was a solid design, which is pretty clear from how difficult it's been to come up with a replacement. So, in the end, the army replaced the M109 with another M109 upgrade and is still seeking a replacement for that.

28 October 2015 by defenceWeb

The SA Army will ultimately have a fleet of 242 Badger infantry combat vehicles in nine variants as opposed to the original five combat variants according to the 2014/15 Armscor annual report.

The slight increase in the number of vehicles is “a quid pro quo for increasing the advance payment made to industry on the production contract”.

Earlier this year the National Conventional Arms Control committee (NCACC) reported the import of a single armoured personnel carrier (APC) from Finland as part of the Denel Land Systems/Patria Land and Armament partnership to produce the new generation of combat vehicles for the landward arm of the SA National Defence Force. Two APC hulls were also imported.

According to the Armscor public document 21 vehicle platforms will be sourced from the Finnish company with the remaining 221 to be “completely manufactured in South Africa”.

The report continues: “Significant progress was made during the past year with the final phases of the vehicle development programme and a number of major technical challenges were successfully mitigated. It is expected that development will be completed by the end of the 2016/17 financial year and that industrialisation and production can commence without significant delay.”

The 2014/15 financial year saw completion of most of the design, test and evaluation trials of the Badger with the preliminary operational test and evaluation completed in February.

“The locally developed 30mm Camgun performed well during trials and all performance life goals were achieved.

“Development of the mortar and missile variants of the vehicle are planned to lag behind the section variant, and design and test and evaluation trials for these variants are planned to be completed during the 2015/16 financial year. Development of both these variants will be completed by the end of 2016. The concept designs of the signal and ambulance variants were completed in March 2015, while that of the artillery variant will be completed during the 2015/16 financial year,” according to the report.

The year under review also saw three vehicle platform pre-production models manufactured by Patria in Finland with two delivered to South Africa.

Denel Land systems will deliver the new infantry combat vehicles to the SA Army over a 10 year period from the signing of the production contract in November 2013 with final delivery expected at the end of 2022.

20/10/2015 JDEF - Opérations

Following the attacks on 7 and 8 January, France mobilized a record number of troops to support the police and the gendarmerie in protecting the country's sensitive "points". Within a few days, the armed forces multiplied their deployed military personnel by ten.

Teams from “Journal de la Défense” (JDEF) were able to follow the different stages of this unprecedented mobilization in Ile de France on the ground.

12 oct. 2015  Quelle: Redaktion der Bundeswehr 10/2015 15E33201

09.10.2015 Defense Studies

Contracts Announced Worth 140 Million Euro

New contracts worth a total of 140 million Euro for Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland helicopters. During the Helitech International Show held in London, the company announced orders for the AW139 and AW169 new-generation helicopter models, by both commercial and Governmental European and Asian customers for a total amount of eleven.

Among the operators to mention which have chosen the AgustaWestland’s new-generation helicopters is the Royal Thai Army, that will use eight AW139s for transport and utility services in addition to the two currently in service and the company Heliservices International GmbH which will use its new AW169 for offshore activities in the North Sea.

The helicopters ordered will be used for the implementation of a variety of missions, like passengers transport, law enforcement and offshore transport; and the entry into service of these machines, specifically ten AW139s and one AW169, is planned to take place between the end of 2015 and the end of 2016.

The AW139 and AW169 helicopters, thanks to great performances, cutting-edge technology and operating flexibility, have reached a unique success in their respective categories (intermediate for the world class leading AW139 and light intermediate for the recently certified AW169), obtaining a total of over 1,000 orders signed to date on the world market. The AW139 is the best selling helicopter in its category, with over nine hundred ordered, while the AW169 is the first new-generation helicopter in its category that has been launched on the market in the last thirty years presenting cutting-edge technological solutions in equipment, rotors, re-configuration capability for each mission, emissions reduction and safety standards.

(Finmeccanica)

Thales va livrer à la Force de défense australienne 1.100 véhicules tactique 4/4 Hawkei et plus de 1.000 remorques. (Crédits : Thales Australia)

05/10/2015 Par Michel Cabirol –LaTribune.fr

Thales décroche un contrat de 820 millions d'euros en Australie. Il va équiper la Force de défense australienne d'un véhicule tactique 4/4, le Hawkei.

Thales a signé en Australie un contrat de 1,3 milliard de dollars australiens (soit environ 820 millions d'euros) dans le cadre du programme "Land 121". Le groupe va fournir à la Force de défense australienne (ADF) un véhicule tactique léger 4x4 le Hawkei (7 tonnes). Les premières livraisons des 1.100 véhicules et plus de 1.000 remorques, sont attendues à la fin de 2017. A 09h05, l'action Thales gagnait 2,68% à 64,30 euros.

La phase de production, d'une durée de trois ans et demi, doit commencer mi-2017. Le Hawkei, qui doit son nom au serpent éponyme l'un des plus venimeux au monde, a été développé en partenariat avec Boeing Defence Australia, PAC Group et le groupe israélien Plasan, principal fournisseur de solutions de protection. Selon le quotidien "The Australian", le Hawkei de Thales était notamment en concurrence avec le Force Protection conçu par le groupe américain General Dynamics.

"Le Hawkei est un véhicule qui offre de multiples capacités et qui va servir l'Australie pour de nombreuses années, a expliqué le PDG de Thales, Patrice Caine dans un communiqué publié dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi.

Une aubaine pour l'économie australienne

La commande a été diminuée à 1.100 Hawkei. Initialement l'appel d'offre avait fixé une cible de 1.300 exemplaires afin de remplacer la flotte de Land Rover, qui équipe actuellement les forces terrestres australiennes. Le Premier ministre australien, Michael Turnbull, a expliqué lors d'une conférence de presse que ce contrat allait bénéficier à l'économie locale au moment où l'Australie cherche de nouveaux moteurs de croissance après la fin du boom minier.

La commande va permettre la création de 170 emplois directs et de 60 emplois indirects. Le Hawkei est fabriqué par Thales Australia à Bendigo dans l'état de Victoria. Depuis 2004, Thales fabrique en Australie les blindés Bushmaster destinés à l'armée australienne comme à l'exportation. Ce véhicule, déployé en Irak et en Afghanistan, a été vendu dans plusieurs pays, parmi lesquels le Japon et les Pays-Bas.

Sur les traces du Bushmaster

Ce sera, selon Thales, "le véhicule le plus récent de la la flotte de véhicules protégés dont dispose l'ADF". Pouvant embarquer six combattants, le Hawkei qui est également proposé à la Pologne, "roule dans les traces du Bushmaster, un plus gros véhicule". Les soldats en opération vont bénéficier de la protection et de la mobilité accrues que leur assure ce puissant véhicule pouvant être adapté à différentes missions, selon Thales. Conçu pour un déploiement aéromobile rapide, le Hawkei permet d'exécuter plusieurs missions grâce à ces différentes versions : commandement, reconnaissance, liaison et transport.

En 2013, Thales avait livré six véhicules Hawkei au ministère australien de la Défense, dans le cadre du deuxième volet du programme Land 121 Phase 4, au titre de l'option Manufactured and Supported in Australia. Comprenant deux variantes de commandement, deux transporteurs et deux unités de reconnaissance, auxquelles s'ajoutait une remorque, ces véhicules ont fait l'objet d'un vaste programme d'essais sur une distance totale de 130.000 km. Il s'agira du seul véhicule de l'armée de terre australienne susceptible d'être transporté par hélicoptère, selon un communiqué de Michael Turnbull, qui a récemment pris les commandes du gouvernement à la faveur d'un putsch au sommet du parti conservateur au pouvoir.

L'Australie modernise son armée

Membre de la coalition emmenée par les Etats-Unis qui mène des frappes aériennes en Syrie et en Irak contre des cibles de l'organisation Etat islamique, l'Australie s'est engagée depuis plusieurs mois dans la modernisation de ses forces armées. Toutefois Michael Turnbull a expliqué que le contrat signé avec Thales ne signifiait pas que son pays veuille s'impliquer davantage dans les conflits mondiaux. "Ce n'est pas le signal que je veux envoyer", a-t-il expliqué lors de la conférence de presse.

Outre les véhicules blindés Hawkei, le gouvernement australien veut renouveler sa flotte de sous-marins, un méga-contrat à 31 milliards d'euros pour lequel le groupe naval DCNS accompagné de ses sous-traitants, dont Thales, est sur les rangs. L'année dernière, le gouvernement avait renforcé l'armée de l'air avec l'achat pour 12,4 milliards de dollars de 58 avions de chasse américains F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

September 29, 2015: Strategy Page

India, after three years of deliberation by the procurement bureaucrats and politicians, approved the purchase of 22 American AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships and 15 CH-47F transport helicopters. Such delays are not unusual for India where decades of corrupt foreign arms purchases have been exposed in the last decade and the made those still involved in those decisions extremely cautious. It usually takes external events to move decisions forward. In the case of the American helicopters the primary motivators were Russian sales to Pakistan and a feud between the Indian Army and Air Force. The Russian aspect has to do with the growing hostility of India to Russian weapons. For half a century Russia has been the major supplier of imported weapons. But since the 1990s, as India freed up the economy (from fifty years of crippling state controls) and finally reached the limit of tolerance for poor quality and support that characterized Russian weapons, India began to buy weapons from the West. Although more expensive the Western stuff was more effective, reliable and often cheaper to operate than Russian systems. Now Russia has made the situation worse by selling helicopters to Pakistan, the arch enemy of India. India seems content to let the Pakistanis have the Russian dreck while India proceeds to upgrade with Western equipment. Since 2001 India has bought over $12 billion worth of American weapons and military equipment. The U.S. is the largest source but Israel and several European defense companies are also major suppliers. The Russian arms salesmen are not amused.

Another factor in helicopter procurement is an ongoing feud between the Indian Army and Air Force about who controls AH-64s. The air force has long operated the helicopter gunships, arguing that these helicopters are crucial for certain air combat missions like attacking air defense radars and other helicopters. The army generals were furious over that and demanded that the government set the air force straight. The army was particularly anxious to get the 22 Indian AH-64s as soon as possible, as these are generally recognized as the best gunships currently in service anywhere. Now those helicopters are on the way and apparently the army will have them.

Back in late 2012 the Indian Army thought it had won a major victory over the Indian Air Force when the government agreed to transfer most attack helicopters from the air force to the army. That was supposed to mean the army gets control of over 270 armed helicopters (22 AH-64s, 179 light combat models, and 76 armed Indian made transports). The air force would continue to operate a dozen or so elderly Mi-25 and Mi-35 helicopter gunships, until they retire by the end of the decade. These are export versions of the Russian Mi-24. Even then it was clear that Russia was not the preferred helicopter supplier anymore.

The army had long complained that air force control of the armed helicopters, which were designed to support army operations, were sometimes difficult to get from the air force in a timely manner. Another aspect of this deal was a new agreement by the air force to station some transport helicopters at army bases in Kashmir, so that there will not be a delay when transport is needed for an emergency.

This sort of problem between the army and air force is not unique to India and is actually quite common. It all started back in the 1920s, a decade after aircraft became a major military asset. For example, at the start of World War I (1914-18), the British Royal Navy had more aircraft than the Royal Flying Corps (which belonged to the army). But at the end of World War I, it was decided to put all aircraft under the control of the new Royal Air Force (the former Royal Flying Corps). The navy was not happy with this and just before World War II broke out, the admirals got back control of their aircraft, at least the ones that operated from ships (especially aircraft carriers).

The British army expanded its Army Air Corps during World War II, to gain control over artillery spotter aircraft, gliders (for parachute divisions), and a few other transports for supporting commando operations. After World War II the Army Air Corps mainly controlled the growing fleet of transport and attack helicopters. The Indian Air Force has always refused to allow the Indian Army to do the same thing after modern India was created in 1947. The Indian armed forces was long led by men who started out as members of the British Indian Army and continued to note, and often copy, British practices.

Thus the Indian Air force, like its British counterpart tended to keep trying to control everything that flies. British Royal Air Force generals recently demanded control of everything that flies, believing that this is more efficient. The army and navy, not to mention the experience of many other nations, said otherwise. At the very least the army needs to control its helicopters and some small transports. In Russia the army always controlled ground attack aircraft, as well as some fighters. In the United States the Marine Corps controlled its own fighters, light bombers, and helicopters. It made a difference, especially to the marines on the ground, that the marine aircraft were being flown by marines.

Another problem with a unified air force is that it becomes, quite naturally, air force centric. This is understandable and the air force proceeds to develop strategies, and tactics, that emphasize looking at military matters from an air force viewpoint. Before World War II this led to the doctrine of strategic bombardment. This was supposed to be a decisive weapon but it wasn't. When nuclear weapons came along the air force believed that it finally had a way to make strategic bombardment decisive. But it didn't, as ballistic missiles (another form of artillery) became the key delivery system for nukes. Nuclear weapons were so destructive that they became more of a threat than a weapon that you could use. In fact the very existence of nukes resulted in them not being used again since the first two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945. The fact of the matter is that wars are still ultimately won by the ground forces. As the army likes to point out, the ultimate air superiority weapon is your infantry occupying the enemy air bases. Everyone else (the navy and air force) is there to support the infantry in actually winning the war.

17.09.2015 par Philippe Chapleau - Lignes de Défense


650 soldats, 35 véhicules et bien d'autres choses: l'armée de terre a décidé de ne pas lésiner sur les moyens le 23 septembre, lors d'une présentation de ses moyens et de sa nouvelle organisation.

Rendez-vous donc à Sissonne, au Centre d'entraînement aux actions en zone urbaine (CENZUB-94^eRI) pour découvrir (le terme est un peu fort) le fameux "Au contact" et la nouvelle organisation de l'armée de terre. IHEDN et Ecole de guerre seront de sortie pour l'occasion.

La maquette est connue depuis quelques temps mais les derniers ajustements ont enfin été réalisés. Le général Bosser va donc pouvoir officiellement annoncer la nouvelle structure des forces qu'il commande.

29/07/2015 Armée de Terre

Le caporal Sébastien nous livre ses impressions sur son travail de spotter.

Le spotter accompagne le tireur, veille sur sa sécurité et s'assure qu'il puisse faire son travail le mieux possible. Il donne au tireur la position des cibles repérées à la jumelle et lui transmet également des informations sur la force et la direction du vent. Découvrez son témoignage.