6 mars 2015 US Navy

DULLES, Va., March 3 By Richard Tomkins (UPI)

Raytheon is supplying a range of technical support services for advanced bomb carriage systems under a contract from the U.S. Air Force.

Life-cycle technical support for advanced bomb carriage and release systems is being conducted by Raytheon under a contract from the U.S. Air Force.

The award for the Joint Miniature Munitions Bomb Rack Unit, or JMM BRU, program is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a period of performance of eight years.

Raytheon said the contract is worth $35 million and that it has already received its first delivery order under the contract that began late last year.

"JMM BRU end users now have a next-evolution system that can be integrated with more than 11 different platforms," said Todd Probert, vice president for the Mission Support and Modernization at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "Our strength in engineering and design allowed us to offer the customer a system with improved combat turn-around time, enhanced system performance and improved warfighter readiness."

Raytheon said its work under the award includes engineering, investigation and analysis, aircraft integration, testing, training, material and software updates, simulations, modeling, test hardware, initial spares and procurement of associated hardware.

The JMM BRU system will enable the Air Force and U.S. Navy to perform more missions utilizing fewer aircraft, Raytheon said.

06/03/2015 Sources : État-major des armées

La semaine a été marquée par un apaisement généralisé dans le pays.

A Kaga-Bandoro, au nord de la République de Centrafrique, une rencontre a été organisée le 27 février entre la MINUSCA, la force Sangaris, les autorités politiques régionales et le gouvernement de transition, ainsi que les principaux responsables du FPRC local, avec pour objectif de préparer la tenue des consultations populaires qui devraient avoir lieu prochainement dans la ville et sa périphérie. Cette rencontre quadripartite illustre ce revirement du climat général en faveur des consultations populaires.

A Bambari, les consultations populaires ont eu lieu cette semaine. La délégation s’est également rendue le 26 février à Grimari puis le 27 à Ippy, où les rencontres se sont bien déroulées. Le GTIA Turco a conduit des actions en appui de la MINUSCA en accompagnant sur une partie du trajet l’équipe de consultations populaires se rendant à Bakala.

Enfin, des survols ont été réalisés par la force Sangaris à Bria, au-dessus de zones refuges supposées, afin de poursuivre la déstabilisation des groupes armés.

Environ 2 000 militaires français sont actuellement déployés dans l’opération Sangaris, aux côtés des 8 500 hommes de la MINUSCA. Lancée le 5 décembre 2013 par le président de la République, l’opération Sangaris vise à rétablir un niveau de sécurité minimal en République centrafricaine et à accompagner la montée en puissance progressive de la mission de l’ONU.

12 February - LTC Ballinger- EATC

This week around 80 subject matter experts from the 11 nations participating in EATT 15 met at the EATC in Eindhoven to define the training objectives for the largest Air Transport exercise in Europe.

From 14 - 26 June 2015, the Air Transport community will meet in Beja (Portugal) to run its yearly European Air Transport Training.

Based on the training requirements and training objectives fixed by the participants, the experts from the EATC will build an exercise scenario including Intel, Air- and Ground threats, Aeromedical Evacuation, Personnel- and Material drop as well as Combined Air Terminal Operations.

The training will start with academics and basic Familiarization Flights but will rapidly evolve to more complex Multiship Missions and Combined Air Operations (COMAO).

Participation:

In total, aircraft and crews from 12 countries will take part in the training.

Participating nations are:

    Belgium (1x C-130H)

    Germany (1x C-160D)

    Finland (1x C-295)

    France (1x C-130H, 1x CN-235)

    Italy (1x C-130J)

    Lituania (1x C-27J)

    the Netherlands (1x C-130H)

    Portugal (1x C-130H, 1x C-295)

    Romania (1x C-27J)

    Sweden (2x C-130H)

    the United Kingdom (1x C-130J)

Organization:

EATT is an EDA initiative under the umbrella of the EATF and supported by the Host Nation, by EATC, AATTC, EAG and JAPCC

March 05, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

The A400M Atlas, the Royal Air Force’s newest airlift aircraft, delivered a cargo of vital freight into Cyprus this week on its first operational mission as it prepares for initial operational capability later this year.

The aircraft, ‘City of Bristol’, flew into RAF Akrotiri delivering operational freight, making this training flight also Atlas’ first operational tasking. In the Captain’s seat on this historic flight was 24 Squadron pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jamie “JJ” Jackson. He said:

“This flight was incredibly significant for the RAF demonstrating the capability of the aircraft and that we are able to use it to support operations even before we are declared operational. Once we were airborne the aircraft performed well throughout all phases of flight and was great to fly.”

Destined to replace the C130 Hercules, the Atlas is a significantly larger aircraft that has been designed to project tactical air mobility capabilities at range, direct to the point of need. Wing Commander Simon Boyle, Officer Commanding 70 Squadron, said:

“This task illustrates how we are developing the use of the aircraft in this early period. We have been able to support defence operations whilst continuing to grow the experience of our Force’s aircrew instructors, before they begin to train the crews destined for 70 Squadron later this year.”

The aircraft’s load consisted of a variety of freight. Speaking at the Atlas’ UK base at RAF Brize Norton, Simon added:

“The delivery of operational freight is central to the mission of the Atlas Force. This is an important step towards the declaration of an initial strategic Air Transport capability on Atlas in RAF service, and bodes well for 70 Squadron becoming operational as the front-line Atlas squadron later this year.”

Also taking part in the aircraft’s first operational flight was 70 Squadron’s Senior Loadmaster, Master Aircrewman Ian Price. He said:

“Given Akrotiri’s pivotal role as a staging post for the RAF, this trip has provided a fantastic opportunity for us to work alongside the movements team here as we continue to develop our understanding of the impressive payload capabilities of our new aircraft.”

March 5, 2015: Strategy Page

In January the U.S. launched the third (of four) MUOS (Mobile User Objective System) communications satellites. As a result about 70 percent of earth’s surface is now covered by the new MUOS military communications system. MUOS gives military users cell-phone-like capabilities anywhere in the world. Eventually four MUOS communications satellites operating in 36,000 kilometer stationary (geosynchronous) orbits will provide superior satellite phone service worldwide. This will also include encrypted communications that will work despite being in forests or most buildings. In effect, MUOS can replace cell phone towers in any area on the planet once the signals from one of the four satellites are aimed at the area of operations. The complete system is supposed to be active by 2016. The first satellite went up in early 2014. The four ground stations (one for each satellite) are in Sicily, North America, Hawaii, and Australia.

Yet sometimes newer isn’t better. Such was the case with trying to get the infantry to give up their existing PRC-117/150 manpack (carried) radio for the new MUOS compatible PRC-155 radio. “PRC” means “portable radio,” and while the PRC radios have been getting lighter since World War II (when they weighed more than twice as much as the PRC-155), range and interference remained a problem. Thus although the PRC-155 had lots of neat new features field tests brought forth lots of complaints from potential users (infantry who have to carry and use the PRC-155). For starters the PRC-155 weighs 50-100 percent more than the older models. It has less than half the range (three kilometers versus seven) and the batteries last only six hours (versus over 30), The PRC is subject to overheating and the user interface is considered inferior.

The 6.4 kg (14 pounds, one third of that is batteries) PRC-155 radios are used in vehicles and carried by infantry. This is the latest vehicle/manpack radio design and is replacing the PRC-150, which were widely adopted in the last decade, initially by SOCOM (Special Operations Command). The army wants to buy over 50,000 of them. The big selling point for the PRC-155 is MUOS upgrade kits (some additional hardware and software). Most of PRC-155s will have the MUOS add-on kit. With this kit the PRC-155 is equipped to provide Internet-like capabilities on the battlefield and MUOS gives access to a world-wide net. This is a big deal for ground troops because existing radios often had their range greatly reduced by terrain (hills or many tall buildings) or weather (electric disturbances high up). A satellite link eliminates this problem and ground troops have been asking for this for a long time. Sat links are still expensive and a rationed resource.

But when the infantry were asked to try out the PRC-155 many concluded that the negatives were not worth it. Moreover the delays in getting the PRC-155 to the troops forced the military to seek out an off-the-shelf design (the AN/PRC-117G) in the 1990s. This is a 5.45 kg (12 pound) radio that can be carried or installed in vehicles. About a third of its weight is the battery. It has a maximum output of 20 watts and handles FM, UHF, and VHF signals, including satellite based communications. On the ground max range is 20 kilometers (depending on hills and the antenna used). These cost about $40,000 each. There is an improved AN/PRC-117G (the MNVR) that cost $56,000 each. That includes development costs (for the wish list of tweaks and upgrades the military wants). The U.S. has been using the AN/PRC-117 since the late 1990s as an interim radio and found it a solid piece of equipment.

The AN/PRC-117 is based on a commercial design (the Falcon series) that several foreign armed forces and many civilian operations use. The AN/PRC-117 has been regularly upgraded in that time (going from version A to the current G). The upgraded Falcon (PRC-150) appealed to SOCOM (Special Operations Command) which proceeded to buy half a billion dollars' worth of AN/PRC-150 radios. These cost about $2,500 each and all of them were delivered on schedule. The 4.6 kg (ten pounds, without batteries) radios are very flexible (are used in vehicles or backpacks) and are able to use several different types of transmission (including bouncing signals off the ionosphere, for longer range or just to get a signal out of a built up area). Digital transmissions allow for data to get through under poor atmospheric conditions or when in a built up area. The radios also have good encryption and the ability to send and receive all forms of digital data. These radios are also now used by the army.

A similar situation occurred back in the 1990s, when SOCOM realized it needed a new personal radio for its troops and an army “new radio technology” program (JTRS) was supposed to take care of that but did not. Rather than wait SOCOM got together with a radio manufacturer, told them what they needed, and within two years they had MBITR (which soon got official sanction as AN/PRC-148). When the rest of the army saw MBITR many troops bought them with their own money. After Iraq army units began buying the AN/PRC-148 on their own. Soon, over 100,000 MBITR radios were in use.

Some elements of the JTRS (which was cancelled in 2011) survived in the form of radios like the PRC-155. While this radio was acceptable for use in vehicles, it did not make it when troops had to carry it. The military is determined to make the PRC-155 work. By early 2015 about 1,200 PRC-155s have been delivered to the U.S. Army for troop use. Now that three MUOS birds are up there American soldiers in most parts of the world can actually sample the advantages of the PRC-155, along with the disadvantages they already know about.

source Strategy Page

A P-38 Lightning, two F-86 Sabres and an F-22 Raptor fly in formation together during the 2015 Heritage Flight Training and Certification Course at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Feb. 28, 2015. During the course, aircrews practiced ground and flight training to enable civilian pilots of historic military aircraft and U.S. Air Force pilots of current fighter aircraft to fly safely in formations together. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson)

Bob Perry (Civilian Expeditionary Workforce) and Capt. Christian Thompson assess the damage done to a high voltage electrical line while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in July 2007.

05.03.2015 par Philippe Chapleau - Lignes de Défense

Le Centcom (Central Command) recherche des volontaires parmi les civils du DoD pour aller en Afghanistan, en Irak, au Koweït et au Qatar et pourvoir des postes "critiques" dans des bases des forces américaines ou otaniennes.

La liste des domaines est variée (santé, sécurité, administration, maintenance, logistique, comptabilité...) et longue, comme le précise un récent communiqué de presse: "Safety and occupational health management; fire protection and prevention; recreation specialist; equal employment opportunity; miscellaneous administration and program; miscellaneous clerk and assistant; program management; logistics management; accounting; auditing; general engineering; engineering technical; construction control technical; civil engineering; survey technical; environmental engineering; mechanical engineering; electrical engineering; general attorney; procurement clerical and technician; production control; housing management; operations research; facility operations services; general inspection; investigation, enforcement and compliance; general supply; transportation operations; carpentry; maintenance mechanic; and engineering equipment operating."

Des avantages? Une prime de 35% (après 42 jours de déploiement cependant), des primes de risques (35% aussi), des heures supplémentaires (10% de nuit, 25% le dimanche)... Exemple: pour un salaire CONUS (Continental US) de 4 704,80$, le salaire OCONUS (Outside continental US) serait de 11 197,08$, ainsi que le montrent les données publiées sur le site Civilian Deployment Experience (à consulter ici). Globalement, le taux horaire passe de 40,58$ à 78,76$.

Serait-ce une façon de moins compter sur les contractors du privé? En opex (contingency operation), les salaires des civils américains se valent; ce qui est plus cher, c'est ce que facture l'entreprise à son client fédéral.

Ou bien serait-ce un moyen de réduire les coupes dans les effectifs civils du DoD?

05/03/2015 Armée de l'air

Du 2 au 8 mars 2015, nous célébrons la semaine mondiale des femmes de l’air, dont le thème cette année est : « servir avec honneur : 100 ans des femmes pilotes de combat. »

Les femmes pilotes à l’honneur à Avignon lors de la journée de la femme

Cet événement sera clôturé le 8 mars par la journée de la femme.  À cette occasion, après Le Touquet et La Baule, Avignon accueillera la journée de sensibilisation du public féminin aux activités aéronautiques organisée en France. Les femmes pilotes de combat seront mises à l’honneur. L'armée de l'air y participera avec un Fennec et un SR22. En plus d’aviatrices, l’événement accueillera également des équipages de l’aviation légère de l’armée de terre (ALAT), de la marine nationale et de la gendarmerie.

L’armée de l’air est « la plus féminisée de France, voire d’Europe »

Le 20 février 2015, lors d’une intervention devant le groupe « Grandes Écoles au féminin », le général Denis Mercier, chef d’état-major de l’armée de l’air (CEMAA), a eu l’occasion de parler des femmes dans l’armée de l’air. À cette occasion, il a rappelé que c’est l’armée « la plus féminisée de France, voire d’Europe ». Dès sa création, elle s’est construite autour de femmes aviatrices, telles que Maryse Bastié, Jacqueline Auriol, Élisabeth Boselli, ou encore Valérie André. Aujourd’hui, les femmes dans l’armée de l’air, représentent « un peu plus de 10 000 personnes, soit environ 23% des effectifs, avec une grande diversité des parcours et des carrières. » Le CEMAA a également rappelé que c’est « la seule armée qui n’a pas de spécialité fermée aux femmes. » Pour lui, pas de différences propres entre les hommes et les femmes dans la manière de commander, mais plutôt des spécificités propres à chacun : « Se connaître soi-même est essentiel. Chacun doit être sincère et développer son style propre de leadership. »

Les femmes dans l’armée de l’air en chiffres

Près de 10 000 femmes, soit 23% des effectifs.

52% d’entre-elles sont sous-officiers

39% militaires du rang

et 9% officiers (2 d’entre elles ont le grade de général).

110 personnels naviguant féminin sont aujourd’hui en activité.

Les femmes représentent 30% des candidats au recrutement.

05/03/2015 DICoD

Quinze femmes militaires de la Défense ont participé ce jeudi 5 mars à la rencontre organisée au Sénat par Chantal Jouanno, présidente de la délégation aux droits des femmes et en présence de Jean-Yves le Drian, ministre de la Défense. Objectif de cette rencontre : échanger sur leur condition et leur parcours professionnel.

Elles représentaient toutes les composantes des forces : sous-officiers, officiers et élèves officiers, des armées, de l’armement, du commissariat et du service de santé Certaines étaient encore en OPEX au Mali ou en République centrafricaine il y a peu.

Quinze femmes sont venues partager leur engagement, leur vécu, leurs difficultés, leur lien avec la Défense lors de la rencontre organisée ce jeudi 5 mars au Sénat. « Nous souhaitions donner la parole aux femmes militaires pour qu’elles nous parlent très concrètement de leur métier » explique Chantal Jouanno, présidente de la délégation aux droits des femmes, à l’initiative de la rencontre.

À cette occasion, le ministre de la Défense a rappelé l’importance de la place des femmes militaires : « Elles représentent 15 % des effectifs.Ce qui fait de l’armée française une des plus féminisées parmi les armées occidentales ».

Au 31 décembre 2014, près de 32 000 femmes servaient au sein du ministère de la Défense. « À compétence égale, une femme militaire doit avoir les mêmes déroulements de carrière, les même opportunités que son homologue masculin »

Dans la matinée, trois sujets ont été abordés autour de tables rondes : la vocation et la formation, la participation aux opérations extérieures, et de façon plus générale, le déroulement de carrière. Les témoignages de ces femmes ont été complétés par ceux de Françoise Gaudin, haut fonctionnaire à l’égalité des droits des femmes au sein du ministère de la Défense et du colonel Olivier Ducret de l’État-Major des armées.

En 2014, 1 400 femmes ont été engagées en opération extérieure, 9 % de plus qu’en 2013. « Laféminisation est toujours à consolider, a souligné Jean-Yves Le Drian, mais c’est désormais un fait acquis sur lequel nous pouvons travailler à construire des armées à la fois plus performantes, et plus en phase avec les réalités de la société. C’est pourquoi, pour moi, pour nous tous, le combat est permanent, il faut le poursuivre ».

Le ministre a ensuite demandé la vigilance sur les conditions d’avancement du personnel féminin. « J’ai souhaité que des signes forts soient donnés (…) : l’accès des femmes à des postes de commandements (…), le doublement du taux de femmes promues officiers généraux d’ici 2017. Ce n’est pas une question de mode ou d’affichage politique, c’est en premier lieu la reconnaissance de mérites et de compétences dont l’encadrement des armées a besoin » a-t-il conclu.

05 Mar. 2015 NATO

NATO is determined to strengthen its partnership with Finland to better address security challenges to the east and south, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during his visit to Helsinki on Thursday (5 March, 2015). Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb for his nation’s close cooperation with the Alliance, calling Finland “one of our most active and closest partners."

The Secretary General stressed the vital role partnerships with countries like Finland play in building peace and stability. He commended Finland's commitment and contribution to NATO-led missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as exercises such as the ongoing crisis-management exercise CMX15, and discussed ways to strengthen political dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and Finland for the future.

The Secretary General and Prime Minister Stubb expressed their concern about the situation in Ukraine, caused by Russia's aggressive actions. Mr. Stoltenberg said: "we now see a different Russia." He stressed that NATO strived for a more cooperative and constructive relationship with Russia for many years, and continues to do so, but "Russia has to respect its neighbours and the borders of its neighbours."

The Secretary General called for full implementation of the Minsk agreement, including a withdrawal of heavy weaponry, full access for OSCE monitors, and a halt to Russian support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine.  He warned that any attempt to expand separatist-held territory would be “unacceptable to the international community.”

 The Secretary General also discussed strenghtening NATO's partnership with Finland in discussionw with Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Defence Minister Carl Haglund, Speaker of the Parliament Eero Heinäluoma and other leading members of Parliament.

05 Mar. 2015 NATO

NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has called for deeper cooperation between NATO and the European Union in the fight against new security threats. “We need to work together to manage crises, bring relief, and project stability beyond our borders,” he said. Ambassador Vershbow made his remarks in Riga, Latvia on Thursday (5 March 2015) in a speech to the Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy. “This is a critical time for the security of all our nations,” Ambassador Vershbow said.

The Deputy Secretary General warned that the Euro-Atlantic community faces “new threats and challenges both on our eastern and our southern borders”. To the east, we see “an angry, revisionist Russia that breaks international rules” and continues to destabilise Ukraine and intimidate its neighbours, he said. Meanwhile, to the south, across the Middle East and North Africa, “ISIL’s violent ideology has poured oil on the fire of extremism and sectarianism”. Ambassador Vershbow noted that migrants fleeing turmoil have placed strain on countries like Italy and Turkey, and that violent ideologies have inspired terrorism on the streets of Europe.

The Deputy Secretary General stressed that NATO and its partners must also be ready to counter hybrid warfare, which combines military intimidation, economic and diplomatic duplicity, and media manipulation. Ambassador Vershbow noted that hybrid warfare has been “central to the Russian strategy” in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. He underlined that any response to hybrid threats should be “multi-faceted”, leveraging the complementary hard and soft power tools of NATO and the European Union.

Ambassador Vershbow also pointed to other areas ripe for deepened cooperation between NATO and the European Union, including support for partners like Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova; as well as for nations to the south. “There is a key role for the European Union to help these countries with political and economic reforms, to build strong institutions, and to fight corruption,” he said.

The Deputy Secretary General noted that while NATO-EU cooperation has intensified in recent years, “the logic of closer cooperation between NATO and the EU is more compelling than ever before.” He added that the two organisations should “further coordinate our approaches to counter hybrid warfare, dispel propaganda and misinformation, and defend our shared democratic values.”