29 mai 2015 by JDEF / Ministère de la Défense

Iraq Situation Report: May 30 - June 1, 2015 by: Theodore Bell and Patrick Martin - ISW

June 2, 2015: Strategy Page

A prominent Sunni politician and member of parliament is leading the effort to find out exactly who ordered the army to pull out of Ramadi on May 17 th and allow a much smaller force of ISIL fighters to enter and, after receiving reinforcements, take control of most of the city. Right after Ramadi fell the commander of the 25,000 troops guarding the city said he had been ordered to withdraw. Most of the troops in Ramadi belonged to the 7 th Infantry Division, which is based there. That unit had been reinforced by several thousand police and army commandos and special operations troops by early May. There were also a few thousand pro-government Sunni tribal militia.  All these troops are still in Anbar, most of them just west of Ramadi.

Since May 17th the government has reinforced the army units outside Ramadi with Shia militia. Together these forces have retaken many military posts (fortified checkpoints and police stations) abandoned during the departure of the security forces from Ramadi in May. The unannounced withdrawal of army forces caused a panic among the thousands of police and militia fighters in the city and these forces tended to panic and depart quickly when they found out about the army retreat.

This rapid and unexpected loss of Ramadi by a much smaller force (government troops outnumbered nearby ISIL gunmen by ten to one) brought forth accusations by the U.S. and other Western governments that Iraqis did not have the will to fight. That was not true and the real problem, as it has always been, is leadership. As the old saying goes, “there are no bad troops, only bad officers.” In late 2014 The U.S. reported that most of the troops they trained before they left in 2011 had since left the military and many of the replacements were poorly trained (and even more poorly led) by corrupt Iraqi officers appointed by the recently (April 2014) replaced Maliki government. The U.S. believed that Iraq needed at least 80,000 trained and well led troops to deal with ISIL. American military evaluation teams were sent to Iraq in August 2014 to assess how much of the Iraqi Army was salvageable. It was discovered that only 52 percent of the 50 Iraqi combat brigades were worth training and supporting in the short run. The other 24 brigades had been rendered ineffective by Shia politics and officers who were too poorly trained, experienced or dedicated to hold these units together in heavy combat. The basic problem was bad officers, in particular officers more interested in politics and getting rich (via corrupt practices) than running an efficient army. This is not a new or unique problem in the Iraqi Army. Since 2011 the Shia politicians running the government chose politically reliable Shia officers over those who were merely competent at their jobs. That led to the collapse of the Iraqi army in the face of a mid-2014 ISIL offensive. That should not have happened, but it did and will again unless the Iraqis put more emphasis on competence than political loyalty when selecting military officers. There was a similar pattern in the police, where some SWAT units and paramilitary police units (mainly counter-terror units) maintained their edge, but most were ruined by corrupt leadership. So while most Iraqis were angry with the foreigner accusations that Iraqis lacked the will to fight, they had to admit that too many Iraqi officers lacked the ability to lead.

The ISIL advance into Ramadi was such a surprise because ISIL has shown continued inability to defeat organized combat units. ISIL remains primarily a poorly trained force with much more experienced leaders. The ISIL combat leaders recognize the shortcomings of their gunmen and rely a lot on terror bombs and not always suicide bombs. ISIL has not got an endless supply of suicide bombers and you have to get men (and some women) to volunteer and those volunteers must have enough sense and presence of mind to carry out some simple but essential tasks to carry out the attack. When things are not going well (as they have not been for ISIL during 2015, at least until Ramadi fell) it is better to have your young terrorists plant bombs and then set them off remotely or via timers. There has been a lot of that since Ramadi fell because ISIL is still losing ground around Mosul and between Mosul and Baghdad. Even in Anbar the victory in Ramadi was followed within a week by a counteroffensive that has proved unstoppable. ISIL has been able to slow the advance, using a lot of bombs, but they have nothing that can stand and fight. Iran is trying to help Iraq with that, which makes many Iraqis and most Westerners nervous.

In late May the U.S. admitted that Iran has sent some of its artillery (truck mounted rocket launchers) deeper into Iraq to assist Iraqi troops fighting ISIL forces near the oil refinery at Beiji (200 kilometers north of Baghdad). This battle has been going on for nearly a year. The Iranian artillery units bring along their own UAVs to spot targets. ISIL captured parts of Beiji in April after two weeks of fighting. This effort eventually failed, with heavy losses but not before occupying parts of the refinery compound. By late April more ISIL forces arrived and tried again. This battle continues. In late November 2014 ISIL forces were driven away from the refinery which they had besieged for over a month. Since then ISIL has continued to stage attacks, often with suicide bombers, all of which have been repulsed. The Beiji refinery can process 320,000 barrels of oil a day and that represents more than a quarter of Iraq’s refining capacity. Clearing ISIL out of this area also isolated the ISIL held town of Tikrit, which is due north of Baghdad and is full of Sunni Arabs and Saddam admirers who have had enough of ISIL. The Iraqi Army recently recaptured Tikrit and continues moving north. But until ISIL is cleared out of Beiji a major advance on Mosul will not be practical.

Iranian artillery was first used against ISIL in late 2014 firing from inside Iran near the Iraqi border. That soon changed. While Iran insists that it has no combat units in Iraq, just trainers and advisors, mainly for pro-Iranian Shia militias, there are a lot of Iranian weapons showing up. At first these vehicles were never far from the Iranian border but definitely inside Iraq.  American UAVs regularly patrol the border area and the Americans and Iranians have an unofficial agreement not to shoot down each other’s UAVs. The UAVs regularly note Iranian military vehicles entering Iraq. The Americans also have photo satellites regularly passing overhead that see this as well. Thus the Americans know that there have been several hundred Iranian M-60s and T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles operating with the Shia militias inside Iraq. There have also been a lot of Iranian truck mounted rocket launchers. The tanks and rocket launchers are supposed to have Iraqi crews but in fact most of the Iranian rocket launchers and armored vehicles were operated by Iranians although their mission was to support pro-Iranian Iraqi Shia militias. The Americans tolerate this as long as the Iraqi government does, especially since the Americans don’t want to send in troops to help the Iraqi army. While the Iraqis appreciate the Iranian help, they make it clear that the majority of Iraqi Shia do not want to become part of Iran and that Western and Arab allies of Iraq will join the fight against any Iranian moves to take control of Iraq. Not everyone believes this will dissuade the Iranians from making an attempt to annex Iraq. At the moment ISIL is seen as a serious problem for all Moslems and because of that there is an unusual degree of cooperation between Iran and nations (the West and Sunni Arab states) that are usually considered enemies. Iran is also sending armored vehicles and rocket artillery to Anbar province to help push ISIL out of Ramadi (the provincial capital of Anbar.) This apparently will involve, as will the Beiji operation, cooperation between American airpower and Iranian ground units. Until quite recently Iran was opposed to this.

Since August 2014 allied (mostly U.S. but also NATO and Arab) air strikes in Iraq and Syria have destroyed or damaged over 7,000 targets during over 2,500 separate attacks using mostly smart bombs and missiles. This did not turn out to be the wonder weapon against newly resurgent Islamic terrorists except under certain conditions. The big complaint from pilots of the warplanes and their commanders is that the ROE (Rules of Engagement) are so obsessed with avoiding civilian casualties that most targets are not hit because of the risk (often remote) that civilians might be hurt. ISIL knows this and when they move on the roads they strive to make themselves look like civilians. Thus only a quarter of the bomb equipped aircraft sent out are allowed to actually attack something on the ground. More Western ground controllers would improve the situation somewhat, but the largest number of attacks cancelled by the lawyers are inside ISIL territory, usually against vehicles carrying ISIL supplies or gun men along a road. Meanwhile the attacks that were cleared by the lawyers did do a lot of damage. This destruction included nearly 1,700 military vehicles (about 15 percent of them armored and half of them armed). The most common targets were buildings (1,800 hit) and combat positions (1,500 bunkers, trenches and so on). There were far fewer command posts, checkpoints, parking lots and assembly areas hit and destroyed or made unusable. Over 300 oil industry targets were destroyed or badly damaged since selling stolen oil on the black market was a major source of income for the Islamic terrorists.

The importance of ground controllers can be seen in the success of Kurdish forces in the north. Western nations trust the Kurds and Western troops have no problems (from betrayal, assassination or failure to fight) with the Kurds and that means the Kurds get plenty of ground controllers and air support. Because of this Kurdish forces continue to push back ISIL east and west of Mosul.

The loss of Ramadi has, so far, produced nearly 100,000 refugees as people flee the city and areas around it. The government is being criticized for not dealing with the refugees adequately. Nearly 200,000 people have fled Ramadi since ISIL began attacking the area around the city in April. In the last year nearly three million people have fled ISIL violence, especially in areas overrun (or threatened) by ISIL.

June 1, 2015: In the north (Salahuddin province) ISIL used a large suicide tank bomb and several gunman to attack a police base. This killed 33 police and militiamen while wounding 40 others. This is a rare counterattack by ISIL in Salahuddin province, where over a hundred Islamic terrorists a week have been dying in the last two months. Salahuddin is next to Anbar and ISIL has been having a hard time resisting government attacks here. ISIL even executed four ISIL unit commanders for failure to hold positions (to the death, as is ISIL custom).

In May some 1,100 Iraqis died from terrorist related violence. Since January (when nearly 1,400 died) monthly terrorist related deaths have been 1,100-1,200 a month. This is because most of the ISIL violence is of the terrorist, not military, variety. So far this year about half the victims have been civilians. The death toll for all of 2014 was about 15,600. That’s a big jump from 2013 when the death toll was 8,900 for all of Iraq and only ten percent of those were terrorists while the majority were Shia civilians. Previously the worst year was 2007, when nearly 18,000 died. Then as now the main cause of the mayhem and murder was Sunni fanatics who want to run the country as a Sunni dictatorship. Still Iraq was a lot less violent than neighboring Syria where the death toll was 76,000 in 2014. That’s over 91,000 dead during 2014 for the two countries where ISIL is most active. The death toll in Syria continues to rise, even as it is declining in Iraq. A growing number of Iraqi officials are optimistic that ISIL will be crushed in Iraq by the end of 2016. It’s happened before (like in 2007-8), but then the Sunni fanatics make yet another comeback.

May 28, 2015: Another Iranian general (again a member of the Quds Force) was killed in southern Iraq while leading Hezbollah fighters against ISIL forces.

May 24, 2015: On the Syrian border ISIL seized control of the second of two major border crossings between Syria and Iraq. Iraqi troops moved south to a major crossing with Jordan that Iraqi forces still control. This came the day after Iraqi forces began moving back towards Ramadi and ISIL retreated.

May 23, 2015: North of Baghdad Iran backed Shia militias arrived to help push ISIL away from the oil refinery at Beiji. A few days later Iran insisted that it had no combat troops near Beiji but said nothing of their backing for the Shia militiamen there.

May 21, 2015: The U.S. imposed sanctions on a major Iraqi airline for helping Iran purchase and smuggle in second hand airliners.

May 20, 2015: The government replaced the head of police in Anbar province, in part because of poor performance of police in Ramadi.

May 19, 2015: In Iraq Iran-backed Shia militias were seen heading for Anbar province and the capital Ramadi, which was recently overrun by ISIL forces on the 17th. Ramadi is 120 kilometers west of Baghdad.

May 27, 2015: Strategy Page

Kurdish forces fighting in Iraq and Syria have been seen using the Chinese HJ-8 ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles). This is the Chinese version of the American TOW (Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided) system has been in service since 1970. Over 500,000 TOW missiles have been manufactured since its introduction and it remains in service with the United States and many other countries. All versions of TOW are shipped and fired from a sealed launch tube. That tube is placed on a MGS (Missile Guidance Set) that contains the gunner sight, with night vision, and operator guidance electronics. The MGS weighs 25 kg (55 pounds). The 1970 version of the missile weighed 19 kg (42 pounds) and had a 3.9 kg (8.6 pound) warhead. The latest version (TOW 2B or BGM-71F) weighs 22.7 kg (50 pounds) and has a 6.2 kg (13.5 pound) warhead that can defeat ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) at targets up to 4,000 meters away.

The HJ-8 is nearly identical to TOW 2 in size, weight, range and, according to the Kurds, performance. Both TOW and HJ-8 use SACLOS (semi-automatic command line-of-sight) guidance. This system works by having the operator hold the target in the MGS sights and the missile will be guided to the target via wires that connect the missile to the launcher. The big problem is that the operator is often under fire and that sometimes makes it difficult to maintain aim. The next generations of anti-tank missiles were wireless and “fire-and-forget” which allows the operator to duck as soon as the target is identified by the MGS and the missile fired. Nearly all ATGMs use shaped-charge warheads that penetrate most tank armor and are also effective against structures and unarmored vehicles.

 The Kurds have a hard time getting weapons from the Iraqi government (because of disputes over control of oil and corruption in the Shia Arab dominated government) and have sought weapons from all available sources. Chinese weapons are widely available in the international black market for arms. If you have the money, there are groups that can get you all sorts of relatively cheap and pretty effective Chinese weapons, which are often pretty good copies of Western and Russian weapons.

02/06/2015 Sources : EMA

Du 20 au 27 mai 2015, les forces armées en Guyane (FAG) ont été engagées pour la sécurisation des abords terrestres, maritimes et aériens du centre spatial Guyanais, chargé d’assurer le lancement de fusées spatiales. Parmi les moyens déployés, des aéronefs de l'armée de l'air.

À l’occasion de chaque tir (Ariane, Soyouz ou Vega), la sécurité du centre spatial guyanais (CSG) est assurée par les militaires des FAG. Ils agissent dans le cadre du dispositif Titan pour lequel près de 300 militaires des trois armées sont déployés.

Les aviateurs permanents du centre de contrôle militaire, basés à Kourou et en lien direct avec la haute autorité de défense aérienne (HADA) qui peut déclencher les mesures actives de sureté aérienne (MASA), ont scruté l’espace aérien pour prévenir toute pénétration de la zone interdite de survol.

Dans les airs, un hélicoptère et un Casa de l’armée de l’air, ont assisté un patrouilleur de la marine nationale et une vedette de gendarmerie maritime, patrouilllant au large du centre spatial pour interdire l'accès aux côtes. Trois bateaux de pêche ont d'ailleurs été reconduits hors de la zone interdite. À terre, les légionnaires ont patrouillé dans les environs du centre pour empêcher toute présence humaine.

Ainsi, le 27 mai 2015 à 18h16, la 223e fusée de type Ariane 5 a pu quitter Kourou en toute sécurité et permettre la mise en orbite de deux satellites de télécommunications.

A 7 000 km de la métropole, les forces armées en Guyane (FAG) garantissent la protection du territoire national et de ses ressources. Fréquemment engagées en appui de l’action de l’État dans des missions à caractère interministériel, les FAG agissent sur un territoire rendu exigeant par son étendue (1 100 km de frontières terrestres), son littoral difficile et sa forêt équatoriale.

03/06/2015 latribune.fr

Deux grands scénarios sont actuellement sur la table : la reprise totale ou partielle de l'activité réacteurs d'Areva par EDF ou la création d'une coentreprise avec l'électricien pour les seules activités ingénierie du groupe. La décision définitive est attendue pour juillet.

La réunion de travail des membres du gouvernement concernés par le dossier Areva révélée mercredi 3 mars au matin par la presse a bien eu lieu. Elle a rassemblé à l'Elysée, à l'issue du Conseil des ministres, autour du président de la République François Hollande, le Premier ministre Manuel Valls et les ministres de l'Economie Emmanuel Macron, de l'Energie, Ségolène Royal, des Finances, Michel Sapin, et des Affaires Etrangères, Laurent Fabius. Mais il ne s'est agi que d'une réunion d'étape concernant le rapprochement entre l'ex-fleuron du nucléaire et EDF.

Suite de l’article

03/06/2015 Armée de Terre

Le 1er juin, 31 jeunes franciliens recrutés par le CIRFA de Paris (centre d’information et de recrutement des forces armées) ont signé leur contrat d’engagement pour l’armée de Terre au sein de l’Assemblée nationale et neuf d’entre eux ont eu le privilège d’une cérémonie symbolique.

Ces signatures de contrats, placées sous la haute autorité de la présidente de la commission de la Défense nationale, Mme Patricia Adam, interviennent quelques jours après les dernières annonces officielles du chef d’état-major de l’armée de Terre sur l’augmentation des effectifs en 2015. En présence du général Frédéric Blachon, sous-directeur du recrutement de l’armée de Terre et de leurs proches, les nouveaux engagés ont pu témoigner de leurs attentes et de leurs motivations auprès des hautes autorités civiles et militaires présentes à cette occasion.

Les futurs artilleurs, fantassins, mécaniciens ou pompiers, ont ensuite pris le chemin de leurs garnisons où ils étaient attendus le soir-même afin d’y entamer leur formation de plusieurs mois. En 2015, le volume nécessaire à recruter est de 15000 hommes.

03/06/2015 Armée de l'air

Du 22 mai au 5 juin 2015, une centaine d’aéronefs multiplient des missions sur le théâtre nordique à l’occasion de la deuxième édition d’«Arctic Challenge Exercise» (ACE).

Avec plus de 4000 participants provenant de neuf nations (Allemagne, États-Unis, France, Finlande, Norvège, Pays-Bas, Royaume-Uni, Suède et Suisse), ACE 2015 est l’un des plus grands exercices en Europe. « Aucune base en Europe ne peut accueillir un tel dispositif, explique le lieutenant-colonel Isaac, commandant le détachement air (Détair) français. Le stationnement des différents escadrons est réparti entre les bases aériennes de Bodø en Norvège, de Rovaniemi en Finlande et de Kallax en Suède. »

108 aviateurs de l’armée de l’air ont été déployés sur la base de Rovaniemi, en Laponie finlandaise. Ils ont mis en place six Mirage 2000 (quatre 2000-5, un 2000 C et un 2000 B). Le détachement français comprend du personnel du groupe de chasse 1/2 « Cigognes » de Luxeuil, de l’escadron de chasse 2/5 « Île–de-France » d’Orange et des escadrons de soutien technique aéronautique. Le Détair est également composé de spécialistes de l’escadron de programmation et d'instruction de guerre électronique (EPIGE) de Mont-de-Marsan, de commandos de l’air, du personnel médical, et de techniciens des systèmes d’information et de communications aéronautiques. « Nous avons également un jeune pilote de l’unité qui est détaché à Bodø en Norvège, précise le lieutenant-colonel. Il représente le détachement français auprès du commandement de l’exercice. Il prend part à l’animation de l’exercice et exprime nos desiderata en fonction de nos capacités et besoins d’entraînement. »

Chaque jour, trois vagues de chasseurs s’envolent vers les vastes zones d’entraînement. La première vague est réservée aux entraînements locaux. Les escadrons finlandais, français et suédois réalisent des missions conjointes depuis la base de Rovaniemi. La deuxième, quant à elle, met en musique près d’une centaine d’avions dans un scénario complexe. Le Mission Commander (chef de mission) orchestre son plan de bataille par l’intermédiaire de la visioconférence pour pallier l’éloignement des trois bases de stationnement. Pour finir, un troisième tour, l’« extra », permet aux avions français d’optimiser leur entraînement. Les pilotes de Mirage 2000 de Luxeuil et d’Orange se confrontent alors dans des configurations d’entraînement diverses et variées.

3 juin 2015 by NATO

3 juin 2015 Quelle: Redaktion der Bundeswehr 06/2015 15E16302

03.06.2015 par Aerobuzz.fr

Pour Eric Trappier, PDG de Dassault, la décision de l’Inde de commander 36 Rafale au lieu de 126 n’est pas un lot de consolation.
 

« 36 Rafale fabriqués en France, cela me va ! Si ce contrat peut se signer vite, ce sera très satisfaisant  », a déclaré Eric Trappier, en marge du roll out du Falcon 5X, le 2 juin 2015 à Mérignac. Le PDG de Dassault Aviation commentait les propos tenus le week-end dernier par le ministre de la Défense indien. Celui affirmait que l’Inde renonce au contrat initial de 126 Rafale dont 108 auraient été assemblés en Inde.

Pour Trappier, cette annonce qui devrait garantir 36 appareils fabriqués en France, contre 18 initialement, ne ferme pas nécessairement la porte à un deuxième contrat complémentaire. Le PDG de Dassault explique que l’Inde a voulu répondre à un besoin urgent de renouvellement de son parc d’avions de combat. Face à cette nécessité, le premier ministre indien a fait passer au second plan le programme « make in India ».

Eric Trappier espère que l’Inde officialisera sa commande de 36 Rafale dans les deux à trois mois à venir, même si il sait que c’est l’administration indienne qui impose son calendrier. Par ailleurs, il se veut confiant en affirmant que ce premier contrat aura une suite pour répondre aux besoins de renouvellement du parc obsolète d’avions de chasse. Elle devrait offrir au constructeur français une plus grande marge de manœuvre en ce qui concerne le choix de ses sous-traitants. Encore faudra-t-il que l’Inde opte pour le Rafale et pas pour un de ses concurrents européen ou américains comme le laissait entendre le ministre indien de la Défense.

Les commandes de l’Egypte, du Qatar et prochainement celle de l’Inde, gonfle la conviction du PDG de Dassault qui n’hésite pas à déclarer qu’il « ne va pas s’arrêter à trois contrats Rafale  ». Il se dit confiant pour un quatrième avant la fin de l’année. Il dit aussi vouloir garder les pieds sur Terre et rappelle que les deux premiers contrats n’auront pas d’incidence à court terme sur le chiffre d’affaires du groupe puisqu’il se substituent aux livraisons françaises.

June 3rd, 2015 By Army News Service - defencetalk.com

CAMP KONOTOP, Poland: Soldiers, from the U.S., Polish, and French armies, completed a multi-battalion-sized training exercise at Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland, May 29. Although between NATO allies, Exercise Puma 15 marks the first time the partners have conducted with battalions from each respective nation.

The annual Polish-led exercise simulated an operation, where armored assets from the partner nations secure the battlefield by advancing, engaging and securing their assigned objectives.

Polish Army Col. Piotr Bieniek, deputy commander of Poland’s 15th Mechanized Brigade, said the exercise was designed to test the abilities and skills of the partner nations in working together.

“We’ve been working from the squad all the way down to the platoon level in preparation for this,” Bieniek said. “This is designed to show our capabilities and skills to work together as a team.”

Emphasizing the teamwork required for the event, French Army Lt. Col. Henri le Losq, commander of the 12th Cuirassiers Regiment, said it was a great opportunity for him and his unit to work with the other nations.

“It was a good opportunity for us to discover and develop tactics and fire,” le Losq said.

le Losq said the exercise was about more than just firing tanks – there was also cross training going on with the medical teams.

U.S. Army Maj. John Womack, executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, said his unit has been training in Drawsko Pomorskie for several months, but participating in Exercise Puma 15 has been unique for his unit.

“I think what makes this exciting for us is … doing this kind of training at the battalion level with Polish, French, and American Soldiers working together to make a battalion certification exercise a success as allies,” Womack said.

The U.S. units are part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing multinational partnership focused on joint training and security cooperation between NATO allies, whose mission is the continued peace and stability of Europe.

“We’re here because of the NATO alliance,” Womack said. “The NATO alliance is the strongest alliance in the world, and we’ve proven that.”

The final stage of the exercise was conducted with an attack scenario, where an attacking unit passes forward through a friendly line of defense and attacks to seize an objective.

The live-fire exercise saw Polish attack helicopters synchronized with U.S. and Polish mortar fire, all while Polish, French and U.S. tank crews engaged and defeated the enemy.

After the exercise, Soldiers, of the U.S., Polish, and French armies, participated in a closing ceremony, where individual Soldiers from the participating countries received awards for their work during Puma 15.

Multinational exercises are set to continue in NATO countries across Europe throughout the coming months

03 juin 2015 Par Hassan Meddah - Usinenouvelle.com

MADE IN FRANCE  Afin de remporter le marché des drones tactiques pour les forces terrestres françaises, l'électronicien de défense présente une version francisée du drone Watchkeeper qu’il a développé pour le Royaume-Uni. 35 PME tricolores pourraient embarquer dans son projet.

Qui remportera l'appel à candidatures lancé par la Direction générale de l’Armement (DGA) pour équiper les forces terrestres françaises en drones tactiques ?

Thales avec son Watchkeeper, déjà exploité en Afghanistan par les soldats britanniques ?

Sagem (filiale de Safran) avec le Patroller qui cherche encore sa première référence ?

ou Airbus Group avec son drone tiré d'un produit américain, le Shadow M2 ?

C'est la DGA qui devra trancher, au plus tard avant la fin de l'année. La commande devrait porter sur 14 appareils livrables d'ici à la fin de la loi de programmation militaire (LPM) en 2019 et une trentaine au total avant avant 2025.

Sur les champs de bataille, les troupes exploitent les drones tactiques directement pour des missions d'observation, de surveillance du champ de bataille et de réglage de tir d'artillerie. Il s'agit de drones intermédiaires d'une masse de 500 Kg environ entre les mini drones (moins de 150 Kg) et les drones MALE (plusieurs tonnes) très haut de gamme comme le Reaper américain déjà exploité par l'armée française au Mali. Ils ont une endurance d'une dizaine d'heures de vol, un rayon d'action d'une centaine de kilomètres et volent à 5000 mètres d'altitude maximum. Selon leur capacité, ils embarquent généralement un ou deux capteurs (caméra, radar, système de guerre électronique...).

"Franciser" le Watchkeeper

Pour séduire la DGA, Thales mise sur son drone Watchkeeper déjà vendu à 54 exemplaires aux forces armées britanniques. Ce drone a déjà volé plus de 500 heures dont 140 heures sur le territoire afghan. Surtout depuis plus d'un an, il est autorisé à pouvoir naviguer dans la totalité de l’espace aérien britannique et non plus seulement dans des zones d’essais.

Outre cette expérience, Thales promet également de franciser au maximum la version tricolore de son drone. "Toutes les développements demandés spécifiquement par le client français seront dans la mesure du possible réalisés par des sociétés françaises. Notre objectif est que la contribution française soit de l'ordre de 35% (contre 15% dans la version britannique, ndlr)", estime Pierrick Lerey directeur de la stratégie et du marketing des activités renseignement, surveillance et reconnaissance chez Thales. Par ailleurs, Thales a déjà identifié 35 PME françaises susceptibles d'embarquer sur le programme Watchkeeper version tricolore. Comme il l’avait déjà fait lors du dernier Eurosatory, il présentera ses partenaires au salon du Bourget, qui démarre le 15 juin prochain.

Parmi eux, Lheritier une PME francilienne (35 personnes pour 4 millions d'euros de chiffre d'affaires) qui réalise des caméras capables de produire des images en haute définition de jour comme de nuit. "Nous travaillons avec Thales depuis dix ans. Nous améliorons constamment nos algorithmes de traitement d'images pour permettre aux opérateurs de visualiser plus de détails", explique Sylvain Chérel , directeur marketing et commercial de Lheritier. Thales et ses partenaires devront produire notamment les technologies considérées comme "souveraines" dans ce type d'appareil comme les communications par les satellites ou encore la chaîne de production et de traitement des images...

Approche modulaire

Les concurrents de Thales reprochent au Watchkeeper d'être basé sur la plateforme technologique de l’israélien Elbit, le Hermes 450. "Nous avons acheté le code source et nous l'avons largement ré-écrit. Ce n'est donc pas une boîte noire mais un système que nous maîtrisons totalement. Cette procédure nous a permis de gagner cinq à dix ans de développement", rétorque-t-on du côté de Thales. Le fabricant reconnaît toutefois que les Watchkeeper resteront assemblés au Royaume-Uni, ce qui selon lui, évitera aux pays acheteurs des investissements inutiles.

"Nous voulons créer un club des nations Watchkeeper où les acheteurs pourront partager leurs expériences et mutualiser des initiatives notamment dans le domaine de la formation ou de l'entretien", souligne le dirigeant de Thales. Le constructeur répond ainsi à l'une des exigences de la DGA de bénéficier d'une certaine mutualisation avec d'autres pays partenaires.

Pour conquérir d'autres clients, Thales a donc développé une approche modulaire évitant de faire du sur-mesure. Les Watchkeeper auront donc une large base commune et des options propres à chacun des pays. Il compte ainsi répondre à l'appel d'offre polonais qui impose également qu'une partie des technologies l'appareil soit développée en Pologne.