02/06/2015 Sources : État-major des armées

Du 2 au 30 mai 2015, une action de partenariat au profit des écoles d’application d’artillerie et de cavalerie a été menée par les Forces françaises stationnées à Djibouti (FFDj) au centre d’entraînement et d’aguerrissement au désert (CECAD), puis en zone désertique et semi-montagneuse.

Le 5e régiment interarmes d’outre-mer (5e RIAOM) a organisé un entraînement d’un mois permettant d’engager un groupement tactique interarmes dans un combat en zone désertique. Cette activité a permis également la constitution d’un sous groupement tactique interarmes mixte franco-américain et d’une compagnie d’appui également mixte. Cet entraînement a réuni environ 40 lieutenants des écoles d’application, 250 US Marines de la 24e MEU (unités expéditionnaires de Marines) et plus de 300 militaires du 5e RIAOM qui ont été engagés dans de nombreuses phases de combats et de tirs.

Le partenariat était articulé autour de 6 phases : une montée en puissance avec la mise en place d’un point logistique à Arta-plage, une phase d’aguerrissement, un déploiement en base avancée temporaire désert, une campagne de tirs, un exercice en terrain libre, puis une remise en condition du personnel.

Le service de santé des armées a conduit un exercice de médicalisation lors de la phase d’entraînement au combat en zone désertique permettant d’évaluer de façon réaliste le personnel de santé sur des techniques de prise en charge des blessés en situation d’insécurité (embuscades ou prises à partie).

L’action de partenariat a été particulièrement bénéfique, d’après les stagiaires qui se sont déclarés très satisfaits d’avoir pu développer leurs savoir-faire dans des conditions de situations dégradées, en agissant en « coalition ». Constat qu’ont partagé les autorités militaires, le général Sainte-Claire Deville, commandant les forces terrestres, et le général Royal, commandant les écoles de Draguignan, qui ont assisté à de nombreuses phases d’entraînements de l’exercice Koron 2015.

En conformité avec le traité de coopération de défense signé en 2011 avec la République de Djibouti, les FFDj constituent une base opérationnelle avancée en Afrique de l’Est. A ce titre, elles participent au dispositif militaire français prépositionné permettant de disposer d’un réservoir de forces pouvant être projetées rapidement en cas de crise. Par ailleurs, dans le cadre de leurs activités de coopération opérationnelle, les Forces françaises stationnées à Djibouti soutiennent leurs partenaires africains dans le renforcement de leurs capacités militaires et dans le maintien de leur aptitude à participer aux opérations de maintien de la paix. Plusieurs fois par an, les FFDj participent ainsi à la formation de militaires africains dont les pays ont des accords bilatéraux avec la France.

May 25, 2015: Strategy Page

In the last week troops searching Bouira province (120 kilometers southeast of the capital) have found two weapons caches containing machine-guns, rifles, RPGs, grenades, ammo, 13 bombs,  components for 31 more bombs and various items of military equipment. This comes in the wake of two clashes on the 19 th and 20th that left 25 Islamic terrorists dead. The troops were specifically searching for a base where they believed a meeting of ISIL members was being held. This gathering was discovered and troops were able to carry out a surprise attack that left 22 Islamic terrorists dead. Pursuit of the survivors left another three dead on the following day.

This area has been a base for Islamic terrorists since the 1990s and most of the Islamic terrorists in the area were known locally as Jund al Khalifa and long affiliated with AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb). In September 2014 this group renounced its ties to al Qaeda and declared its allegiance to ISIL. Only two months before that AQIM leaders had reaffirmed their allegiance to al Qaeda and condemned ISIL, which had recently declared a new caliphate (Islamic empire run by ISIL). Since joining ISIL Jund al Khalifa has become a lot more violent. Small groups of AQIM have been hiding out in the coastal mountains east of the capital for years and troops and police are constantly searching the thinly populated mountains and forests of Bouira province.

In the wake of these Jund al Khalifa losses the government announced that only small remnants of Islamic terrorist groups remained in the country. So far this year 59 Islamic terrorists have been killed compared to about 100 for all of 2014.

Since April the army has increased patrols on the borders with Libya, Mali and Niger. This is to stop or discourage smugglers in general and Islamic terrorists in particular. Since early April this effort has led to nearly 700 arrests. Troops have also seized lots of contraband, including weapons and explosives. The patrols have also seized caches of good the smugglers leave near the border for other groups to pick up and move to customers inside Algeria.

Algeria is cooperating with Interpol to update their border control databases with information apparently captured from ISIL in Syria and Iraq about thousands of ISIL members. Interpol wants help in identifying these people and obtaining any background information on them. This is part of a growing international effort to share data on Islamic terrorists in order to interfere with their movement and help lead to the capture (or killing) of these terrorists.

May 19, 2015: In the southwest (Adrar Province near the Morocco border) soldiers found a smuggler hideout where smuggled items were hidden. Troops seized ten AK-47s, an RPG 7 rocket launcher (with three rocket grenades), five radios and over a thousand rounds of ammunition. It’s unclear if these items were headed for Algeria or Morocco.

May 18, 2015: Officials met with the commander of AFRICOM to discuss cooperation with American efforts to deal with Islamic terrorism in North Africa and especially Libya.

May 16, 2015: Southern neighbor Mali signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels. These Tuareg rebels and Islamic terrorists (from Mali and neighboring countries) took over most of northern Mali in 2012 and remained in control until a 2013 French-led invasion restored government control. Most of the Islamic terrorists were killed or fled to Libya and Niger. Algeria beefed up its security on its Mali border and hosted several rounds of peace negotiations between the government and the rebels. Not all rebels signed the peace deal and some are still fighting.

May 14, 2015: Across the border near the mountain town of Kasserine Tunisian soldiers killed four Islamic terrorists. Army and police patrols have been scouring the area since the March terror attack in the Tunisian capital that left 22 dead (most of them foreign tourists). 

Islamic terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founder of Islamic terror group Al Mourabitoun has apparently been replaced as leader of Al Mourabitoun. This became clear when Al Mourabitoun recently announced it was joining ISIL and that Internet announcement was followed by one from Belmokhtar disagreeing with the decision to leave AQIM for ISIL. But the ISIL move was later confirmed and so was the fact that Belmokhtar was no longer in charge at Al Mourabitoun, which is currently based in southern Libya. Belmokhtar is the Algerian Islamic terrorist responsible for the January 2013 natural gas facility attack in southern Algeria that got 37 workers killed. Al Mourabitoun was formed in August 2013 when two Islamic terrorist factions merged and pledged allegiance to AQIM. For a while Al Mourabitoun was detected operating in northern Mali and Niger. One faction was an al Qaeda splinter group led by Belmokhtar who had a reputation for always escaping the many efforts to kill or capture him. Belmokhtar was number two or three in AQIM but formed his own splinter group in late 2012. The French and American pressure in Mali and the Sahel left Belmokhtar short of cash and prospects, so returning to al Qaeda was a way to remedy those problems. Al Qaeda has always had access to more cash and other resources than most other terrorist organizations and that’s why it remains such a visible player. Belmokhtar denounced ISIL as being religiously unfit, but he might also be concerned about that fact that ISIL is in a much more precarious financial position than AQIM.

May 12, 2015: In Batna (500 kilometers east of the capital) Islamic terrorists ambushed and killed four local village defense volunteers. AQIM is still active in this area and attacks the defense volunteers whenever possible because these groups hinder movement by Islamic terrorists by manning roadblocks and reporting suspicious activity to the security forces. Elsewhere along the coast (Ain Defla, 100 kilometers west of the capital) soldiers ambushed and killed two Islamic terrorists.

May 9, 2015:  Another AQIM faction (Katiba Skikda) declared allegiance to ISIL. Based east of the capital, near the Tunisian border, Katiba Skikda is one of the many Islamic terrorist groups facing elimination because of years of pressure from the security forces and lack of public support. That means fewer new recruits and constant shortages of cash and supplies. ISIL is seen as a higher profile group that uses new tactics (more savage violence) to get results where al Qaeda tactics have failed. To many counter-terrorism experts these moves to ISIL seem more an act of desperation than anything else.

May 7, 2015: About a hundred kilometers east of the capita (Tizi Ouzou) troops came upon eight bunkers apparently built and still used by Islamic terrorists. The soldiers recovered weapons and other equipment. Further east (Skikda, 500 kilometers east of the capital) troops found 25 bombs hidden by Islamic terrorists.

May 3, 2015: Troops killed three Islamic terrorists in Bouira province (120 kilometers southeast of the capital). Near Ain Defla (100 kilometers west of the capital) soldiers killed two Islamic terrorists over the last two days.

03.006.2015 source SHD
 

3 juin 1330 : Philippe VI de Valois crée officiellement deux charges de Maréchal de France.

3 juin 1565 : les Espagnols attaquent Fort Caroline (Floride). Première colonie française fondée par des Huguenots, Fort Caroline est attaqué et détruit par le capitaine général Menendez, commandant d’une flotte espagnole. Plusieurs centaines de rescapés des combats sont exécutés par Menendez, dont Ribault le chef des colons, qui est tué et brûlé comme hérétique. La tentative de colonisation de la Floride organisée par de Coligny échoue.

3 juin 1917 : début de mutinerie au 217^ème RI. « Alors que les contre-attaques allemandes sont enrayées sur le Chemin des Dames, commence la mutinerie du 217^ème RI, qui dure jusqu’au 12 juin. Les soldats refusent collectivement de monter vers les tranchées mais acceptent d’obéir à leurs officiers pour les taches du service intérieur. Les jugements, fin juin et début juillet, sont relativement modérés et correspondent à un retour à la normalité ». LCL Remy Porte – EMAT.

3 juin 1918 : mort de Louis Jaurès. « Le fils de Jean Jaurès, Louis, est tué au front ». LCL Remy Porte – EMAT.

3 juin 1940 : bombardement allemand de Paris. 300 bombardiers de Luftwaffe attaquent Paris. 167 morts.

3 juin 1942 : début de la bataille de Midway (Océan Pacifique). Du 3 au 6 juin, les flottes japonaise et américaine s’affrontent près de Midway par l’intermédiaire de leurs avions embarqués. Défaite japonaise (4 porte-avions coulés, 3500 marins nippons disparus dont beaucoup de pilotes chevronnés alors que les américains ne perdent qu’un porte-avions et un destroyer).

3 juin 1943 : création du CFLN (Comité français de libération nationale). Les généraux de Gaulle et Giraud créent le CFLN qu’ils président tous deux.

3 juin 1944 : création du GPRF (Gouvernement provisoire de la République française). Le CFLN se transforme en gouvernement où de Gaulle a pris l’ascendant sur Giraud.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire

The U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $28.2 million contract to develop several design concepts for the Future Fighting Vehicle (FFV) Phase 1 effort. General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

As part of the FFV Phase 1 effort, General Dynamics will develop design concepts for the next generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). The company will conduct trade studies, requirements analysis, modeling and simulation (M&S) and assess technology capability and maturity to support each of the three design concepts.

Work will be performed by existing employees in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of November 2016.

More information about General Dynamics Land Systems is available at www.gdls.com.

May 25, 2015: Strategy Page

Pakistan has apparently received the first three of twenty Chinese WZ-10 helicopter gunships. Pictures of two of them together have appeared. These first three were announced as a gift and were quickly delivered so Pakistan could try them out. This appears to have led to an order for 17 more. Or not, as the WZ-10 sale has been kept quiet. If Pakistan does buy 17 more WZ-10s it would be the first export customer. The sale is apparently a done deal as Pakistan is to receive two more WZ-10s by the end of the year.

China has been developing the 7 ton WZ-10 helicopter gunship since the 1990s. After 14 years of development there were several prototypes and a lot of unresolved problems. Attempts to buy or steal helicopter gunship technology from Russia and South Africa failed. In 2010 some of the prototypes were sent to Chinese Army aviation units for field testing. While not a failure, there were problems and at one point the WZ-10 was in danger of being abandoned. The Chinese persevered and fixed most of the defects by 2012 and put WZ-10 into production. The WZ-10 is armed with an autocannon (23mm to 30mm) and has four hard points that can carry 16 HJ10 laser guided missiles (similar to Hellfire) or even more unguided rockets.

Meanwhile China also put the smaller (4.5 ton) WZ-19 armed scout helicopter into production, partly as a backup if the WZ-10 failed. China wanted something more like the American AH-64 Apache and the WZ-10 was equipped to operate like the AH-64 or earlier AH-1 (which Pakistan has been using for a long time). The WZ-19 has been spotted in the air since 2010 and by 2012 was seen painted in military colors, meaning it was out of development and in service. The WZ-19 was earlier known as the Z-9W. The WZ-19 is yet another Chinese helicopter based on the Eurocopter Dauphin (which has been built under license in China since the 1990s. The WZ-19 is a 4.5 ton, two seat armed helicopter. It can carry a 23mm autocannon and up to a ton of munitions (missiles, usually). Cruising speed is 245 kilometers an hour and range is 700 kilometers. The WZ-19 is basically an upgraded Z-9W.

May 14, 2015: Strategy Page

In late April French forces arrived in Poland to reinforce NATO troops already there. The French joined American and Canadian who together with Polish troops will be involved in a joint exercises between May 11th and 29th. It is the first time when the French “Leclerc” tanks, “VBCI” Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and the French infantry, equipped with the French “Felin” Future Soldier system have all been deployed in Poland.

The French sent about 300 soldiers and 90 vehicles. These included 15 Leclerc tanks supported by some mechanized infantry equipped with the “Felin” Future Soldier equipment and the latest VBCI wheeled infantry fighting vehicles. There was also a platoon of engineers.

“Leclerc” is French main tank used by the France and the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Leclerc entered service in 1992, a decade after their contemporaries the American M1 and German Leopard 2. Unlike the German and American tanks Leclerc uses an automatic loading system which improves rate of fire-on-the-move to 12 rounds per minute. The main weapon is a 120mm smoothbore gun. There is also a 12.7mm co-axial (to the 120mm cannon) machine gun and remote controlled 7.62mm machine gun atop the turret. Leclerc is smaller and lighter (only 56 tons) that British, German, American or Israeli tanks.

“VBCI” is an IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) designed to accompany tanks. It represents a balance between protection, performance and payload. The 8x8 wheeled platform was intended to replace the AMX-10P. VBCI main armament is a stabilized 25mm gun and the vehicle weighs 26 tons. VBCI has been used in Afghanistan, Mali and the Central African Republic and so far none have been lost. France has rdered about 700 vehicles.

“Felin” is French variation of Future solider programs. The system goal is to provide the soldier with improved close-combat capability in terms of lethality, survivability, mobility and C4I (command, control, computers, communications and information). System was designed to weigh less than 24 kg (53 pounds) and include weapons, ammunition, ballistic protection and 24-hour energy, food and water provisions. Frelin uses a day/night camera mounted on the assault rifle and two small LED displays mounted on the helmet which allows shooting from behind corner. There is also a helmet mounted osteo-microphone which picks up speech by sensing the vibration in the wearer’s skull (eliminates background noise). France ordered 22,000 Frelin sets (for $30,000 each) and by 2014 about 10,000 were delivered to army units.

May 31, 2015: Strategy page

Disagreements over a proposed peace deal in the north have led to more violence from factions that disagree with the deal that most northern rebels are willing to  accept. The violence has forced over 60,000 civilians to flee their homes. Most of the violence is between the holdout rebels and Mali troops or local pro-government militias.

The UN sponsored peace talks hosted by Algeria produced a peace deal in March that most northerners agreed was workable and was signed on May 15th. But not all those who were supposed to sign actually did. The UN persuaded those willing to sign to go ahead and do so and negotiations would continue with those who were not satisfied. The holdouts are radical factions of the rebel alliance that insist on more autonomy than the government is willing to provide. If the additional talks fail everyone who did sign agreed to outlaw the holdout factions. Some of these dissident factions are believed responsible for the upsurge in violence in the north during May, although some of the attacks are Islamic terrorists still operating up there. Between these holdouts and the active Islamic terrorists it is obvious that for a significant minority of northerners the war for independence (or global Islamic conquest) is not yet over. Some of these separatists are seeking a religious dictatorship. This is definitely not wanted by the majority of northerners. Most of the holdouts want more autonomy and money, which is more popular up north but unthinkable to the 90 percent of Malians that live in the south.

At least 49 peacekeepers have been killed since they began operations (mostly in the north) during mid-2013. Currently there are 11,500 peacekeepers in Mali, most of them in the north. The Mali peacekeeping force, is composed of about a thousand French and (mainly) African troops and is suffering a death rate of 240 per 100,000 per year (a standard measure of such things.) That’s higher than the 2013 rate (200) in Afghanistan. That was down from 587 in 2010, which was about what it was during the peak years in Iraq (2004-7). The action in Mali is less intense than in Afghanistan or pre-2011 Iraq. Total casualties since mid-2013 are only about 200 dead and wounded. Most of the Islamic terrorists from Mali moved to bases in southern Libya and are now regularly moving south to carry out operations in northern Mali. All this is possible because Libya is undergoing a civil war, mainly up north along the coast and no one bothers with Islamic terrorists who only kill across the border in Mali. There is a similar problem in Afghanistan with Islamic terrorists operations from several sanctuary areas in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

A Tuareg separatist group (CMA or Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad) is believed responsible for most of the recent violence in the north. Even as peace talks continued CMA kept carrying out attacks, often in revenge for past defeats or (real or imagined) “atrocities” by Mali troops from the south or local pro-government militia. Groups like CMA want more Tuareg autonomy and especially want control over the growing mining operations in the north and the cash they generate. The majority in the south and central government is definitely not willing to do that.

May 30, 2015: In the north (Gao) a rocket was fired into a peacekeeper camp but there were no injuries.

May 28, 2015: In the north (Timbuktu) a peacekeeper vehicle was attacked, leaving three peacekeepers wounded.

May 25, 2015: In the capital peacekeepers clashed with unidentified armed men and one peacekeeper was killed and another wounded.

May 23, 2015: In the north (Gao) CMA rebels temporarily captured a rural town (Tessit), looted the place and kidnapped some people before they withdrew the next day (to avoid the expected counterattack).

May 21, 2015: In the north (Gao) there were more clashes between CMA rebels and local pro-government militias. Some Mali troops were also involved and CMA claimed the soldiers executed six civilians. That claim is still being investigated. The violence in this area has been going on for three days. One of the civilians killed was a local employee of a foreign aid group, which then announced it was shutting down operations in the area until the violence died down.

May 20, 2015: In the capital someone fired on a compound used by peacekeepers. Two grenades were also thrown but failed to explode. A civilian guard was wounded and it is still unclear who was behind the attack.

May 18, 2015: In the north (Kidal) French commandos carried out a raid that left four Islamic terrorists dead. These included senior leaders of AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and Ansar Dine (a largely Malian Islamic terror group). AQIM operates throughout North African (which Arab speakers call the Maghreb) but is currently suffering heavy losses as many personnel defect to ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). This sort of thing is happening all over the Islamic world as the more fanatic Islamic terrorists seek to identify with what appears to be the most successful Islamic terrorist group at the moment. This particular raid was very important for France has the two Islamic terrorist leaders were believed responsible for the murder of two kidnapped French journalists in 2013. France made it clear that this raid was part of the ongoing operation to capture or kill those responsible for killing those two French citizens and that France had a long memory. This was meant to dissuade future attacks on French civilians.

Later in the day CMA rebels ambushed Mali troops near Timbuktu and killed three soldiers.

May 15, 2015: The government signed a peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the north. These Tuareg rebels and Islamic terrorists (from Mali and neighboring countries) took over most of northern Mali in 2012 and remained in control until a 2013 French-led invasion restored government control. Most of the Islamic terrorists were killed or fled to Libya and Niger but the local Tuareg rebels stayed. Algeria beefed up its security on its Mali border and hosted several rounds of peace negotiations between the Mali government and the rebels. Not all rebels signed the peace deal and some are still fighting. Meanwhile there were celebrations in the south and in the capital over 200,000 people demonstrated in favor of the peace deal. In the north there was fear of more violence. Hours after the peace deal was signed CMA gunmen clashed with pro-government militias in the north. The CMA decision to continue fighting is not popular in the north either and that is who CMA is fighting with other tribal groups up there that want peace more than the degree of autonomy CMA is demanding.

May 14, 2015: Islamic terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founder of Islamic terror group Al Mourabitoun has apparently been replaced as leader of Al Mourabitoun. This group has long been responsible for terror attacks in northern Mali, especially against peacekeepers. The departure of Belmokhtar as leader of the group probably won’t change that especially since Al Mourabitoun recently announced it was joining ISIL and that Internet announcement was followed by one from Belmokhtar disagreeing with the decision to leave AQIM for ISIL. But the ISIL move was later confirmed and so was the fact that Belmokhtar was no longer in charge at Al Mourabitoun, which is currently based in southern Libya. Belmokhtar is the Algerian Islamic terrorist responsible for the January 2013 natural gas facility attack in southern Algeria that got 37 workers killed. Al Mourabitoun was formed in August 2013 when two Islamic terrorist factions merged and pledged allegiance to AQIM. For a while Al Mourabitoun operated in northern Mali and Niger. Belmokhtar was number two or three in AQIM but formed his own splinter group in late 2012. The French and American pressure in Mali and the Sahel left Belmokhtar short of cash and prospects, so returning to AQIM in early 2013 was a way to remedy those problems. Al Qaeda has always had access to more cash and other resources than most other terrorist organizations and that’s why it remains such a visible player. Belmokhtar denounced ISIL as being religiously unfit, but he might also be concerned about that fact that ISIL is in a much more precarious financial position than AQIM. The switch to AQIL will probably mean that Al Mourabitoun will be more active in trying to kidnap foreigners in northern Mali and hold them for ransom.

May 11, 2015: In the north (Timbuktu) CMA rebels ambushed an army supply convoy killing nine troops, wounding twelve and getting away with some of the vehicles. Elsewhere in the north (Gao) a Dutch armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb but none of the Dutch peacekeepers were injured. The 450 Dutch troops are in Mali mainly to operate and maintain four helicopter gunships and three transport helicopters.

May 17, 2015: Strategy Page

The U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAS (unmanned combat air system) continues to break or make records. Thus in 2015 this included the world's first fully autonomous aerial refueling in April, performed with a KC-707 tanker. During the last few years this unmanned combat aircraft has successfully carried out numerous operations aboard aircraft carriers. These tests were often firsts for UCAS. Thus an X-47B made its first catapult launch from an aircraft carrier on May 14th 2013. That was followed by several touch and go landings on a carrier. The first carrier landing, as expected, followed soon after. Later in the year more flight tests further stressed the capabilities of the automatic landing system, especially in high speed and complex (different directions) winds. The autolanding systems passed all these tests. The X-47B was also the first UAV to land and be off the carrier deck in less than 90 seconds, just like manned aircraft. There were a lot of other tests to see how effectively and reliably the X-47B could operate on the carrier and hanger deck and do it alongside manned aircraft. All this is part of a long-term navy plan to introduce an UCAS replacement for the F-35 (which is soon to replace the F-18s) in the 2030s. But if the UCAS progress continues to be swift and the costs low (compared to manned aircraft), the F-35 could find its production run much reduced to make room for an UCAS.

While software controlled landing systems have been around for decades, landing on a moving air field (an aircraft carrier) is considerably more complex than the usual situation (landing on a stationary airfield). Dealing with carrier landings requires more powerful hardware and software aboard the aircraft. The navy expected some glitches and bugs and appears to be rapidly catching up to the reliability of commercial landing software (which has been used very successfully on UAVs) within months rather than decades.

Rather than begin development on the slightly larger X-47C, which was be the first naval UCAV to enter service, the navy changed that plan and is now seeking new designs for a UCLASS (unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike) aircraft. There will be a competition by development aircraft in 2016. It’s likely, but not certain, that one of those 2016 competitors will be the X-47C.

All this comes after the navy rolled out the first X-47B in 2008. This was the first carrier-based combat UAV, with a wingspan of 20 meters (62 feet, and the outer 25 percent folds up to save space on the carrier) and stay in the air for up to twelve hours. The 20 ton X-47B weighs a little less than the 24 ton F-18A and has two internal bays holding two tons of smart bombs. It is a stealthy aircraft. As it exists right now the X-47B could be used for a lot of bombing missions, sort of a super-Reaper. The navy has been impressed with the U.S. Air Force success with the Predator and Reaper. But the propeller driven Reaper weighs only 4.7 tons. The much larger X-47B uses a F100-PW-220 engine, which is currently used in the F-16 and F-15.

The X-47C was expected to be closer to 30 tons and have a payload of over four tons. The X-47B was never mean to be the definitive carrier UCAV, but the navy hoped it would be good enough to show that unmanned aircraft could do the job. Normally, "X" class aircraft are just used as technology demonstrators. The X-47 program has been going on for so long, and has incorporated so much from UAVs already serving in combat that it was thought that the X-47 may end up eventually running recon and bombing missions as the MQ-47C. But in February 2015 the navy stated that the X-47B was too costly and insufficiently stealthy to become it's carrier UCAV, and the two prototypes will be turned into museum exhibits upon completion of all flight testing, extant and length of which is not ultimately decided yet.

The U.S. is far ahead of other nations in UCAS development, and this is energizing activity in Russia, Europe, and China to develop similar aircraft. A Chinese UCAS, called the Li Jian was photographed moving around an airfield under its own power back in early 2013, which is the sort of thing a new aircraft does before its first flight (which took place in November, 2013). Since 2011 the Li Jian has been photographed as a mock up, then a prototype, and now taxiing around and in flight. The Li Jian is similar in size and shape to the U.S. Navy X-47B.

It’s generally recognized that robotic combat aircraft are the future, even though many of the aviation commanders (all of them pilots) wish it were otherwise. Whoever gets there first (an UCAV that really works) will force everyone else to catch up, or end up the loser in their next war with someone equipped with UCASs. China may have just copied pictures of the X-47B, or done so with the help of data obtained by their decade long Internet espionage operation. Whatever the case, the Li Jian is not far behind the X-47B.

These aircraft are meant to operate like current armed UAVs or like cruise missiles (which go after targets under software, not remote, control). Enemy jamming can interfere with remote control and you have to be ready for that. This means pre-programmed orders to continue the mission (to put smart bombs on a specific target, the sort of attack cruise missiles have been carrying out for decades) or attempt that but turn around and return to base if certain conditions were not met (pre-programmed criteria of what is an acceptable target). Fighter (as opposed to bomber) UCASs can be programmed to take on enemy fighters (manned or not) with some remote control or completely under software control. This is the future and China wants to keep up.

The U.S. Navy has done the math and realized that they need UCASs on their carriers as soon as possible. The current plan is to get these aircraft into service by the end of the decade. But a growing number of navy leaders want to get the unmanned carrier aircraft into service sooner than that. The math problem that triggered all this is the realization that American carriers had to get within 800 kilometers of their target before launching bomber aircraft. Potential enemies increasingly have aircraft and missiles with a range greater than 800 kilometers. The X-47B UCAS has a range of 2,500 kilometers and is seen as the solution.

The Department of Defense leadership is backing the navy efforts and spurring the air force to catch up. At the moment, the air force is cutting orders for MQ-9s, which are used as a ground support aircraft, in addition to reconnaissance and surveillance, because American troops are being pulled out of Afghanistan, and it is believed Reaper would not be very useful against China, North Korea, or Iran. But, as the Navy is demonstrating, you can build UCASs that can carry more weapons, stay in the air longer, and hustle to where they are needed faster. The more the navy succeeds, the more the air force will pay attention and probably use a lot of the navy developed UAV hardware and software technology.

02/06/2015 Par Michel MOUTOT (AFP) – LePoint.fr

Transport de troupes, évacuations médicales, voire appui-feu pour arracher la décision au sol: malgré le sable et la chaleur qui poussent hommes et machines à leurs limites, les hélicoptères de l'armée française dans le nord du Mali jouent un rôle primordial face à un ennemi insaisissable.

Les températures pouvant flirter avec les 50 degrés au mois de juin, le plus chaud dans le désert malien, et la poussière de sable plus fine que du talc, qui pénètre partout, imposent de terribles contraintes aux membres de l'Aviation légère de l'armée de terre (Alat) participant à l'opération "Barkhane" - du nom d'un type de dune.

"Nous sommes en limite d'emploi de nos appareils", explique le colonel David (conformément aux consignes, il ne révèle que son prénom), conseiller aéro-combat du commandant de la base de Gao, la principale de "Barkhane" dans le nord du Mali.

Suite de l’article

02/06/2015  Le Point.fr (AFP)

Le système de régulation des turboréacteurs "aurait dû être testé auparavant, en simulateur, afin de vérifier que tout fonctionnait", affirme El Confidencial.

De nombreux protocoles ont été ignorés lors de l'assemblage final de l'avion de transport militaire A400M qui s'est écrasé le 9 mai près de Séville, faisant quatre morts, pour rattraper les retards de livraison, affirme mardi le site économique espagnol El Confidencial. Le FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), système de régulation des turboréacteurs, "aurait dû être testé auparavant, en simulateur, afin de vérifier que tout fonctionnait", assure ce média en ligne en citant des "sources du secteur aéronautique".

"De nombreux protocoles ont été ignorés. Si l'appareil avait fait le rodage des moteurs à haute vitesse au sol avant le premier vol, les moteurs se seraient bloqués" avant les essais en vol, selon les mêmes sources. "Et tout est dû à l'urgence", ajoutent-elles. Airbus était en effet critiqué par ses clients pour les retards dans la livraison de l'A400M. Le directeur de la stratégie d'Airbus Group, Marwan Lahoud, cité jeudi par le quotidien allemand Handelsblatt, avait reconnu "un sérieux problème de qualité dans l'assemblage final" de l'A400M.

"Combinaison de facteurs"

Le PDG d'Airbus, filiale aéronautique civile d'Airbus Group, avait estimé samedi qu'il y avait eu "soit une faiblesse dans les procédures de test des avions avant la mise en vol, car il s'agissait du premier vol d'un avion de série, soit un problème qui provenait de la mise en oeuvre de ces procédures". "Tant que la commission d'enquête technique des accidents des aéronefs militaires n'a pas communiqué, il est trop tôt pour déterminer les causes de l'accident", a déclaré mardi une porte-parole du groupe interrogée sur les informations du site El Confidencial.

"Comme pour tout accident, il y aura probablement une combinaison de facteurs et non une cause unique", a-t-elle ajouté. L'appareil sorti de la chaîne d'assemblage des A400M à Séville, dans le sud de l'Espagne, s'est écrasé le 9 mai peu après le décollage, à la suite apparemment d'une panne des moteurs. Quatre des membres d'équipage ont été tués, deux autres grièvement blessés.

02/06/2015 M. Bernard Edinger - armée de Terre

La première utilisation de gaz de combat à grande échelle sur le front de l’Ouest pendant la Première guerre mondiale eut lieu le 22 avril 1915 près d’Ypres en Belgique par les forces allemandes contre les troupes françaises.

« Nous avons vu le ciel absolument obscurci par un nuage jaune-vert qui lui donnait l’aspect d’un ciel d’orage », devait témoigner un médecin de bataillon cité par l’historien Yves Buffetaut.

« Nous étions alors dans les vapeurs asphyxiantes. J’avais l’impression de regarder au travers de lunettes vertes. En même temps, l’action des gaz sur les voies respiratoires se faisait sentir : brûlures de la gorge, douleurs thoraciques, essoufflement et crachements de sang, vertiges. Nous nous crûmes tous perdus. »

Un autre médecin, Octave Béliard, qui était en seconde ligne, vit refluer « des hordes sans chefs qui fuyaient. Des régiments entiers avaient jeté leurs armes, tournaient le dos à l’ennemi. Des hommes se roulaient par terre, convulsés, toussant, vomissant, crachant le sang. Et une terrible odeur  charriée par le vent, entra dans nos narines »

Toutefois, le nuage se dissipant, les troupes françaises se ressaisissent. Les forces allemandes, méfiantes du gaz, n’exploitent pas vraiment leur succès.

En dépit des immenses effets  psychologiques résultant de son usage, les pertes causées par les gaz pendant la Première guerre mondiale furent relativement limitées, en partie grâce aux  masques de plus en plus performants. Dans l’armée française, « seulement » 8.000 morts dus aux gaz sur 1.4 million tués pendant la guerre. Et 190.000 dangereusement atteints sur quatre millions.

source SHD
 

2 juin 1676 : bataille de Palerme. Durant la guerre de Hollande (1672-1678), le maréchal de Vivonne, général des galères de France, bat (avec ses adjoints bientôt prestigieux : Tourville, Duquesne, Forbin,…) une flotte hispano-hollandaise et donne à Louis XIV la suprématie en Méditerranée. Il surprend l’ennemi en train de se reconditionner dans le port de Palerme et sans perdre un seul bâtiment, lui cause de terribles dégâts. Vivonne a commencé sa carrière dans la cavalerie où il montre courage et esprit puis demande à servir sur mer avant de finir sa vie auprès de Louis XIV qui l’apprécie pour ses nombreuses qualités.

2 juin 1781 : prise de Tobago (Antilles). Le lieutenant général de Grasse débarque 1000 hommes aux ordres du marquis de Bouillé dans la baie de Courlande après avoir fait croire aux Anglais qu’il voulait attaquer l’ile de Sainte Lucie (250 km au Nord).

voir La stratégie de la Marine Française de l’arrivée de Sartine à la victoire de Chesapeake

2 juin 1805 : reprise du rocher du Diamant par les Français (La Martinique). Les Britanniques occupent l'îlot au large de la Martinique depuis janvier 1804 dans le cadre de la guerre que se livrent les Français et les Anglais pour le contrôle des Antilles. Le rocher du diamant est un promontoire permettant de surveiller le canal entre la Martinique et  l’ile de Sainte Lucie. Défendu par une petite garnison (une centaine d’hommes) et des canons hissés à son sommet, le rocher remplit la fonction d’un « vaisseau immobile » de sa majesté d’où le nom donné par l’amirauté britannique, HMS Diamond Rock. Le futur contre-amiral français Cosmao en attaquant, sur ordre de Villeneuve, la garnison retranchée sur l’ilot, a percé d’un coup de boulet de canon les citernes d’eau, obligeant celle-ci à se rendre.

2 juin 1898 : le capitaine Simond découvre le vecteur de la peste (Karachi – actuel Pakistan). Affecté au service de santé des colonies, le capitaine-médecin Paul-Louis Simond met en évidence le rôle de la puce du rat dans la transmission de la maladie (de la puce au rat), lors d’un séjour aux Indes anglaises où sévit une épidémie de peste. Il est l’un des plus grands épidémiologistes français. Il termine sa carrière en tant que directeur du service de santé de l’Indochine après avoir effectué de très nombreuses missions scientifiques (Chine, Empire ottoman, Indes …).  

2 juin 1940 : Saint Exupéry reçoit la croix de guerre.  Suite à une mission au-dessus de la ville occupée d’Arras, Saint Exupéry est cité à l’ordre de l’armée. C’est d’ailleurs cette mission qui lui donnera la matière pour son ouvrage Pilote de guerre, d’abord paru en anglais sous le titre Flight to Arras.