MOSCOU, 27 novembre - RIA Novosti

Les Troupes russes de défense aérospatiale ont reçu six nouveaux systèmes antiaériens Pantsir-S, a annoncé mercredi à Moscou le porte-parole des Troupes de défense Dmitri Zenine.

"De nouveaux systèmes de défense Pantsir-S ont tiré des missiles et des obus sur le polygone "Achoulouk", dans la région d'Astrakhan. Les représentants de l'usine ont remis six nouveaux véhicules de combat aux Troupes de défense aérospatiale", a indiqué le colonel Zenine.

Selon lui, deux régiments dotés de missiles S-400 Triumph et plusieurs régiments équipés de missiles S-300 Favorit protègent actuellement la région de Moscou. "Les deux régiments de missiles S-400 Triumph disposent déjà de batteries Pantsir-S. La nouvelle batterie Pantsir-S viendra équiper un troisième régiment de missiles sol-air S-400 qui sera mis en service opérationnel en décembre", a noté le colonel.

Le système antiaérien de courte portée Pantsir-S est destiné à protéger les sites militaires et civils (centrales nucléaires, grandes usines, sites sensibles) ou à appuyer les systèmes sol-air de longue portée S-300 et S-400. Chaque véhicule doté du système Pantsir-S est capable de protéger un terrain dans un rayon de 20 km et jusqu'à 15 km d'altitude.

Pantsir-S tire des missiles et des obus d'artillerie. Les missiles, d'une portée de 20 kilomètres, se déplacent à 1.300 mètres par seconde et sont capables de neutraliser les cibles aériennes les plus modernes (surtout les armes de haute précision). Les obus, d'une portée de 4 kilomètres, détruisent les cibles navales, terrestres ou aériennes à une altitude allant de 0 à 3 kilomètres. Le Pantsir-S est en mesure de frapper quatre cibles simultanément.

La cérémonie de délivrance de l'IOC de l'AH-64E sur la base Lewis-McChord. Photo US Army

27.11.2013 Helen Chachaty journal-aviation.com

L’US Army annonce ce mercredi que la dernière version des hélicoptères d’attaque Apache de Boeing, l’AH-64E, avait obtenu son IOC (Initial Operating Capability), première certification au standard militaire, lors d’une cérémonie qui s’est tenue le 21 novembre dernier sur la base Lewis-McChord, dans l’Etat de Washington.

Le bataillon d’attaque et de reconnaissance 1-229, « Tigersharks » avait reçu le premier exemplaire de l’AH-64E en janvier 2013. Les premiers déploiements à l’étranger sont prévus pour 2014.

L’AH-64 Apache a été mis en service en 1984 dans l’US Army, la flotte a accumulé depuis plus de 3,7 millions d’heures de vol, dont 6 000 pour la dernière version en date, l’AH-64E.

Is there a project manaEuropean Protection: The Medium Extended Air Defense System is one candidate for Poland's proposed new air defense system. (MEADS International)

Nov. 26, 2013 - By JAROSLAW ADAMOWSKI and TOM KINGTON – Defense News

European Nations Cooperate With US, NATO Allies On Missile Defense

WARSAW AND ROME — As NATO intensifies its efforts to shield Europe from airborne threats, numerous countries are aiming to bolster their missile defense capabilities at the national level and as part of collective allied efforts. Those plans are centered on NATO’s missile defense shield and the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).

Poland plans to modernize its anti-aircraft and anti-missile system by 2022 by adding short- and middle-range missiles. The program is estimated to be worth as much as 26.4 billion zloty (US $8.4 billion), according to figures obtained by local daily Gazeta Wyborcza, which makes it the country’s largest armament program.

With multibillion-dollar procurements in the pipeline, Defense Min­ister Tomasz Siemoniak announced that US Secretary of State John Kerry’s Nov. 4-6 visit to Poland was related to Poland’s military modernization prog­ram and potential arms acquisitions.

The two countries’ missile defense cooperation was also high on the agenda, with SM-3 Block IIA interceptor missiles planned to be deployed at Poland’s air base in Redzikowo.

Kerry and Siemoniak visited the Polish military’s 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, in central Poland. During his visit, Kerry said the US did not intend to abandon its missile defense plans in Europe, and that in 2018, the Poland-based component of the missile shield would be operational.

“Poland and Europe need the United States to be strong and present, leading an [alliance] which is based on collective reliability of its members and the development of real military capacities,” Siemoniak said. “This is why we support the missile defense program by hosting on our soil a base which is to be set up in 2018 in Redzikowo.”

For its national missile defense efforts, the Polish Army wants local manufacturers to cooperate on the program with foreign defense players.

One of the first of a series of procurements for the Polish missile program will be a midrange anti-aircraft and anti-missile system, dubbed Wisla.

With the planned purchase in mind, in June the Defense Ministry invited companies to participate in a dialogue on technical and strategic requirements for the procurement.

Fourteen foreign and domestic manufacturers expressed interest in participating in the Wisla project, including Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Boeing of the US; France’s Thales; Italy’s Selex; Turkey’s Aselsan; Spain’s Indra and Sener; Israel’s SIBAT; and a consortium led by the Polish Defense Holding.

Poland Could Join MEADS

MBDA submitted two bids, one based on the Aster-30 medium-range air-defense missile and one developed around the MEADS, a partnership of the US, Italy and Germany. With the US Army withdrawing from the project, Poland could become the third European partner should it hand the missile defense contract to MBDA.

Acquisition of the MEADS anti-missile system was canceled by the US, but officials with the industrial team behind it, comprising Lockheed Martin and MBDA, said Poland could yet sign up to join Rome and Berlin.

Polish officials attended a test firing against two simultaneous targets in the US in November, which marked a climax of the program’s development phase before the US ends its funding.

A MEADS team also gave officials in Poland a briefing at the end of August, one of a number of briefings given by competitors that wrapped up on Sept. 30 and could lead to a selection by Poland in January of anti-missile systems, said Marty Coyne, business development director for MEADS International.

Although it is unclear whether Italy and Germany will push on with acquisition after the departure of the US from the program, Coyne said the two countries were planning to “transition to European development” work by the end of 2014.

“We have offered Polish industry the chance to be a partner in that development, which involves software work and qualification,” he said.

The cost of that development work would run 10 to 15 percent of the $4 billion cost of the program., Coyne added.

According to the scenario in which Poland, Italy and Germany wrap up development together, Lockheed would remain an “active participant,” and the US government would remain a “signatory” to the program, Coyne said.

Aegis Ashore in Romania

Romania is another key country in NATO’s missile defense plans. In late October, construction of a facility to host the Aegis Ashore missile defense system was launched in Deveselu, in the country’s south.

Aegis Ashore is the land-based component of the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system. The Romania-based facility will be part of NATO’s missile shield over Europe, with the Aegis BMD and SM-3 Block IB set to provide ballistic missile coverage of southern Europe, according to the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency.

Under the plan, the missile interceptors in Deveselu are expected to be operational in 2015. The project is worth about $134 million

November 26, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: RIA Novosti; published November 25, 2013)

MOSCOW --- The Russian navy has taken delivery of its first four series-produced MiG-29K/KUB carrier based fighter jets, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

“The MiG aircraft-manufacturing corporation has handed over two MiG-29K single-seat and two MiG-29KUB twin-seat carrier-based fighter aircraft,” a spokesman said.

The Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract with MiG in February 2012 for delivery of 20 MiG-29K and four MiG-29KUB fighters by 2015.

The aircraft will be deployed on Russia's sole serving carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, based in Murmansk with the Northern Fleet. The Admiral Kuznetsov currently operates Sukhoi Su-33 naval fighter aircraft.

The MiG-29K is a naval variant of the MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jet, and has folding wings, an arrester tail-hook, strengthened airframe and multirole capability thanks to its Zhuk-ME slotted array radar, MiG says.

Unlike the Su-33, which is capable of air defense missions only, the MiG-29K can be armed with a wide variety of air-to-surface as well as air-to-air weaponry and laser-designation systems.

The aircraft is also capable of “buddy” refueling other MiG-29Ks using the PAZ-1MK refueling pod.

So far, the aircraft has only entered service with India, for use on the refitted Russian-built carrier INS Vikramaditya, which was handed over to the Indian Navy on November 15.

26/11/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

Pakistan is now equipped with two new unmanned aerial vehicle designs - a "very effective force multiplier", according to military officials.

Developed in Pakistan, the Burraq and Shahpar are both surveillance UAVs and, said General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, they'll give the Pakistan Army and Air Force a new level of "target acquisition capabilities", delivered "in real-time."

Both new Pakistan UAVs were inducted during a ceremony, attended by officials, engineers and scientists. Each was conceived and produced after the US refused to export its own advanced UAVs, such as the Predator.

Burraq UAV

First flown in 2009, the Burraq UAV was co-developed by the Pakistan Air Force and the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM). It takes its name from Al-Buraq, the winged horse from heaven on which Islamic prophets travelled.

Strictly speaking, the Burraq is a UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle), since - according to reports - it can be armed with laser-guided air-to-surface missiles, according to specific mission requirements. Military analysts have likened the Burraq to the Rainbow CH-3 UCAV, made in China, although very little is known about it beyond that comparison.

Shahpar UAV

The Shahpar UAV is the brainchild of Pakistan's Global Industrial Defence Solutions. Powered by a single Rotax 912 engine, producing 100 horsepower, it cruises at 93 miles per hour at altitudes of around 17,000 feet. To date, ten examples have been built, each one capable of autonomous launches and recoveries, either end of unmanned operations lasting more than seven hours at a time, during which data can be transmitted across a 250 kilometre range.

"It is a landmark and historic event, wherein a very effective force multiplier has been added to the inventory of the armed forces", said the Pakistan military's press office, ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) in a statement on the UAVs' inauguration.

Beyond military operations, the Burraq and Shahpar "...could also be gainfully employed in various socio-economic development projects", ISPR added.

Nov 27, 2013 ASDNews Source : MoD Australia

Defence Minister Senator David Johnston today announced the Defence Materiel Organisation has signed a multi-million dollar contract with ASC Pty Ltd to update the control management and monitoring system for the Royal Australian Navy’s Collins Class submarines.

Senator Johnston said the Integrated Ship Control Management and Monitoring System is a highly automated computerised system, which enables the crew of a Collins submarine to control, monitor and manage the large number of diverse and complex systems on board the submarines.

Read more

DEAKIN WEST, Australia, Nov. 26 (UPI)

Rheinmetall Defense's Australian subsidiary is seeking local suppliers for its contract to supply vehicles and mission support to the country's military.

Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia, or RMMVA, said more than 500 companies attended its supplier opportunity events this month in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne and Sydney.

In addition to RMMVA, a number of its key sub-contractors in the government's LAND 121 3B defense project participated in the presentations.

"RMMVA, in close cooperation with our key sub-contractors, is actively engaging with Australian industry to enable as many Australian companies to be part of this exciting program as possible," RMMVA Managing Director Peter Hardisty said. "The products and services we are seeking include the design, development and production of specific hardware such as modules, some vehicle bodies, sub-systems and components as well as project management and systems integration, developmental, test and evaluation work."

Under the LAND 121 Phase 3B project, Rheinmetall is to supply and support mission systems for about 2,500 wheeled vehicles to Australia's Defense Force, and is working with state governments, Defense Materiel Organization business access offices and Australian industry associations to strengthen its supply chain.

An Israel Aerospace Industries Heron UAV flies past. Experts say unmanned air systems may keep supplanting the missions of manned aircraft, including air-to-air combat one day. (iHLS)

Nov. 26, 2013 - By BARBARA OPALL-ROME -  Defense news

Israeli Expo Highlights Unmanned Systems

TEL AVIV — Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have already superseded patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and are rendering gunships obsolete. But until they engage enemies in the air, it’s premature to speak about the end of manned platforms, according to a former Israel Air Force commander.

“The [unmanned] air-to-air mission is not a fantasy but part of the future,” said retired Maj. Gen. Eitan Ben-Eliahu at a Nov. 26 unmanned vehicles conference and air exhibition in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv.

In an address devoted to UAS trends and their prospects for replacing manned platforms, Ben-Eliahu said leading air forces are phasing out costly fixed-wing and rotary aircraft for a spectrum of unmanned reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting missions. In terms of future force planning, he said, “The attack helicopter is finished.”

But unmanned aircraft cannot replace manned transports, the former Israeli air chief insisted. “I don’t see human beings being transported by unmanned vehicles.”

While unmanned systems offer considerable savings in acquisition, life-cycle and training costs, they lack deterrent power.

“UAVs will not contribute enough to deterrence to prevent war,” he said.

“When the F-35 is operational in Israel, it will have a dramatic effect on deterring our enemies. ... So even if we have hundreds of UAVs, it won’t impact the balance of power as much as a single squadron of F-35s.”

The former air chief also said UAVs are highly dependent on networked command and control, which renders them more vulnerable to cyber attack than manned fighters, “which know how to perform their mission in total silence.”

Despite these disadvantages, Ben-Eliahu said he could envision a time when UAS platforms will replace manned fighters, provided they are sufficiently equipped to perform traditional fighter missions.

“We pilots are the decision makers ... and the claim to fame of fighter pilots are dogfights. So in the future, part of the process of replacing jet fighters with UAVs will be the ability to start dogfights between drones,” he added.

Shaul Shahar, general manager of the Malat Division of Israel Aerospace Industries, said unmanned air-to-air combat is a realistic prospect within 15 years.

Speaking at the same event organized by Israel Homeland Security (iHLS), Shahar, a retired colonel with 3,000 hours operating UAVs on behalf of Israeli military intelligence, said Ben-Eliahu’s support for dogfighting drones reflected a serious, albeit embryonic research-and-development trend.

“It was the first time someone at his level spoke about it,” Shahar said of the prospect of unmanned air-to-air missions.

Nov 26, 2013 ASDNews Source : TenCate

The new Airbus A400M features ice protection plates produced from TenCate Cetex® glass PPS semipreg. TenCate Advanced Composites in Nijverdal (NL) supplies this thermoplastic composite material for a wide range of structural and semi-structural aircraft components. Fokker Aerostructures (Hoogeveen, NL) processes the material into finished panels. The panels protect sides of the fuselage alongside the propeller tips from damage caused by chunks of ice which, under certain weather conditions, are flung from the propellers of  the military transport aircraft.

TenCate Cetex® semipreg material was selected because it provides excellent impact resistance and also a very good chemical resistance (de-icing and hydraulic / decontamination fluids). It is also used on the fixed wing leading edges of the Airbus A380.

The US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle program will replace the service's M113 armored personnel carrier. (US Army)

Nov. 26, 2013 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense News

WASHINGTON — After releasing several draft request for proposal (RFP) documents over the past year, on Tuesday the US Army finally released the final specs for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle’s (AMPV’s) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.

Despite sequestration and the service’s need to cut billions of dollars from its budget in the coming years, the program appears to be soldiering on, with a solid requirement of 2,907 vehicles to be built over 13 years at roughly $1.8 million apiece.

In October, the service announced it intended to delay the start of the program by a year while raising developmental costs by several hundred million dollars in its quest to replace thousands of Vietnam War-era M113 tracked armored personnel carriers.

The new document says the Army plans to award a five-year EMD contract in May 2014 to one contractor who will manufacture 29 vehicles for government testing, followed by a three-year low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract beginning in 2020.

Earlier documents estimated the EMD phase would run from fiscal years 2014 to 2017 and cost $388 million. But the final plan stretches that out while adding to the overall price tag. The EMD phase will run from fiscal 2015 to 2019 and cost $458 million to develop and build the 29 prototypes.

The document released Tuesday lowered that number slightly to $436 million.

Likewise, whereas the estimate for the LRIP order of 289 vehicles between 2018 and 2020 was initially pegged at $1.08 billion, the Tuesday RFP lists three options for the LRIP years totaling $1.2 billion, giving the program a $1.68 billion budget before full-rate production begins.

The Army requested $116 million in its fiscal 2014 budget for development activities for the AMPV, which Congress approved.

The LRIP order will go to only one winner, and BAE Systems and General Dynamics are vying for the final prize.

BAE is offering a variant of its turretless Bradley, while General Dynamics is offering either its wheeled double V-hull Stryker, or a newer tracked version of the Stryker.

The AMPV has taken on increasing importance in recent months as the Army appears to be moving away from continuing to develop the costly — and increasingly heavy — ground combat vehicle as its primary heavy infantry carrier of the future.

What that will mean for the AMPV, and how much of the program will survive the current budget environment, likely will not become clear for several months as the military services work through their five-year budget proposals and have them reviewed by the secretary of defense.

Nov 26, 2013 brahmand.com

ISLAMABAD (PTI): Pakistan has inducted its first fleet of "indigenously developed" strategic drones into the army and air force, with the military describing them as a "very effective force multiplier".

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with surveillance capability are named Burraq and Shahpar.

"It is a landmark and historic event, wherein a very effective force multiplier has been added to the inventory of the armed forces," said a statement from the military's media wing. It did not give further details about the UAVs.

In future, the UAVs could be used for "various socio-economic development projects", the statement said.

Outgoing army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani too described the UAVs as a force multiplier. The drones will substantially enhance the military's "target acquisition capabilities in real time", he said.

The US has turned down Pakistan's repeated requests for supplying sophisticated UAVs like the Predator, which have been used for attacks in the country's restive tribal belt, and drone technology.

The ceremony marking the induction of the UAVs was attended by Kayani, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Strategic Plans Division chief Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai and senior officers from the armed Forces, scientists and engineers.

A photograph of a model of one of the drones released by the military showed an UAV with two projectiles under its wings that looked like missiles.

The photograph showed SPD chief Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai handing over a replica of the "indigenously developed surveillance capable UAVs" to Kayani.

Queries sent to the military's media wing about the drones being armed went unanswered.

Pakistan has several unarmed surveillance drones in service but Burraq and Shahpar are the first to be developed locally.

Last year, an unarmed version of Shahpur was unveiled for the first time during the International Defence Exhibition in Karachi.

The drones were developed in cooperation with the National Engineering and Scientific Commission, a research organisation that works closely with the Pakistani military.

26.11.2013 Romain Guillot journal-aviation.com

Le premier exemplaire de l’EC725 Cougar intégralement produit au Brésil par Helibras (Helicópteros do Brasil S.A.), filiale d'Eurocopter, a effectué son vol inaugural le 21 novembre dernier depuis les installations de l’industriel à Itajubá (État du Minas Gerais). L’hélicoptère porte l’identifiant BRA 17.

Helibras précise que ce premier vol intervient deux mois avant la date limite du calendrier prévisionnel fixé pour ce programme. Cet appareil est destiné à la marine brésilienne avec une livraison prévue pour le second semestre de l’année prochaine. L’hélicoptériste brésilien ajoute que sept autres exemplaires sont actuellement sur la ligne d’assemblage.

Le Brésil avait signé un contrat avec Helibras pour l’acquisition d’une cinquantaine d’EC725 destinés à la marine, à l’armée de terre et à la FAB (Força Aérea Brasileira) en 2009. Si les huit premiers exemplaires de ce contrat ont été assemblés à Marignane, tous les autres appareils seront intégralement produits sous licence à Itajubá jusqu’en 2017. Ce contrat de 1,8 milliard d’euros comprend un certain nombre de transferts technologiques avec 50% des éléments des hélicoptères produits au Brésil.

Helibras a également rappelé que l’usine Itajubá avait nécessité un investissement de l’ordre de 136 millions d’euros pour la construction d’un hangar abritant la ligne d’assemblage, un nouveau banc d’essai, un atelier peinture ainsi que la formation des employés brésiliens en France. Elle produira également la version civile EC225 (Super Puma) destinée à des clients brésiliens et sud-américains, notamment pour des opérations offshore liées aux industries pétrolière et gazière.

Rappelons que les EC725/EC225 brésiliens sont équipés des turbines Makila 2 ainsi que des groupes auxiliaires de puissance Saphir 20 produits par la nouvelle usine de Turbomeca do Brasil à Xerèm, dans l’État de Rio de Janeiro.