October 17, 2012 defpro.com

A Norwegian frigate will be command ship for one of NATO's standing naval forces for the second half of 2013. "The frigate will thus be leading the important task of combating pirate activity off the coast of the Horn of Africa", says Defence Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen.

NATO has asked Norway to take the lead role in Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) during the second half of 2013. In this role the frigate and the force commander's staff will also take the lead in Operation Ocean Shield.

This is the first time that one of the new frigates has taken part in a NATO operation.

"With this we are showing that Norway is also ready to take on important NATO tasks at sea. Norway possesses modern frigates with excellent operational capabilities, well-trained crews and staff officers capable of leading demanding maritime operations," the defence minister emphasises.

It is these same NATO forces that will come to the rescue if a situation requiring international crisis management arises in the sea areas closer to home.

SAFER VOYAGES

Pirate activity has been at a high level in the Indian Ocean since 2008. More offensive tactics from the international anti-piracy forces and the shipping companies' own preventive measures have since made voyages somewhat safer. Since the spring of 2011 there has been a clear reduction in the number of hijackings but the problem is still a serious one.

"The piracy situation has improved but it is still necessary to take military measures which can contribute towards increasing the safety and security of shipping and those who sail in these waters. This naval presence remains a necessity if the situation is not to spiral out of control once more," says defence minister Strøm-Erichsen.

The frigate will be carrying special forces personnel from the naval or coastal Ranger Commands, elite units more than capable of boarding or attacking pirate vessels.

MUST BE RESOLVED ON LAND

The pirate activities have had a serious impact on global shipping in recent years and they pose a significant threat to humanitarian aid supplies for Somalia.

"Norway is a major shipping nation and wishes to help in combating this pirate activity. At the same time it is important to emphasise that the long-term solution to the pirate problem can only be achieved on land," says Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen.

COST

The cost of participating in the Standing NATO Maritime Group is estimated to amount to around NOK 94 million. Additional expense associated with the force command role in Operation Ocean Shield is estimated to be NOK 60 million with outgoings of NOK 45 million in 2013. These costs will be met within the framework of the defence budget.

Norway has previously contributed a frigate to participate in the EU operation Atalanta (Aug 2009 – Jan 2010) together with staff officers for both the EU and the NATO operation. In 2010 a Norwegian Orion maritime patrol aircraft took part in NATO's Operation Ocean Shield for a period of three months.

FACTS AND BACKGROUND

About 20,000 vessels pass through this area annually and about a thousand of these are under Norwegian control. Approximately one half of these sail under the Norwegian flag.

NATO established Operation Ocean Shield on 17 August 2009. The operation is led from the NATO maritime headquarters at Northwood outside London. The EU's maritime operation off the coast of Somalia is named Atalanta and was set up in 2008. The international anti-piracy work is organised on the basis of a mandate from the UN Security Council. The UN Security Council has, in a number of resolutions, urged states and organisations to participate in combating Somali piracy.

October 16, 2012 defpro.com

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addresses NATO's Industry Day 2012 in Riga, Latvia.

Smart Defence and the multinational solutions it provides should be seen as an opportunity for the security and defence industrial sector, says NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In a video address to NATO’s Industry Day 2012, the Secretary General stresses that amid times of austerity, Smart Defence is the only way to ensure the Alliance has the necessary capabilities to do its job.

Note RP Defense : Smart Defense is the equivalent of the European Pooling and Sharing program.

October 15, 2012 defpro.com

On October 12 the North Atlantic Council granted the status of the NATO Centre of Excellence to the Energy Security Centre of Lithuania. This approval was the final step in the accreditation process.

“The establishment and accreditation of the NATO Energy Security Centre is a huge appreciation of Lithuania’s efforts in the NATO energy security area making Lithuania a leader in energy security area not only in the EU but also in NATO. I am very happy to see that the idea which was conceived in 2008 has now been embodied”, Minister of National Defence Rasa Jukneviciene said.

According to Minister, the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence will focus majorly on officer education and exercises seeking to have the ensurement of energy security points integrated into the daily defence planning process. “The activities of the NATO Energy Security Centre in Vilnius will be tailored to meet the realistic needs of the allied capabilities: enhancement of energy efficiency in the deployment locations, identification of alternative energy sources in missions and operations, application of advanced technologies, etc.,” Minister said.

On July 10 documentation for the establishment of the NATO Centre of Excellence was signed at the NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk by Lithuanian, Latvian, Turkish, and Italian authorised military representatives. Later on Estonia and France joined the establishment of the Centre.

NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence has been established on the basis of the currently operating Energy Security Centre under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which will ensure the functioning of the NATO Centre of Excellence before receiving the status an independent international military organisation.

NATO Centre of Excellence will be based in the Gen Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy premises. The multinational staff will be manned by all the framework, sponsor and contributing nations.

COE is run by the delegate of the Ministry of National Defence Col Romualdas Petkevicius.

Ministry of National Defence will also post five specialists and administrative personnel to COE. One specialist will be delegated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The establishing countries or the countries which could present their intent to contribute to the COE activity are planned to delegate their representatives in the period between 2013 and 2014.

COE operating costs will be covered from a collective NATO COEs budget financed by all the framework, sponsor and contributing nations depending on the number of specialists delegated.

NATO COEs fulfil the following key tasks: enhance the process of the military capability development, efficiency of military missions and operational compatibility, render qualified and timely expert support on the energy security issues.

COE will be analysing the aspects of energy security and critical energy infrastructure, rendering recommendations and advice regarding operational energy security issues, application of alternative energy sources in military activities and the development of environmentally friendly and efficient military capabilities, and will contribute to training events and exercises.

NATO member states committed to integrate energy security issues into NATO activity in the NATO Lisbon Summit in 2010.

October 12, 2012 defpro.com

BRUSSELS | Minister of Defense of Ukraine Dmytro Salamatin met with Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, during the North Atlantic Council talks.

“The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are very impressed with ambitious plans of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reforming,” Alexander Vershbow said, thanking Dmytro Salamatin for participation of the Ukrainian militaries in all NATO-led peacekeeping operations. “We have to do more than ever for further development of Ukraine-NATO cooperation,” he emphasized.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General has also stressed that Ukraine-NATO contacts should grow at all levels of representation.

18/10/2012 Lieutenant Charline Redin - Armée de l'air

Vendredi 12 octobre 2012, le général Stéphane Abrial a fait ses adieux aux armes dans la cour d'honneur de l'École militaire. À l’occasion de cet événement, il a accepté de revenir sur sa carrière et les temps forts de ses quarante années passées au sein de l’armée de l’air. Rencontre avec cet aviateur qui n’a jamais eu peur « de sortir des sentiers battus ».

C’est toujours avec cette même élégance qui le caractérise que le général Abrial se retire de la vie militaire. «Quarante ans sous l’uniforme, cela vous marque», lance-t-il avec humour et un brin d’émotion. C’est avec un peu de nostalgie que l’officier va ranger définitivement sa casquette blanche d’aviateur. «La prochaine fois que je remettrai mon uniforme, ça sera pour le mariage de ma fille maintenant ! plaisante-t-il. Même si je quitte l’institution, je continuerai à en suivre les évolutions.»

Aujourd’hui, l’officier a décidé de poser ses valises, à Paris, avec sa famille, «mon fils a commencé la faculté à l’université du Panthéon, tandis que ma fille poursuit ses études aux États-Unis. Je conserve ainsi un lien transatlantique. Je suis content d’avoir retrouvé la France après une riche carrière à l’international». Pour cette cérémonie d’adieux aux armes, le général Abrial a convié ses amis militaires et civils, «tous ceux avec qui j’ai partagé des moments forts, aussi bien heureux que difficiles».

Désormais, le général se sent comblé et reconnaissant envers l’armée de l’air «pour tout ce qu’elle m’a permis de faire et de vivre. Ma carrière militaire aura été rythmée par l’international, l’opérationnel et le politico-militaire». Pas facile de revenir en quelques minutes sur ces années aussi riches qu’atypiques. Le leitmotiv de l’officier pendant quarante ans : «Il ne faut pas avoir peur de sortir des sentiers battus !»

Lorsque le général Abrial regarde par-dessus son épaule, il ne peut oublier ses débuts en tant que pilote de chasse et son expérience en Allemagne en 1981, lorsqu’il devient commandant d’escadrille sur Phantom à l’escadron 742 «Zapata» de la 74eescadre de chasse «Mölders» de la Luftwaffe. De retour en France en 1984, il devient commandant en second de l’escadron de chasse 1/2 «Cigognes» basé à Dijon, puis commandant de l’escadron 2/2 «Côte-d’Or» jusqu’en 1988. Des souvenirs encore très forts dans la mémoire du général, «ce fut pour moi une expérience formidable que de vivre les débuts du Mirage 2000 à Dijon», se remémore-t-il avec un soupçon de nostalgie. Fort de cette expérience, le général Abrial deviendra par la suite chef du détachement de transformation sur Mirage 2000 du premier escadron de l’armée de l’air hellénique, à Tanagra en Grèce. Après avoir commandé la 5eescadre de chasse d’Orange et l'avoir emmenée en opérations pendant la Guerre du Golfe, il s’envole en 1991 de l’autre côté de l’Atlantique au Air War College à Montgomery, aux États-Unis. À son retour, il occupera la fonction d’adjoint au chef de cabinet du chef d’état-major de l’armée de l’air à Paris, puis adjoint au chef de cabinet du chef d’état-major des armées en 1995. Il s’envole ensuite, direction Bruxelles, afin d’assumer la fonction de chef de branche à l’état-major international de l’Otan. En 2000, il revient à Paris en qualité d’adjoint au chef de l’état-major particulier du président de la République puis, en 2002, de chef du cabinet militaire du Premier ministre. « Cette expérience à l’Élysée et à Matignon m'aura apporté une compréhension des relations politico-militaires qui m'a beaucoup aidé dans la suite de ma carrière », confie-t-il lors de l’entretien. Il poursuit, «en 2005, j’ai eu l’honneur d’assurer le commandement de la défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes (CDAOA). Je conserve de ce passage au CDAOA le souvenir précis de deux opérations menées dans le cadre de la Force de réaction rapide de l’Otan, l’une pour les sinistrés américains après le passage de l’ouragan Katrina et l’autre au profit des victimes du tremblement de terre au Pakistan».

En 2006, le général Abrial est nommé chef d’état-major de l’armée de l’air. Après «ces trois années extraordinaires où j’ai eu le privilège de commander les hommes et les femmes de l’armée de l’air», il est envoyé aux États-Unis et devient le premier non-Américain à être nommé à la tête de l’un des deux commandements suprêmes de l’Otan, l’ACT (Commandement Allié pour la Transformation) à Norfolk, en Virginie. «Prendre ce commandement interarmées et international complètement tourné vers l’avenir fut une véritable ouverture de domaine. Et après trois ans extrêmement denses, c’est avec fierté que j’ai passé le relais le mois dernier au général Paloméros». 

Avant de quitter la vie militaire, le général Abrial souhaite transmettre à la nouvelle génération d’aviateurs son enthousiasme en cette période de restructuration des armées: «Il ne faut jamais rêver d'un soi-disant âge d’or du passé. Toutes les époques considèrent que demain est plus difficile qu'hier. Mais ceux qui ont fait le bon choix de servir la France, sous l’uniforme de l’armée de l’air, doivent faire face. Il faut s’adapter, c’est tout, et bâtir son propre âge d'or». Et d’ajouter, «il ne faut pas avoir peur de sortir des schémas traditionnels, d'aller vers l'inconnu. Toutes les expériences sont enrichissantes et contribuent à l’intérêt d’une vie».

October 11, 2012 defpro.com

On Tuesday, in his address to the meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, Minister of Defence Urmas Reinsalu said that the continued reduction of defence expenditures due to the economic crisis poses a threat to NATO’s defence capability.

“If a country has scarce financial resources due to the economic crisis, no security is added from a different measurement of those finances. It does not matter how we measure the contribution of each individual country as long as the contribution continues to decrease in reality”, said the Minister of Defence.

In the opinion of Reinsalu, it is irrelevant how members of the alliance measure their national defence, what is truly important is the implementation of agreed upon plans.

“Estonia consistently contributes two per cent of its GDP to national defence because we believe that the performance of agreed upon obligations will ensure the security of Estonia and NATO as a whole,” he stated.

Minister of Defence Reinsalu said that the readiness of NATO as a whole to cope with any future threats depends on the actual contribution of each ally – the performance of agreed upon obligations cannot be postponed into the distant future.

“Smart defence cannot be a justification for member states to reduce their defence budget and contribution to NATO. We must focus on cooperation that enables us to not reduce resources, but to make better use of them – whether an economic crisis exists or not,” said the Minister of Defence.

October 11, 2012 Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service – defpro.com

WASHINGTON | NATO has no plans to reduce its Kosovo Force, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels Oct. 10.

About 1,650 troops, including around 760 Americans, serve in the Kosovo Force, known as KFOR. Alliance defense ministers discussed the situation in the country during their meeting this week and will not make any changes in the make-up of the force, Rasmussen told reporters as the NATO defense ministers conference wrapped up.

“We agreed that KFOR continues to play an indispensable role in Kosovo,” he said. “And ministers made clear that they remain committed to sustaining that role.”

The ministers agreed that the security situation and freedom of movement have improved in Kosovo over the last six months, “but that we must remain vigilant and strong,” he said.

NATO ministers welcome renewed contacts between Serbian and Kosovar officials, and NATO nations are fully committed to furthering that dialogue, the secretary general noted. “All need to live up to their responsibilities and move the whole region forward,” he said.

NATO has no plans to reduce the troop presence in Kosovo, Rasmussen said. “We have the ambition to gradually reduce our troop presence in Kosovo as the security situation, hopefully, continues to improve,” Rasmussen said. “But because of the volatile situation we have witnessed during the recent year, we have postponed the decision to reduce the number of troops.”

The secretary general reiterated that what happens in Kosovo will be dictated by the security situation on the ground. “We will not take any step that can deteriorate the security situation in Kosovo,” he said. “We will stay committed to fully implementing the United Nations Security Council’s mandate to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo.”

Military commanders may change where troops are deployed in the country, Rasmussen said. “You will see some rebalancing in the coming months with a stronger focus on the north of Kosovo, taking into account the situation we have witnessed there,” he said.

October 10, 2012 defpro.com

NCI Agency Brussels | A successful ‘Ensemble Test 2’ conducted by the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency confirmed the compatibility of a new Italian sensor with the Alliance’s ballistic missile defence architecture.

The Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office conducted the large-scale multinational test from 25 to 29 September 2012.

This was the second in a regular series of test events that are conducted between Nations who contribute their missile defence resources to the collective defence of the Alliance’s European populations and territory. The purpose of the ‘ensemble’ tests is to reduce technical risks to the programme as various sensors, weapon and communication systems are incrementally added to the defence architecture.

SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF ITALIAN RADAR

“Special mention goes to the successful test and integration of the Italian TPS-77 radar, which was a new asset being tested,” said Programme Director Alessandro Pera, “The test showed that the Italian TPS-77, as a BMD sensor, is able to contribute to NATO’s ballistic missile defence situational awareness.”

Twelve laboratories from five Nations across two continents took part; a total of sixteen national and NATO systems were integrated and tested during this ambitious test. The participating systems included:

• the Patriot missile defence systems of The Netherlands, Germany and the United States,

• the ADCF Frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy,

• the surface to air medium range missile defence systems (SAMP/T) of France and Italy,

• the SAM Operations Centre from Germany,

• the Tactical Transportable Radar (TPS-77) and the Horizon PAAMS (Principal Anti Air Missile System) of Italy,

• the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System, the Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications system (C2BMC), the Army Navy / Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2), and the Shared Early Warning System (SEW) of the United States,

• the Air Command and Control System (ACCS), the Air Command and Control Information Services (AirC2IS), CRC System Interface (CSI), and the Interim Command and Control (ICC) system of NATO.

Conducted over NATO’s Combined Federated Battle Lab Network (CFBLNet), the ensemble test provided an invaluable opportunity to work with NATO operators on realistic scenarios.

“The event was very much a team effort, with a special thanks to the Agency’s CFBLNet, AirC2IS, ICC and NIRIS teams,” said Mr. Pera, “From planning to execution, ET2 required almost one year’s worth of effort. Thanks to thorough preparation, the test execution phase was actually completed in half the planned time which saved both time and money for the participants.”

The test confirmed NATO’s ability to work with both existing and new national systems to provide BMD situational awareness and command and control of missile defence forces. This major milestone in the development and future deployment of the NATO ballistic missile defence capability will be followed by an even more ambitious effort, Ensemble Test 3, to be conducted in May-June 2013.

MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti)

A Russia-NATO Council meeting at the ministerial level should take place by the end of 2012, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"I think that by the end of the year we will hold a meeting on the ministerial level," Lavrov said during a Federation Council meeting.

Lavrov emphasized that Moscow aims "to weigh with proportion cooperation with NATO of the bloc's readiness to take into consideration our legal interests in security and strategic stability."

Lavrov recalled that this topic had been brought up during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on September 26 in New York.

"The Secretary General...tasked to revive the Russia-NATO Council's activity," Lavrov said.

Russia has been wary of the United States backing a NATO missile defense system near its borders in Eastern Europe, and said the system threatens Russia's security.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said at the end of September that a compromise with Moscow on the missile defense system in Europe is possible despite the current deadlock.

Several prominent Russian researchers and military experts have recently supported NATO’s claims that the alliance’s plans are not targeting Russia, Vershbow said.

Proposals put forth by these experts and researchers would help Moscow and Brussels find common ground on the matter, Vershbow said at the Russia-NATO conference in Moscow on September 27.

The United States plans to deploy elements of its missile defense shield in Eastern Europe by 2020, allegedly to prevent threats from rogue states running their own missile programs such as Iran.

But Moscow said its own missiles also fall under the shield, which threatens the strategic parity between Russia and NATO. Negotiations on the missile shield were stalled in recent months, as the alliance began the program’s implementation and Russia threatened to deploy its own ballistic missiles on the European Union’s border.

Oct 9, 2012 ASDNews Source : Harris Corporation

    Delivering AN/PRC-152(C) multiband handheld radios for use by NATO armed forces.

    Radios providing line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight tactical communications to dismounted warfighters.

    Further establishes Falcon III(r) family as interoperable standard for tactical communications worldwide.

Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, has received a $5.1 million order to supply Falcon III® multiband, multi-mission handheld radios to a NATO nation. The radios will be used to provide line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight tactical communications to the country's armed forces personnel.

"The Falcon III AN/PRC-152(C) provides warfighters with high-performance voice and data capabilities necessary for success on a range of missions," said Brendan O'Connell, president, International business, Harris RF Communications. "The Falcon III family of radios offers trusted, combat-proven communications solutions to meet current and emerging mission requirements by armed forces around the world."

The AN/PRC-152(C) is the most widely deployed JTRS Software Communications Architecture-certified and NSA Type-1 certified handheld radio, with more than 160,000 units deployed worldwide. The radio provides voice and data capabilities over the 30 MHz to 512 MHz frequency range and supports SINCGARS, Havequick II, VHF/UHF AM and FM, APCO P25 and both DAMA and the new Integrated Waveform for satellite communications.

9/10/12 Sophie Lapy – 7sur7.be (Source belga.be  ap)

L'Otan commence à s'inquiéter de plus en plus de la baisse généralisée des budgets de la défense dans ses 28 pays membres - et de l'écart grandissant entre les dépenses des Etats-Unis et du reste de l'Alliance - "dans un monde imprévisible", comme l'a rappelé mardi son secrétaire général, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"Notre Alliance a besoin des forces, des capacités et des structures adaptées pour dissuader et (nous) défendre contre toute menace contre la sûreté et la sécurité de nos populations et de (nos) territoires. Elle doit aussi être prête et capable, si nécessaire, de traiter et d'aider à faire face à une crise", a-t-il déclaré en ouvrant une réunion de deux jours des ministres de la Défense alliés à Bruxelles.

"Pour le faire, les nations de l'Otan doivent continuer à investir dans la défense, il n'y a pas d'alternative", a ajouté M. Rasmussen, dont le mandat a été tout prolongé la semaine dernière jusque fin juillet 2014.

Il est vrai que depuis 2008, selon les chiffres de l'Otan, les budgets militaires des alliés ont globalement diminué de 50 milliards de dollars, dont 22 milliards pour les 26 pays européens. Et seuls quatre des Etats membres affectent plus de deux pour cent de leur Produit intérieur brut (PIB) à la défense - la recommandation en vigueur depuis des années à l'Otan et de plus en plus battue en brèche, a fortiori depuis le début de la crise financière.

October 9, 2012 defpro.com

On Tuesday, October 9, Minister of National Defence Rasa Jukneviciene will depart for Brussels, Belgium, where she will be attending the NATO Defence Ministers meeting. At the meeting Ministers will address the impact of the economic recession on the allied defence capabilities, decisions made at the NATO Chicago Summit regarding the enhancement of defence capabilities, NATO role in Afghanistan after the completion of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force’s mission in Afghanistan in 2014 and the situation in the Western Balkans.

At the Chicago Summit Heads of State and Government approved a series of initiatives that would allow the Alliance to sustain and generate the necessary capabilities through common efforts. One of the overriding questions was the employment of the opportunities that would open to the Alliance after decreasing its input in Afghanistan.

Army and police forces of Afghanistan increasingly take over the responsibility for security into their hands which is a necessary condition for the NATO’s ISAF countries to cut down the numbers of personnel deployed to Afghanistan. Lithuania has scheduled the handover of responsibility for security in Ghor to Afghan National Security Forces and a closedown of the Lithuanian-led Chaghcharan PRT before the end of 2013. However, after the withdrawal of the PRT Lithuania’s Special Operations Forces and the Air Mentoring Team will continue operating in the south of Afghanistan.

Delegation of the Minister of National Defence is expected to return to Vilnius on Wednesday.