14 janvier 2013 par Nicolas Laffont- 45enord.ca

Selon un rapport du Pentagone au Congrès américain, le chasseur F-35 de Lockheed Martin a effectué un tiers de ses quelque 60 000 vols d’essais prévus, mais continue de « manquer de maturité ».

Lancé en 2001, le programme de 396 milliards $, est le plus cher de l’histoire américaine.

Le rapport de 18 pages remis vendredi au Congrès souligne que les vols d’essais ont permis de détecter des problèmes avec le casque nécessaire pour piloter l’avion, les logiciels de bord et l’intégration des armements.

En 2012, 1 092 vols d’essais ont été effectués, un chiffre supérieur de 18% au total de 927 initialement prévu, du fait de tests supplémentaires décidés en réponse aux problèmes détectés.

En décembre, des fissures dans un F-35 C, le modèle le plus complexe a fabriquer, a obligé le constructeur américain a annuler tous ses vols d’essais.

À ce jour, plus de 20 000 tests ont été effectués, et il en resterait encore 39 579 à accomplir.

Lockheed Martin construit trois versions de son appareil (F-35 A, F-35 B, F-35 C) à destination des forces armées américaine et de huit pays qui ont contribué à son financement: la Grande-Bretagne, le Canada, l’Italie, la Turquie, le Danemark, les Pays-Bas, la Norvège et l’Australie.

Le Pentagone, principal commanditaire, prévoit d’acquérir 2.443 chasseurs F-35 dans les prochaines décennies mais ce chiffre pourrait être revu à la baisse en raison de contraintes budgétaires

14 janvier 2013 Romandie.com (AFP)

WASHINGTON - Les Etats-Unis ont fourni un soutien technique limité aux forces françaises lors du raid infructueux lancé samedi en Somalie pour libérer un agent des services secrets détenu depuis plus de trois ans par des islamistes, a indiqué le président Barack Obama dans une lettre au Congrès américain.

Les forces américaines ont fourni un soutien technique limité aux forces françaises lors de cette opération, mais elles n'ont pas pris part directement à l'assaut dans le camp où le citoyen français était détenu, écrit le président américain dans une lettre adressée au Congrès américain.

La tentative ratée de libérer un otage français détenu par l'organisation des Shebab liée à Al-Qaïda, samedi, s'est soldée par la mort d'au moins huit civils, selon des témoins sur place, et de 17 terroristes, selon le gouvernement français. En outre, un soldat français est mort et un autre porté disparu.

Le sort de l'otage français, présenté comme Denis Allex, sans doute un pseudonyme, demeure incertain.

Un avion de combat américain est entré brièvement dans l'espace aérien somalien pour apporter une aide dans l'opération de secours, si nécessaire, a écrit le président Obama, précisant que cet appareil n'avait pas fait usage d'armes pendant cette opération.

J'ai ordonné aux forces américaines de soutenir cette opération de sauvetage pour promouvoir les intérêts de la sécurité nationale américaine, a-t-il précisé.

Jan. 12, 2013 by Dave Majumdar – FG

Washington DC - Despite a declining budget, the US Air Force is committed to its secretive Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) programme. However, what kind of military capacity the service will be able to offer in the future is an open question.

"Long term, we're committed to the long range strike bomber," says USAF Secretary Michael Donley. "We're going to try to keep programmes like that on track. But every programme would be affected if sequestration were to hit."

Sequestration was originally scheduled to be enacted on 2 January, but a last minute deal reached between the Obama Administration and the US Congress delayed the maneuver by 51 days. If the Congressional sequestration were to be enacted, it would automatically cut US defence outlays immediately by about 10% every year for 10 years. "Sequestration is a self-inflicted wound on national security," says US Army Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It's an irresponsible way to manage our nation's defense. It cuts blindly, and it cuts bluntly."

The Pentagon, in a memo issued by deputy secretary of defense Ashton Carter, has already taken steps to try to mitigate the damage by deferring maintenance and civilian personnel actions. But even if sequestration were to be avoided, analysts say that defence budget cuts are all but unavoidable given the massive hole in Washington's coffers.

In that eventuality, the Pentagon needs the ability to manage its finances in a strategic manner. "We need budget certainty; we need time to absorb the budget reductions; we need the flexibility to manage those reductions across the entire budget," Dempsey says.

Even with potential defence cuts, USAF leaders say that they know what the service will look like in the 2020s. "You can see what the Air Force will look like now in 2020 in terms of new capabilities coming onboard," Donley says. "The [Boeing KC-46] tanker will be fielded. The [Lockheed Martin] F-35 will be fielded. We'll be well along in the development of the bomber program. We will have developed further in the cyber area, for example. So you can see based on our priorities, and the dollars that are being invested now when these capabilities will deliver."

But Donley cautions: "But the underlying issue is size, overall capacity of the armed forces."

12 janvier 2013 Marie Tison - La Presse

Les appareils modernisés pourront naviguer jusqu'au pôle Nord magnétique et au pôle Nord géographique. Ils pourront donc effectuer des missions et ravitailler des chasseurs au-dessus de l'Arctique.

Les avions de transport CC150 Polaris de la Défense nationale du Canada pourront effectuer des missions en Arctique grâce à une entreprise montréalaise.

Esterline CMC Électronique a décroché un contrat pour la modernisation des cinq appareils Polaris, des Airbus A310 modifiés acquis en 1992 et 1993.

Il s'agit d'appareils multifonctionnels, qui peuvent transporter des passagers de marque, des troupes, des patients, du fret et même du carburant pour ravitailler des chasseurs CF18 en vol. La flotte a notamment effectué des missions dans le golfe arabo-persique et en Afghanistan.

Toutefois, à l'heure actuelle, l'avionique de ces appareils, soit l'ensemble des équipements électroniques à bord, ne leur permet pas de naviguer au nord du 72e parallèle, alors que le gouvernement Harper met de plus en plus l'accent sur les activités dans le Grand Nord et la souveraineté en Arctique.

CMC Électronique va moderniser cet avionique avec un système de gestion de vol doté notamment de capteurs GPS. Cela permettra aux appareils de naviguer jusqu'au pôle nord magnétique et au pôle nord géographique. Ils pourront donc effectuer des missions et ravitailler des chasseurs au-dessus de l'Arctique.

Le nouveau système de gestion de vol permettra également aux appareils de respecter les nouvelles normes qu'élaborent présentement la FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) et l'OACI (Organisation de l'aviation civile internationale) pour la navigation aérienne. Ces normes, qui entreront progressivement en vigueur au cours des 20 prochaines années, visent à rendre plus efficace l'utilisation de l'espace aérien.

CMC n'a pas voulu révéler le montant du contrat puisqu'il s'agit d'une information stratégique. La directrice des communciations de l'entreprise, Janka Dvornik, a toutefois insisté sur l'importance de ce contrat.

«C'est très important de travailler avec le ministère de la Défense nationale, a-t-elle affirmé au cours d'une entrevue téléphonique avec La Presse Affaires. Ça souligne l'excellence et le côté innovateur et sophistiqué de nos systèmes.»

CMC a entrepris de développer les logiciels nécessaires, de concevoir l'ingénierie du système et d'effectuer les démarches pour le faire homologuer.

L'entreprise a noté qu'il s'agira d'une première homologation pour un système de gestion de vol modernisé à bord d'un Airbus A310-300. Une fois qu'elle aura obtenu l'homologation, CMC pourra donc offrir son système aux exploitants des autres appareils de ce type qui volent dans le monde.

CMC travaille sur ce projet depuis un certain temps. Des essais en vol sont déjà en cours et l'entreprise prévoit une entrée en service au cours de cette année.

Jan 11, 2013 ASDNews Source : US Army

Picatinny munitions experts have developed a process to recycle a family of old artillery shells to create less expensive, more realistic and safer training rounds for Soldiers, giving new meaning to the slogan "renew, reuse, recycle."

Their process, which begins with old, obsolete 155 mm M483 Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, or DPICM, shell bodies scheduled for demilitarization, proposes to save the Army as much as $10 million per year averaged over the next 20 years.

The old shell bodies and bases were originally going to be sold as scrap metal. However, the M1122 program salvages the old projectile body and base, removes and demilitarizes the submunitions, and reuses the metal parts to produce 155mm M1122 High Explosive, HE, rounds. The M1122 will be the primary 155mm training projectile for HE artillery fire missions. It will replace the 155mm M804A1 Practice Projectile and M107 HE Projectile, which are more expensive, for training.

"It's a win-win situation," Kondas said of the M1122 Program. "It's cheaper than the M804A1 that we use for training and the M107 that we use for training and combat. At the same time we're reducing the total quantity of DPICM rounds that have to be disposed."

In addition to being less expensive, the M1122 has been designed to maintain ballistic similitude, appearance and function of the 155mm M795 HE Projectile.

"The M795 has a range of 22 kilometers. For the past ten or fifteen years, to save money, the Army has been using the M107 for training," said Marty Moratz, chief of the Conventional Ammunition Division for PM CAS. "It only goes to 17 kilometers, it weighs less than the M795, has less explosive fill, but is a lot less expensive than the M795. So Soldiers were getting good, realistic training, but they weren't training the way they were fighting."

"But the M1122 is basically the same as the M795 -- it weighs the same as the M795, it flies the same way as the M795, it has the same range," he added.

SAFER AND CHEAPER

"We're actually enhancing the way Soldiers train, doing it at a significant cost savings and helping address the demilitarization issue," Moratz said.

The M1122 rounds also contain Insensitive Munitions Explosive-101 (IMX-101) which makes them safer for U.S. Soldiers. IMX-101 replaces TNT and is a more-stable explosive fill. It has the same explosive effects as traditional TNT, but is safer for Soldiers because it is far less likely to explode if in a fire, shot at or hit by a roadside bomb during transport.

"Once the M1122 Program reaches full rate production, the M1122 rounds filled with IMX-101 are anticipated to cost $27 cheaper than an M107 filled with TNT, and $131 less than what an M107 filled with IMX-101 would cost," Moratz said.

DEMILITARIZATION

To carry out the M1122 program, PM CAS employees teamed up with the Product Manager for Demilitarization, also at Picatinny, on the DPICM demilitarization efforts. The M483 demil and M1122 production currently takes place at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Okla.

"The Army produced approximately 3.6 million M483s," said Moratz. "Over a million of the M483 rounds are scheduled for demil and the expectation is that all of them will be disposed of."

With funding from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the M1122 was developed by the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny. The U.S. Government owns all the data rights to the round.

The M1122 rounds achieved Full Materiel Release, known as FMR, on June 22, 2012. FMR means that the rounds have been declared safe, reliable, operationally sustainable and effective. M1122 rounds built last year under Initial Production were recently placed in the Army inventory ready for troop use.

The program is currently scheduled to build approximately 280,000 M1122 rounds through 2018.

The M1122 Program has also paved the way for three additional programs that will use DPICM shell bodies to create new tactical projectiles: XM1123 Infrared Illuminating Projectiles, XM1124 Visible Light Illuminating Projectiles and M110A3 White Phosphorous Smoke Projectiles.

The XM1123 and XM1124 are currently being qualified for use by the USA and USMC under the Joint Extended Range Illumination Projectiles Joint Capability Technology Demonstration project being sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

LOMAH system

11 January 2013 army-technology.com

The US Army's new location of miss and hit (LOMAH) system has successfully completed government acceptance testing (GAT) at Fort Benning in Georgia, and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

Conducted by active-duty platoon from Charlie Troop, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, the testing demonstrated the system's ability to detect hits and misses for targets at 75m, 175m and 300m.

During testing, the system was used to conduct three marksmanship tasks, including grouping and zeroing at distance, practicing qualification and qualification against using three different ranges to complete zeroing task at 25m, and also to confirm zero at distance and qualifying on one range.

The tasks were carried out using standard qualification targets, unlike previous instances where they would require three days and three ranges for accomplishment.

"We first created it for Roscosmos. Now we hope the military will be interested as well."

Joint Base Langley-Eustis Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Capability Manager-Live Targetry Development team chief Matt Golden said the system would enhance the soldier's shooting skills by providing immediate feedback.

"LOMAH will save time by allowing soldiers to qualify more quickly," Golden added.

Developed by US Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PE0 STRI) Project Manager for Training Devices, the LOMAH is a projectile detection targetry system designed to support basic rifle marksmanship training by tracking rounds fired on or near targets.

Using acoustic sensors, the system detects hits or misses on or within a 2m radius of a target, and transmits the results to an Android-based tablet at the firing point, automatically triangulating the shot group to deliver corrective data to the shooter.

Suited for advanced rifle marksmanship, the system is primarily designed for both the M16 rifle and the M4 carbine featuring iron sights, back-up iron sights, close-combat optic, as well as advanced combat optical gun sights.

The system is scheduled to be deployed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, US, in 2013.

11 janvier 2013 par Jacques N. Godbout - 45enord.ca

Lockheed Martin s’est engagé maintenant à ce que toutes les pièces des nouveaux appareils de transport C-130J des Forces canadiennes soient inspectées puis testées et que toutes les composantes non-conformes soient alors retirées pendant les périodes de maintenance à venir, et ce, sans frais pour le Canada.

C’est une enquête de CBC News qui avait déclenché la controverse. Cette enquête avait révélé que les puces électroniques fabriquées en Chine et qu’on retrouvait dans les nouveaux Hercules canadiens pourraient affecter les écrans et que les pilotes pourraient se retrouver avec des tableaux de bord défectueux en plein milieu d’un vol. Le reportage de la télévision publique canadienne affirmait aussi que ministère était au courant du problème des pièces contrefaites au moins depuis le mois de juillet 2012. L’équipe de CBC News ajoutait que l’ancien ministre adjoint à la Défense, Julian Fantino, avait pourtant nié publiquement au printemps dernier qu’il y ait de pareilles pièces contrefaites dans les avions canadiens.

Chez nos voisins du Sud, le comité du Sénat américain sur les services armés avait conclu l’an dernier, au terme d’une enquête de 14 mois, que l’utilisation de puces contrefaites, souvent défectueuses, pouvaient éventuellement avoir des «conséquences catastrophiques». La défaillance de ces pièces pourrait contraindre, par exemple, les pilotes à se diriger à l’aveuglette, sans informations sur l’altitude, la vitesse, l’emplacement, le niveau de carburant ou les performances du moteur.

Le ministère de la Défense nationale prétendait, quant à lui, que des pièces contrefaites, dans les postes de pilotage des nouveaux appareils de transport C-130J Hercules des Forces canadiennes ne représentent pas un danger pour la sécurité en vol. Un porte-parole du ministère canadien de la Défense a aussi dit que Lockheed Martin, le constructeur américain du Hercules, n’avait pas signalé de défaillances de ce genre d’appareils électroniques du cockpit pour aucun de ses avions.

Quoiqu’il en soit, danger ou pas, elles seront maintenant remplacées.

09 janvier 2013 Par Elodie Vallerey - Usinenouvelle.com

Dassault Aviation compte bien surfer sur le récent désintérêt d'Ottawa pour les chasseurs américains F-35 pour tenter d'imposer le Rafale dans la flotte canadienne.

A peine arrivé sur le siège de nouveau patron de Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier dégaine déjà ses premières flèches. Après l'Inde, la nouvelle cible est Ottawa. Dans Les Echos du 9 janvier, l'ex "vendeur en chef" du Rafale avoue se tenir prêt si le Canada lance un appel d'offres pour le renouvellement de sa flotte de chasseurs.

"Il y a un coup à jouer. Le Canada est potentiellement le premier pays qui pourrait remettre en cause le F-35. Nous ne pouvons pas ne pas l'accompagner", assure le PDG au journal économique.

Partie prenante du programme militaire F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter développé par l'américain Lockheed Martin, le Canada a récemment remis en question l'acquisition des nouveaux chasseurs pour renouveler sa flotte vieillissante. Un rapport du cabinet d'études KPMG a en effet évalué et remis en question le coût réel de l'achat des 65 avions de combat pour Ottawa, vraisemblablement passé de 9 à 45 milliards de dollars.

Après la publication de ce rapport en décembre dernier, le gouvernement canadien a déclaré vouloir reprendre le processus d'achat en évaluant des avions, mais sans pour autant lancer tout de suite d'appel d'offres international.

"Il y a un vrai problème politique (au Canada) par rapport au prix" du F-35. "Il y en a un qui y croit, c'est Boeing, alors pourquoi pas nous ? Moi j'y crois", a confié Eric Trappier aux Echos. Pour lui, le Rafale constitue "une des meilleures alternatives".

Les ministres canadiens des Travaux publics et de la Défense ont confirmé vouloir étudier des alternatives au F-35. Ils ont demandé à l'américain Boeing (F-18 Super Hornet), l'européen EADS (Eurofighter Typhoon), le suédois Saab (Gripen), et Dassault (Rafale) de leur faire des propositions...

Jan. 9, 2012 by Galrahn - informationdissemination.net

Normally when a defense budget is passed, I can't wait to dig through it and highlight all the important details. This time, with no associated appropriations bill (or plan) coming anytime soon, it would be a waste of time to suggest anything in the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Act is worth discussing, because it is worthless until the elected folks in Washington, DC get their budget priorities sorted out.

There is one section in the bill that I do want to highlight though. This reads like something inserted by a lobbyist, and it doesn't belong in my opinion.

SEC. 131. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON MARINE CORPS AMPHIBIOUS LIFT AND PRESENCE REQUIREMENTS.

a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

1. The Marine Corps is a combat force that leverages maneuver from the sea as a force multiplier allowing for a variety of operational tasks ranging from major combat operations to humanitarian assistance.
2. The Marine Corps is unique in that, while embarked upon naval vessels, they bring all the logistic support necessary for the full range of military operations and, operating ‘‘from the sea’’, they require no third-party host nation permission to conduct military operations.
3. The Navy has a requirement for 38 amphibious assault ships to meet this full range of military operations.
4. Due only to fiscal constraints, that requirement of 38 vessels was reduced to 33 vessels, which adds military risk to future operations.
5. The Navy has been unable to meet even the minimal requirement of 30 operationally available vessels and has submitted a shipbuilding and ship retirement plan to Congress that will reduce the force to 28 vessels.
6. Experience has shown that early engineering and design of naval vessels has significantly reduced the acquisition costs and life-cycle costs of those vessels.

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that—

1. the Department of Defense should carefully evaluate the maritime force structure necessary to execute demand for forces by the commanders of the combatant commands;
2. the Navy should carefully evaluate amphibious lift capabilities to meet current and projected requirements;
3. the Navy should consider prioritization of investment in and procurement of the next generation of amphibious assault ships as a component of the balanced battle force;
4. the next generation amphibious assault ships should maintain survivability protection;
5. operation and maintenance requirements analysis, as well as the potential to leverage a common hull form design, should be considered to reduce total ownership cost and acquisition cost; and
6. maintaining a robust amphibious ship building industrial base is vital for the future of the national security of the United States.

To me this looks a lot like some Marine Corps General and his industry buddies throwing their weight around via Congress to try an influence the Analysis of Alternatives taking place regarding the LSD(X). Congress should not be trying to influence the decision unless they are ready to pony up the big bucks for what they are basically calling for - which to me sounds like more LPD-17s.

From what I understand, LSD(X) will be a design to cost ship. The recurring cost (ship 3 and beyond) is pegged to be about $1.2 billion in the shipbuilding budget. That makes the LPD-17 hull a nonstarter without a significant increase in cash from Congress.

The Marines face several challenges in dealing with amphibious requirements, but two stand out as important challenges that must be addressed. The first challenge is that the lift footprint of the amphibious MEB is growing, and the second challenge is that the MPS squadron only carries about 70% of the MEB's equipment. With limited funding and only one platform in the shipbuilding plan able to address these issues - the LSD(X) - folks are either going to have to get creative to solve these challenges, or accept that the challenges will not be solved.

The LSD(X) is a choice between 4 alternatives.

The first choice is a new build, best possible lift vessel for $1.2 billion recurring. I have no idea what design that would be, but if we are being honest it almost certainly wouldn't be anything similar to a current LSD if it is going to meet the stated requirements.

The second choice is for a LPD-17 mod, best possible for $1.2 billion recurring. I do not believe that is possible, but I'm sure there is a shipbuilding guru who other Marines call "General" willing and ready to convince a gullible politician it is possible. Experts I have spoken to in NAVSEA say it's not possible, and I'll trust their expertise and opinion over any Marine General when it comes to shipbuilding.

The third choice is to use a foreign design brought up to NVR standard at a cost of no more than $1.2 billion recurring with the third ship. The design that is specifically highlighted with this option is the French Mistral class. The ships would be built at a US shipyard. There is not a consensus whether these ships can be built in a US shipyard for $1.2 billion recurring.

The fourth option is to build two ships - a MLP and an AFSB - and use the combination of both ships to replace the single LSD. The idea is for the AFSB vessel to cover both the lift for amphibious groups and carry residual lift for the MPS MEB while MLP serves as a well deck surrogate. What is important to understand here is that the AFSB design would actually be a non-mil spec LPH with a limited hanger capacity, but it gives the option for that vessel to carry forward the helicopters in an ARG while the LHA/LHD operates 20 JSFs. Neither the MLP or AFSB would be a gray hull though, which is a major reason why old school Marine Generals who have been doing amphibious assaults for 30 years (cough!) hate the idea.

When I read Section 131 of the 2013 National Defense Act, what I read as "Sense of Congress" actually represents the traditionalists mindset on amphibious capability and their Gulf coast lobby buddies.

But the bottom line is this. The fourth option is the only option that will actually meet the capacity requirements for amphibious lift and the MPS, but I fully expect the United States Marine Corps to outright reject the very suggestion of any option away from the traditional 3 ship ARG. The third option for a foreign design will be rejected solely because it is a foreign design, even though the logic of that escapes me completely when the ships are being built in US shipyards. A new design is possible but unlikely, and until we see more in-house design expertise in NAVSEA I can't say that is necessarily a bad thing.

So ultimately I fully expect the final choice for the LSD(X) to be a LPD-17 mod that the Navy budget cannot afford, and in the end I suspect the Marine Corps will end up with about 8 LSD(X) because that is all they can afford.

But if it was me, I would go for the MLP + AFSB concept. I believe it carries with it the highest risk, but I also believe it would give the Marine Corps the most flexibility when it comes to operations at sea. In my opinion it is much easier for the USMC to remain a relevant national defense asset when they are operating from more ships than when they are operating from fewer ships, and the MLP + AFSB option puts Marines on well over 40 vessels that deploy frequently, vs less than 30 possible vessels that deploy less frequently when one picks the quality LPD-17 mod option.

January 10, 2013 by Mike Hoffman - defensetech.org

The Air Force announced Wednesday the nine candidate bases slotted to potentially host the KC-46A next generation tanker. The first aircraft are set to arrive in 2016 at active duty units and 2018 at Guard units

From those nine, the Air Force will pick a training unit and two main operating bases — one active duty, the other Guard. Air Force officials said they plan to eventually station the entire planned tanker fleet at 10 main operating bases.

The finalists are as follows:

Active duty main operating base: Altus Air Force Base, Okla.; McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas; Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.; Air Force Base, Wash.

Air National Guard main operating base: Forbes Air Guard Station, Kansas; Joint-Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; Pease Air Guard Station, N.H.; Pittsburgh International Airport Air Guard Station, Pa.; Rickenbacker Air Guard Station, Ohio.

The Air Force will choose between Altus and McConnell to decide where it will station its formal training unit for the KC-46A. It will be at one of those two bases where pilots will first learn to fly the next generation tanker.

The Air Force currently houses its tanker fleet consisting of the KC-10 and KC-135 at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.; Altus; Fairchild; Andrews Air Force Base, Md.;  Kadena Air Base, Japan; MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; March Air Reserve Base, Calif.; McConnell; RAF Mildenhall, England; Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.. The KC-135 is also stationed at Air National Guard bases in Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Le Rafale a déjà fait ses preuves. L'appareil est entré en service en 2004 dans l'armée de l'air française et plusieurs d'entre eux ont d'ailleurs été utilisés lors des frappes de l'OTAN en Libye.

10 janvier 2013 Pierre-André Normandin - La Presse

L'avionneur français Dassault espère voir le Canada opter pour son avion de chasse lors de la révision du remplacement de ses CF-18 vieillissants. Alors qu'explose la facture pour le F-35 américain, toujours en développement, Dassault vante la maîtrise des coûts de son Rafale, appareil qui a déjà réussi l'épreuve du combat.

Le gouvernement canadien a annoncé à la mi-décembre recommencer à zéro le processus de remplacement de ses vieux CF-18. La veille, un rapport avait révélé que le choix du Canada d'acheter 65 F-35, un avion américain toujours en développement, coûterait 45 milliards de dollars sur 42 ans, plutôt que les 16 milliards initialement annoncés en 2010.

«Il y a un coup à jouer. Le Canada est potentiellement le premier pays qui pourrait remettre en cause le F-35. Nous ne pouvons pas ne pas l'accompagner», a indiqué mardi au quotidien français Les Échos le nouveau PDG de Dassault, Éric Frappier. L'avionneur, qui fait partie des entreprises approchées par Ottawa, estime que le Rafale constitue «une des meilleures alternatives» au chasseur américain dont le développement connaît d'importants ratés.

Alors que l'appareil américain accumule les retards de production, le Rafale a déjà fait ses preuves. L'appareil est entré en service en 2004 dans l'armée de l'air française et plusieurs d'entre eux ont d'ailleurs été utilisés lors des frappes de l'OTAN en Libye.

Il reste que, après avoir connu un bon succès avec l'exportation de l'ancêtre du Rafale, le Mirage 2000, Dassault a seulement enregistré des échecs dans la vente son nouvel avion de chasse. Considéré par plusieurs pays, l'appareil a systématiquement fait chou blanc, aucun pays ne l'ayant finalement acheté. Cette série noire pourrait toutefois bientôt prendre fin puisque l'Inde s'apprêterait à confirmer en avril prochain l'achat de 126 Rafale, pour une facture de 10 milliards. Sans tenir compte du coût d'entretien, le pays payerait ainsi chacun de ses appareils 80 millions, alors qu'Ottawa évaluait que chacun de ses F-35 lui coûterait 246 millions.

Malgré l'optimisme affiché par l'avionneur français, plusieurs experts soulignent qu'il serait étonnant de voir Ottawa opter pour un avion de l'Hexagone. Après tout, le Canada a lui-même participé au programme de développement du F-35, souligne Les Échos.

Au-delà du F-35, le Rafale aura toutefois plusieurs concurrents qui ont connu davantage de succès à l'exportation, dont le Gripen du suédois Saab, l'Eurofighter Typhoon et le F/A-18 Super Hornet de Boeing.

Jan. 10, 2013 by Dave Majumdar – FG

Washington DC - Even as the US Army moves forward with fielding its first unit of Boeing AH-64E Block III attack helicopters, the service is planning to add further improvements to the Apache gunship.

"Right now, we are currently fielding the first unit equipped, our FUE [first unit equipped] unit, with Echo-models, and we're on track to meet that fielding schedule," says Col Jeff Hager, the army's Apache programme manager.

Hager adds that Boeing has delivered 28 of 51 low-rate initial production AH-64Es that it is contracted to build. This year, the company will start producing full-rate production aircraft for an eventual total of 634 helicopters.

But even as the AH-64E transitions into full-rate production, some systems engineering work remains, Hager says. The changes, which will come in production Lots 4 through 6, include better embedded diagnostics for improved maintenance. The Apache will also gain the Link-16 data-link, which is typically found on fixed-wing combat aircraft. It will also be afforded improvements to its mast-mounted Northrop Grumman APG-78 Longbow fire control radar, which will improve range and add overwater capability.

Hager says that the army has not quite decided how the overwater capability would be used, but he says the Longbow radar in concert with the Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missile could be used to attack landing craft or small warships. In the future, active electronically scanned array radar could be added to the aircraft.

Another addition will be the cognitive decision aiding system (CDAS), Hager says. CDAS is designed "to help the pilot and the crew with some of those tasks that tend to get a little cumbersome at times," he says. "It'll help him in those tasks in specific."

The army also intends to support Boeing's efforts to sell the Apache overseas, Hager says. Boeing's attack helicopter vice president, Dave Koopersmith, says that the company has seen an uptick in interest internationally for the Apache recently. "We have more demand signals for this dominant capability in this attack helicopter space," he says.

Jenoptik’s NYXUS BIRD-3 day/night target acquisition system.

Photo: Jenoptik

January 9, 2013 by Tamir Eshel  - defense-update.com

In November 2012 the US Marine Corps has awarded development contracts worth $12 million to four companies to come up with hand-held integrated laser rangefinders (LRF) for the Common Laser Range Finder Integrated Capability (CLRF IC) system.

The companies selected for this preliminary phase are Raytheon Co. EO Innovations business unit, Elbit Systems of America, Jenoptik Defense Inc. and BAE Systems OASYS. CLRF IC is expected to weigh no more than three pounds – light enough for one Marie infantryman to carry – it will provide improved integrated night-vision capability, internal selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) GPS, and non-magnetic azimuth capability. The contracts span over 19 months. By summer 2014 the Marines plan to select one of the four systems and field the first units a year later. Overall, the corps plans to spend about $45 million in the acquisition of up to 2,200 light and medium weight systems.

The MARS handheld target acquisition system.

Photo: Elbit Systems.

The new system will integrate different elements currently fielded with separate devices into a single, lightweight hand-held system. Some of the companies contracted for the development phase already have systems addressing most of the requirements – for example, Jenoptics’ NYXUS BIRD and Elbit Systems’ MARS system are already available, providing all the essential requirements. The current version of the MARS exceeds the CLRF IC weight threshold by about one pound. A similar laser designating system from Elbit Systems, the Serpent-M (JTAC LTD) has already entered service with the Marine Corps in 2011, supporting Joint Tactical Air Control (JTAC) teams offering markedly reduced weight of their gear.

In a press release issued yesterday Jenoptik said it intends to use the ‘NYXUS BIRD’ as the baseline system for its CLRF IC offering. At a gross weight of 1.5 kg it meets the weight weight goal, and the current elements already comprise a day and night observation device aimed to combine a thermal imaging device, a range finder, GPS and a digital compass in a compact package. In addition to the direct view channel with seven-times magnification, an infrared channel is available to the user for observation during the night.

Raytheon is offering the Phantom which is slightly overweight (3.6 pounds) both systems don’t yet have built-in LRF but both Raytheon and BAE have the knowhow to implement such solutions. BAE Systems has the popular StalkIR line of compact sights that also have to go through more extensive integration for the program.