12/06/2012 Sources : Marine nationale

Du 5 au 11 juin 2012, le Bâtiment de Projection et de Commandement (BPC) Dixmude, la Frégate Anti-Sous-Marine (FASM) Georges Leygues et leurs détachements embarqués de l’ALAT, de l’escadrille 22S et de la flottille amphibie ont conduit les 144 officiers-élèves et leurs instructeurs à Rio de Janeiro.

Dès les côtes brésiliennes en vue, les hélicoptères de l’ALAT ont décollé du Dixmude pour partir en reconnaissance des plages qui serviront aux manœuvres de débarquement prévues du 11 au 13 juin. Au même moment, la batellerie du groupe, soit deux chalands de transport de matériel (CTM) et un engin de débarquement amphibie rapide (EDAR), regagnait le radier du BPC avant son accostage à Rio.

Stationnés dans le port, au cœur de la ville, les deux bâtiments français ont accueilli durant l’escale des officiers brésiliens à bord du Dixmude afin de préparer et de planifier les actions de coopération programmées du 11 au 13 juin 2012. Le 10 juin, veille de l’appareillage du groupe, le Dixmude a embarqué 212 militaires brésiliens (3 sections de fusiliers-marins, 1 état-major embarqué, 1 groupe « soutien » et 1 groupe « aéromobile »).

Du 11 au 13 juin, l’ensemble du groupe Jeanne d’Arc mènera un programme complet d’actions de coopération. Planifiées par les officiers-élèves notamment, des opérations amphibies seront conduites par le Dixmude et son groupe amphibie avec la mise à terre de 3 sections brésiliennes sur un scénario d’évacuation de personnes sinistrées. Le Georges Leygues, 4 bâtiments brésiliens et leurs hélicoptères embarqués, mèneront des opérations navales et aéronavales.

Au cœur de la planification, de l’organisation et de l’exécution des opérations, les officiers-élèves seront également intégrés à bord des bâtiments brésiliens. La présence, durant toute la Mission Jeanne d’Arc de l’enseigne de vaisseau João Celso Silva de Deus, officier-élève brésilien de 24 ans, souligne la volonté des deux pays de coopérer pendant ces échanges.

Jun. 10, 2012 By PIERRE TRAN Defense News

Has Embraer Made Right Moves To Win Border Deal?

PARIS — Embraer will bid for an estimated $400 million contract for a first stage of the Brazilian Army’s vast SISFRON border surveillance program, CEO Luiz Carlos Aguiar said.

The request for proposals for a prime contractor went out last week with a 30-day deadline for submissions, Aguiar said here June 5 on the sidelines of a pre-Farnborough International Airshow news conference.

The Brazilian company’s bid for the SISFRON job marks a step in realizing its ambitions to play a leading role in defense and security, diversifying from its traditional role as a civil and military aircraft maker. The first stage of SISFRON is intended to monitor the 1,000-kilometer border between Brazil’s Mata Grosso state and neighboring Bolivia and Colombia.

“It’s a very complex project,” Aguiar said.

The requirement calls for seven subsystems: C4I, cybersecurity, ground radars, communications and electronic intelligence, satellite communications, UAVs and armored vehicles. Logistics and client support are also part of the package. A contract award is expected in 2013, with implementation due over two and a half years.

“This is a prototype,” Aguiar said.

The second stage will cover 17,000 kilometers of Amazonian rainforest, where Brazil shares borders with 10 countries.

The full SISFRON program is estimated to be worth $4 billion over the next 10 years, Aguiar said. Foreign companies are expected to supply technology solutions while Embraer would act as integrator.

As part of preparations for its bid, Embraer bought stakes or partnered with companies that include C4I specialist Atech, radar maker Orbisat, satellite house Visiona and mini-UAV maker Santos Lab. Embraer also has set up a joint venture with Elbit Systems of Israel to build UAVs for the border patrol project and other missions for the Brazilian Air Force.

News of Embraer’s acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Atech, a Brazilian company, emerged at last year’s Latin American Aerospace and Defense show, where Elbit displayed a command-and-control center.

For the satellite communications portion, Embraer has signed up with Telebras, a major Brazilian telecommunications company.

Domestic construction firms are likely to compete for the contract, Aguiar said.

Embraer’s experience in producing aircraft helps position it for a prime contractorship, said Robbin Laird at consulting firm ICSA, based here and in Washington.

“Embraer is moving in that direction,” he said. “Developing and building aircraft such as the Super Tucano positions you as a prime contractor.”

For example, Lockheed Martin has only a direct 30 percent stake in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, in the final assembly stage, and acts as integrator and prime contractor for the multinational program, Laird said.

A particular challenge for Embraer is Brazil’s diverse geography and austere conditions in the Amazon region, he said. Brazil also has a huge maritime border, which requires policing.

The border security program will force the country’s authorities to set priorities, since it is impossible to tackle all of the tasks in managing the frontier.

Deciding on the priorities will allow the Brazilian Army to identify threats and “surge assets,” Laird said, as it is useless to identify a threat and not be able to do anything about it.

Beyond SISFRON

In Embraer’s traditional military aircraft activities, the KC-390 tanker/transport program is increasing its contribution to defense and security annual sales as the government funds development and work expands. The KC-390 is expected this year to account for 39 percent of sales for Embraer’s defense and security business, compared with 19 percent in 2011.

Embraer plans to freeze the final design of the KC-390 next March, offering the prospect of setting a price on the military aircraft and going to market, Aguiar said.

“The KC-390 is on schedule,” he said, with a final configuration due in the first quarter of 2013, with terms and conditions to be fixed. That will allow Embraer to go to market and “to aggressively sell it,” Aguiar said.

The KC-390 is intended to replace the C-130 Hercules cargo plane in its various versions. Embraer estimates a world market of 2,000 units for a Hercules replacement, of which 700 are open to sales of the KC-390 — excluding the U.S., Russian and Indian markets, which are effectively closed to the Brazilian aircraft.

Embraer’s “very, very conservative approach” is to win 15 percent to 18 percent of the 700-unit market, worth more than $50 billion, Aguiar said.

Some 800 people and 50 to 55 companies are working on the KC-390 program, which is in the joint definition phase. All of the plane’s main suppliers have been selected. A first flight is due in 2014, with entry into service two years later.

France is among the 77 countries seen as potential customers, as there is a market gap between the four-engine Airbus A400M and twin-engine CN235/C295 transports, built by EADS CASA.

“If we can get it, it will be great,” Aguiar said.

France said in 2009 it would acquire a squadron of KC-390s as a counterpoint to a Brazilian purchase of the Dassault Rafale fighter jet in its long-running FX-2 competition. But the Rafale selection has yet to materialize.

The FX-2 competition did not appear in the Embraer media presentation. Aguiar said he had no knowledge of the Brazilian government’s plans for the fighter program.

Embraer hopes to benefit from changes in the U.S. Air Force’s evaluation of its Super Tucano in an upcoming tender for 20 light attack aircraft. The company will resubmit its light attack/trainer plane in a new Air Force competition to equip Afghanistan’s military.

The new evaluation allocates more points to aircraft deemed fit for counterinsurgency rather than the basic trainer mission, Aguiar said, which “will benefit us.”

Another change in the evaluation method is the absence of a fly-off between competing aircraft, he said. Data from the fly-off demonstration under the previous Air Force tender will be excluded from the evaluation, Aguiar said.

The requirements remain the same as those set in the previous competition, he said.

The U.S. service on March 2 canceled its selection of the Super Tucano, a single-engine turboprop, after a legal challenge from Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft, maker of the rival AT-6.

Embraer partnered with Sierra Nevada, Sparks, Nev., to bid for the previous $355 million contract.

It hopes to win half of a 300-unit, $3.5 billion market for light attack/trainer aircraft.

SANTIAGO, Chile, June 5 (UPI)

European defense consortium EADS is seeking a greater presence in Latin American markets for aviation and defense equipment with a new partnership in Chile.

The EADS entry follows similar endeavors by Boeing, France's Dassault Aviation, Sweden's Saab and other European, Israeli and Asian manufacturers who see Latin America as a major growth area for defense acquisitions.

One major contract in immediate sight of the rival manufacturers is Brazil's FX-2 jet fighter replacement program worth up to $8 billion-$9 billion. EADS lags behind Dassault, Boeing and Saab in the competition to win a lucrative defense contract for the supply of up to 36 fighter aircraft.

Brazil is looking to replace obsolete fighter aircraft, including French Mirage jets, at the high end of its air force inventory as part of the so-called FX-2 fighter competition.

04 June, 2012 defenceWeb (Reuters)

Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim said the country's growing need to protect its borders, the Amazon rainforest, and massive offshore oil discoveries would lead it to gradually increase defense spending by a quarter to reach roughly 2 percent of Brazil's economy.

During an interview at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit, Amorim said the country's valuable food, water, and energy supplies could eventually make it the target of a "scramble for natural resources." Given the country's recent economic growth, he added, Brazil must spend more on preparedness and its ability to "react or dissuade any effort to invade our territory."

Brazil has good relations with all 10 of its South American neighbors, and hasn't been to war with any of them since the 19th century, so defense spending has historically been seen as a second-tier priority, Reuters reports.

But President Dilma Rousseff's government has come under public pressure to better defend its borders from drugs and other contraband because of a crack epidemic in Brazilian cities.

At present, Brazil spends about 1.6 percent of its gross domestic product on defense; other countries, including Russia and the United States, spend more than 4 percent, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Last year, the figure reached more than 61 billion reais ($30.3 billion), Brazil's defense ministry said.

In the coming years, Amorim said, Brazil should spend closer to 2 percent of GDP, a percentage more in line with that of other big developing nations, such as India and China. The minister gave no time-line for when that target might be reached, but said hypothetically it could take as long as ten years.

Increased spending, Amorim said, would also help nourish a nascent but growing defense industry in Brazil that could supply the weapons and equipment necessary to fulfill the government's defense goals.

Because of strict rules that require Brazilian companies to have a share in defense purchases, either alone or through partnerships with foreign contractors, local industries should benefit from the need for equipment including satellites, helicopters, armored vehicles, and ships. To improve much-needed border patrols, for example, Amorim expects Brazilian companies within four years to have sufficient know-how on their own to supply the country with unmanned drones.

NO TIME-LINE FOR BIG JET ORDER

A career diplomat and foreign minister during the eight-year administration of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Amorim helped raise Brazil's profile in global forums like the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and Group of 20 major economies. His success in leveraging Brazil's growing economic might into a role as a voice for developing nations prompted President Dilma Rousseff last year to charge Amorim with seeking similar heft for the armed forces.

Amorim has been working to secure long-sought upgrades to the old and rickety weapons and surveillance systems now used by the military. Chief among planned procurements is a contract for new fighter jets, expected to be worth more than $5 billion when finally awarded.

But procurement in Brazil, even by the slow-moving standards of the defense industry, historically has been stop and go.

The long-pending decision to purchase a new generation of fighter jets, for instance, has been in the works for more than a decade. Though Brazil earlier this year looked set to pick France's Dassault (AVMD.PA) to supply the new aircraft, the government held back on a decision and is still considering jets manufactured by Boeing (BA.N) of the U.S., and Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST).

Amorim said he hopes a decision will come "soon," but declined to predict whether that meant a matter of months or even years.

A stagnating Brazilian economy, which has come perilously close to recession in recent quarters, isn't expected to impede key defense decisions further, he added. The perceived vulnerability along the borders, around offshore oil fields, and across its farm belt, forests and wetlands will ensure military spending remains a growing priority.

"Even if you bring in less money at home, you can't not pay for a lock on the door," he said.

BRAZILIANS AND NEIGHBORS SHOULDN'T BE WARY

Amorim said the government must work to convince Brazilian society that the ramp-up in spending is worth it, especially because many Brazilians remain wary of the country's armed forces. Brazil's military ruled the country in a dictatorship that lasted two decades, ending in 1985.

Brazil will also work with its neighbors, he added, to ensure that regional cooperation can grow along with military ventures and contracting.

This month, Brazil signed an agreement with Colombia, valued at $10 million, for the purchase of patrol vessels that will be used to monitor the Amazon and its tributaries. Brazilian planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA), for its part, works with Argentine partners in the development of a planned cargo aircraft that is expected to compete with other would-be successors to Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) ageing C-130 Hercules.

22 May 2012 By  Arie Egozi - FG

Tel Aviv - Chile's defence ministry is set to select a mini unmanned air system for its armed forces, with the final contenders being the BlueBird Spylite, Elbit Systems Skylark 1LE and the Mantis made by Indra of Spain.

The initial contract is expected to value around $3 million, but industry sources say this will lead to the follow-on purchase of a "great number" of additional systems.

24 mai 2012 Par Astrid Gouzik L’USINE NOUVELLE

C’est ce qu’a affirmé une source au sein du gouvernement brésilien à l’AFP, mercredi 23 mai.

Du 20 au 22 juin, François Hollande doit se rendre au Brésil dans le cadre du sommet de l’ONU, Rio+20. Et c’est ce voyage qui pourrait enfin débloquer les négociations d’appel d’offres pour 36 avions de combat destinés à l’armée de l’air brésilienne. Et Dassault, après avoir ouvert des négociations exclusives avec l’Inde en février pour la ventre de 126 Rafales, espère bien vendre son chasseur à Rio.

Pour ce contrat de 4 milliards d’euros, l’avionneur français est en compétition avec le le F/A-18 Super Hornet de l'Américain Boeing et le Gripen NG du suédois Saab. Mais "aucune des propositions ne nous plaît" actuellement, a confié cette source. Elle avance que le prix du Rafale reste très élevé.

En ce qui concerne l'offre américaine, le Brésil doute, a précisé cette source, d'obtenir un transfert de technologies en dépit des promesses du Congrès et du président Barack Obama. Alors qu’il a obtenu cette garantie de la part de l’Etat français qui n’a pas besoin de l’autorisation du Parlement.

Quoi qu’il en soit, le suspens ne devrait plus être long. Après avoir été repoussé plusieurs fois pour des raisons budgétaires, le choix de l’avion devrait intervenir cette année, selon le ministre de la Défense Celso Amorim.

Five countries, plus Brazil, have commited to KC-390

May. 22, 2012 by Murdo Morrison –FG

London - Embraer's roots are in defence. Its first aircraft - the EMB 110 Bandeirante - was built for the Brazilian armed forces in the early 1970s, and it designed the AMX fighter with Italian industry in the 1980s. Embraer also developed the Tucano and Super Tucano light fighters. However, as the firm focused on commercial and business aviation in the 1990s and 2000s, defence took a back seat.

The launch of the KC-390 in 2008 changed that. Although maintenance work, special mission and other modifications and Super Tucano sales have kept the defence division ticking over, the military transport is Embraer's biggest and arguably most ambitious aircraft to date, and will help to elevate the defence segment to an expected 25% of Embraer's revenues by 2020.

With the Brazilian government helping to underwrite the programme with an order for 28 of the IAE V2500-powered twinjet, Embraer has secured further commitments (though not firm orders) for 32 aircraft from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Portugal. All five countries are expecting industrial participation, with Czech firm Aero Vodochody and Portugal's EEA and Embraer subsidiary OGMA among those already lined up as programme partners.

The prototype of the KC-390 is due to fly by the end of 2014, with a targeted service entry with the Brazilian air force of 2016. Luiz Carlos Aguiar, the president of Embraer's defence business, sees a potential market for the 23-tonne payload airlifter of around 100 aircraft - mostly replacements for older versions of the ubiquitous Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules - assuming a 15% market share for Embraer. "There are a lot of ageing C-130s out there," he says.

AMBITIONS

But Embraer's defence ambitions do not stop with the KC-390. Aguiar is keen to follow companies such as Lockheed Martin, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems and position Embraer in the growing homeland security segment - with a World Cup and Olympics coming up in Brazil, as well as pressing needs to control borders and deter drugs trafficking, this could prove a lucrative market. But it will require developing technologies within Brazil, and this will mean Embraer partnering with or even making "middle-size acquisitions" of the companies behind the technology, he says.

Linking with international companies in this sphere is not an option, however. "They have developed their own technology and consolidated their markets. It doesn't make sense for them to open up to us," says Aguiar. "Our model is to take our capability, take it through Brazilian acquisitions and then export a Brazilian solution." Ideas being developed for the domestic market today, he says, "could in five years be exported to Africa and Latin America. There are lots of countries growing fast from a small base, and like Brazil will face future changes in social demands."

Another departure for the business is unmanned air systems. Late last year Embraer formed a venture with Israel's Elbit, Harpia Systemas, to develop tactical and strategic UAS for the air force for border protection. An Elbit Hermes 450 will provide the initial platform. However, Aguiar says Brazil, rather than Israel, will own much of the intellectual property. "We have technology here in Brazil. The air force needs to have commonality with datalinks, so it is not going to buy off the shelf from Israel. It has to be very specific for a Brazilian environment."

RESURGENCE

An established product - the Super Tucano - is also is enjoying a resurgence, in a security role. Embraer was dealt a blow in February when a contract to supply 20 of the trainer aircraft for a US Light Aircraft Support requirement for surveillance in Afghanistan , with US partner Sierra Nevada, was put on hold after a challenge by rival Hawker Beechcraft. However, while the USA remains very much in Embraer's sights for the Super Tucano, counter-insurgency demands in Asia and Africa have helped to deliver strong sales, with Angola, Burkina Faso and Mauritania among recent customers. "We estimate that the counter-insurgency market represents around 300 aircraft to 2020," says Aguiar. "And we conservatively expect to sell 50% of these."

Herndon, Virginia,  15 May 2012 EADS North America

EADS North America has delivered the fourth and final Airbus Military CN235-300 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) to be supplied to the Mexican Navy under a U.S. Coast Guard managed foreign military sales agreement.

The Coast Guard employs the CN235-300 in the HC-144A Ocean Sentry configuration for a range of missions, including search and rescue, disaster relief and drug interdiction. In March, a Coast Guard HC-144 crew used the aircraft’s sensor capabilities to locate and help interdict a semi-submersible “drug sub” in the Western Caribbean Sea.

EADS North America delivered its 13th HC-144A Ocean Sentry to the U.S. Coast Guard earlier this year, two months ahead of schedule. Last month, the Coast Guard exercised a contract option for deliveries that will bring the service’s Ocean Sentry fleet up to 17 aircraft. The service ultimately plans to acquire up to a total of 36 of the twin-engine turboprops.

Mexico was the first U.S. foreign military sales customer for the highly successful Airbus Military CN235 tactical airlifter family, more than 250 of which are already in operation by 27 countries. EADS North America is also supplying spares provisioning, ground support equipment and associated training for the Mexican Navy aircraft.

“We’re proud that the HC-144A has proven to be such a powerful asset in the U.S. Coast Guard mission to protect the security of our nation,” said Sean O’Keefe, EADS North America Chairman and CEO. “Likewise, we’re proud to have served America’s national interests by delivering a similarly important capability to the Mexican Navy.”

The CN235-300 MPAs enhance Mexico’s ability to support the Mérida Initiative, a cooperative security arrangement between the U.S., Mexico and Central American countries. Missions for the new aircraft include drug interdiction, homeland security, search and rescue, cargo and personnel transport, military readiness, and maritime environmental protection.

The MPA configuration of the CN235 incorporates the latest technology developed for surveillance over the sea. The combination of a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system and search radar allows the aircraft to locate and track ships to conduct thorough patrols of a coastline. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) and the Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) help make this aircraft the ideal tool to carry out military surveillance missions for the Mexican Navy. The FITS was developed by Airbus Military and ensures that the extensive data gathered by the aircraft’s onboard sensors can be easily used by the crew to execute their mission.