photo par mrg78

3 octobre 2011 – Opex360

En marge de l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies, le mois dernier, la présidente brésilienne, Dilma Rousseff, a confirmé à son homologue français, Nicolas Sarkozy, que son pays n’était pas encore en mesure d’acquérir les 36 avions de combat faisant l’objet de l’appel d’offres FX-2. En revanche, elle a précisé que si la situation économique de son pays venait à changer, et « si choix il devait y avoir », il se ferait « en faveur du Rafale », l’avion de Dassault Aviation étant en concurrence avec le F-18 Super Hornet de Boeing et le Gripen de Saab.

Le choix du Rafale avait déjà été annoncé en septembre 2009 par le prédécesseur de Dilma Rousseff, à savoir l’ancien président Lula. Il restait encore à franchir plusieurs étapes pour signer le contrat de vente. Et finalement, après avoir temporisé à plusieurs reprises, l’affaire en était resté là. Normalement, Brasilia devrait en annoncer une décision pour le début de l’année 2012, ce qui laisse encore le temps aux concurrents de Dassault Aviation de pousser leur offre.

Par ailleurs, Dilma Rousseff a opté pour un assouplissement de la politique monétaire de son pays, en baissant drastiquement les taux d’intérêts, qui étaient jusqu’à présent les plus élevés du monde. L’enjeu est d’éviter une apport trop massifs de capitaux, ce qui contribue à renchérir le taux de change du réal et qui, par conséquent, mine la compétitivité brésilienne.

Or, pour éviter l’inflation, cette politique doit s’accompagner d’une certaine rigueur dans les dépenses publiques. Seulement, ces dernières continuent d’augmenter, à cause de l’indiscipline des parlementaires. Par conséquent, il n’est pas certain que le vainqueur de l’appel d’offres pour le contrat FX-2 soit connu dans les mois qui viennent.

Cela étant, les forces aériennes brésiliennes ont un besoin urgent de nouveaux appareils. Du moins, c’est ce qu’a fait valoir le ministre de la Défense, Celso Amorim. « A la fin de l’année 2013, aucun des 12 Mirage (ndlr, 2000) de la base aérienne d’Anapolis ne sera en complet état de vol. C’est quelque chose qui est vraiment urgent, très important » a-t-il déclaré, le 30 septembre. « Nous avons besoin de défendre l’Amazone, les frontières, nous avons besoin de l’avion de combat adéquat » a-t-il ajouté, en soulignant l’importance des transferts de technologie liés à ce contrat.

Quoi qu’il en soit, et sous réserve que le ministre brésilien de la Défense n’ait pas exagéré la situation afin de remettre le contrat FX-2 au premier rang des priorités de son pays, il sera très compliqué de livrer avant la fin de l’année 2013 les nouveaux appareils, pour peu que le vainqueur de l’appel d’offres soit annoncé en 2012. Sans compter qu’il faudra aussi former les pilotes et les techniciens brésiliens…

03/10/2011 Aerocontact

PARIS, 3 octobre (Reuters) - EADS pourrait s'associer à Thales pour répondre au futur appel d'offres portant sur la surveillance des frontières terrestres et maritimes brésiliennes, déclare Louis Gallois dans le Figaro Economie de ce lundi.

Le journal économique rappelle que ce marché, estimé à 7,5 milliards d'euros sur cinq ans, compte parmi les priorités du Brésil avec la proximité de la Coupe du monde de football en 2014 et des Jeux olympiques en 2016.

"Nous n'excluons pas de nous associer avec Thales pour gagner ce contrat", dit Louis Gallois, président excécutif d'EADS, au Figaro en marge d'une tournée au Brésil.

Le groupe européen est candidat à ce marché dans le cadre d'une coentreprise avec Odebrecht , principal conglomérat diversifié brésilien, ajoute le Figaro.

Aucun commentaire n'a pu être obtenu dans l'immédiat auprès de Thales. (Gilles Guillaume, édité par Benoît Van Overstraeten)

Brazilian Mirage 2000s. Photo via Defense Industry Daily.

03.10.2011 by ROBERT BECKHUSEN- warisboring.com

Haiti

Haitian President Michel Martelly is taking steps to rebuild Haiti’s military, more than 15 years after the armed forces were first disbanded, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press. The plan aims for “an initial force of 3,500 soldiers” directed at patrolling the country’s border with the Dominican Republic, maintaining security “during times of crisis” and providing jobs for young people, reports the AP. Over time, the new $95-million National Council of Defense and Security could replace United Nations troops as they withdraw beginning next year. The first 500 soldiers of the initial force are expected to be recruited over the next two months.

The question whether Haiti should have a military is controversial. Human rights groups say the military is a potential threat to human rights; while critics within the government point to high costs necessitating further aid from abroad, and Haiti’s lack of foreign threats. Supporters see the military as a symbol of national pride, and have called for the future military to be professionalized. The military was disbanded in 1995 by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted once in 1991 by the military and again by former soldiers in 2004. The plan calls for $15 million in funds to compensate former soldiers.

Brazil

Brazilian military aircraft is deteriorating rapidly, and without “urgent” fighter purchases the country could be without “adequate combat aircraft” to patrol the Amazon and border regions, Defense Minister Celso Amorim said Thursday. “By the end of 2013, none of the 12 Mirage (aircraft) at the Anapolis air base will be in full flying condition. This is something that is really urgent, very important,” Amorim said.

Brazil is currently weighing a multi-billion dollar fighter contract between the French Rafale, Swedish Gripen NG and the U.S. F/A-18 Super Hornet. Which country gets the deal, however, is up in the air. Analysts took a potential deal with France nearly for granted during the administration of former President Lula da Silva, but the decision was delayed beyond Lula’s presidency to the administration of President Dilma Rousseff, who is seen as more partial to the F/A-18 and for strengthening U.S.-Brazilian ties more broadly. But until Amorim’s call for urgency this week, the earliest sign of a deal was not expected until 2012. Perhaps it could be sooner.

I asked the U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., to comment on the U.S.-Brazilian defense relationship on Sept. 24 at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas. He described the relationship as “pretty strong” with Brazilian officials “very interested in the U.S. experience with jointness.” He also said:

One of the interesting things about President Lula’s time in office is that he decided to rehabilitate the military as an institution, recapitalize, give it new weapon systems and give it a voice in a larger national security dialogue; which is absolutely essential given the size of Brazil and its borders and what it needs to protect. But also when you look to the south into the Atlantic, at the pre-salt oil and gas reserves that Brazil has, it right now doesn’t have the strategic abilities to go out and protect those reserves. And so Brazil is building up a military which is 21st century in terms of its capabilities of national defense but which also can play a role internationally through peacekeeping operations.

The ambassador did not explicitly reference the U.S. fighter bid.

photo par mrg78

29.09.2011 lci.tf1.fr

Le Brésil a besoin d'acquérir d'urgence 36 avions de combat multi-rôles, en cours d'appel d'offre, pour moderniser son armée de l'air car une partie de sa flotte de Mirage ne pourra plus voler en 2013, a déclaré le ministre de la Défense, Celso Amorim, jeudi devant le Sénat.

Le Rafale du français Dassault est en compétition avec le F/A-18 Super Hornet de l'Américain Boeing et le Gripen NG du suédois Saab pour remporter ce contrat évalué à environ 4,4 milliards d'euros.

GS

Sep 29, 2011 Rio De Janeiro (UPI)

The Thales Group of France has acquired 100 percent of the capital of Omnisys, a Brazilian electronics engineering company near Sao Paulo.

"Brazil is strategically important for Thales," said Laurent Mourre, Thales country director for Brazil. "We are proud that Omnisys, as the industrial arm of Thales in Brazil, is already part of our network of research and development centers of excellence and is assuming a key role in the development of the entire group."

Omnisys, established in 1997, was the first Brazilian electronic engineering company to supply high-tech solutions for civil, military and space applications not only to the Brazilian market but also to other countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

"Omnisys is already part of the Thales global supply chain," Mourre said."The company will manage transfers of technology for the major programs that are due to be launched in Brazil in the coming years.

"Our strategy of transferring technology, establishing a local industrial base and involving local partners in (research and development) is fully aligned with the Brazilian government's investment policy."

Omnisys has been majority-owned by Thales since 2005 and designs, develops and manufactures long-range L-band radars under a successful industrial cooperation agreement.

The company has produced more than 26 TRAC L-band radars since 2008.

Thales said the Brazilian company serves key market segments, including air traffic control radars, weather forecasting radars, weapon locating radars, electronic warfare and naval missile systems and is progressively expanding its activities into other sectors.

Thales in March announced its decision to manufacture the Ground Master 400 air defense radars in Brazil, giving the Brazilian company access to the world's most advanced and complex radar technologies.

Thales, which has headquarters in Paris, has steadily expanded its industrial operations in Brazil over the last 40 years and broadened its portfolio of businesses to meet a growing need for critical information systems in various segments of the Brazilian market.

Over this period, it consolidated its position in a number of major markets. For example, with an installed base of more than 100 radars, the group has developed unique expertise in the air traffic management and air defense sectors; it was selected to equip submarines for the Brazilian navy and supply a broad range of communication equipment to the federal police.

In the space market, the group has been selected by the satellite operator Star One to provide advanced civil and military telecom services to the Ministry of Defense.

photo US Navy

September 29, 2011 defpro.com

WASHINGTON | The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified U.S. Congress Sept. 27 of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Government of Ecuador of refurbishment of 2 SH-2G Helicopters and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $60 million.

The Government of Ecuador has requested a possible sale for the refurbishment of two SH-2G Helicopters being provided as grant Excess Defense Articles (EDA) to be modified for operational use. The two EDA aircraft will also be modified to include the following: HELRAS Helicopter Dipping SONAR, AAQ-22 Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), AN/APS-143C (V) 3 RADAR, ARC-210 UHF Radio, APX-72 Transponder, AN/ARN-147 VOR/ILS, AN/ARN-149 Receiver (ADF), HF-9000 HF Radio, ASN-150 Tactical Navigation Set, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $60 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of Ecuador which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in South America. This proposed sale will also improve the interoperability between the naval forces of the United States and Ecuador.

The proposed sale will improve Ecuador’s capability to meet current and future anti-ship threats. The helicopters will perform antisubmarine warfare (ASW), antisurface warfare, search and rescue (SAR), and logistics support missions for the Ecuadorian Navy. They will improve Ecuador’s ability to participate in the Maritime Multinational Operations with the U.S. Navy, will enhance Ecuador’s control of its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, and will increase the Ecuadorian Navy’s SAR capabilities, further reducing Ecuador’s dependency on the United States in case of emergencies. Additionally, these specialized ASW Helicopters would constitute a highly effective system to search, track, and destroy the mini-submarines used for illegal drug trafficking. Similar items have not previously been provided to Ecuador.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractor will be Kaman Corporation of Bloomfield, CT. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Ecuador.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

Radar Thales – photo Pascal Guittet

26 septembre 2011 par Rémy Maucourt L’USINE NOUVELLE

Le groupe français de défense a annoncé lundi la prise de contrôle totale de son partenaire brésilien. Omnisys est spécialisé dans la fabrication de radars.

Thales détient depuis 2005 une majorité du capital d'Omnisys. Mais le groupe préfère avoir le contrôle total sur les entreprises avec lesquelles il travaille. C'est pourquoi il a acheté les 28% restant du capital d'Omnisys.

Omnisys "sera responsable du transfert de technologie prévu pour les grands programmes qui devront être lancés dans les prochaines années au Brésil", précise le communiqué du groupe. Une allusion à la vente de Rafale, le programme de défense le plus attendu entre les deux pays.

Le constructeur aéronautique français Dassault, qui cherche à vendre le Rafale au Brésil, est également actionnaire de Thales. Mais la décision finale du Brésil a été récemment repoussée : le pays n'a pas les moyens actuellement de s'engager sur ce genre de programme.

Rafale atelier – photo Dassault

22 septembre 2011 par Rémy Maucourt – L’USINE NOUVELLE

La présidente du Brésil, Dilma Rousseff, a assuré à Nicolas Sarkozy que le Rafale restait favori de l'appel d'offres lancé sur le futur achat de chasseurs. Son pays ne peut toutefois pas acheter d'avion de chasse pour l'instant, difficultés économiques obligent.

Dassault Aviation n'espérait plus une réponse rapide. Mais Dilma Rousseff est allé plus loin : le Brésil n'est "pas en mesure de s'engager sur l'achat d'avions de guerre", a-t-elle assuré à Nicolas Sarkozy. Les deux dirigeants se sont rencontrés mercredi en marge de l'assemblée générale des Nations Unies à New York.

"Si choix il devait y avoir, il se ferait en faveur du Rafale", a promis la présidente. Mais le choix d'un avion dépend maintenant d'une amélioration de la situation économique mondiale. "Si la crise se révèle moins grave que ce que certains l'imaginent, ce dossier pourra être repris l'année prochaine par exemple" a précisé le ministre des Affaires étrangères brésilien, Antonio Patriota.

La décision avait déjà été repoussée à 2012. Il y a donc une condition supplémentaire : que la situation économique soit assainie. Alors que le choix du Brésil a été reporté plusieurs fois, les Etats-Unis sont fortement mobilisés pour vendre leur propre appareil, le F/A-18 Super Hornet de Boeing.

L'ancien président du Brésil, Lula, avait affiché publiquement sa préférence pour le Rafale. Mais à la fin de son mandat, il a laissé son successeur Dilma Rousseff prendre la décision sur l'achat des avions multirôles. Ce contrat est évalué à environ 4,4 milliards d'euros, et reste la meilleure chance pour le Rafale d'être vendu à l'export.

source asdnews.com

LIMA, Sept. 21 (UPI)

Peru is upgrading its key naval assets and acquiring new components for its air defenses as the country grapples with unrest among coca growers in the Amazon, suspected to be part of the cocaine trail to North America and other destinations for the drug.

The government has been unveiling plans over the past few weeks that include substantial investments in upgrades to the military equipment.

Top of the list are upgrades to Peruvian naval assets and the country's air defenses.

Italian-built Lupo class frigates form the high-end of Peru's naval defenses, with eight of the 3,000t Carvajal class ships said to be in service with varying stages of operational efficiency.

Four of the vessels were built under license from 1984-87, while the second batch of four frigates was decommissioned by the Italian navy and sold to Peru in 2004-06, the defenseindustrydaily.com Web site said.

Most of the upgrades are likely to affect the second batch of the ships, which includes the fourth ship bearing the name BAP Bolognesi, named in honor of Peruvian military hero Francisco Bolognesi. The first ship, Almirante Grau class cruiser BAP Coronel Bolognesi, was commissioned in 1907.

The naval upgrade is part of an overall strategy to build defenses against increasingly sophisticated and heavily armed drug gangs. Peru is the world's largest producer of coca, which is used to produce cocaine.

The upgrades to the BAP Bolognesi (FM-57), commissioned in 2006, will add new electronics, radar and decoy countermeasures to ship's arsenal. Some reports said Peru might also replace the old Italian Otomat anti-ship missiles on board the frigates with French Exocet MM40 Block III missiles.

Last month the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Peru asked to buy four NATO Sea Sparrow MK57 MOD 10 that will replace its existing MOD 2 systems mounted above the helicopter hangar on the four ex-Italian ships from the second batch. The vessels include FM 55-58: BAP Aguirre, BAP Palacios, BAP Quinones besides BAP Bolognesi.

The agency, in its notification to Congress, said the possible sale would be worth about $50 million.

"The proposed sale will improve Peru's capability to meet current and future threats of enemy anti-ship weapons," the agency said. "Peru will use the enhanced capability of the MK57 MOD 10 NSSMS on its four Lupo class frigates purchased from Italy in 2004."

The frigates have MK57 MOD 2 NATO Seasparrow Systems modified to fire the Aspide air defense missile. The systems retain the ability to fire the RIM-7 Seasparrow missile and Peru intends to move from the Aspide missile to the RIM-7 Seasparrow in a future purchase.

Peru already has MK 57 Missile Systems and will have no difficulty absorbing the additional systems into its inventory, the agency said.

The prime contractors would be Raytheon Technical Service Co. and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has declared a state of emergency in parts of the Amazon where coca growers have been protesting.

Humala called the emergency measure after farmers began an indefinite strike Sept. 11, blocking a major highway that connects the Ucayali department with the rest of the country, El Comercio reported.

The strike is a response to the government's policy of forced eradication of coca leaves, the main ingredient in cocaine.

Humala's government temporarily suspended the eradication of coca in August as a drug-control strategy.

The declaration will last 60 days and gives police more power to make arrests and suspends some constitutional rights.

Illustration Embraer

20/09/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

Cobham Mission Equipment has valued its initial involvement in Embraer's KC-390 transport/tanker programme at more than $60 million, and provided the first details of the refuelling system it will supply for the developmental type.

The Brazilian manufacturer confirmed the supplier's selection to deliver the aircraft's wing aerial refuelling pods on 8 September.

"Cobham will supply Embraer with one of its state-of-the-art air refuelling pods, specially modified to fit the KC-390," the UK company said in a 15 September announcement. "The system architecture will be tailored to meet the aircraft's air-to-air refuelling capability requirements, and enable refuelling of a range of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft."

The selected equipment "has been designed and qualified to the latest and most stringent military requirements", Cobham Mission Equipment vice president Iain Gibson said.

The company, which is also currently supplying hose-and-drogue refuelling systems for the Airbus Military A330-based multi-role tanker transport, said its selection for the Brazilian twin-jet followed "a comprehensive competitive process".

It was also contracted earlier this year to provide similar equipment for the US Air Force's future fleet of 179 Boeing 767-derived KC-46A tankers.

Brazil is the launch customer for the KC-390, having identified an initial requirement for 28 of the aircraft.

September 20, 2011 By Lance Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point – SHEPARD GROUP

The MV-22 Osprey continues to prove its versatility and capability as one of the newest machines in the Marine Corps’ arsenal. Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 self-deployed to the small Central American country of Belize to conduct training this week demonstrating the Osprey’s enhanced utility over conventional helicopters.

First, the squadron demonstrated the Marine Corps’ ability to self-deploy. VMM-365 in conjunction with Marine Aerial Refueler Squadron 252 conducted long-range non-stop aerial refueling from MCAS New River to Belize. In doing so, they demonstrated the tiltrotor aircraft’s extraordinary capability to conduct over-the-horizon operations and deal with a variety of situations when called upon.

“We can fly non-stop from North Carolina all the way to the country of Belize without stopping on the ground, allowing us to deploy ourselves,” said Capt. Ryan E. Benes, a pilot for VMM-365. “We’ve done this multiple times where we’ve flown from North Carolina to Arizona and California with only the support of KC-130’s refueling us in air. With the self deploy aspect, we can launch from the United States and go anywhere they really need us.”

After arriving in Belize, VMM-365 began training its pilots and aircrew to the same high standards they do at home but with an added degree of Operational Risk Management.

“Planning a Deployment for Training outside of the Continental United States has some unique challenges that you don’t encounter when planning one in CONUS” said Lt. Col. Craig LeFlore, commanding officer of VMM-365 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing detachment commander.

“We are going to a country where this type of support has never been set up and the knowledge on how to set it up is limited. The things that you would normally take for granted to sustain your unit stateside has to either be carried with you or contracted through a husbandry agent. This isn’t too hard when you’re just dealing with people, but when you factor in the need to maintain aircraft and sustain flight operations it becomes quite a challenge.”

This DFT provides the crews of VMM-365 the opportunity to practice basic Training and Readiness maneuvers in a much more unforgiving environment. “We have a number of junior pilots and aircrew that need some basic Confined Area Landings, Low Altitude Training and Aerial Refueling experience before we deploy again this winter. This is a great opportunity to get out of our own back yard, out of our comfort zone and conduct some tremendous training in an unfamiliar territory. Here in Belize, there are no established LAT routes, so we have to make one, there are no designated MV-22 landing zones, so the pilots have to be selective when picking out where to land, and getting here was half the fun. Being able to aerial refuel long range over the water is just another opportunity to showcase the capabilities of the Osprey.”

The pilots practice confined area landings at landing zones in the Belizean jungle and Maya Mountains. In the mountains, they cannot afford to overshoot or come up short of a landing zone because of the ruggedness of the terrain.

According to Capt. Pete D. Benning, the officer in charge of the VMM-365 flight line Marines, this ability is used often when on deployment.

“Overseas in a combat zone, we do a lot of confined area landings any time we go out to a forward operating base to take Marines to or from the field or wherever we take their bullets, beans and band aids,” said Benning. “A confined area landing is pretty much any landing environment away from a runway or a prepared surface.” According to Capt. Pete D. Benning, the officer in charge of the VMM-365 flight line Marines, this skill is used often when on deploymentThe pilots also practice low altitude tactics; evasion techniques to avoid enemy fire. Because the Osprey is faster, more maneuverable and can fly higher, it has demonstrated itself as being a more survivable platform in a hostile environment.”

According to Benes, the Osprey was built to replace the CH-46 “Frog,” Helicopters typically fly at 500 feet, while the Osprey can fly at 10,000 feet to transport troops. Also, the Osprey can fly at about 280 knots, twice as fast as a normal helicopter, which makes it harder to hit at low altitudes.

Besides making it harder to hit, speed can also have a great impact on accomplishing time-sensitive missions.

“The sooner you can get an asset to the battlefield, the better outcome it will have,” Benes said. “If we get time sensitive information that there is a target that has to be prosecuted by Marines on the ground, we have the ability to get the Marines there twice as fast. If somebody needs to get extracted or if there’s a casualty evacuation, we can get there twice as fast and get them to a hospital that much faster as well. That’s a pretty big deal.”

Demonstrating their speed, VMM-365 flew the north-south distance of the country in about 50 minutes.

This is the first operation of its kind for an Osprey squadron in Belize. VMM-365 is spearheading an effort for more training opportunities for the Corps’ Osprey squadrons in this location.

source lavenir.net

19/09/11 7sur7.be

Le ministère de la Défense a loué la semaine dernière le champ de tir de Helchteren (Limbourg) à la société Eucocopter pour lui permettre d'effectuer des tirs d'essai de roquettes avant livraison d'un hélicoptère à la force aérienne mexicaine, a-t-on appris lundi de sources concordantes.

Cet appareil, un EC715 Caracal, a été aperçu en fin de semaine dernière au-dessus du champ de tir de Helchteren, géré par la composante aérienne de l'armée et appelé "Pampa Range" par les militaires. Il a notamment tiré des roquettes, selon des photos apparues sur internet qui montrent l'hélicoptère armé de deux "pods lance-roquettes.

Interrogé par l'agence BELGA, le ministère de la Défense a confirmé avoir loué le champ de tir durant trois jours (mardi, mercredi et jeudi) au constructeur d'hélicoptères Eurocopter pour procéder à ces essais avant livraison.

Il s'agit d'une location dans le cadre de "prestations aux tiers", qui sont facturées aux utilisateurs, a précisé un porte-parole du ministre de la Défense, Pieter De Crem.

La société Forges de Zeebrugge (FZ), de Herstal, un spécialiste mondial en matière de roquettes, n'a pour sa part pas été en mesure de confirmer qu'il s'agissait bien d'engins de sa fabrication.

Le Mexique a acquis au total neuf exemplaires de l'EC725 Caracal d'Eurocopter, la filiale du groupe européen d'aéronautique EADS, dont les six premiers ont été commandés en mars 2009, à l'occasion d'une visite du président français Nicolas Sarkozy à Mexico. (belga)

photo Elbit Systems

12/09/11 By Stephen Trimble SOURCE:Flight International

Embraer and Elbit Systems have formalised one joint venture to develop new unmanned air systems (UAS) and signed another deal to supply a key component for the KC-390 airlifter and tanker.

The new joint venture, called Harpia Sistemas, will modify the Elbit Hermes 450 UAS for the Brazilian air force, and develop and maintain its own systems, Embraer said.

The Brazilian government is still determining the requirements for its version of the Hermes 450, which are likely to include a beyond-line-of-sight communications link to extend the range of the UAS.

Elbit has also sold similar UAS, including the Hermes 900, to other countries in the region, but the joint venture will not immediately take over those programmes.

"In the beginning the company will be focusing on the Brazilian market and will later evolve to other countries," Embraer said.

Embraer also confirmed that the Harpia name bears no relation to the Israel Aerospace Industries Harpy UAS, although both are named after a subtropical eagle.

Elbit's subsidiary in Brazil, which is named AEL, is the other half of the joint venture.

AEL has also been selected to supply the mission computer for the KC-390, which is the airlifter Embraer is developing for the Brazilian air force.

Photo Embraer

Embraer has also announced that UK-based Cobham Mission Equipment will supply the wing aerial refuelling pods and Selex Galileo will deliver a T-20 Gabbiano tactical radar.

The KC-390 is scheduled to complete its first flight in 2014. Last month, Embraer announced the airlifter will be powered by International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans.