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February 18, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Bruxelles veut renforcer l'industrie de défense européenne

« Je note une véritable prise de conscience que nous devons faire plus ensemble pour construire une Europe de la Défense », a déclaré mardi Thierry Breton, Commissaire européen au Marché intérieur. La Commission a présenté mardi sa contribution au débat en suivant trois axes. D'abord le développement des achats en commun de matériels de défense, pour lequel les Vingt-Sept se sont fixés un objectif de 35%. Des achats communs ont de nombreux avantages, dont des économies d'échelle et une plus grande capacité d'exportation. Pour inciter les Etats membres à plus de collaboration, la Commission envisage des incitations fiscales via une exonération de la TVA, par exemple. Bruxelles réfléchit aussi à revoir le fonctionnement du Fonds européen de défense (FED), qui dispose d'une enveloppe de 7 Md€ sur la période 2021-2027. La Commission veut ensuite identifier les dépendances stratégiques de l'UE pour les réduire. Bruxelles veut inclure systématiquement l'industrie de la Défense dans les grandes initiatives industrielles (dans l'élaboration des normes, par exemple) et renforcer le filtrage des investissements directs de pays tiers. Enfin, la Commission veut protéger « les nouveaux espaces contestés » contre les menaces hybrides ; elle a déjà annoncé un prochain « Cyber Resilience Act » qui doit mettre en place des sortes de gardes-frontières de l'espace cyber européen.

Les Echos du 16 février

On the same subject

  • Pentagon seeks to cut F-35s, other equipment to pay for Trump’s border wall

    February 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Pentagon seeks to cut F-35s, other equipment to pay for Trump’s border wall

    By: Aaron Mehta , Valerie Insinna , David B. Larter , and Joe Gould WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is seeking to divert $3.8 billion, largely from its fiscal 2020 weapons procurement budget, in order to fund President Donald Trump's border wall, according to a reprogramming request to congress obtained by Defense News. Among the victims of the cuts: a mass of aircraft purchases including F-35 joint strike fighters, C-130J cargo aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and P-8 maritime surveillance planes, as well as ground vehicles and naval priorities. Overall, the plan would shift $2.202 billion in FY20 defense appropriations and $1.629 billion in FY20 Overseas Contingency Operations funding towards the wall, a key priority from president Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential elections. Air Force and Navy aviation spending takes the brunt of the cuts proposed by the Pentagon, with aircraft procurement going down by $558 million for Navy and Marine Corps and $861 million for the Air Force. Importantly, all of the funding decreases target items that were specifically added by Congress during the budgeting process, which could incur rancor from lawmakers. For the Navy, the Pentagon would cut two of the six F-35B short takeoff and landing aircraft added to the FY20 budget by Congress and two MV-22 Ospreys, stating that “current funding is more than sufficient to keep the production line open.” It also seeks to eliminate funding for one of the nine P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft funded in FY20, stating that the additional aircraft is “[in] excess to the 117 aircraft required.” In the Air Force's budget, the Pentagon slashed funding for the four of the eight C-130Js added by Congress for the reserve and Air National Guard. The department stated that funding for those planes can be rescheduled to fiscal year 2021, when the period of performance for the associated contract starts. The request would eliminate eight MQ-9 Reaper drones, culling most of the funding added by Congress for an increase of 12 MQ-9s. “The program is currently undergoing a strategic review,” the department stated in written justification, referring to an ongoing debate within the Air Force about how many Reapers to buy and retain over the next decade. “Procurement, if necessary, can be rescheduled to a later fiscal year.” Combatant commanders have consistently said they need more surveillance assets around the globe. It also strips $156 million for advanced procurement for the F-35A and removes $180 million for light attack aircraft for the Air Force, which the service has decided against procuring but has been widely supported by lawmakers as a low-cost alternative for the counter-terrorism fight. The Army would stand to lose $100 million in funding for national guard Humvee modernization and $194.5 million in Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck funding. However, with the Humvee set to be replaced by JLTV, the Army is unlikely to be heavily impacted by these funds being shifted around. The reprogramming request also cuts $650 million in advanced procurement funding for an America-class Amphibious Assault Ship, LHA-9, which is being built in Mississippi at Ingalls Shipbuilding. On its website, Huntington Ingalls Industries says the advanced funding provided by Congress, “enables a hot production line and a supplier base of 457 companies in 39 states to build this powerful warship.” The reprogramming also cuts funding one expeditionary fast transport ship, which is built in Alabama at Austal USA, which has been an area of interest for the powerful Republican Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby. The ship was deemed “excess to current programmatic need,” the reprogramming document says. “The procurement exceeds the program-of-record requirement,” the document reads. “This is a congressional special interest item.” In addition, the national guard and reserves would lose about $1.3 billion in what the reprograming request describes as unnecessary funding, given historic underexecution of prior year funds. A spokesman for the Pentagon declined to comment. Last year, the defense department had budgets, largely for military construction projects, diverted into funding a stretch of the wall project. Those projects cut included the rebuilding of several DoD schools both in the U.S. and abroad, special operations training centers in Europe and Hurricane Maria relief for Puerto Rico National Guard facilities. Overall, more than 100 projects had funding delayed. Asked on Tuesday about a potential reprograming of defense funds to pay for the wall, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said “We did receive the request from DHS, that's all I'll say right now. We're working our way through the process, we're doing all those things we need to do. So when we're ready to make an announcement, we'll make an announcement.” Word that the Pentagon may once again be raided to pay for the wall came in mid-January, and at the time seemed to catch Republican supporters in Congress off-guard. “I wish they wouldn't take [wall funding] out of defense. I want to build the wall, I supported direct appropriations for it and fought for it — but we have to evaluate what this does to the military, what it affects, where and how,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Richard Shelby, R-Ala, at the time. But he added that nobody should be surprised the administration repeated the tactic, after it worked last year. https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2020/02/13/pentagon-seeks-to-cut-f-35s-other-equipment-to-pay-for-trumps-border-wall

  • UK Defense Is Facing Pain Before Technological Gain | Aviation Week Network

    March 24, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    UK Defense Is Facing Pain Before Technological Gain | Aviation Week Network

    New defense plans boost Future Combat Air System, Typhoon upgrades, but leave intelligence-gathering fleets in tatters.

  • Turkey’s navy deploys unmanned surface vessels during Denizkurdu drill

    May 21, 2024 | International, Naval

    Turkey’s navy deploys unmanned surface vessels during Denizkurdu drill

    Other participating platforms included crewed ships, submarines, maritime patrol planes, helicopters, drones, fighter aircraft and more.

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