Budget de l'UE : Bruxelles propose une enveloppe conséquente pour la défense

On the same subject

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  May 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  The case for a robust defense budget

  The benefits of defense spending reach beyond the military and our contribution to the international order, returning the investment through domestic dividends.

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  September 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Russia plans to arm its most advanced fighter with new hypersonic air-to-air missiles meant to cripple the F-35 stealth fighter

  Ryan Pickrell Russia's most advanced fighter jet, the Sukhoi Su-57, will reportedly carry the hypersonic R-37M long-range air-to-air missile, a new weapon with the ability to strike targets hundreds of miles away. The Chinese are developing similar systems for their fighter jets. These weapons, assuming US rivals can take them from testing to deployment, could pose a threat to rear support aircraft such as early warning and aerial refueling aircraft, key force multipliers for American jets like the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. Russia reportedly plans to arm its most advanced fighter jet with a powerful hypersonic air-to-air missile that can take aim at aircraft nearly two hundred miles away, making them a potential threat to critical US air assets. The Su-57 multipurpose fighter jet, a fifth-generation stealth fighter built for air superiority and complex attack operations that is still in development, will be armed with the new R-37M, an upgraded version of an older long-range air-to-air missile, Russia Today reported Thursday, citing defense officials. The Russian Ministry of Defense is reportedly close to completing testing for this weapon, the development of which began after the turn of the century. With a reported operational range of 186 to 248 miles and a top speed of Mach 6 (4,500 mph), the R-37M is designed to eliminate rear support aircraft, critical force multipliers such as early warning and aerial refueling aircraft. Russia asserts that the missile possesses an active-seeker homing system that allows it to target fighter jets during the terminal phase of flight. While Russia initially intended to see the weapon carried by the MiG-31 interceptors, these missiles are now expected to become the primary weapons of the fourth-generation Su-30s and Su-35s, as well as the next-generation Su-57s. The weapon's specifications were modified to meet these demands. The Russians are also apparently developing another very long-range air-to-air missile — the KS-172, a two-stage missile with a range said to be in excess of the R-37M's capabilities, although the latter is reportedly much closer to deployment. China, another US competitor, is also reportedly developing advanced long-range air-to-air missiles that could be carried by the reportedly fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter. The China Dailyreported in January 2017 that photos of a J-11B from the Red Sword 2016 combat drills appeared to show a new beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. "China has developed a new missile that can hit high-value targets such as early-warning planes and aerial refueling aircraft, which stay far from conflict zones," the state-run media outlet reported, citing Fu Qianshao, an equipment researcher with the People's Liberation Army Air Force. Slow, vulnerable rear-support aircraft improve the overall effectiveness of key front-line fighter units, such as America's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, which just conducted its first combat mission. The best strategy to deal with this kind of advanced system is to "send a super-maneuverable fighter jet with very-long-range missiles to destroy those high-value targets, which are 'eyes' of enemy jets," Fu told the China Daily, calling the suspected development of this type of weapon a "major breakthrough." The missiles being developed by US rivals reportedly have a greater range than the American AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), giving them a potential edge over US military aircraft. The Russian Su-57 is expected to enter service in 2019, although the Russian military is currently investing more heavily in fourth-generation fighters like the MiG-29SMT Fulcrum and Su-35S Flanker E, which meet the country's air combat needs for the time being. Russia canceled plans for the mass production of the Su-57 in July after a string of development problems. There is some evidence the aircraft may have been active in Syria earlier this year, but the plane remains unready for combat at this time. Military analyst Michael Kofman previously told Business Insider that the Su-57 is "a poor man's stealth aircraft," adding that it doesn't quite stack up to the F-35 or F-22. https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-plans-to-arm-su-57-jets-with-new-hypersonic-air-to-air-missiles-2018-9

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  November 1, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Air Force Hires Startup To Build Up MDO’s Unified Data Library

  By THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: The Air Force is expanding a key data tool, the cloud-based Unified Data Library (UDL), that may underpin the service's ambitious Multi-Domain Operations push. Air Force leaders (including acquisition chief Will Roper) believe the UDL will be able to mesh data from all types of sensors to provide space situational awareness (SSA) and command and control (C2) for most Air Force missions. The small $37 million contract, awarded Tuesday to Bluestaq LLC, will “expand the Advanced Command and Control Enterprise Systems and Software (ACCESS) project for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Data Program Management Office and the Directorate of Special Programs, Space Situational Awareness Division.” ACCESS will feed the UDL, integrating data “from a wide range of sources spanning commercial, foreign, Department of Defense (DoD) and the Intelligence Community (IC),” according to a company press release. The contract, awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, appears to fulfill exactly what Roper and other Air Force acquisition officials are pressing for: drawing in small and innovative companies that can move fast to help the service get inside the speed of Moore's Law instead of taking years or decades to develop new software systems. “We can't specify all specific data sets over the next three years because prioritization is dynamic, but the goal is to eventually integrate all of AFSPC data there along with other sources such as commercial space (already there but more coming), multi-domain data from such as air, land, sea, data from other agencies, and even academia,” an Air Force Space Command spokesperson told Breaking D yesterday. The spokesperson noted that the expansion will support Space Command's National Space Defense Center, designed to run future combat operations in space and to integrate Intelligence Community data with that of the military. It also will support the Combine Space Operations Center (CSPOC), that shares space domain awareness information with allies, the spokesperson said, as well as administrative functions. UDL is the brain child of Maj. Gen. Kim Crider, Air Force Space Command's (AFSPC) data integration guru. Crider is charged with developing AFSPC's classified Enterprise Data Strategy and Roadmap to underpin multi-domain command and control (MDC2) operations. “The Unified Data Library consumes, processes, and distributes millions of unique data products daily originating from dozens of commercial, academic, and government organizations across the world to a diverse user base spanning 25 countries,” according to Bluestaq. “The Unified Data Library storefront provides a robust interactive online API to assist users or developers with education and discovery of available dashboards, data streams, services, structures, and formats. The Air Force plans to expand the Unified Data Library to allow different security classification user access levels and fuse data from all types of sensors to provide command and control for most Air Force missions.” Indeed, AFSPC said in its email, “UDL data is available to any partner organization today, depending on clearance, authorization of the data provider, and classification of the data in question.” The UDL also is being tested by the Commerce Department as it readies itself to take over the mission of providing space situational awareness (SSA) information to commercial and foreign satellite operators. To get some idea of how different the culture is at this company note this comment by Andy Hofle, Bluestaq chief engineer and co-founder: “It has been exciting to see the growing community interest in the data management platform over the last 18 months, and our team has had a tremendous amount of fun playing a role in the development of the project.” https://breakingdefense.com/2019/10/air-force-hires-startup-to-build-up-mdos-unified-data-library