February 23, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Saab heads EU industry push for a drone collision-avoidance kit
The European Detect and Avoid System is meant to ensure unmanned and manned aviation can co-exist safely in the same airspace.
November 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Can a new Franco-German export agreement clear the air for Europe’s future fighter?
By: Sebastian Sprenger
COLOGNE, Germany — French and German officials celebrated the signing of a new defense export agreement last month as a watershed moment, but political and industrial mistrust remains a wild card for the Future Combat Air System program — an envisioned sixth-generation fighter jet.
The export pact, which entered into force in late October with the formal exchange of government notes, is meant to streamline a contentious process that has clouded bilateral defense cooperation for some time. Namely, the agreement dictates that joint government programs, like FCAS fighter jet, be free from interference by partner nations when it comes to eventual exports.
The clause is mainly aimed at Germany, where politicians and lawmakers tend to scrutinize weapons deliveries to countries with known or suspected human rights abuses more heavily than their French colleagues.
The situation has grown more tense since the October 2018 death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Western officials believe was murdered by order of Saudi Arabia. Germany has since frozen all exports to the kingdom, prompting an outcry from France, where companies had to stall deliveries of equipment to Saudi Arabia in all cases where even a small number of components originated from Germany.
The new agreement ensures “nobody can throw a wrench” into the other's export planning, says Matthias Wachter, chief defense analyst at the Federation of German Industries lobbying group. Having such a guarantee in writing is good news for FCAS and its ground-focused sister project, the Franco-German future main battle tank known as the Main Ground Combat System, he added.
The language of the export pact is reminiscent of the 1971 Schmidt-Debré agreement, named for the German and French defense ministers at the time and panned in the left-leaning Spiegel magazine as an “embarrassing pact” when reporters found out about the then-secret understanding a year later.
Fast-forward almost 50 years, and defense cooperation remains a thorny subject between the two countries destined to spearhead Europe's envisioned military autonomy in the coming decades. And there are also long-standing cultural differences that linger. There is a perception among some German lawmakers, for example, that cooperation with Paris inevitably means ceding power to French influence to the point that Germany plays only second fiddle, according to Wachter.
That sentiment has led appropriators to craft a package deal for FCAS that would release funding for the next phase — building subcomponent demonstrators — only when there are assurances that Germany's tank makers, namely Rheinmetall, play a prominent role in the Main Ground Combat System effort. With armored vehicles traditionally being a strong suit for German industry, some here have privately complained about the 50-50 division of responsibility.
“It's an emotional issue here in Germany,” Wachter said.
Once the money begins to flow for an additional set of contracts early next year, there is a litany of questions yet to be sorted out. The fate of intellectual property rights, for example, remains unsorted, according to the analyst. In addition, as of late October, there was no agreement on Spain's industrial work share. Spain is something of a junior partner in the FCAS project, though officials in Madrid have said they expect equal treatment as a full member of the trinational project team.
The Spanish government in the summer designated defense electronics company Indra as the national lead for the fighter program. The move angered Airbus, where officials were hoping to give their Spanish subsidiary a role that would satisfy Madrid's demands for industrial participation.
Another potential point of contention has to do with military requirements for the future fighter. Perhaps the most prominent issue is that French officials want a carrier-capable jet, which Germany does not need.
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January 14, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Thales lance une plateforme collaborative « secret-défense »
C'est une première en France et en Europe. Thales lance, ce vendredi, la commercialisation d'une plateforme collaborative privée, qui permet aux industriels de l'armement, à leurs sous-traitants, leurs clients ainsi qu'au ministère des Armées et à la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) d'échanger des données sensibles, classées au 1er niveau du secret-défense. « Nous avons lancé ce projet en partant du retour d'expérience du premier confinement. Il a montré la difficulté d'échanger à distance, de façon sécurisée, des données à diffusion restreinte alors que, pendant cette période, les risques de cyberattaques et de fuites s'étaient multipliés », explique Marc Darmon, directeur général adjoint de Thales en charge des activités communications et sécurité. Présentée hier à Joël Barre, directeur de la DGA, la plateforme collaborative, baptisée « TrustNest Restricted » (espace de confiance pour l'échange de données confidentielles), a été certifiée par l'Autorité nationale en matière de sécurité et de défense des systèmes d'information (ANSSI). Ce cloud doit prochainement équiper le ministère des Armées. Le premier marché visé est celui de l'industrie de l'armement dont les acteurs ont déjà des systèmes informatiques à diffusion restreinte. Ces terminaux seront aussi proposés aux industriels européens qui sont engagés dans des programmes de défense en coopération, tels que le système de combat aérien du futur (SCAF) et le système principal de combat terrestre (MGCS). Autres marchés visés, celui des opérateurs d'intérêt vital (OIV), qui regroupe quelque 200 entreprises dans les transports, l'énergie et le nucléaire, ainsi que toute entreprise opérant dans un domaine sensible. Globalement, en France, 30% des informations échangées relèvent de la diffusion restreinte. Le Figaro du 14 janvier
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November 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
More funding endorsed for Evader aerial target missile system
by Julian Kerr Additional funding has been endorsed, although not yet approved, to confirm the supersonic performance of the Australian-developed Evader autonomous aerial target missile system, sources close to the programme have disclosed. An application for a grant of AUD2.85 million (USD2.02 million) from the government's Defence Innovation Hub has been endorsed by both the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Australian Army to fund a second series of flight trials for the low-cost, air-launched system, said the sources. A decision is expected shortly. Initial flight trials, funded by the Innovation Hub and carried out in 2018 at South Australia's Woomera range, validated the Evader's design, autonomous control system and stainless steel ramjet, and proved the parachute-recoverable, 4.2 m-long target missile could be re-used up to 10 times. Endurance of the 90 kg missile is about 30 minutes. While the initial trials were subsonic, the second series of trials will be low-supersonic following relocation of the variable air intake from the top to the bottom of the missile's fuselage. Speeds of up to Mach 2 are anticipated in subsequent trials, with future variants intended to reach Mach 3. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/more-funding-endorsed-for-evader-aerial-target-missile-system