September 21, 2018 | International, Aerospace
COLOGNE, Germany – Dutch defense minister Ank Bijleveld has eliminated the country's budget cap for F-35 purchases, opening the possibility of buying more planes in the future, a spokesman confirmed to Defense News.
The defense ministry spokesman described the move as “just a formality” that would not require parliamentary approval, as the Dutch objective of buying 37 copies of the Lockheed Martin-made jet for €4.7 billion remains in place. But it means “we leave the option open to buy new planes” beyond those already envisioned in the budget, the spokesman said.
The development was first reported by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, which wrote that the air force was angling to eventually get 67 aircraft. That amount would be enough to field four squadrons in the Netherlands, according to the newspaper.
Dick Zandee, a defense analyst at the Dutch Clingendael foreign policy think tank, said the recently released 2019 budget still reflects the government's target of buying 37 planes. But the budget cap elimination at this time could set the stage for additional contracts in a few years' time, once deliveries of the batch already on order are nearing completion.
The Dutch are set to take delivery of eight F-35s in 2019. That's in addition to two test aircraft already produced. The fifth-generation aircraft are meant to replace the country's fleet of 60 or so F-16s, with yearly deliveries scheduled between six to eight planes until the target number of 37 is reached.
That inventory will allow the Netherlands to field four F-35s for operations, considering that a certain number is always set aside for training, undergoing maintenance or otherwise unavailable to deploy, said Zandee.
“There is a lot of pressure from NATO that 37 are not enough,” he said, adding that there has been talk in Dutch defense circles to up the number to 52. “The air force always wants more” of the planes, and the service would consider an increase to 52 as an intermediate step to get an even greater number later, Zandee told Defense News.
Meanwhile, the jet is facing some pushback in the Netherlands over its development price tag and the high cost of ownership. “The criticism is that you're buying an aircraft that is not fully developed yet," said Zandee.
But, he added,"The attitude is that the Americans are throwing so many billions at the program that problems will be solved."
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/20/dutch-defense-chief-opens-door-for-more-f-35s
July 17, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Interview: Swedish Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman talks next-gen fighters, his service's take on drones, and Russian aircraft near Scandinavia.
May 4, 2020 | International, C4ISR
The Army plans to deploy more of the thermal sensors, originally developed to spot targets at night. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on May 01, 2020 at 3:18 PM WASHINGTON: Pentagon security has been using thermal cameras on tripods to check temperatures at the building's Visitor Center since April 22nd, the Army's Rapid Equipping Force announced today. The REF, famous for fielding defenses against roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq, worked with the Army's C5ISR Center lab and Program Executive Officer – Soldier to convert infrared targeting sensors into hands-off thermometers to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency wants to set up more of the sensors at other points around the massive headquarters, including the entrance to the Washington Metro subway system. The system was first deployed at Fort Belvoir, just south of Washington, D.C., which hosts PEO-Soldier's headquarters. Further deployments are planned around the D.C. area, at Army training centers, and US Army North HQ in Houston. As we've already reported, the Army's also modified its prototype IVAS targeting goggles to check for elevated temperatures. Today's release says that “thousands of people” at Fort Benning, Ga. have now been scanned with this Thermal Imaging for Fever Screening (TIFS) system. A similar TIFS capability has been also added to the FWS-I, a sophisticated targeting scope that goes on soldiers' rifles. Thermal sensors are widely available, especially in the military, but they have distinct limits as public health tools. That's especially true with COVID-19, most of whose carriers are asymptomatic, with no cough or fever, even as they remain contagious. The Army is also urgently fielding COVID-19 tests to training bases and other sites, including to West Point ahead of the controversial graduation ceremony there. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/army-ir-cameras-check-temperatures-at-pentagon/
September 6, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR
By: Pierre Tran PARIS — French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has appointed Emmanuel Chiva, a specialist in artificial intelligence and training simulation, as director of the newly formed agency for defense innovation, the ministry said. Chiva took up the post Sept. 1, when the innovation office was officially set up, the ministry said in a Sept. 4 statement. Parly made the appointment in consultation with Joël Barre, head of the Direction Générale de l'Armement procurement office. The innovation agency will report to the DGA. The agency will be the key player in a new strategy for innovation, seeking “to bring together all the actors in the ministry and all the programs which contribute to innovation in defense,” Parly said in an Aug. 28 speech to a conference held by Medef, an employers' association. The innovation office will be open to Europe, while allowing experiments to stay close to their operational users, she said. Parly has set a budget of €1 billion (U.S. $1.2 billion) for the agency, which will seek to coordinate attempts to apply new technology to military applications. Chiva has more than 20 years of experience in AI and training simulation. He previously held a senior post for strategy and development at Agueris, a specialist in training simulation for land weapon systems. Agueris is a unit of CMI Defence, a Belgian company specializing in guns and turrets for armored vehicles. Agueris was on the CMI stand at the Eurosatory trade show for land weapons in June. Agueris held three conferences on AI, with Chiva speaking at a roundtable debate on innovation. Chiva is a graduate of Ecole Normal Supérieure and a specialist in biomathematics, the study of the application of math to biology. “His appointment perfectly illustrates my vision of defense innovation: open to research and the civil economy, in which entrepreneurship is not a concept but a reality,” Parly said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2018/09/05/artificial-intelligence-expert-gets-top-job-at-french-defense-innovation-agency