Exercise Highball showcases land-based maritime strike capability for Defence - APDR

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  November 23, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Le Royaume-Uni, premier budget de défense en Europe ? Vrai ou Faux

  (B2) Le Royaume-Uni qui est depuis de nombreuses années le pays dépensant le plus pour sa défense en Europe serait-il en passe de perdre sa première place... La réponse est : oui si on se fie aux derniers Une question très symbolique mais aussi très politique. Toute l'argumentation britannique en effet, notamment lors du Brexit, a été de donner le premier rôle en matière de sécurité européenne au Royaume-Uni... Avec un argument sonnant et trébuchant : le budget britannique de défense est le premier de la classe européenne. Un propos qui n'est plus exact. Au fil du taux de changes En fait, tout dépend du taux de change Livre Sterling/Euro. Ainsi avec un taux de 1,15 (comme la semaine dernière), le Royaume-Uni demeure à la première place dans le classement européen des budgets de défense, que l'on prenne les budgets prévus pour 2018/20 19 (37,8 milliards £) ou pour 2019/2020 (38,8 milliards £). A un taux de 1,12 — comme au début de cette semaine avec la chute de la livre et les errements de la politique locale sur le Brexit —, le budget britannique passe derrière le budget allemand. L'Allemagne devrait en effet sacrément augmenter son budget défense pour 2019 (fruits de la croissance oblige) et passer à 43,2 milliards d'euros, selon la dernière mouture du projet de loi de finances votée par le Bundestag (1). Si le taux de change remonte, le budget britannique repassera devant. Mais ce temps de premier de la classe est compté. Un rattrapage progressif Quel que soit le taux de change ou les évolutions annuelles, il existe en effet une tendance de fond. L'Allemagne est en passer d'effectuer un rattrapage, au moins en termes budgétaires, de son effort de défense. Le budget allemand est déjà passé à la seconde place, reléguant la France à la troisième place (35,8 milliards pour 2019). En 2020 ou 2021, soit dans un faible laps de temps à l'échelon stratégique — le budget allemand devrait passer à la première place, reléguant le Royaume-Uni à la seconde place... Ce pour certaines années. Une évolution stratégique à très court terme Au niveau de la croissance, et de la bonne santé budgétaire allemande, et des engagements de ses responsables politiques, on peut prévoir que la progression du budget allemand va perdurer. C'est un changement stratégique notable... au moins en termes financiers, de capacités d'équipements, d'industries ou de recherche (2). Au jour du Brexit, le 29 mars, même si les deux évènements ne sont pas liés, ce sera pour le Royaume-Uni une certaine ‘claque' à ce qui est (à juste titre) une fierté nationale. (Nicolas Gros-Verheyde) La période budgétaire britannique très spécifique, court d'avril à mars, contrairement aux périodes budgétaires annuelles en cours sur le continent. Ce qui complique les classements. Pour pouvoir comparer équitablement les deux budgets, nous avons opéré une petite règle de trois, avec une péréquation lissant le budget britannique sur une période annuelle. Ce qui donne 38,55 milliards £ pour 2019. L'efficacité des armées obéit à d'autres données que celles de la mathématique. Et les contraintes historiques et constitutionnelles allemandes feront toujours que l'armée ne sera pas le premier instrument politique de l'Allemagne, à la différence de qui se passe en France et en Grande-Bretagne. Les armées françaises et britanniques, resteront donc en termes de dynamique opérationnelle et expéditionnaires toujours en tête. Nicolas Gros-Verheyde https://www.bruxelles2.eu/2018/11/23/le-royaume-uni-champion-des-budgets-de-defense-en-europe/

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  December 18, 2023 | International, Land

  German brigade to be combat ready in Lithuania, on Russian border, in 2027

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  April 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed Signals Change Is Coming With New CEO

  Michael Bruno Lockheed Martin Chairman, CEO and President Marillyn Hewson became the prime example of how to stumble into the corner office of the Pentagon's top contractor and still provide laudable business results. Now, as she hands off the reins to an enigmatic successor, Lockheed stakeholders hope the uncertainty ahead will be just as lucrative. On March 16, the Bethesda, Maryland-based prime—the largest contractor to the U.S. Defense Department by annual sales—surprised many followers with the news that current Lockheed board member James “Jim” Taiclet, Jr. will become CEO and president on June 15, while Hewson becomes executive chairman. Lockheed also promoted Frank St. John, current executive vice president of the company's Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) division, to become chief operating officer (COO)—a role that Hewson technically held last, and briefly, before her January 2013 appointment as chief executive. Before that, the COO role was mostly held by Chris Kubasik prior to his downfall at Lockheed. Stephanie Hill, now senior vice president for enterprise business transformation, was appointed to succeed St. John as executive vice president for RMS. These appointments also are effective June 15. Hewson is 66 years old and Taiclet is 59. The company, which does not have a retirement rule, had not announced a formal transition plan or successor process. Nevertheless, industry insiders were watching movements—such as St. John's rise and recent board appointments—and analysts said they assume the transition was planned before the ongoing COVID-19 crisis erupted. While the announcement was a surprise, the timing was not—due to Hewson's age and the fact that Lockheed ended 2019 with a record $144 billion backlog of work and a stock price that has more than tripled under Hewson, including the recent COVID-19-related pullback. Still, many observers are intrigued by the selection. “While Marillyn's retirement has been in the cards for a while, we were not expecting Lockheed to go outside the company for its new CEO,” say analysts at Vertical Research Partners. “Taiclet has an impressive pedigree based on his resume, but from an A&D perspective, he is an unknown quantity. . . . But with Marillyn sticking around as chairman, and a very experienced cohort of senior Lockheed managers, we are not expecting there to be any revolutionary change as a result of this appointment.” Cowen analysts also noted that St. John's appointment as COO further bookends Taiclet with experienced Lockheed managers. St. John, 53, joined Lockheed more than 30 years ago and as COO is naturally positioned as a potential future CEO, analysts say. Taiclet is currently chairman, president and CEO of American Tower, a real estate investment holding company and owner/operator of wireless and broadband communications networks, where he has held the executive reins since 2003. He joined that company in 2001 and, according to Lockheed, is credited with guiding American Tower's transformation from a U.S.-centric focus to a multinational business outlook. Analysts said he also was central in leading mergers and acquisitions as part of the company's expansion. American Tower announced an immediate replacement for Taiclet but said he will remain chairman and an advisor through June 14. Taiclet previously served as president of Honeywell Aerospace Services and before that was vice president for engine services at the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies (UTC). He also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., specializing in telecommunications and aerospace strategy and operations. He is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and Persian Gulf War veteran. Loren Thompson, a Lexington Institute consultant to Lockheed, says Hewson's selection of Taiclet seems calculated to continue her emphasis on tight financial management and good customer relations while positioning the leading prime for a changing demand environment. “That environment will be characterized by two shifts from previous years,” Thompson writes. “First, the defense budget will enter a flat to declining period very different from the spending increases of the early Trump [administration] years. Second, the preference of military customers for nontraditional suppliers who think like entrepreneurial enterprises rather than government contractors will continue to grow.” Hewson's selection of Taiclet also is telling because she has won the respect of many industry insiders, analysts and advisers. While unplanned, Hewson's tenure as CEO was deemed successful by most. “Hewson's tenure is known for operational execution with such programs as the F-35, while having a successful oversight in maintaining key businesses—such as in the evolving area of space with wins such as Next-Gen OPIR and GPS IIIF,” say Jefferies analysts. Company sales grew at a 5% compound annual growth rate from $45.4 billion in 2013 to an expected $63.3 billion this year. Taiclet's takeover sounds to many like more of the same—but different. “This is the first time Lockheed Martin has promoted someone who did not rise through the corporation to be president and CEO,” writes Capital Alpha Partners analyst Byron Callan. “We find it intriguing that he has a commercial background and wonder if that's not a different direction the company starts to explore in 2020-25.” https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/supply-chain/lockheed-signals-change-coming-new-ceo