September 12, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR
By: Pierre Tran
SATORY ARMY BASE, France — Nations in Europe need to forge a more coordinated forceacross the continent, with each ready to step up to play a leadership role during conflict, said the French joint chief of staff.
“The future of the defense of nations on the continent cannot be considered outside the European framework,” Army Gen. François Lecointre told the Summer Defense University, a two-day gathering of senior officers, parliamentarians and industry chiefs.
“In the context of doubt over multilateralism, greater fragility of alliances and America's refocus of attention to the Indo-Pacific region, the European continent must confront — increasingly on its own — all kinds of threats: might, terrorism, hybrid, cyber and migration,” he said.
That use of the term “might” referred to unspecified nations perceived to pose a threat to Western allies.
That calls for a common vision in strategy and capability, with a country ready to take the role of a “leader nation,” he said. The aim is to build a “European strategic autonomy,” he added.
The French armed forces minister, Florence Parly, came to the army base, just outside Versailles, west of the capital, and watched a dynamic display staged by the Army. The service fielded a Jaguar combat and reconnaissance vehicle, a VBCI infantry fighting vehicle carrying a squad of troops, a robotic vehicle carrying a wounded soldier, and a Leclerc main battle tank carried by a tank transport.
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Tony Osborne On Sept. 27, Switzerland went to to the polls for the second time in six years in a referendum to decide the future of the country's fighter fleet. In 2014, the Swiss populace voted down plans for Saab's JAS 39 Gripen to replace the Northrop Grumman F-5 Tiger. This time, the question was more binary, asking simply whether the country should procure new fighters—a single fleet that would replace both fleets of 30 C/D-model F/A-18 Hornets and 26 Northrop F-5 Tigers. The government-backed “Security Yes” campaign won by the finest of margins, securing 50.1% of the vote. Their winning message said that voting against the proposals could leave the country's airspace unprotected beginning in 2030, when both the Hornets and Tigers will reach the end of their useful lives. The “No to New Fighter Jets” campaign did not rule out the need for an air defense capability but argued that a smaller and lighter aircraft would have achieved the desired capability at a lower cost and in a more environmentally and noise-friendly way. There is now a CHF6 billion budget for a new fighter and a type selection is expected in 2021. This gallery presents the fighters proposed for the Swiss requirement and the aircraft they will go on to replace. https://aviationweek.com/special-topics/air-dominance/switzerland-decides