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April 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace

German defense minister vows to keep fighting for armed drones

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said she will continue to push for armed drones in the military, after lawmakers this week insisted on keeping the Franco-German Eurodrone weaponless for now.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/04/16/german-defense-secretary-vows-to-keep-fighting-for-armed-drones/

On the same subject

  • Here are the four prizes Textron Systems is watching in 2019

    January 14, 2019 | International, Land

    Here are the four prizes Textron Systems is watching in 2019

    By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Textron Systems is focusing on the U.S. Army this year, with its chief executive naming four unmanned and small arms programs with the service as the company's “need to win” items in 2019. Speaking to reporters Jan. 10, Textron President and CEO Lisa Atherton laid out the company's top priorities: 1. Squad Mobility Equipment Transport With its recent acquisition of Howe & Howe Technologies, Textron finds itself a player in the Army's Squad Mobility Equipment Transport competition. The Army wants to buy a robotic equipment carrier that troops can load with their gear, and Howe & Howe's tracked RS2-H1 robot is competing alongside three other companies for the contract. “We believe that program will progress this year, and we look forward to moving that to low-rate production,” Atherton said. The other competitors undergoing tests with the Army and Marine Corps are the Polaris MRZR X, a four-wheeled vehicle based on the Polaris MRZR currently in service with the Marines; the General Dynamics four-wheel drive Multi-Utility Tactical Transport; and the six-wheeled HDT Global Hunter WOLF, or Wheeled Offload Logistics Follower, Army Times reported last year. Each company delivered prototypes to two Army infantry brigade combat teams and a Marine Corps unit for tests last year. “They asked us to deliver eight vehicles and then just give them to the soldiers and let the soldiers do what they will with them and basically try to break them,” Atherton said. The vehicles have now come back to Textron in good working condition, which Atherton said is a “testament to the robustness of that capability.” After a year of tests, the Army will make a decision on the way forward with the program, which could involve a downselect to a single SMET provider, Army Times has reported. 2. Robotic combat vehicle As the Army looks to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle with what the service is calling the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, it is also hoping to develop an unmanned tank that can accompany it into battle as a robotic “wingman.” Again, Textron's acquisition of Howe & Howe gives the company an entry point into the competition, Atherton said. “We believe that the Ripsaw is tailor-made for that,” she said, referring to the light unmanned tank developed by Howe & Howe. “So this year we will be focused on responding to the [requests for proposals] that come out for the prototypes.” Ripsaw's appearance on the show “Jay Leno's Garage” attracted Atherton's attention to Howe & Howe and laid the foundation for the company's eventual acquisition. The robotic tank has been featured in numerous TV and movie spots, including the film “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The Army previously tested it at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Atherton said Textron will make investments to improve the survivability of Ripsaw, as well as add “other innovations.” Brig. Gen. David Lesperance, who is leading the NGCV Cross-Functional Team, said in March that both NGCV and robot combat vehicle prototypes will be ready for soldier evaluations by 2020, with follow-on prototypes ready by 2022 and 2024. 3. Future tactical unmanned aerial system As the Army looks to replace its RQ-7 Shadow drones, it's testing a number of small, nondevelopmental unmanned aerial systems with the hopes of buying something off the shelf. As part of that effort, Textron was chosen to demonstrate Aerosonde HQ at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, last month, Atherton said. Aerosonde HQ is a version of Textron's small Aerosonde UAS and includes a kit that allows it to take off and land vertically. “Our team widely exceeded the threshold requirements,” she said. “So we're very proud of what we were able to do: very rapidly integrate those techniques and procedures and technologies into the Aerosonde to be able to provide that to the Army for the future tactical UAS.” 4. Next Generation Squad Weapons Textron also believes it has strong offerings for the Army's Next Generation Squad Weapons effort, an umbrella program to replace soldiers' small arms, Atherton said. Reducing the weight of small arms is a major goal of the program, and Textron previously developed case-telescoped weapons it claims are lighter in weight and more lethal than current weaponry. “We believe we are the leaders in the case-telescoped prototypes for the Army's next-generation squad weapon with our lightweight small arms technologies,” Atherton said. The company showcased a 5.56mm light machine gun variant and a 6.5mm caseless service rifle variant at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting in 2017, Army Times reported. The service has awarded contracts to Textron; FN America, LLC; General Dynamics; PCP Tactical; and Sig Sauer to build prototypes of a Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, or NGSAR. The prototypes are due to be delivered this year. That weapon would replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, which fires 5.56mm rounds. The program also seeks to find a replacement for the M4, which it calls the Next Generation Squad Weapon Rifle, or NGSW-Rifle. Both NGSW-Rifle and NGSAR will fire 6.8mm rounds. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/01/11/here-are-the-four-prizes-textron-systems-is-watching-in-2019

  • US Space Force crafting new schedule for GPS ground system

    February 14, 2023 | International, C4ISR

    US Space Force crafting new schedule for GPS ground system

    The service expects the new schedule for the Next-Generation Operational Control Segment to be approved this spring.

  • Les armées doivent se préparer à la haute intensité

    March 7, 2022 | International, Land

    Les armées doivent se préparer à la haute intensité

    DÉFENSE Les armées doivent se préparer à la haute intensité Constatant le risque de conflits entre les grandes puissances dès 2020, le général Thierry Burkhard, alors chef d'état-major de l'armée de Terre, déclarait devant les députés « qu'il nous fallait réapprendre la grammaire de la guerre de haute intensité ». Pour Michael Shurkin, expert américain de l'armée française, « l'armée française a les compétences précises dont les Russes semblent manquer (...). Il n'y a pas de lacunes énormes dans l'inventaire (des équipements) français » mais « il lui manque les volumes pour poursuivre le combat longtemps ». « Les Russes ont déjà perdu en Ukraine à peu près le nombre de chars dont la France dispose au total, environ 200, si on croit les chiffres ». Ce diagnostic vaut également pour les munitions, les hélicoptères de combats et la plupart des grands systèmes d'armes. Pour le rapport d'information sur la préparation à la haute intensité des députés Mirallès et Thiériot, « le maintien de notre armée au plus haut niveau a été obtenu au prix d'une réduction progressive et substantielle de sa masse, au point que ses capacités ont pu être qualifiées d'échantillonnaires, tant elles sont parfois limitées en nombre ». Les candidats à l'Élysée souhaitent donc augmenter le budget des armées et poursuivre l'effort de réarmement déjà mis en œuvre conformément à la loi de programmation militaire 2019-2025 avec une augmentation annuelle du budget de 1,7Md€ puis de 3Mds€ à compter de 2023. Les Echos du 4 mars et Geo.fr du 3 mars

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