May 10, 2023 | International, Land
Germany will buy an additional 50 Puma fighting vehicles worth a total of 1.5 billion euros ($1.65 billion) for its armed forces after the parliamentary budget committee approved the purchase, the defence minister said on Wednesday.
April 14, 2022 | International, Naval
The Navy has gaps in its repair capacity and its supply base capacity. Austal has two production lines in need of work, after some shipbuilding programs were delayed. The company says it can adjust to meet Navy near-term needs in a mutually beneficial way.
May 8, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
By: Martin Banks The European Union will launch a call for a new batch of proposals as part of Europe's new Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) initiative this week. At the same time, officials said that the 34 existing PESCO projects are still considered to be at a very initial “incubation phase,” meaning they have yet to come to fruition. The PESCO defense pact – a show of unity and a tangible step in EU integration – was set up in December 2017 between EU governments and involved two phases of joint initiatives, each consisting of 17 projects. The third and latest phase, to be launched this week, is for an unspecified number of new projects. The founding PESCO members, including France, Germany and Italy, have been asked to table proposals by the summer with a view to these being approved by the end of 2019. The new batch of projects is likely to be smaller than the previous two, the second of which was launched last November, and is expected to be more “mature” when it comes to the projects' setup, including support by member states, one official said. EU members are responsible for developing and implementing PESCO projects. An EU defence source said, “They are still at an initial stage, or incubation phase.” Twelve of the existing 34 schemes are expected to reach initial operational capability by 2022, with four of these due to be implemented later this year, according to the source. The 34 schemes include a harbor and maritime surveillance and protection (HARMSPRO) project, designed to deliver a new maritime capability with the ability to conduct surveillance and protection of specified maritime areas, from harbors up to littoral waters. Another is the Training Mission Competence Centre which aims to improve the availability and professionalism of personnel for EU training missions. The list also includes a European armoured infantry vehicle and cyber rapid response teams. Other projects involve developing new equipment, such as infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, indirect fire support, strategic command-and-control systems for EU defense missions, minesweeping drones, upgrading maritime surveillance and developing a joint secure software defined radio. Long blocked by London, PESCO, is one of the most tangible steps in EU integration since Britons voted to leave the bloc, as militaries begin to plan, spend and deploy together. The eventual aim of PESCO is to develop and deploy forces together, backed by a multi-billion-euro fund for defense research and development. The idea aims to bring together European countries with a military capacity and political desire to collaborate on planning, carry out joint analyses of emerging crises and to react to them quickly. Speaking recently in the European parliament in Brussels, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä welcomed the establishment of PESCO as a “step in the right direction” but said PESCO members “should now concentrate on implementation and reaching results.” The EU source said, “Some might find it surprising that the 34 projects are still at the ideation phase but you have to remember that the PESCO project was launched only recently so the record is not bad. We are not talking about a ‘project factory' but a commitment on the part of participating members to work more closely in the area of security and defence.” EU defence expert Paul Taylor wrote, “It is worth noting that the PESCO effort is still at a relatively early stage of development.” Jamie Shea, a senior fellow at Friends of Europe, a leading Brussels think tank, commented, “It is welcome news that the number of PESCO projects is likely soon to grow still further beyond the current 34. But to sustain political and public interest in this initiative it is important that we see soon the first deliverables to show that the good intentions are being followed with real and new European military capabilities.” Shea added, “Moreover the key test for the success of PESCO will not just be to generate more multinational efforts but also to produce capabilities that plug the current shortfalls in the EU's most urgent requirements and move it towards its goal of strategic autonomy.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/05/06/european-union-tees-up-new-military-cooperation-proposals/
May 24, 2019 | International, Land
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has picked five companies to come up with designs to integrate a new weapon system on the Stryker combat vehicle, according to a May 23 announcement. The service awarded design integration study contracts — no more than $150,000 each — for the Stryker Medium Caliber Weapons System (MCWS) lethality program to General Dynamics Land Systems, Kollsman Inc., Leonardo DRS, Raytheon and Pratt & Miller Engineering and Fabrication Inc. Defense News first reported earlier this month that the Army had decided, after upgunning some of its Stryker vehicles with a 30mm cannon, that it would proceed to outfit at least three of its six brigades of Double V-Hull A1 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles with the more powerful guns and would hold a competition to acquire that weapon system. The companies have to come up with integration designs using a government-furnished XM813 gun on a government furnished Stryker DVH A1 hull. The MCWS program will be carried out in two phases that will culminate in equipping a Stryker DVH A1 brigade in fiscal year 2022, according to the Army. As part of the design study, competitors will build a production-representative vehicle, the statement notes. The second phase will be a full-and-open competition to award a production contract. Draft requests for proposals will be released to industry beginning in the fall of 2019. Entries into the second phase should include a production-representative bid sample, the Army states. The two phases, as well as fielding, are expected to take 39 months total — a short timeline. While the Army plans to initially procure three brigade sets of the Stryker MCWS DVH A1 — a total of 83 vehicles per brigade — the service could procure systems for additional brigades at future decision points, according to the statement. The decision to outfit Strykers with a 30mm cannon was based on lessons learned during the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe's evaluation of the Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle Dragoon, built rapidly to fill an urgent operational need in that theater. The Army received $300 million to develop and field a Stryker with a 30mm cannon — supplying eight prototypes to the Germany-based regiment. The funding also covered upgrades to 83 production vehicles plus spares. The service spent 18 months to put together its Stryker Dragoon using off-the-shelf solutions such as the remote turret from Kongsberg in Norway and the 30mm cannon from Orbital ATK, now owned by Northrop Grumman. The vehicles were shipped off to Europe for a year-long evaluation. Feedback from the evaluation suggested some improvements are needed, particularly related to situational awareness. The turret for the cannon takes up a lot of roof and hatch space and also affects how equipment is stowed, for instance. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/05/23/us-army-picks-5-companies-to-study-stryker-weapon-system-integration/