July 16, 2018 | International, Naval
By: Pierre Tran
PARIS — France and Italy received in June plans for industrial cooperation from shipbuilders Fincantieri and Naval Group, the spokeswoman for the French Armed Forces Ministry said.
“The governments concerned received the proposals from the companies and these proposals are being studied,” Valérie Lecasble said July 12, replying to a question from Defense News.
That delivery last month met a timetable for the Italian and French shipbuilders to pitch their plans for an industrial alliance in building warships and cooperating in export sales. Submarines are excluded from that proposed cooperation.
Naval Group is pursuing that link up with “great determination,” a company spokesman said.
Meanwhile, a 36-page report from ADIT, a partially state-owned company working in economic intelligence, has painted a “highly negative” picture of the compliance and ethics of Fincantieri, business paper La Tribune reported July 12. That ADIT report is circulating in the French Economy and Finance Ministry and the offices of the Armed Forces Minister, the report said.
There is also a report from the DGSE foreign intelligence service that cites “doubtful practices” Fincantieri's commercial matters. That DGSE report has been handed to the French prime minister's office, as well as the two French ministries.
The business model for the proposed Franco-Italian deal is seen by Naval Group as similar to the partnership between French carmaker Renault and its Japanese ally Nissan, in which there is close cooperation but the two are separate companies.
That proposed cross-border collaboration would seek synergies by pooling research, development and the procurement of equipment, and by cooperating on export offers in a bid to cut competition between the two companies.There would also be a cross shareholding of some 10 percent between the two companies.
It remains to be seen how the two partners have brought into the plan the French and Italian systems companies Thales and Leonardo, respectively, which supply electronics for warships. Thales holds a 35 percent stake in Naval Group, with the majority of the remainder owned by the French state.
September 6, 2023 | International, Aerospace
U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin cut its full-year delivery forecast for F-35 jets as delays at supplier L3Harris Technologies held up development of an upgraded version of the aircraft, the company said on Wednesday.
July 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna   WASHINGTON — The United States on Thursday approved a planned purchase by Japan of 105 F-35 joint strike fighters, moving the country one step closer to becoming the biggest foreign customer of the Lockheed Martin-produced jet. The approved package includes 63 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft and 42 F-35 short takeoff and landing variants, essentially green-lighting the procurement plans spelled out by Japan in 2018. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale, which is worth about $23 billion, although that number could change during negotiations between the country and Lockheed Martin. Those negotiations would start after Congress approves the sale. Also included in the arms deal is: 110 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines, associated electronic warfare and communications systems, the Autonomic Logistics Information System, training gear, infrared flares, a performance-based logistics package, software integration, spare and repairs parts and other support. If Japan moves forward with the purchase, it would have a total of 147 F-35s — becoming the second-largest operator of the joint strike fighter after the United States and just ahead of the United Kingdom, which plans to buy 138 jets. It would also become the fourth user of the F-35B variant, which is being bought by U.S. Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the Italian Navy. Several other sales were also announced on Thursday: Taiwan: The State Department has approved a request by Taiwan to recertify its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles for an estimated cost of $620 million. The package includes replacing PAC-3 components that are near expiration, test and repair of the capability, spare parts for ground support equipment and other logistics support. According to DSCA, “this proposed sale will help sustain the recipient's missile density and ensure readiness for air operations. The recipient will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense.” Lockheed Martin would be the prime contractor for this sale. Germany: If approved by Congress, Germany would get MK 54 All Up Round Lightweight torpedoes, 10 conversion kits and related equipment in a package worth about $130 million. The deal, which help upgrade Germany's P-3C submarine hunting planes, also includes fuel tanks for the torpedo conversion kits, spare parts, launch accessories for the aircraft and various logistics and program support. Raytheon would be the prime contractor for this purchase. Belgium: The State Department also authorized Belgium's request for 29 All Up Round MK 54 LWT Mod 0 torpedoes. The $33 million package includes two Fleet Exercise Section conversion kits, torpedo support equipment, and logistics support. The approval comes as Belgium phases out MK 46 torpedoes and begins using the MK 54 aboard its NH-90 helicopters and multi-mission frigates. Aaron Mehta in Washington contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/2020/07/09/us-gives-the-green-light-to-japans-massive-23b-f-35-buy
May 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval
By: Mark Pomerleau The Marine Corps has revamped its requirements for a large unmanned aerial system after industry leaders said an early version of the drone could cost as much as $100 million. Now, Marine leaders are following a tiered approach to the requirements as a way to manage costs and work closely with industry. The Marines are charting ahead with the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary, or MUX, group 5 UAS. The Marines have long expressed a desire for an organic drone in the Group 5 category, the largest category of military drones. The initial desired capability set for the MUX was extremely broad, mirroring a Swiss Army knife of mission sets. When first presented to industry, leaders derided the expansive mission set as too costly. “They came back and said you're talking about something that's going to be $100 million, as big as a V-22. Are you sure that's what you want?,” Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, told a small group of reporters following his appearance at the Modular Open Systems Summit in Washington May 1. “We said ‘No, that's not what we want, not something that big. We want something to fly off a ship, off an expeditionary site. What that allowed us to do through the industry involvement then was to neck down, if you look at the [request for information] we sent out for the industry day, it tiered the requirements.” The initial RFI was released March 8. With the tiered requirements approach, Walsh explained that the Marines listed four capabilities they wanted most, while others could be nice to haves or even be handled by other assets. Tier 1 capabilities include airborne early warning – which Walsh said industry wasn't heavily considering but is a capability the Marines absolutely need coming off a ship – command and control communications, digitally passing information, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Additional capabilities include potential weapons armament if the drone will escort V-22s and logistics. “Amazon, FedEx, somebody else will help us with that and we'll probably buy what they're developing,” Walsh said of the logistics portion. Similarly, Col. James Frey, the director of the Marine Corps' Aviation Expeditionary Enablers branch, told USNI News that the Future Vertical Lift program might fill this void, adding that whatever is not covered by the program could be done with the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter. Ultimately, Walsh noted that bringing industry in early will help the service refine its requirements before setting them in stone, leading to a better capability. The industry day, slated for June 6 and 7, will “bring everybody together and help us with this and have like a workshop approach to that. Both primes and small subs,” he said. “I find this is a way that will allow us to go fast.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/05/02/what-do-marines-want-in-their-next-drone-everything/