Hawaii to receive $2.6B to improve Army facilities across state

On the same subject

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  August 1, 2018 | International, Naval

  France confirms Fincantieri-STX shipyard deal, cautious on defense merger

  ROME (Reuters) - The French government continues to support Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri's (FCT.MI) takeover of STX France, finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday, but cautioned against hastening a related defense naval merger. Speaking in Rome after a meeting with the Italian government, he told journalists France had not changed its position on the deal, quelling concerns the takeover could be hampered by tenser relations between Paris and Italy's new anti-establishment government. However, he warned against hastening a merger between Fincantieri and French military shipyards operator Naval Group which has been seen as a possible follow-up to the takeover of STX. “It would not be wise” to discuss a defense merger now, Le Maire told reporters, stressing that this was not part of the deal reached in 2017. Under the terms of that agreement between France and Italy, Fincantieri bought a 50 percent share in STX, but it took effective control of the French shipyards thanks to a 12-year loan of a 1 percent stake by the French state, which is subject to review clauses. Relations between France and Italy have soured in recent weeks over spats on migrants and after the Italian government raised doubts on the TAV French-Italian rail link project which would connect Lyon and Turin. Le Maire said after his meeting on Wednesday with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio that Paris was still waiting for Italy's position on the project. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-stx-m-a-fincantieri-lemaire/frances-le-maire-confirms-backing-to-fincantieri-stx-shipyard-deal-idUSKBN1KM4E8

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  February 18, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Un rapport parlementaire évoque l’idée de porter le budget de la Défense à 2,5% du PIB

  DÉFENSE Un rapport parlementaire évoque l'idée de porter le budget de la Défense à 2,5% du PIB Dans un contexte où un conflit de haute intensité n'est plus considéré comme une hypothèse d'école, les députés Jean-Louis Thiériot et Patricia Mirallès estiment que la remontée en puissance des forces françaises doit se poursuivre et garantir la hausse annuelle prévue de +3 Md€ jusqu'en 2025. Et encore, il ne s'agit que du minimum. « Sous réserves de rester avec les mêmes ambitions, il y a un besoin complémentaire de 20 à 30 Md€ sur la prochaine LPM. Ce qui mène, grosso modo, à un effort de 2,5% du PIB (...) pour avoir notre modèle d'armée complet », a expliqué Jean-Louis Thiériot, lors de l'examen d'un rapport sur la préparation à la haute intensité, co-écrit avec Patricia Mirallès. Les deux députés ont livré quelques déficits capacitaires dont souffrent actuellement les forces françaises. S'agissant de l'Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace, le nombre de ses avions de combat est insuffisant ; ses capacités en matière de transport aérien médian devront être renouvelées (les C-235 n'étant pas éternels). Et la question des hélicoptères de transport lourd reste posée. Pour Jean-Louis Thiérot, porter le budget des armées à 2,5% du PIB aurait un réel bénéfice pour l'économie française : « un euro investi dans la défense rapporte davantage. (...) c'est un secteur industriel vital pour la France, réparti sur tout le territoire (...) permettant à la fois d'avoir l'outil de défense dont on a besoin mais aussi de développer des technologies qui nous servent sur d'autres marchés », a plaidé le député. Opex360 du 16 février

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  June 21, 2019 | International, Land, Other Defence

  Nearly 40 percent lighter body armor coming to Marines in 2020

  By: Shawn Snow The Corps is gearing up to field its new lightweight body armor plates, designed to be worn in the Corps' low intensity or counterinsurgency style conflicts. On Friday the Defense Department announced the Navy awarded a nearly $216 million contract to Point Blank Enterprises for the purchase of up to 680,706 of the new lightweight plates. Maj. Ken Kunze, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command, told Marine Corps Times that the Corps expects to kick off fielding the new plates during the second quarter of fiscal year 2020 and complete by 2023. The new body armor plates will protect “against the preponderance of likely threats while improving mobility” and will reduce the hard body armor weight burden on Marines by 38 percent, Kunze said. The Corps has been in the hunt for lighter body armor as the force tries to reduce the weight burden and combat load carried by Marines and grunts, which a government watchdog report said can be as high as 117 pounds to 119 pounds. One solution was to field a set a new set of armor plates that would provide commanders flexibility to match body armor with the threat in the region the Marines were operating in. That means Marines don't always need to slap on the nearly 15 poundenhanced small arms protective, or ESAPI plates, while operating in low intensity conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan, where a lighter, more mobile armor plate would be sufficient. The heavy ESAPI plates will still be important, especially as the Corps faces down near-peer rivals equipped with better and more capable weapon systems. Nick Pierce, the armor team lead for infantry combat equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, previously told Marine Corps Times that the Corps was seeking to shave the 15 pound ESAPI plate down to roughly 8.6 pounds for a medium-sized Marine. Marines can shed a total of 8 pounds to 10 pounds from their combat load when the lightweight plate is used in conjunction with the Corps' new Plate Carrier Gen III system, Pierce explained. The Corps is also looking at new polymer based ammunition and a lighter helmet for grunts to help shave the pounds carried by infantry Marines. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/06/19/nearly-40-percent-lighter-body-armor-coming-in-2020/