February 8, 2024 | International, Aerospace
September 15, 2020 | International, Naval
Maintenance delays are ‘blood in the water’ for aircraft carrier critics, admiral says
WASHINGTON – The head of the U.S. Navy's East Coast-based aviation enterprise said the service must demand to get aircraft carriers out of their maintenance availabilities on time, and that failure to do so throws fuel on the fire of critics who say the aircraft carrier is becoming irrelevant.
Calling carrier operational availability his “number one concern,” Rear Adm. John Meier, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said the service had to make sure shipyards delivered its ships to the fleet on time.
“More often than not we've been having delays getting them out of the yards on time,” Meier said at the virtual edition of the annual Tailhook Association Symposium. "With the budgetary pressure we'll be facing, when we don't get the return on the enormous investment in aircraft carriers, every day we lose of operational ability is like a drop of blood in the water.
“It fans the flames of critics who want to cut aircraft carriers. And in my mind, I can't see a naval aviation force or a Navy without carriers in the future.”
A recent government watchdog report said that 75 percent of the Navy's carrier and submarine maintenance availabilities have run late, resulting in 7,425 days of delays.
Both the Truman and Eisenhower have had recent maintenance woes and delays, and the carrier Bush is currently working through a 28-month maintenance period, much longer than the normal 16-month availability.
A forthcoming DoD-led Navy force structure assessment could herald cuts to the 11-carrier fleet. In April, Defense News reported that the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense recommended cutting two aircraft carriers from the current force structure in the coming decades.
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February 20, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Land
Germany's Bundeswehr 'lacks basic equipment' for NATO mission
The German army reportedly lacks the tents, winter clothes and other essential equipment needed for its deployment in a NATO rapid reaction force. The German defense ministry pledged that the items would be procured. German soldiers do not have enough protective vests, winter clothing and tents to head NATO's 'spearhead force,' the newspaper Rheinische Post reported on Monday, citing a paper presented to the Defense Ministry. The news comes as Germany prepares to take over the leadership of the multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) Army Command at the start of next year, with Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (top picture) under intense pressure to bring equipment up to scratch by then. Read more: Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen: Germany will spend more on its military Commenting on the article on Monday, Germany's Defense Ministry said that combat readiness of German troops would be ensured. "Currently, the selected troops are going through the phase of preparation and mobilization," spokesman Jens Flosdorff said in Berlin. During this phase, the ministry is checking which equipment is already available, and "what is still needed," he said. The authorities are set to complete the process by the end of 2018, at the latest. Flosdorff also said that "Bundeswehr is ready and able to fulfill its commitments," and that the missing items "are being procured." Sleeping cold The Monday report cites the internal paper by Germany's Army Command as stating that the army would lack sufficient tents until at least 2021. According to the Army Command report, 10,282 mobile "accommodation units" are needed for the army's deployment in the VJTF for the period 2018 to 2020, but only 2,500 are currently available — and even these are not fit for purpose. Protective vests and winter clothing were also in such short supply that it would be "impossible" to ensure that demands were met, it said. Last week, German media reported that the Bundeswehr was also lacking sufficient tanks and operational aircraft to fulfill its duties as VJTF leader, along with other equipment shortfalls such as night-vision equipment and automatic grenade launchers. Read more: German military short on tanks for NATO mission 'Scandalous situation' The Rheinische Post said German parliamentarians reacted with outrage to news of the latest deficiencies. "We cannot and will not accept" such supply gaps, said defense expert Fritz Felgentreu from the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The Free Democrat (FDP) politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann found even stronger words. "The fact that even basic equipment such as protective vests and winter clothing is in short supply shows what a miserable state the Bundeswehr is in as a result of cutting costs," she said, adding that her party would set up a subcommittee to "look into this scandalous situation" at the next meeting of the Bundestag's Defense Committee. The VJTF is a 5,000-strong force initiated by NATO in 2014 to counter the threat of Russian military aggression against Baltic member states. The force is supposed to be capable of going into action within 24 hours. http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-bundeswehr-lacks-basic-equipment-for-nato-mission/a-42638910
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September 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Le ministère des Armées reste mobilisé pour le soutien de la BITD
Air & Cosmos consacre un article à l'action de la «task force» mise en place en mars dernier par le ministère des Armées pour soutenir les entreprises de la BITD (Base Industrielle et Technologique de Défense) face aux conséquences de la crise sanitaire. 47 entreprises, dont l'activité est stratégique ou critique pour la BITD française, ont déjà été soutenues gr'ce à la cellule mise en place par le ministère des Armées, ce qui représente presque la moitié des «92 chantiers ouverts», indique Vincent Imbert, ingénieur général de l'armement, qui dirige la «task force». Depuis le mois de mars, «nous avons recueilli auprès des différents organismes acheteurs du ministère des Armées, de la DGA et des services de soutien leurs listes d'industriels stratégiques ou critiques qui pouvaient se retrouver en position délicate. Des contacts ont aussi été pris avec les grands maîtres d'œuvre, les groupements industriels comme le GIFAS, le GICAT et le CIDEF, afin d'obtenir de leur part une liste de sous-traitants qu'ils jugeaient en situation à risque», explique-t-il. «Nous devons être attentifs à ce qu'il y ait une vraie solidarité au niveau national, au niveau des entreprises, afin que le tissu industriel soit alimenté de la meilleure façon possible par les engagements et les investissements que nous allons faire», conclut-il. Air & Cosmos du 11 septembre