February 22, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Space Force may hire companies to service orbiting satellites
The head of the Space Force's mobility enterprise said this week the service wants to buy commercial on-orbit logistics capabilities.
October 4, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Indian Air Force chief defends Rafale fighter deal against claims of crony capitalism
By: Pierre Tran and Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI and PARIS — Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa defended the decision of India's ruling National Democratic Alliance to buy 36 Rafale fightersfrom France, calling it “a game changer" even as the opposition party criticizes the deal.
Addressing annual news conference, Dhanoha said: "At the appropriate level, the Indian Air Force was consulted, but it is for the government to choose. It was decided to buy two squadrons through a government to-government deal, to meet up emergency requirements.”
India and France signed the €7.8 billion (U.S. $8.99 billion) inter-governmental agreement Sept. 23, under which 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will be procured from Dassault Aviation for Indian Air Force (IAF) in fly away condition. France will invest 30 percent of the total contract value in India's military aeronautics-related research programs and 20 percent into local production of Rafale components to fulfil the mandatory offsets under the deal. The deliveries of Rafale fighters will start this month.
India's main opposition party, Indian National Congress, has claimed on several occasions that the Rafale deal is grossly overvalued and tainted by crony capitalism. The Congress said the Modi government had failed to answer several questions on why public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had lost the manufacting deal to industrialist Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd.
“The earlier deal for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft reached an impasse during negotiations," Dhanoa said,, referring to a $12 billion medium, multi-role combat aircraft program that was launchced in 2007 but scrapped 10 years later. "We had three options: wait for something good to happen, withdraw the global tender and start over again, or do an emergency purchase. We did an emergency purchase.”
Dhanoa called the cost of 36 Rafale was “reasonable and adequate."
The latest comments from Dhanoa come after Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman called baseless congressional allegations of a reduction in the number of Rafale jets being purchased from France. Congress has demanded the government explain why instead of 126 Rafale fighter jets, only 36 are being purchased if they were cheaper under the NDA deal than the prior deal.
Sitharaman is expected to hold the first annual defence ministers dialogue with her counterpart Florence Parly in Paris Oct. 12-13, as the two countries seek to expand bilateral defense and strategic ties.
In France, Dassault said the company had picked Reliance as its Indian partner to meet requirements for local offset established by the Indian Defense Procurement Procedure and Make in India policy. The statement followed controversy sparked by remarks by former French president François Hollande, who said the Indian government selected Reliance as the local partner and that the company "had nothing to say on the subject, we had no choice, we took the partner which was presented.”
Dassault put out its statement on the deal for 36 Rafale to India Sept, 21 statement, stating that, in accordance with the policy of Make in India, Dassault Aviation decided to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group.
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January 27, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Exclusive: Lockheed Martin to cut 1% of its jobs in cost-cutting push
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January 25, 2021 | International, Land, C4ISR
Elbit UK to make new target-marking kits for British foot soldiers
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – Britain's armed forces are investing just over £100 million ($134 million) acquiring equipment to improve sensor-to-shooter capabilities for dismounted troops, the Ministry of Defence announced Jan 21. Under the effort, the UK arm of Israeli-based Elbit Systems has been awarded an £101 million deal to supply the British dismounted joint fires integrators (D-JFI) program. The equipment will give British Army, Royal Marine, special forces and Royal Air Force units improved ability to find, identify and instantly distribute battlefield target information to artillery, aircraft and others. The new kit, based around the latest thermal sight technology, will primarily be used by joint terminal attack controllers and fire-support teams. The contract, which includes support, comes to a close in March 2026, although there is an option to extend it by two years. Elbit Systems UK secured the contract in mid-December, but officials only now announced it. British defense procurement minister Jeremy Quin said the contract “not only delivers the very latest in battlefield technology to our frontline soldiers, but also invests in the British defense industry, sustaining more than 500 jobs across the UK.” In a statement the company said their D-JFI solution will “enable fast and secured transition of target information across the British and allied armed forces, allowing swift and accurate utilization of artillery and close air support.” Several Elbit technologies are being used in the system, including: the TORCH-X battle management application; the HattoriX system for high-precision target marking, the CORAL thermal-imaging system, and the Rattler XR laser designator. This new contract is the latest of a number of deals secured by Elbit Systems UK in recent years, furthering the British Army's digitalization efforts. The company was awarded the £40 million Battlefield Management Application program in 2018 as part of the Morpheus communications modernization program, followed by the Joint Fires Mobile Trainer and the Joint Fires Synthetic Training contract in 2019. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/21/elbit-uk-to-make-new-target-marking-kits-for-british-foot-soldiers/