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January 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace

International corporate rivalry behind Rafale storm: Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday suggested "an international corporate rivalry" could be behind the "artificial storm" being unleashed against the Rafale deal despite the Supreme Court not finding anything adverse in it and the government repeatedly answering all questions.

Full article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/international-corporate-rivalry-behind-rafale-storm-sitharaman/articleshow/67607224.cms

On the same subject

  • US Army nears competition that could lead to robots directly engaging the enemy

    October 15, 2019 | International, Land

    US Army nears competition that could lead to robots directly engaging the enemy

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is close to triggering a competition for both a light and medium robotic combat vehicle by releasing a request for product proposals before the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, the head of combat vehicle modernization for the service. The plan is to award one contract to one company to build a light variant, and repeat the process for a medium-sized robotic combat vehicle, or RCV, in March 2020. Then each company will deliver four prototypes for evaluation and testing in 12 months from contract award, Coffman told Defense News in a recent interview.. The Army anticipates a large pool of applicants based on a recent evaluation of eight different vehicles on a course at Texas A&M University's RELLIS campus, and because the response to a request for whitepapers for each variant was fruitful. The caliber of vehicles at the physical demonstration was higher than expected. Companies “really took it seriously” and brought vehicles that weren't just “modified, off-the-shelf” versions, Coffman said. Instead, the robots were “closer to purpose-built than we ever imagined,” he added. The Army is focused — across all three weight classes of robotic vehicle under pursuit — on a chassis rather than a vehicle as a whole. The idea is to integrate mission systems onto a common chassis for each weight class. On the heavyweight side, the Army completed a major experiment last month at Camp Grayling, Michigan, where four robotic versions of the M113 armored personnel carrier was evaluated for ground robotic capabilities. At the event, which will be followed by rigorous testing and evaluation at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, four robotic combat vehicles moved across the battlefield in a wedge formation. Soldiers controlled the platforms to keep them out of harm's way. “They came online, identified an enemy and then the humans called for fire based on the sensors on this robot,” Coffman said. “And then, once the artillery went in, the robots continued to traverse the terrain and engaged with direct fire against an enemy, destroying that enemy, all while the humans were in sanctuary controlling the battlefield.” The exercise demonstrated to Coffman that heavy RCVs can reduce the risk to soldiers on the battlefield. Once Army Test and Evaluation Command can put each vehicle through its paces, the platforms will head to Fort Carson, Colorado, in March 2020. “We're going to put these in the hands of soldiers and they're going to — they're going to get them dirty, they're going to execute tactical operations and they are going to fight against a live [opposing force],” Coffman said. “They are going to take them to the gunnery, and we're going to see all of the capabilities they can do.” After that phase, the Army plans to evaluate four M113s as well as four medium and four light RCVs that will form a company and execute tactical formations as the Army builds up its capability, according to Coffman. In 2023, the Army will evaluate purpose-built heavy variants with the medium and light RCVs also in a company formation, Coffman added. https://www.c4isrnet.com/2019/10/15/us-army-nears-competition-that-could-lead-to-robots-directly-engaging-the-enemy

  • La France organisera un sommet européen sur la défense en 2022

    September 16, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    La France organisera un sommet européen sur la défense en 2022

    La présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula Von der Leyen, a annoncé, mercredi 15 septembre, qu'un sommet sur la défense européenne sera organisé au premier semestre 2022, sous présidence française. Ursula Von der Leyen a évoqué trois objectifs. Elle estime nécessaire d'améliorer la coopération entre Etats européens en matière de renseignement, en créant un centre commun européen d'analyse de la situation. Elle entend aussi doter l'Europe d'une nouvelle loi européenne contre les cyberattaques, afin d'élaborer des normes communes de défense. Elle propose enfin d'exonérer de TVA les achats d'équipements de défense produits en Europe, une mesure incitative visant à encourager les Etats à privilégier le « made in Europe » afin de réduire leurs dépendances stratégiques.

  • UK orders first three Protector drones from General Atomics

    July 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    UK orders first three Protector drones from General Atomics

    By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – Britain's Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with General Atomics for the first three Protector remotely piloted air vehicles destined to equip the Royal Air Force with a replacement for its Reaper drone force. A £65 million (U.S. $80 million) contract for three Protectors, the British version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian was announced by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a virtual air power conference held by the RAF July 15. Protector will fly further, hit harder and, crucially, be able to fly in unsegregated civilian airspace compared with the Reaper vehicles widely used by the British in Afghanistan and the Middle East over the last several years. Three ground stations and other associated support equipment are also included in an initial deal that will see the first vehicle delivered to the British next year. The initial vehicle will remain in the United States for test and evaluation until 2023, ahead of deploying to its UK base at RAF Waddington, eastern England. Able to fly for up to 40 hours Protector is expected to enter service in 2024. The aircraft will be armed with MBDA's Brimstone missile and Raytheon UK's Paveway IV precision-guided bomb, enhanced data links and detect-and-avoid technology. The deal for Protector production includes an option on a further purchase of 13 drones. A contract firming up the options is planned for April next year. An MoD spokesperson denied that breaking up the order into two parts was related to balancing the over-stretched budget for this year. The cost of purchasing the remaining drones is put at around £180 million, or $230 million. The MoD spokesperson said consideration is also being given to an additional acquisition of drones over and above the 16 vehicles already envisaged. A total force of more than 20 Protectors was envisaged in the Conservative government's 2015 strategic defence and security review. Now, the final numbers will likely be subject to the outcome of an integrated defense, foreign policy and security review now underway by the Conservatives. Many people here think the already cash-strapped MoD will be a post-Covid-19 target for capability cuts as the government shifts its emphasis on defense equipment spending away from more conventional technologies into areas like space, cyber and artificial intelligence. Protector has already been a victim of MoD financial pressures. Sir Simon Bollom, the CEO of the Defence Equipment and Support arm of the MoD, alluded to the difficulties saying in an MoD statement his organization had "overcome considerable challenges" to keep the program on track. The vehicle was originally slated to enter service with the RAF in 2018 but that was then put back until 2021 before the new date was agreed. In announcing the deal defence secretary Ben Wallace said, „Protector will provide the RAF with vast global reach, meeting the UK's defense and security needs for decades to come, and provide another increase to the unmanned inventory for the armed forces.“ https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/15/uk-orders-first-three-protector-drones-from-general-atomics/

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