KMW renews Dutch FENNEK fleet

On the same subject

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  September 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed-Boeing Battle Heats Up as USAF Looks to Buy F-15EX

  The F-35 maker is fighting to keep its monopoly on the Air Force's fighter-jet shopping list. While it's not unusual for companies to battle one another for weapons deals, these fights often occur behind the scenes, as lobbyists and executives spar inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. But the fight over whether the U.S. Air Force should buy one or two types of $80 million fighter jets is spilling into the public view, in the pages of the trade press and in think tank reports. Air Force leaders say they need both the F-35 Lightning II, the newest fighter in the U.S. military arsenal, and the F-15EX, the latest version of the twin-engine jet first flown in 1972. Early last year, Lockheed began to fight back against Boeing's reappearance on the service's tactical-jet shopping list.The battle became a war in July when the Air Force placed a $1.2 billion order for eight jets and said it might spend up to $23 billion to buy up to 144 new F-15s in the coming years. It's rare for a conservative think tank to explicitly call for canceling defense programs; typically, they argue for increasing defense spending and buying more weapons. But the influential Heritage Foundation has consistently urged the Air Force not to buy the F-15EX. “I'm just kind of surprised by the broadsides that have been occurring lately,” Jeff Shockey, vice president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Boeing Global Services' government services portfolio, said in an interview Friday. The stakes are also higher now as defense spending has flattened and not expected to grow in the coming years. The latest attacks on the F-15 come as Congress is reviewing the fiscal 2021 defense spending and policy bills. J.V. Venable, a retired Air Force F-16 pilot who is a senior research fellow at Heritage, compared the F-15EX to antiquated dial-up internet. “In deciding to fund the acquisition of the F-15EX, Congress has chosen the dial-up option,” he argued in Defense One last month. “When the Air Force signs that contract, it will be stuck with already-dated equipment for the next 30 years.” This week, the Mitchell Institute, the Air Force Association's internal think tank, published a report that argues the F-15EX “ may address immediate shortfalls, but it ultimately fails to anticipate or prepare for a much more demanding future combat environment.” More than a decade ago, as the F-35 struggled with a long list of development problems and cost overruns, Boeing and its surrogates pushed Air Force leaders to consider buying new F-15s or even Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets. Now as the service prepares to buy new F-15s for the first time in nearly two decades, the script has flipped. The Air Force appears to have been persuaded by arguments that the F-15 is cheaper to fly than the F-35, and can more easily accept new applications and weapons. But Lockheed is firing back with arguments that the fifth-generation F-35 has stealth, weapons, sensors, and data capabilities that make it a far superior choice. “We believe the F-35 is a superior platform,” said Michele Evans, the president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, in an interview Thursday. "With its fifth-[generation] capabilities, we believe it brings capabilities that other platforms can't.” The F-15EX is intended to replace F-15C Eagles, planes that are largely flown by the Air National Guard for homeland defense. The F-15C is considered an air superiority fighter — meaning it's fine-tuned for air-to-air combat — and cannot strike ground targets. But the Air Force also flies the ground-pounding F-15E Strike Eagle, of which the F-15EX is a modernized derivative. “The F-35 and [F-15]EX are very complementary to one another,” Shockey said. “They do very different mission sets.” Evans, who oversees Lockheed's combat aircraft projects, said she does not view the F-15EX as a threat to the F-35. “I certainly respect the Air Force, that they've made a decision to procure the F-15EX and we're going to continue to make sure that we're driving upgrades and capabilities into the F-35 to keep it competitive and keep it the platform of choice for the U.S. Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and our partner and [foreign military sales] nations,” she said. https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/09/lockheed-boeing-battle-heats-usaf-looks-buy-f-15ex/168425/

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  July 9, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires

  DÉFENSE Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires Le PDG de Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, a appelé à une révision de la politique de prêt de la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI) pour lui permettre de financer des projets militaires à la suite de l'invasion de l'Ukraine par la Russie. Il a notamment déclaré que le conflit avait « considérablement modifié la position de nombreux pays européens à l'égard du secteur de la Défense » et étayé l'idée selon laquelle « il n'y a pas de durabilité sans sécurité ». La BEI, l'organisme de prêt de l'UE détenu par les États membres, sert à financer des projets qui favorisent la réalisation des objectifs de l'Union, mais elle n'est pas autorisée à investir dans des activités ou des actifs de Défense essentiels tels que les munitions et les armes. La banque a refusé de commenter spécifiquement les remarques du dirigeant, mais a souligné qu'elle joue un rôle dans le soutien de l'industrie au sens large, notamment dans les projets de recherche et de développement qui ont une approche à double usage. « Un changement dans les règles de la BEI sur la manière de financer le secteur de la défense serait très pertinent en tant que créateur de tendances pour le secteur financier », estime Alessandro Profumo dans une interview au Financial Times. En mars, la banque avait accepté de soutenir le financement d'une initiative stratégique européenne de sécurité visant à renforcer les investissements en Recherche et Développement à double usage dans des domaines tels que les infrastructures et les technologies de sécurité civile. Les propositions de l'UE de l'année dernière, sur ce qui constitue une finance socialement durable, qui auraient qualifié l'industrie de la Défense de socialement nuisible, ont depuis été abandonnées. Le rapport final est « meilleur qu'il ne l'était », mais « pas encore sur la table » analyse le PDG de Leonardo. L'accès au financement est particulièrement critique pour les petites entreprises de la chaîne d'approvisionnement du secteur, qui sont cruciales pour l'innovation. Financial Times du 5 juillet

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  October 22, 2020 | International, Land, C4ISR

  BAE teams up with Elbit on combat vehicle tech

  Jen Judson BAE Systems is teaming up with Elbit Systems of America to develop combat vehicle technology, according to an Oct. 21 BAE statement. “The arrangement is focused on validating and integrating new technologies on combat vehicle systems to deliver advanced warfighting capabilities,” the statement reads. On the eve of the start of the Army's second attempt to hold a competition to replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle with an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), the announcement could signal BAE's plans to take a shot in the new effort. BAE Systems — Bradley's manufacturer — opted out of the previous OMFV competitive effort because the company felt the requirements and timeline to design, develop and field a new vehicle wasn't realistic. And the Army ended up withdrawing its first solicitation in that competition because just one competitor was able to deliver a physical bid sample within the required timeline. BAE has been quiet about whether it plans to invest its time and money into the new OMFV competition, but a partnership with Elbit, which is a leader in advanced turret solutions, could be a sign that it will participate this time around. “The teaming arrangement will explore crew automation, vehicle protection systems and other defensive and offensive systems for integration into turrets of various cannon calibers and supporting weapon systems for combat vehicles,” according to the statement. “BAE Systems and Elbit America are investing in transformational combat vehicle technologies and turret solutions that will greatly enhance the lethality and survivability of next-generation combat vehicles for the U.S. and international militaries,” Jim Miller, director of business development at BAE Systems, said. “Our relationship demonstrates a commitment to provide our customers with solutions for future battlefields based on our collective combat vehicle expertise.” The day before the announcement, Rheinmetall put out a statement saying it was teaming with Textron Systems to pitch its Lynx41 vehicle for the OMFV competition. Rheinmetall made an unsuccessful attempt last year to enter the OMFV competition with Raytheon as a US-based partner, but said it was unable to get its single Lynx vehicle in existence to the United States by the Army's due date to deliver a physical bid sample. General Dynamics Land Systems is also expected to compete in the OMFV competition. It was the only company to deliver physical bid sample in the last go-around. The Army is not requiring a bid sample in the new OMFV competition. The Army put out a draft solicitation in July and plans to release its request for proposals to industry in December. The service plans to request whitepapers and then choose five prime contractor teams to design rough digital prototypes. The service will then award up to three contracts for a detailed design and prototype phase that will include options for low-rate initial production. One vendor will be selected to go into production. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/21/bae-teams-up-with-elbit-on-combat-vehicle-tech/