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April 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace

L'impact du Coronavirus pour l'Europe

Au-delà du plan sanitaire, la crise du Coronavirus impacte l'ensemble des projets des Etats et vient questionner l'Europe.

L'Europe questionnée.

Le Sénat, à travers la commission des affaires étrangères et de la défense et des sénateurs Hélène Conway-Mouret et Ronan Le Gleut, a présenté les impacts de la crise du coronavirus sur l'Europe, sous l'angle de la défense et de la sécurité. Et le constat semble sans appel : la coopération entre les Etats européens doit être renforcée. « Le bilan de la coopération européenne est pour le moment nuancé : des coopérations bilatérales ont permis des transferts de patients du Grand Est vers des pays frontaliers [...] mais le Conseil européen du 26 mats a donné le spectacle d'Etats membres divisés, incapables de répondre rapidement à l'urgence de la situation », rapporte les deux sénateurs, en rappelant par ailleurs que des mécanismes existants permettraient une coopération accrue, à l'instar de l'article 222 du TFUE qui met en avant le principe de solidarité.

Surveiller le contexte international.

Cette nécessité de coopération est à analyser à la lumière du contexte international précédent la crise et renforcé par l'événement sanitaire qui touche actuellement le monde. « La crise risque en effet d'accentuer les évolutions stratégiques en cours : l'effritement de l'Europe, le désengagement américain et l'affirmation de puissance de certains Etats qui ne manqueront pas de s'emparer de la faiblesse de l'Europe pour faire avancer leurs propres intérêts », expliquent les deux sénateurs. En effet, on ne manquera pas de noter que si la crise touche violemment la grande majorité des Etats du monde, certains restent épargner, à l'instar de la Corée du Nord qui profite de l'occasion pour démontrer ses capacités militaires et mener des essais de missiles. De même, certains Etats profitent de l'absentéisme de réponse européenne pour nouer des liens précieux avec des pays du vieux continent en leur apportant une aide cruciale face à la crise. « Plusieurs acteurs et observateurs estiment aujourd'hui que la Chine et la Russie utilisent la crise sanitaire pour faire avancer leurs intérêts et renforcer leur influence. [...] Le déploiement de militaires russes en Italie, dans les zones les plus touchées par l'épidémie (Bergame) suscite des interrogations », rapportent les deux sénateurs.

Rester présent en OPEX.

Une autre préoccupation liée à la crise sanitaire actuelle réside dans la gestion des opérations extérieures. Une préoccupation qui touche d'autant plus la France, qui est aux premières loges au niveau européen. L'Europe « ne doit pas se détourner du reste du monde car la pandémie, si elle mobilise les esprits, ne fait pas disparaître les autres crises, et risque même de les aggraver », soulignent les auteurs. Une attention particulière doit être donnée à l'Afrique, qui souffre déjà d'importants déséquilibres économiques et d'inégalités sociales majeures, souvent à la racine des conflits qui sévissent actuellement sur le continent. Or cette situation pourrait se trouver largement accentuée par la crise du coronavirus, touchant massivement les économies des pays à travers le monde. Une accentuation des problèmes économiques et sociaux en Afrique pourrait aboutir à des désaccords internes pouvant mener à des affrontements. Retour à la case départ ?

https://air-cosmos.com/article/limpact-du-coronavirus-pour-leurope-22957

On the same subject

  • With Columbia revving up, General Dynamics expects submarines to be a cash cow

    January 28, 2021 | International, Naval

    With Columbia revving up, General Dynamics expects submarines to be a cash cow

    By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — General Dynamics' marine business expects its work in building submarines to drive hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue growth over the coming years, company head Phebe Novakovic told investors in a call Wednesday. The company is expecting a $300 million increase in revenue in 2021, with a rough estimate of between $400-500 million of growth a year, Novakovic said, citing submarines as a significant driver. The next-generation ballistic missile submarine Columbia will account for much of that growth, she said. General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News shipyard are the nation's only two submarine builders. With China now operating the world's largest naval force, the U.S. is likely to look to submarines as its ace in the hole against an increasingly sophisticated competitor. “If you look at the U.S. Navy, submarines are its top priority and the Columbia in particular,” Novakovic said. “And why is that? It's because submarines remain a singular competitive advantage, a critical competitive advantage for the United States with near-peer competitors and peer competitors. “I am quite confident that given my belief that the defense budget is driven by the threats that are key elements of our marine group, growth will be nicely supported.” The company last year inked more than $10 billion in contracts for the first two Columbia-class boats. The Navy has consistently said fielding Columbia is its top acquisition priority. Electric Boat is also building the Virginia-class Block V submarine, along with HII Newport News. The Navy is expected to buy the Virginia class at a rate of two subs per year. General Dynamics, which also owns Arleigh Burke-class destroyer-builder Bath Iron Works, believes that platform will continue to be important to the Navy, Novakovic said. The Navy has been waffling about how many of its new Flight III Burkes it intends to buy. The service's 2021 budget proposal cut four destroyers from its five-year plan, proposing eight down from 2020′s proposal of 12. But General Dynamics continues to be bullish on submarines and is investing in its infrastructure at Electric Boat. The company spent nearly $1 billion on its facilities there in 2020, including $345 million in the fourth quarter alone. The investments are “in support of the unprecedented growth on the horizon,” Novakovic said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/27/with-columbia-revving-up-general-dynamics-expects-submarines-to-be-a-cash-cow

  • Argentina’s Army, Air Force to split new order of Bell Textron helos

    December 22, 2022 | International, Aerospace

    Argentina’s Army, Air Force to split new order of Bell Textron helos

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  • Brexit A Certainty After Boris Johnson Election Landslide

    December 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Brexit A Certainty After Boris Johnson Election Landslide

    By Tony Osborne LONDON – Britain's aerospace industry is waking up to Brexit certainty after Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a landslide majority in a Dec. 12 general election. Johnson's Conservative party secured a significant majority in the British Parliament – the largest since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s - which will enable him to push through his vision of Brexit on Jan. 31, 2020 ending Parliamentary and legal deadlocks that have delayed the UK's departure from the EU since the original date of March 29, 2019. For aerospace, the Parliamentary majority means stability in planning and investment, and there are unlikely to be any more delays to the process. It should also mean that the threat of a no-deal Brexit – widely considered the worst-case scenario for aerospace – has largely evaporated for now. The current iteration of the withdrawal agreement between Britain and the EU calls for regulatory alignment with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), but the two sides still have to negotiate future trade agreements once the UK has exited the EU. A lack of agreement here could result in a no-deal. British aerospace and defense trade association ADS said it was looking forward to working with the new government but said that ministers needed to “deliver a close future relationship with the European Union." In a statement, ADS CEO Paul Everitt called on the government to push forward with “investments in innovation and green technologies, develop a defense and security industrial strategy and an ambitious national space program.” Airbus, one of the most vocal aerospace companies against Brexit, said it welcomed the fact that the British government now has a “clear mandate” and is looking forward to “positive discussions.” “Airbus remains concerned by the potential for a ‘no-deal' in December 2020 and we will continue to plan for that scenario as that is the only way any responsible business can plan,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to run our major Brexit project in order to further eradicate and/or mitigate risks.” If the election result made Brexit more likely, it makes the break-up of the UK more probable too after the Scottish National Party (SNP) secured 48 of the 59 Parliamentary seats in Scotland. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the result was a mandate for a second Scottish independence referendum. The Conservative government is unlikely to green-light such a referendum, but independence would have significant ramifications for UK defense given the presence of several airbases and the UK's ballistic missile submarines carrying the nuclear deterrent. https://aviationweek.com/defense/brexit-certainty-after-boris-johnson-election-landslide

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