Pentagon’s AI hub awards multiple $100M blanket purchasing agreements

On the same subject

• 

  October 8, 2019 | International, Land

  Canada reviews footage of destroyed and captured Canadian-made Saudi armoured vehicles

  By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian government says it is examining video footage which appears to show Canadian-made light armoured vehicles captured by rebels in Yemen. Yemen's Houthi rebels released the footage Sunday of the aftermath of a battle with Saudi Arabian forces. The fighting started as an ambush inside Saudi Arabia but then turned into a major cross-border battle, according to the rebels. The footage of the battle was shown on Houthi-run Al Masirah TV and Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia has not acknowledged the fighting and the Houthi claims have not been independently verified. The footage shows the captured and destroyed light armoured vehicles as well as Saudi troops taken prisoner. Over the years, Saudi Arabia has purchased light armoured vehicles from Canada's General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London, Ont. In 2014, the then Conservative government announced a deal worth an estimated $15 billion to sell Saudi Arabia more than 700 light armoured vehicles. That controversial deal was later approved by the Liberal government. Besides the armoured vehicles, the video shows large amounts of captured small arms. It is not clear whether the Houthi forces took possession of some of the armoured vehicles or left them at the ambush site. Houthi spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree told Al Masirah TV that the captured soldiers were moved to “secure places.” Doug Wilson-Hodge, spokesman for General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, said the company is declining to comment on the footage. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Adam Austen said Friday that department officials are reviewing the footage. It is unclear what would be done after the footage is examined. Austen also noted the government is reviewing all export permits to Saudi Arabia but no final decision has been taken. “During this review, no new permits have been issued,” Austen added. A March 21, 2016 Global Affairs Canada memo released under the Access to Information law noted that officials in the department pushed for the sale of the light armoured vehicles to the Saudis despite concerns about human rights abuses and the possibility such equipment could be captured by rebels from Yemen. The memo pointed to the appearance of a Canadian-made LRT-3 sniper rifle photographed in the hands of a Houthi rebel in Yemen. More than 1,300 sniper rifles have been exported from Canada to the Saudi Arabian military and security forces, including several hundred of that particular model, the document added. “Canada's Embassy in Riyadh assesses that this rifle, along with other Saudi military equipment, was likely captured from Saudi fighters by Houthi fighters during military operations along the Saudi-Yemeni border,” then Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion was told. The Liberal government launched the review of the light armoured vehicle contract after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey. Earlier this year a United Nations report determined that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the killing of Khashoggi who was a critic of that country's regime. A dozen organizations sent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a letter earlier in August, questioning the status of the review and pointing out that no updates on progress have been provided. The lack of such information has brought “the sincerity of the effort into question,” according to the letter endorsed by organizations such as Oxfam Canada and Amnesty International. Relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia soured last year after the Canadian government called for the release of two jailed Saudi human rights activists. The Saudis have also fallen behind in their payments for the light armoured vehicles received from General Dynamics. It was revealed in December that the Saudis owed Canada more than $1 billion for vehicles already delivered. A Saudi-led coalition, which has been provided with arms and intelligence from the U.S. and other western nations, intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis overthrew the government. Saudi Arabia has faced severe criticism for its role in the ongoing war in Yemen, with allegations it has conducted unlawful airstrikes on civilians. Screen shots below of light armoured vehicles were taken from the Houthi video aired Sunday: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canada-reviews-footage-of-destroyed-and-captured-canadian-made-saudi-armoured-vehicles

• 

  July 31, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Exclusive: As Japan weighs missile-defence options, Raytheon lobbies for Lockheed's $300 million radar deal

  TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. defence company Raytheon (RTN.N) is lobbying Japanese lawmakers to replace Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) as the supplier of powerful radars as Tokyo reconsiders plans for two Aegis Ashore missile defence sites, three sources said. “It's game on,” said one of the sources, who has direct knowledge of Raytheon's lobbying campaign. Raytheon's pitch includes a proposal to put its SPY-6 radar on refitted destroyers, as the U.S. Navy plans to do. The company says that would save money and time as Japan tackles new missile threats, drones and stealth aircraft. Lockheed Martin has a contract with Japan to build its $300 million SPY-7 radars at the two cancelled Aegis Ashore sites, but says other sites or ships are possible. But critics say dedicating ships to missile defence pulls them away from other duties, and new destroyers can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And Japan could face financial penalties if it pulled out of its contract with Lockheed Martin. “We are looking at the various options available to us,” a defence ministry spokesman said. A key battle for the two companies will be winning the support of former defence ministers and deputy ministers who as early as next week will make recommendations to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. That group, led by former defence minister Itsunori Onodera, formed in June after current defence chief Taro Kono suspended the Aegis Ashore plan. It has weighed in on missile defence and discussed proposals that Japan acquire strike weapons for that mission, Japanese officials have said. The group of lawmakers will release their recommendations on Friday after they present them for approval to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's defence policy committee, Onodera told reporters after the group met on Thursday. Japan under Abe has beefed up its military with stealth fighters designed to fly off carriers, longer-range missiles, new amphibious units and stronger air defences meant to deter threats from neighbours, including North Korea and China. Kono said he ordered the Aegis sites relocated because rocket boosters that accelerate interceptor missiles into space could fall on residents. But concern over mounting costs was the main reason for that decision, according to the three sources. ADVERTISEMENT China is rapidly expanding and improving its ballistic missile arsenal, and in 2017 North Korea tested a missile that flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido. With around three times the range of radars currently used by Japan, both SPY-6 and SPY-7 would greatly enhance Japan's ability to detect multiple attacks. One option for Japan that would avoid any political fallout would be to buy both radars, using SPY-6 on Aegis ships and deploying Lockheed's SPY-7 as an early warning radar, one of the sources said. CHOICE Onodera's backing would make that change more likely because he approved the Lockheed Aegis radar acquisition two years ago. At the time he was unaware that testing in Hawaii could add at least $500 million to Aegis Ashore's $4 billion budget, separate sources told Reuters last year. In an interview in the Asahi newspaper on Thursday, Onodera said the “ideal option” for Japan would be to find a safe ground-based location. He also noted that building Aegis ships would cost both money and manpower. Onodera's office declined an interview request, but one source familiar with his position on the radars described him as “flexible.” Masahisa Sato, a former deputy defence minister who also served as a deputy minister of foreign affairs, said Japan's choice is between SPY-7 at new sites, with the missile launchers deployed elsewhere, or building Aegis ships equipped with SPY-6. “I am recommending an increase in Aegis ships,” he said. “SPY-7 is under development and there is a question about how it would perform in a new configuration,” Sato added. Lockheed Martin said its system could be adapted to ships, and disputed questions about performance. “SPY-7 radar is the most advanced radar in the world today and we believe it is the best solution for Japan's defence needs,” the company said in an e-mail. For its part, Raytheon said the SPY-6 will be deployed on 50 U.S. Navy ships, calling it the “most advanced radar technology in production today.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-defence-aegis-exclusive/exclusive-as-japan-weighs-missile-defence-options-raytheon-lobbies-for-lockheeds-300-million-radar-deal-idUSKCN24V0VQ

• 

  November 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land

  Enjeux de l'exportation française d'armements

  A l'occasion du Paris Air Forum, une table-ronde sur la question des exportations françaises a réuni Thierry Carlier, directeur du développement international à la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), Philippe Keryer, directeur général adjoint, Stratégie, Recherche et Technologie chez Thales, Alexandre Ziegler, directeur de l'international et des relations institutionnelles de Safran, et Cédric Perrin, vice-président de la commission des affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées du Sénat. Thierry Carlier souligne que l'exportation d'armements représente pour la France, qui est capable de fournir l'ensemble du spectre de matériel militaire, la manifestation d'une volonté politique et l'expression d'une politique étrangère. C'est aussi le moyen de garder les compétences et une industrie dans le pays : un point de vue partagé par Philippe Keryer, qui estime que l'exportation permet notamment de lisser les cadences et de rentabiliser l'innovation, tout en maintenant en France de l'emploi qualifié. Pour Alexandre Ziegler, il est indispensable de trouver des clients à l'étranger en l'absence de préférence européenne. Le sénateur Cédric Perrin insiste sur la nécessité de l'exportation pour garantir la pérennité de la BITD, indispensable à l'autonomie stratégique. Les intervenants se sont montrés optimistes sur le développement des programmes européens de défense : le lancement du SCAF ou de l'Eurodrone, notamment, permettront de mettre en place des règles communes, et de gagner en autonomie stratégique. La Tribune du 24 novembre