Rheinmetall and Leonardo target Italian land vehicles in new JV - Army Technology

On the same subject

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  October 17, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Czech Republic enters talks with Embraer for C-390 aircraft deal

  The Czech company Aero Vodochody supplies to Brazil’s Embraer various components used to make the C-390.

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  September 13, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  New Swedish government advocates for greater defense spending

  By: Gerard O'Dwyer STOCKHOLM — The Swedish military can expect to see a sizable increase in its annual budget regardless of the composition of the new government that will be formed in the wake of parliamentary elections. All of the mainstream parties, including the ruling Social Democrats (SDP), the Moderates, the Center, Liberals and the Sweden Democrats' right-wing nationalist party, campaigned on delivering a stronger national defense and channeling a much higher level of spending to the Swedish Armed Forces over the next 10 years. "Sweden needs a more resilient national defense capability that is better funded and resourced," said Stefan Löfven, the SDP's leader and Sweden's prime minister. The SDP is hoping to assemble a new government in partnership with the Leftist and Green parties. These three parties secured a 40.8 percent share of the popular vote in the recently concluded September 2018 election. Löfven's main challenge is the center-right Alliance group, which includes the Moderates, the Center, Liberals and Christian Democrats. Together, the four Alliance parties won 40.3 percent of the popular vote. The Alliance is looking to form a new government that excludes both the SDP and the Sweden Democrats. The Sweden Democrats raised its share of the popular vote to 17.6 percent. All mainstream parties have ruled out forming a coalition that includes the Sweden Democrats. Defense will be very much on the minds of Sweden's new government, against a backdrop of an unpredictable Russia and a domestic military that is unable to either fund major new procurement programs or work within the tight parameters of the current budgeting framework. By: Aaron Mehta “Sweden's national defense has been neglected for decades. What has happened is shameful. The budget allocated to the armed forces must reflect needs, operational realities and the requirement to replace outdated equipment. The goal should be to raise spending on defense to 2 percent of GDP, the recommended NATO level, inside 10 years,” said Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderates and someone being widely tipped to become Sweden's next prime minister. The Alliance supports a more ambitious spending plan for the military that would increase the armed forces' budget by $2.3 billion in the 2019-2021 budgetary period. “The [Swedish Armed Forces] needs to be able to afford to run essential equipment-replacement programs. We need more Army brigades, more fighter aircraft, and among other things an increased cyber defense capacity,” Kristersson said. Restoring the military's budget and finances to levels that actually reflect the force's capability requirements will take time. The organization's budget has been in decline since the Cold War era of 1963, when defense spending amounted to 3.68 percent of Sweden's gross domestic product. Spending as a ratio of GDP had dropped to 1.1 percent by 2015. It currently stands at about 1.03 percent, a historic low. A force development plan endorsed by the armed forces favors an increase in annual spending on defense to between $7.36 billion and $9 billion by 2025. In the longer term, and by the year 2035, the military would like to see defense spending rise to more than $12.1 billion. At the same time, the Swedish Armed Forces would be strengthened from the current 50,000 personnel of all ranks to 120,000 by the year 2035. This proposed new look, improved capability and reinforced organization would comprise at least four brigade-level units, a light infantry special forces regiment, a fleet of 24 surface combat naval vessels and six submarines, eight fighter squadrons, and 120 Gripen combat aircraft. Stefan Löfven's SDP-led government adopted new measures in 2017 to increase annual spending on the military from about $4.7 billion to $6.6 billion by 2019. Under the spending plan supported by the Alliance, defense expenditure would grow year on year after 2019, reaching $8 billion by 2024. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/12/new-swedish-government-advocates-for-greater-defense-spending

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  April 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Opinion: Aerospace Manufacturing In Time Of COVID-19

  Vivek Saxena “You never know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.” I am reminded of Warren Buffett's words in the climate created by the coronavirus pandemic. Aerospace manufacturers that are lean, use enabling technologies and have a robust business continuity plan will stand tall in tough times. Conversely, inefficient companies that have ridden the gravy train of the aerospace supercycle will suffer. I will share a few best practices that should help industry prepare for the long haul, using an admittedly unscientific survey of multiple manufacturers in various tiers to assess how the aerospace supply chain is coping with the triple whammy of reduced demand, weakened productivity and increased supply chain distress. I asked, how are they dealing with dwindling attendance, regulatory confusion and the decoupling of remote support staff from the production staff? Leadership and communication matter more than ever. While liquidity remains the mantra, no factory can succeed without motivated employees. Shop floor attendance is dropping, depending upon the proximity to COVID-19 “hot spots” and, more important, the leadership's success in engaging with employees. We have already observed a 25% average drop in attendance at many suppliers. On the other hand, Click Bond CEO Karl Hutter reports little impact and is even expecting a record month. He set up a mission control office early and deployed an intranet system to communicate with employees. He calls this a “high-fidelity single source of truth about our people and our operations.” Another innovation is mobile check-in/check-out for employees at each building, allowing for a quick triage if necessary. The CEO of a California forger reports a slight improvement in attendance despite the COVID-19 outbreak in the state, owing to “honest communication and employees taking pride in working at a designated critical service.” The terms “critical infrastructure” and “essential business” have been thrown around without much explanation, sowing confusion among suppliers. Marotta Controls CEO Patrick Marotta took the lead in calming his suppliers. “Suppliers were especially appreciative when we communicated the [Defense and Homeland Security] memos classifying the defense industrial base as critical infrastructure,” Marotta said. Lean enables social distancing. Plants with a deeper lean culture have already implemented manufacturing cells. Lean enables operators to run multiple machines in their dedicated cells with minimal interaction with other areas. Consider Woodward's new plant in Rockford, Illinois, where instead of a large furnace, self-contained cells are situated with right-size furnaces. This design eliminates all unnecessary material and personnel movement at a shared service such as a large furnace. Additionally, closed-loop quality control preempts back-and-forth between inspectors and machinists. Technology is a friend. Protolabs in Minnesota is a great example of digital manufacturing. Plants with lights-out machining capability can scale the technology across all shifts, filling in for absent employees. Machine monitoring and the Internet of Things are especially helpful for remote support staff. Shops with a higher degree of automation will obviously see less of an attendance impact. Data analytics dashboards are a great enabler for remote production meetings. An OEM told us its supply chain organization was fully prepared to work remotely since its business continuity plan called for a system for executing and monitoring remote activities. A Tier 1 told us about a recent investment in information technology systems that is now paying off handsomely for remote operations. Now is an opportunity to catch up and come out stronger. The industry will find a way, says Nycote President Marcie Simpson. She is “impressed with the level of communication and transparency. . . . It seems as though everyone is innovating ways to ensure supply chain continuity.” The best-case scenario is that industry comes out of this crisis in about 12 months with moderately reduced demand and the Boeing 737 MAX back in service. The supply chain will then be functioning better, because the intervening period will have been used to catch up on past issues. For example, the engine supply chain can wrinkle out the kinks that have hobbled engine manufacturers. They can use the respite to address the early shop visit issues and develop much-needed repairs for new engines. Lower tiers would be well-advised to use this time to focus on operational excellence and technology implementation. Vivek Saxena is the managing director at Advisory Aerospace OSC, a consultancy focused on operations and supply chain. https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/manufacturing-supply-chain/opinion-aerospace-manufacturing-time-covid-19