November 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace
La crise du Covid-19 a montré la grande dépendance de Safran à l'aéronautique civile alors que l'activité hélicoptère et la défense sont en croissance. À cet égard, le groupe souhaite se renforcer dans le secteur militaire. « J'aimerais que le groupe se développe dans la défense. Si des actifs sont à vendre, je regarderai avec intérêt », a déclaré Philippe Petitcolin, son directeur général. Les activités militaires représentent 16% environ du chiffre d'affaires du groupe. Il est présent dans les drones avec le Patroller commandé par l'armée de Terre, les boules optroniques, les centrales inertielles, ainsi que les moteurs de l'avion de combat Rafale, de l'Airbus A400M et de plusieurs hélicoptères, notamment le nouveau H160 M qui doit équiper les forces armées dans les prochaines années. Safran bénéficiera aussi du futur contrat Rafale grec. Athènes négocie avec la France pour acheter 18 avions de combat. « Si de nouveaux contrats Rafale sont pris à l'exportation et en France, ils auront un impact positif en 2022 et 2023 », a précisé le directeur général.
Le Figaro 30 octobre 2020
November 15, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Le ministère de la Défense a envoyé une délégation officielle d’entrepreneurs de défense israéliens au salon aéronautique de Dubaï ce mois-ci, en référence aux liens...
March 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By Steve Trimble Pratt & Whitney's F100 (pictured) is designed to be interchangeable with GE Aviation's F110 as the engine for the Boeing F-15 fleet. A jet engine maker is pressuring the U.S. Defense Department to scrap a plan to award a sole-source contract to a rival for a fleet of new fighters and investigate the opportunity for performance and cost improvements yielded by a competitive selection process. If that narrative sounds familiar, it is because it echoes a role GE Aviation played for more than 40 years, which included a successful bid in the 1980s to launch the “Great Engine War” over the F-15 and F-16 fleets and a failed campaign that ended almost a decade ago to establish the F136 as the alternate engine for the F-35. This time, however, the roles are reversed. Pratt & Whitney, which waged fierce lobbying campaigns against competitive engine policies for the F-15, F-16 and F-35, has switched sides in the debate. In response to the U.S. Air Force's decision to field the F-15EX into production powered solely by GE F110 engines, Pratt has filed two protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is scheduled to render judgments on both cases by early July. The Air Force sided with GE during the Great Engine War in 1984. Seeking to lower costs and motivate Pratt to resolve stall-stagnation problems with the original F100, the Air Force decided that year to split the engine contract for the F-15 and F-16 between GE's F110 and Pratt's F100. Thirty-six years later, the Air Force now worries about the schedule impact if the GAO sustains either or both of Pratt's protests of the F-15EX engine. Service officials decided to acquire the F-15EX after concluding the F-15C/Ds were too costly to sustain and because it would take too long for the Pratt F135-powered F-35A to replace all of them. Pratt's protests threaten to disrupt that schedule and erode the Air Force's original business case for the F-15EX. “If we have to do an engine competition, it will add time—2-3 years,” said Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on March 10. Only a decade ago, Pratt welcomed a vote by Congress in 2010 to cancel funding for the F-35 program's alternate engine, along with a decision by GE and Rolls-Royce a year later to abandon a plan to self-fund the certification of the F136. But Pratt now embraces the potential benefits of an engine competition for the F-15EX. “Our government supports competition at all levels, and we're interested in providing the F100 as a competitive alternative,” Pratt Military Engines President Matthew Bromberg told Aviation Week. “If we're not competitive in terms of capability, schedule [and] price, I get it. But after the U.S. government spent all this money creating two engines for the F-15 and F-16 platforms, why would it then not compete a 450-engine program?” Asked if the existing F100 would require additional development to meet the Air Force's requirements for the F-15EX, Bromberg replied that he cannot answer that question in the absence of a competitive process that allows Pratt access to the specifications. He also noted that the F100 exclusively powers the Air Force's existing fleet of F-15Es. The F100 and F110 were designed to fit interchangeably in the F-15, although the heavily modified Saudi Arabian F-15SA and the Qatari F-15QA from which the F-15EX was derived are exclusively powered by GE's engine. The GAO does not release complaints filed by protesters up front, but it does release the full text of decisions. It is not clear why Pratt filed two separate protests on the sole-source decision for the GE engine on the F-15EX, but Bromberg advised not reading too much into it. “I'd like to obviously be able to discuss them, but I can't because it's a legal process,” Bromberg said. “I would really view them as a single protest on a single procurement action, and that is a lack of competition.” https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/possible-new-engine-war-recasts-pratt-champion-competition
November 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By Greg Waldron5 November 2020 BAE Systems, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin have replied to a request for information (RFI) related to work on Tokyo's F-X future fighter programme. Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) confirms that the RFI was issued on 16 September, with seven companies showing initial interest. Only BAE, Boeing and Lockheed replied prior to the RFI's deadline – the Lockheed bid also involves Northrop Grumman. “MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) will conduct conceptual design to look for the best fighter configuration to meet the requirement,” says ATLA. “Receiving the answers of the RFI from 3 companies, [the ministry of defence] will assess them and choose a candidate company by the end of the year.” News of the RFI responses follows the 30 October confirmation that the ministry had signed a contract with MHI to develop the F-X, which will succeed the Mitsubishi-produced F-2 in the 2030s. BAE, which is leading the international Tempest programme in Europe, says that its response to the RFI discusses the company's technical capabilities across a range of areas where BAE can support F-X development. “We are delighted to have submitted our response to the Japanese Ministry of Defence and we firmly believe that we can add significant value to the F-X programme,” says Andy Latham, campaign delivery director – Japan, for BAE Systems' Air business. “We have decades of experience of partnering with nations around the world to deliver sovereign capability. Our track record of collaborating on complex combat aircraft programmes has provided us with insight and understanding of the likely challenges and the range of capabilities, technologies and relationships required to successfully deliver the next generation of such programmes.” Boeing has extensive combat aircraft experience in Japan, including involvement in upgrading Tokyo's fleet of F-15J fighters to a new “Japanese Super Interceptor” standard. “We are honoured to have been invited to submit a proposal to support the design and production of Japan's next generation fighter,” says Boeing. “Our proposal is for a Japan-led, next-generation fighter with cutting-edge technology based on the best of Japanese industry and Boeing. We have a strong and rich history of partnering with Japan, and a proven track record in advanced fighters, which will ensure a low-cost, low-risk approach for the Government of Japan and Japanese industry, along with key Japan-US interoperability.” Lockheed also has a long history in Japan. The F-2 is a derivative of the F-16, and Tokyo is in the process of obtaining up to 147 F-35s, which would make it the second largest operator of the type. MHI operates a final assembly line for the F-35. “Lockheed Martin has responded to Japan's F-X request for information (RFI) with Northrop Grumman,” says the company. “Our comprehensive RFI response outlines potential areas of development support and participation that could significantly reduce F-X development costs and schedule by leveraging close industry cooperation with Japan's F-X integrator, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and ensuring indigenous design and sovereignty.” The company points to its experience with stealth aircraft, and also touches on the importance of interoperability with assets such as the F-35. “We firmly believe that we are well positioned to partner with MHI to cost-effectively develop Japan's next fighter and continue supporting the evolution of Japan's technological capabilities.” https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/bae-boeing-lockheed-respond-to-new-japanese-f-x-rfi/140995.article?adredir=1