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March 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Special US fund to replace Russian equipment in Europe is shifting its strategy

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — A U.S. State Department fund to help European nations replace Russian-made weapons with American equipment has expanded to eight countries, but will be eschewing a second wave of funding in favor of targeted investments.

In 2018, the State Department quietly launched a new effort known as the European Recapitalization Incentive Program, or ERIP, a new tool developed alongside U.S. European Command to speed up the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear. The U.S. benefits both strategically — getting partners and allies off Russian equipment to improve interoperability and deny Moscow funds for maintenance — and financially, thanks to the sale of American weapons abroad.

ERIP funds, reprogrammed from unused dollars such as regional Foreign Military Financing, come in one-time bursts to help a country buy American-made alternatives to Russian kit. To get the money, the European nation must pledge to not buy Russian equipment in the future, while also at least matching the dollar value of the ERIP grant with domestic funding.

The initial funding round consisted of six countries, totaling $190 million in reprogrammed fiscal 2017 dollars. As of last May, the State Department was considering a second round of ERIP grants and was at least in early discussions with Latvia about the funding.

But in the time since, the department decided there won't be a second round, but rather ERIP will become a tool best used on a rolling basis. (Discussions with Latvia turned to different pots of money other than ERIP, according to a source.)

“There was a lot of discussions about a second round, but the way it's kind of evolving is, rather than look at it as rounds is, look at it as opportunities,” a senior State Department official told Defense News on condition of anonymity. “It's a tool that we can use when opportunities arise for us to work with a partner to make a difference.”

All told, the department has given out roughly $277 million in ERIP grants in the last two years — but, the official said, those relatively small dollars helped lock in roughly $2.5 billion in U.S. weapons sales. That's a win in “pure economic terms,” the official said, even before getting into the hard-to-quantify policy and political benefits.

“It was a pretty bold decision in trying to help some of these countries acquire a pretty high capability capital intensive, and for some of them it's their first major [Foreign Military Sales] case, period.”

Going forward, there may be tie-in money from EUCOM, which could kick in $1-3 million in small grants to nations that received ERIP dollars in order to help nations with maintenance costs on the newly bought American equipment. That money would likely come from DoD's Section 333 authority.

Asked about that potential. DoD spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland said the department "continues to work closely with the Department of State in the planning of security assistance with our European partner nations that enables them to reduce their dependencies on Russia's defense industry and build and/or sustain their own defense capabilities.”

Targeted, ongoing funding

Bulgaria presents a notable example for how the thinking on ERIP is evolving. The country spent several years debating what fighter jet to purchase, with the finalists coming down to new F-16s from Lockheed Martin, secondhand F-16s from Portugal, Eurofighter Typhoons from Italy and Saab Gripens from Sweden.

As ERIP was envisioned, it would be used only for rotorcraft or ground vehicles. But with the government in Sofia teetering on the edge of rejecting the Lockheed deal, the U.S. State Department stepped in and used $56 million in ERIP dollars to push the F-16s over the edge and finalize a deal that could exceed $1.6 billion in costs.

“For countries where it's a politically contentious issue, whether for economic or political reasons” the fund can help make a deal happen, the official said. “We were able to close that gap with an ERIP grant that enabled them to make the purchase and acquire the capability.”

The second nation to get a targeted ERIP grant has been Lithuania, which in October announced plans to buy six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to replace its Soviet-made Mi-8 fleet. The State Department kicked in $30 million of ERIP funding to help complete that deal.

In fact, no one piece of equipment has benefited from ERIP as much as the UH-60, of which three of the eight ERIP grants has helped procure. The eight projects to date are:

  • Albania: $30 million for UH-60 procurement. The UH-60 is produced by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: $30.7 million for the Bell Huey II.
  • Croatia: $25 million for Bradley fighting vehicles, manufactured by BAE Systems. Croatia is also working to stand up local maintenance for the equipment.
  • North Macedonia: $30 million for Stryker vehicles, produced by General Dynamics.
  • Slovakia: $50 million for UH-60 procurement.
  • Greece: $25 million earmarked, but the government is still debating what to buy. Likely to either be Bradley vehicles or the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle from Textron. Greece stands out because, as a higher-income nation, they are technically ineligible for Foreign Military Financing dollars, but a political decision was made to support them with ERIP anyway, the official said.
  • Lithuania: $30 million for UH-60 procurement.
  • Bulgaria: $56 million for eight Lockheed-produced F-16s.

All of those deals except Greece and Lithuania are under contract, with a letter of request from Lithuania expected in the next few weeks.

As to future opportunities, “we always kind of have our eye open, and we rely on the country teams out in the field to bring us these opportunities and think about them,” the official said. Although at the moment there are no potential ERIP projects in the works.

“We continue to look at the Baltics, we look at the Balkans,” the official said, adding that “countries within Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans moving towards a new ground mobility or rotorwing systems with something to divest would be our top candidates.”

All of those deals except Greece and Lithuania are under contract, with a letter of request from Lithuania expected in the next few weeks.

As to future opportunities, “we always kind of have our eye open, and we rely on the country teams out in the field to bring us these opportunities and think about them,” the official said. Although at the moment there are no potential ERIP projects in the works.

“We continue to look at the Baltics, we look at the Balkans,” the official said, adding that “countries within Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans moving towards a new ground mobility or rotorwing systems with something to divest would be our top candidates.”

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/03/18/special-us-fund-to-replace-russian-equipment-in-europe-is-shifting-its-strategy

On the same subject

  • U.S. Air Force Upgrading C-17 and C-130H Avionics As Supplier Base for Legacy Systems Falls

    February 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    U.S. Air Force Upgrading C-17 and C-130H Avionics As Supplier Base for Legacy Systems Falls

    The U.S. Air Force is undertaking a number of avionics upgrades for Boeing [BA] C-17 and Lockheed Martin [LMT] C-130H transport aircraft, as the supplier base for legacy avionics systems falls, according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Material Shortfalls (DMSMS) are driving avionics-related upgrades,” AFLCMC wrote in email responses to questions from Defense Daily. The AFLCMC C-17 program office (AFLCMC/WLM) at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is undertaking a nearly $286 million C-17 Replacement Head-Up Display (RHUD) program with Elbit Systems of America to replace the 1980s-era C-17 HUD by the defunct U.K.-based GEC Avionics, whose former business is now part of Leonardo. The Elbit Systems RHUD for the C-17 has a Projector Unit (PU) and a Computer Unit (CU) that “displays symbols and real-world conformal imagery over an increased field of view to include the capability to display threat warnings and quadrant, supports two independently selectable video inputs for autonomous landing growth requirements, provides aircraft Electronic Bore-sighting capability, [and] provides improved reliability with a Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) of 3,000 operating hours,” according to AFLCMC/WLM. A GEC Avionics brochure issued in 1987 for the C-17 HUD said that the HUD has an MTBF of 7,000 operating hours, but, “based on current performance, the actual [HUD] MTBF is between 1,600 and 1,800 hours (lower than predicted),” according to AFLCMC/WLM. “The Statement of Requirements for the Replacement Head Up Display (RHUD) development delivery order requested 3,000 hours MTBF at maturity.” In addition, for the Boeing C-17 aircraft, the Air Force is undertaking “satellite communications upgrades for increased coverage and throughput speeds along with mitigation of obsolescence issues due to satellite service dates” and “upgrades of legacy aircraft avionics to capabilities of current commercial production aircraft, large area displays, [and] improved weather radars,” AFLCMC/WLM said. Under a $209 million Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) program for the C-17, AFLCMC is replacing the aircraft's L-Band Aero-I and Aero-H antennas, providing air traffic control data link capabilities, replacing the Collins Aerospace [UTX] ARC-210 Gen 3 radios with ARC-210 Gen 6 radios, and replacing KYV-5 cryptography with next-gen KYV-5M, AFLCMC/WLM said. Last July, the Air Force picked Honeywell [HON] to install its JetWave Ka-band fuselage-mounted antenna (MCS-8100 and tail-mounted antenna (MCS-8000) on 70 C-17s to provide real-time weather, video conferencing, large file transfer, encryption capabilities, in-flight briefings, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance video and secure communications in all areas, including over water and remote areas. The C-17 BLOS program will “enable dynamic re-tasking and command and control support of MAF [Mobility Air Forces] aircraft,” the Air Force said. JetWave uses Inmarsat‘s Global Xpress Ka-band service to provide worldwide connectivity with up to 50 Mbps of bandwidth to defense customers, according to Honeywell Aerospace. In December, AFLCMC completed Block 21 upgrades for all 275 C-17s, operated by the Air Force and allied nations, according to AFLCMC/WLM. The upgrades included hardware and software for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in Europe for planes operating in controlled airspace. “In addition to ADS-B Out, Block 21 included an Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) modification and other communication/navigation capability software updates,” AFLCMC said. “These additional modifications significantly improve the aircraft's flight management systems.” For the C-130H, the Air Force last June awarded L3Harris [LHX] a nearly $500 million contract for avionics upgrades to 176 Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft under the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program (AMP). L3Harris has chosen Collins Aerospace to provide its commercial off-the-shelf Flight2 integrated avionics system. Collins Aerospace said that is providing seven multifunctional displays (MFDs), three control display units (CDUs), and a new digital autopilot that will replace more than 100 analog instruments in C-130H cockpits. The AFLCMC C-130 program office (AFLCMC/WLN) at Robins Air Force Base said that the C-130H AMP increments 1 and 2 include “compliance with latest commercial and military Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) standards, a new flight management system, new commercial and military GPS receivers, improved [RNP] Required Navigation Performance], compliance with VHF 8.33KHz channel spacing requirements and ADS-B Out and Mode S Enhanced Surveillance (EHS) requirements, military satcom voice and data via the Lockheed Martin Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), improved UHF anti-jam capability via the Collins Aerospace Second generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO (SATURN), Real-Time Information into the Cockpit (RTIC), Link 16, [and a] digital map.” The C-130H upgrades also include a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), according to AFLCMC/WLN. RTIC is to allow the C-130H aircraft to share data with other systems over multiple data link networks. https://www.defensedaily.com/u-s-air-force-upgrading-c-17-c-130h-avionics-supplier-base-legacy-systems-falls/air-force/

  • Le président Macron promet de maintenir l'effort budgétaire pour les armées

    January 21, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Le président Macron promet de maintenir l'effort budgétaire pour les armées

    Tout en confirmant l'ouverture d'un débat avec les parlementaires pour revoir à mi-parcours la loi de programmation militaire, le président a promis lors de ses voeux aux armées à maintenir l'effort budgétaire en faveur de la modernisation des armées. Par Anne Bauer Publié le 19 janv. 2021 à 19:31 « Les engagements que j'ai pris seront tenus », a déclaré Emmanuel Macron lors de ses voeux aux armées à la Préfecture Maritime de l'Atlantique à Brest, après avoir discuté avec des élèves du Centre d'Instruction Naval. Et de rappeler que depuis trois ans, la loi de programmation militaire (LPM) a été tenue « à l'euro près ». « Les équipements sont livrés, les hébergements sont construits, les programmes avancent, les innovations sont stimulées, nos capacités se modernisent [...], a-t-il souligné en estimant que malgré la pandémie et la période difficile qui s'annonce, il faut maintenir l'effort jusqu'en 2023 comme prévu par la LPM. Point d'étapes pour la LPM « Un point d'étape approfondi devra être effectué dans les prochains mois avec les parlementaires, pour que nos armées restent pleinement efficaces sur les thé'tres d'opérations, quels qu'ils soient », a-t-il aussi confirmé. De fait, lors du vote de la LPM , les parlementaires avaient fixé à 2021 une discussion sur la nécessité ou non de revoir la trajectoire budgétaire annoncée. Après trois ans de hausse budgétaire, ce qui a porté le budget défense de 35,8 milliards d'euros en 2019 à 39,2 milliards cette année, la LPM (qui couvre la période 2019-2025) suggère une nouvelle hausse à 41 milliards en 2022 et à 44 milliards en 2023, soit un effort de 198 milliards d'euros sur la période 2019-2023. Reste à réévaluer les capacités nécessaires, les réussites et les attentes, le président évoquant l'exigence toujours réaffirmée d'agilité et d'efficacité. Dans ses voeux, Emmanuel Macron a aussi répété son souhait de consolider la nouvelle politique en faveur de l'autonomie stratégique européenne. « Notre engagement au sein de l'Otan n'empêche pas une autonomie européenne. Nous avons besoin d'une Europe forte plus unie, plus conquérante et qui assume les choix faits depuis trois ans. Il faudra continuer avec les Etats-Unis qui se réengagent dans le multilatéralisme et il nous faudra convaincre de la pertinence de nos choix dans la durée ». Ajustement de l'opération Barkhane au Sahel A propos de l'opération Barkhane au Sahel , qui mobilise actuellement quelque 5.100 soldats français, le président n'a parlé ni de retrait, ni de renforcement, mais simplement d'un ajustement. « Les résultats obtenus par nos forces au Sahel, conjugués à l'intervention plus importante de nos partenaires européens, vont nous permettre d'ajuster notre effort militaire dans la région », a déclaré le chef de l'Etat, sans précision de volume ou de calendrier. Il y a un an, au sommet de Pau, le président français et ses homologues du G5 Sahel (Mauritanie, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Tchad) avaient décidé d'intensifier la lutte antidjihadiste pour enrayer une spirale de violences, notamment avec l'envoi de 600 hommes en renfort. « Les renforts temporaires que j'ai décidé de déployer ont permis à la force Barkhane de mettre en grande difficulté des groupes terroristes qui se retrouvent acculés, réduits à des procédés l'ches, qui ont atteint nos forces », endeuillées par la récente mort de 5 soldats français au Mali, « mais qui, je le rappelle, frappent d'abord et surtout les civils, sans discrimination », a commenté le président français. Garder le sens du temps long Nombre d'observateurs estiment que la France devrait annoncer qu'elle réduit la voilure lors du prochain sommet avec les pays du G5 Sahel, en février à N'Djamena. Pour le moment, le président parle d'un « cap qui reste inchangé ». Alors que l'opération Barkhane entre dans sa neuvième année et a coûté la vie à 50 militaires, le président a terminé son discours en rappelant la nécessité du temps long, avant de remercier les femmes et les hommes engagés. « La tendance est grande de ne s'occuper que du quotidien. La force de nos armées, c'est de savoir embrasser le temps long... Ne cédons pas au court terme et gardons la capacité à regarder le grand large, gardons le sens du temps long ». https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/air-defense/le-president-macron-promet-de-maintenir-leffort-budgetaire-pour-les-armees-1282520

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 02, 2021

    February 3, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 02, 2021

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