Swedish defense leaders push Saab’s Gripen offer for Finland

On the same subject

• 

  August 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  India announces ban on 101 imported arms. Who benefits, and who loses out?

  By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — To bolster self-reliance for its defense industrial base, India on Sunday released a list of 101 weapons and platforms that will be banned from import over the next seven years. The list incorporates major armaments such as artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, ammunition, radars, conventional diesel-electric submarines, communication satellites and shipborne cruise missiles. In announcing the move, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called it “a big step toward self-reliance in defense production in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat,' ” or “Self-Reliant India.” Singh added the decision will bring with it a great opportunity for the local defense industry to manufacture the items on the negative list by using domestic design and development capabilities. “The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “The aim behind the promulgation of the list is to appraise the Indian defense industry about the anticipated requirements of the [Indian] armed forces so that they are better prepared to realize the goal of indigenization.” The items on the list, worth a total of $53.4 billion, are to be manufactured in India, with local companies as prime contractors. Of these, about $17.3 billion will be either Army or Air Force programs, and defense contracts worth $18.6 billion will be meant for naval programs. The MoD said these orders will be placed with domestic companies within the next five to seven years. The domestic industry will now stand a better chance to compete among itself and cater to local demand, an MoD official told Defense News. “Foreign-origin technology transfer will be key. However, the Indian companies will be in the driver's seat,” the official said. Domestic private companies have welcomed the government's move, but some defense experts doubt change will come. Baba Kalyani, chairman of Bharat Forge Limited, said this decision is a strategic step that will “propel the Self-Reliant India narrative and bolster the Indian defense equipment-manufacturing industry.” He added that the growth of the domestic sector will lead to self-reliance, reduced expenditure on imports, the saving of foreign currency, job creation and the revival of consumption, and that it will get India closer to its goal of a $5 trillion economy. Jayant Patil, senior executive vice president of India's largest private defense company Larsen & Toubro, said the defense policy reforms will provide long-term visibility, which he said is needed to drive investment. In contract, Vivek Rae, a former MoD chief of acquisitions, said the “gradual ban on imports of 101 weapons and platforms signals the strong intent of government to boost domestic defense production. However, some of these items are already made or assembled in India, and import content is also high. Therefore, business as usual will continue unless more orders are given to the private sector and import content reduced.” Rae also noted the cost of items manufactured or assembled locally tends to be higher than the cost of imported items. The quality of locally produced materiel is also a concern for Rae. The embargo may not adversely affect foreign original equipment manufacturers, as they can continue involvement in MoD acquisition programs, either by way of direct product orders or through technology transfer or collaboration with the Indian companies, in respect to items not covered by the list, according to Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisition at the MoD. It doesn't matter whether an embargoed item is made by a joint venture or any other entity, so long as it is designed and developed in India, Cowshish added. Indeed, an MoD official confirmed that foreign original equipment manufacturers now can set up joint ventures with a majority control up to 74 percent. The ventures would be considered Indian companies and thus be eligible for manufacturing the embargoed items, the official explained. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/08/13/india-announces-ban-on-101-imported-arms-who-benefits-and-who-loses-out/

• 

  June 27, 2019 | International, Other Defence

  Tired of sweating in your ACUs? Try these new hot-weather cammies

  By: Todd South FORT BELVOIR, Va. – Beginning in July, soldiers in Hawaii and at Fort Benning, Georgia will be able to buy the Army's newest field uniform – the Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform. Following the first delivery of 2,000 uniforms to those sites, the Army will roll out more batches of the uniform in six more waves through February 2020 when it will be available at all military clothing stores. Don't sweat it yet. The IHWCU is not a clothing item required for inspections but it is an option that soldiers will have to use how they see fit in hot climates and even in garrison in situations where they would wear the Army Combat Uniform. The IHWCU maintains the same Operational Camouflage Pattern as the current ACU and comes in at about the same price, which runs approximately $100 for the set, depending on sizes, Col. Stephen Thomas, project manager, soldier protection and individual equipment at Program Executive Office-Soldier told Army Times. The most notable change when the two uniforms are side by side is that the IHWCU has no breast pockets. But changes go deeper once a user dons the lighter, more breathable and streamlined uniform built to help keep soldiers cool with improved airflow but also more comfortable with a new material that dries from soaking wet within 60 minutes. Thomas got to experience that firsthand recently when wearing the new uniform to a Pentagon meeting and getting caught in a downpour. “As soon as we pull in, the bottom falls out of the sky,” the career light infantryman said. Walking through security, he was leaving puddles of water but by the time he finished his first meeting he was essentially dry. The seven waves of deliveries will start at 2,000 for the first wave and conclude with a 5,000- to 6,000-uniform wave next year. After that production will depend on demand, Thomas said. If soldiers like them and buy them, then the Army will order up more. The seasoned colonel recalled a more distant uniform change having a certain effect. When he was a second lieutenant, the Army had the standard Battle Dress Uniform, but it was heavier than necessary for hot climates. So, similarly the Army produced a “lightweight” summer BDU, which also was not a required clothing item but quickly became the standard uniform most soldiers wore for comfort. “What ended up happening is it became a uniform of choice,” Thomas said. “I think this will have the same results.” The new uniform uses a 57 percent nylon and 43 percent cotton blend to reduce the weight of the uniform by a pound and increasing drying rates and air flow. Other not immediately recognizable but important additions include reinforced elbow and knee areas, helping to prevent ripping. Changes to contours by designers have used a “raglan” sleeve that is more fitted, less baggy with less bunching or binding as is sometimes common with the current ACU, Thomas said. The knee areas are also better tailored to allow for movement where the ACU can sometimes snag or drag when wet, said Lester Smith, systems acquisitions manager at PEO Soldier. And the crotch gusset allows for the same freedom of movement in the trousers, also preventing drag and keeping the pants in a better position, especially when loaded down with cargo pocket items or wet. How the Army developed the uniform includes laboratory and field testing by scientists at the then-Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. That work kicked off in 2015, after soldiers pointed out problems with the existing uniform options for hot, wet environments such as those often encountered by soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and soldiers rotating through the ongoing Pacific Pathways exercises that partners U.S. soldiers with Indo-Pacific region militaries, many in very hot, often jungle environments. The results were pushed to PEO Soldier in 2017, which did a large scale test with 25th Division soldiers and others beginning in January 2018 and which resulted in further changes and adjustments that ultimately became the soon-to-release IHWCU. Along the way, the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, 25th Infantry Division, 6th Ranger Training Brigade, Jungle Operations Training Center and Maneuver Center of Excellence contributed to testing and evaluations. Pentaq, NIB, Goodwill Industries and ReadyOne are the companies producing the uniform for military clothing stores. Key features of the new IHWCU include: Blouse Single-breasted Raglan sleeve front with a five (5) button closure Fold-down collar with a fusible interlining Long sleeves with cuffs with one button and three buttonholes for an adjustable cuff tab The top of the button down closure is open to accommodate a pen Front placket has a loop tape for the Rank Patch Coat has two bellow-style top opening upper sleeve pockets and includes an eyelet drain-hole Sleeves have an elbow reinforcement patch Both sleeves have an Identification Friend or Foe tab cover that can be opened and closed using hook and loop fastener IFF tab cover is centered and sewn onto the sleeve above the upper sleeve pocket Double turned and cleaned finished hem Trousers Covered fly with a four (4) button/ buttonhole closure, or three (3) button/buttonhole closure, depending on size Seven (7) belt loops Two (2) side hanging pockets Two (2) front side pleated cargo pockets with three (3) button/ two (2) buttonhole closure flaps High end of cargo pockets at front of pocket rather than rear like ACU Two (2) lower leg side pockets with one (1) button/ one (1) buttonhole closure flaps Side cargo pockets shall have three (3) sewn-in eyelets hidden by the bellows Double needle seat patch and a pleated knee reinforcement incorporated into the pant leg at the knee One (1) piece single gusset Two (2) front side hanging pockets Mesh fabric attached on the inside of the trousers at the bottom of the legs as inner cuffs Bottom of the trousers leg hems, the inner cuffs, and the waistband shall have drawstrings How the IHWCU came to be First they stripped down the ACU and then added the following items: Chest, calf and back pockets were removed to reduce weight and dry time. Blousing strings were eliminated from trousers to allow for airflow and drainage. The elbows, knees and seat were reinforced with 330 denier nylon, a thicker nylon that increases durability and abrasion resistance. Crotch gussets, extra patches of fabric that reduces stress on the seams, were added to prevent blowouts common to the Flame Resistant ACUs. Buttons were used on the ACU blouse instead of a zipper, with the intent to increase air flow. Another hot weather version in early testing incorporated mesh into the uniform design and had all of the same changes as the stripped down ACU except it used a zipper instead of buttons. With this version soldiers didn't need to blouse their boots because a mesh material inside the trouser leg along the ankle. By tucking in the mesh, soldiers could get air flow and also keep insects or leeches from getting at them. Some early testing added a “knit yoke” or wicking material to the back of the trouser waist band. That add-on was to wick away pooling sweat that often accumulates there. Wicking draws moisture away from the body so that it can evaporate. They also looked at two different Army Combat Shirt changes, testing both a cooling material for the torso and collar and also a wicking version. Between 2015 and 2016 the Army conducted four uniform user test evaluations, three of those only on material, not design. The first was a 50/50 nylon/cotton weave with ripstop reinforcement, just like the standard ACU. The second had the same blend but used a “twill weave” to make it stronger and more tear resistant. The third used a 38/38/24 blend of nylon, cotton and PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene: a compound use in Teflon coatings. The fourth version was 100 percent nylon ripstop. Without cotton it takes on less water and weighs less but is still as strong as nylon. The fifth version was a 57/43 nylon/cotton blend, which was the final choice for the current IHWCU. Full article: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/06/26/tired-of-sweating-in-your-acus-try-these-new-hot-weather-cammies/

• 

  February 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Difficultés de financement de la BITD : résultats du rapport de l’Assemblée nationale

  DÉFENSE Difficultés de financement de la BITD : résultats du rapport de l'Assemblée nationale À l'issue de quatre mois de travaux, les députés Françoise Ballet-Blu (LaREM, Vienne) et Jean-Louis Thiériot (LR, Seine-et-Marne), rapporteurs de la mission sur le financement de la base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD), ont confirmé lors de la présentation du rapport qu'il existe bien une réticence des banques à financer les industries de la défense. Jean-Louis Thiériot accorde un entretien à La Tribune. « Le GICAT a raison à 80%. Il existe une vraie frilosité concernant le financement de l'exportation vers certains pays. Le GICAT a parfaitement raison de tirer la sonnette d'alarme », souligne-t-il.« Les auditions que nous avons menées ont confirmé deux tendances profondes qui rythment désormais la vie des entreprises de défense : les règles de « compliance », notamment la loi Sapin 2, renforcent considérablement les exigences imposées aux entreprises, et le risque réputationnel est devenu absolument majeur pour les banques », explique M. Thiériot, qui conclut : « pour sauver notre industrie d'armement, qui est indispensable à notre modèle de défense, basé à la fois sur une production nationale et à l'exportation, il faudra, d'une manière ou d'une autre, trouver une structure publique de financement de l'industrie de défense et de ses exportations ». Les députés proposent, par exemple, de créer un label industrie de souveraineté pour les PME/PMI, afin de leur permettre de mieux négocier leurs demandes de crédits. Ils proposent aussi qu'une mission d'accompagnement des PME à la conformité soit confiée à l'Agence française anticorruption et à Bpifrance. Ils plaident, de plus, pour déplafonner les seuils d'intervention de Bpifrance s'agissant des crédits export, en passant de 25 à 50 millions d'euros pour les financements en solitaire et de 75 à 100 millions pour les opérations en cofinancement. Enfin, ils demandent que la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI) devienne un acteur du financement de la défense. Les Echos et La Tribune du 18 février