June 20, 2024 | Information, Land
French Diplomatic Entities Targeted in Russian-Linked Cyber Attacks
Russian hackers target French diplomats in sophisticated cyber attacks. ANSSI warns of ongoing threats to diplomatic entities and IT firms.
November 14, 2019 | Information, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
The real obstacle for reforming military spending isn’t in the defence ministry. It’s the Treasury Board
KEN HANSEN
Ken Hansen is an independent defence and security analyst and owner of Hansen Maritime Horizons. Retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in 2009 in the rank of commander, he is also a contributor to the security affairs committee for the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia.
For people inside the Department of National Defence, a minority Parliament – coupled with election promises for increased social spending and tax cuts – represents an uneasy calculus.
Defence spending is always on the chopping block because it represents the largest pool of discretionary spending in the federal budget, and every party spent the recent federal election campaign being vague about military policy – offering some kind of oversight-body reform or scrutiny over the billions of dollars that have been earmarked, even as they lent their support to ensuring the military has the equipment it needs.
In particular, the single largest program in Canadian defence history – the Canadian Combat Ship plan for 15 warships – will be a tantalizing target for politicians looking to get rid of perceived fat. Such cuts to shipbuilding programs have even already become normalized: The order for Halifax-class frigates were trimmed to 12 from 18 in 1983 and the Iroquois-class destroyers to four from six in 1964, to name just two.
The political leaders weren't wrong when they said the military procurement system is broken. But regardless of which party had won this past election, and no matter what tweaks at the edges that the Liberal minority government and its potential supporters pursue, the reality is that the core issue remains unaddressed: Treasury Board's bulk approach to purchasing the country's military kit.
Treasury Board policy states that bulk buys are how military procurement should be done, to ensure the lowest per-unit cost. But this forces tough decisions about what to buy, since the larger the order, the longer it will take to produce them all – not to mention the problems involved with trying to predict the future of warfare.
Information systems become outdated in five years; weapons and sensors in 10. With a planned operating life of 25 years, any ships ordered today will be out-of-date by the time the first are delivered, and fully obsolete by the time the last one arrives. Block purchasing leads to block obsolescence.
Traditionally, when technological change threatens to render military systems obsolete, the best way to hedge was to order in batches of the smallest number acceptable. In the years before the world wars, for instance, countries working to build competent naval forces put less emphasis on fleet numbers and more on technology and industrial capacity until the last moments before conflict. Technological competence was as important as numbers for fleet commanders.
Another outcome of bulk buys is that the volume means that they happen only every two to three decades (or longer, in the worst cases). With such lengthy dry spells between purchases, it is impossible to retain corporate knowledge in either the defence or civilian branches of government.
More frequent purchasing keeps the process alive in both practice and concept, with lessons learned that can be implemented by the same people who made the mistakes in the first place.
Such irregularly timed purchases have created desperation among defence planners whose vision of the future consists of short golden days of competence and pride, followed by long years of rust-out and irrelevance. Unwittingly, the dark decades were in large part of the military's own making because of its desperate desire to acquire the absolute best model available – a practice known as “gold-plating” – instead of working steadily to build capacity and skill that would address long-range fleet needs.
This is a collision of interests. The Treasury Board looks only at capital-acquisition decisions from the perspective of the buyer. It's left to the military to worry about how long they may have to operate obsolescent or obsolete equipment and systems, and to do the necessary mid-life upgrading, which is partly why costs balloon spectacularly. Life-cycle cost data is actually far more important that the initial sticker shock of the newest and shiniest model advocated by the military's leadership. The mindset needs to change.
Politicians who implement bureaucratic change will probably see some improvements in decision-making. But the biggest obstacle to defence procurement is that bulk purchasing is our lone approach, and that it happens only every few decades. Regular, planned capital acquisition is the best path forward, but all paths to the future must first run through the Treasury Board. No amount of political policy adjustment can change that.
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May 2, 2022 | Information, Naval
Leonardo cède à Thales sa part dans la joint-venture AAC
Thales a déclaré dans un communiqué que son unité Thales Defence & Security (TDSI) allait acquérir la participation à parts égales de DRS, l'unité américaine de Leonardo, soit la pleine propriété dans la joint-venture Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC). Le portefeuille d'AAC, spécialisé dans les sonars, lui permettra de renforcer ses activités dans les systèmes sous-marins et la technologie navale. Cette cession fait suite à la vente par DRS, le mois dernier, de son activité de communication par satellite GES à SES pour 450 M$ alors que Leonardo réorganise son portefeuille d'actifs pour se concentrer sur ses activités principales telles que l'électronique de défense et les hélicoptères. « Cette transaction est une nouvelle étape dans l'exécution de notre plan industriel. Nous continuons à nous concentrer sur notre cœur de métier », a déclaré Alessandro Profumo, le directeur général de Leonardo. Challenges et La Tribune du 27 avril
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July 30, 2019 | Information, Aerospace, C4ISR
Drones R&D Portfolio and Opportunity Analysis Report 2019 - ResearchAndMarkets.com
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Drones: R&D Portfolio and Opportunity Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that are finding application opportunities in various industries and have the potential to transform military as well as consumer applications. Drones essentially combine various sensing and communication technologies along with remote control or autonomous capabilities. Drones were initially developed for military purposes, which is still the most prominent application of this technology. However, with substantial decrease in the cost of individual components, drones are poised to impact multiple industries in various capacities. Drones for commercial applications represent a market that is entering the growth phase. Military drones have been around for some time, but commercial drones enable diverse applications to benefit because various stakeholders will experience high growth in the near term. Drone technology is an example of convergence of various technologies such as sensors, artificial intelligence, analytics and so on, that enables greater connectivity by acting as a carrier for the Internet. Key Questions Answered in the Technology and Innovation Report 1. What is the significance of drones? 2. What are the technology trends and key enabling technologies? 3. What are the factors that influence technology development and adoption? 4. Who are the key innovators driving developments? 5. What are the opportunities based on patent and funding trends? 6. What are the future prospects of the technology? 7. What sort of strategies do OEMs need to embrace to gain entry and sustain in the competitive marketplace? Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Scope of the Technology and Innovation Research 1.2 Research Methodology 1.3 Research Methodology Explained 1.4 Summary of Key Findings 2. Drone - Technology Significance and Trends 2.1 Technology Significance and Classification of Drones 2.2 Drone Types, Benefits and Applications 2.3 Current Trends Boosting the Drone Market 2.4 Drone Technology - Industry Value Chain Analysis 3. Factors Influencing Technology and Market Potential 3.1 Market Drivers: Growing Trend Toward Fully Autonomous Drones and IoT 3.2 Demand for Fully Autonomous Drones and Big Data Analytics Expected to Increase in the Future 3.3 Market Challenges: Stringent Regulatory Environment and Lack of Business Models Restrict Wider Adoption of Drones 3.4 Stringent Regulatory Environment and High Investment Cost are Key Challenges 3.5 Market Potential and Market Attractiveness of Drones 4. Application Assessment - Key Trending Applications 4.1 Key Trending Applications of Drones 4.2 Key Applications - Military & Defense, Emergency Response & Disaster Management and Urban Planning 4.3 Key Applications - Healthcare, Agriculture, Waste Management 4.4 Key Applications - Mining, Telecommunication, and Media 4.5 Drone Application Significance and Advantages 5. Global Patent Landscape, Funding, and Regional Adoption Assessment 5.1 Drone - Global Patent Trend Analysis 5.2 Funding Trends Shows High Interest from Government for Healthcare and Homeland Security Applications 5.3 Funding Boosts Growth Opportunities in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Sector 5.4 Drone Adoption Assessment in North America 5.5 Drone Adoption Assessment in Europe 5.6 Drone Adoption Analysis in APAC 6. Key Innovations, Technology Developments and Megatrend Impacts 6.1 Innovations in Drone Flight Technologies 6.2 Developments in Drone Features and Applications 6.3 Advancements in Technologies Enabling Fully Autonomous Drones 6.4 Key Stakeholder Initiatives and Developments 6.5 University-based Innovations Enabling Drone Applications 6.6 Megatrends that Influence the Drone Industry 7. Growth Opportunities, Future Trends and Strategic Imperatives 7.1 Drone Technology Development Trends 7.2 Policy Regulations and Economic Factors Influencing Drone Industry - PESTLE Analysis 7.3 Growth Opportunities - Fully Automated Drone Delivery and Monitoring Systems 7.4 Strategic Imperative Analysis 7.5 Key Questions for Strategic Planning 8. Synopsis of Key Patents in the Drone Sector 8.1 Key Patents - Drone Collision Avoidance and Delivery Systems 8.2 Key Patents - Swarm Drones and Networked Drones 8.3 Key Patents - Drone Network Delivery System and Detection 8.4 Key Patents - Optical Recognition System and Printed Can Lid 9. Key Industry Contacts For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/p8i79h https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190729005465/en