July 10, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON – Britain is planning to invest up to $162 million developing three directed-energy weapon demonstrators, including one aimed at killing drones, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
The MoD said it had notified industry this week, in what is called a Prior Information Notice, of its intention to procure two laser-based demonstrators and a radio-frequency weapon to “explore the potential of the technology and accelerate its introduction onto the battlefield.”
The British look to start the procurement process later this year and hope to have the new systems ready for trials in 2023.
A spokesman for the MoD said it's too early to talk about any other timelines or exactly how the weapons development work will be procured.
In a statement the MoD said it was forming a new joint program office and is now recruiting personnel to manage the program.
The demonstrators are part of the MoD's ‘Novel Weapons Programme,' which is responsible for the trial and implementation of innovative weapon systems. The new arms are expected to reach the frontline within 10 years.
The British already have a laser-based technology development effort underway. A £30 million ($37 million) technology demonstrator program known as Dragonfire was awarded to an industry consortium in 2017.
Missile maker MBDA, Qinetiq, BAE Systems, Leonardo and others are involved in the industrial effort.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is leading the effort from the MoD side. Initial trials on Dragonfire are scheduled to take place this year.
The spokesman said that while Dragonfire is about “assessing the viability of the technology, the new work will be looking at issues like size, functionality and exactly how they integrate on existing platforms.”
The new program will include two high-energy laser demonstrators. One onboard a ship for air and surface defense applications and a similar laser mounted on a land vehicle for short-range air defense and counter-surveillance applications.
The third program is aimed demonstrating a high-power radio frequency weapon mounted on a land vehicle against aerial drones and to counter enemy movements. The weapon is designed to disrupt and disable an adversary's computers and electronics.
The MoD statement said Britain already has over 30 years' experience in radio-frequency and directed- energy weapons “during which time the UK has become a world leader in developing new power generation technologies and a global hub for the performance testing and evaluation of these systems.”
“The new systems are expected to be trialed in 2023 on Royal Navy ships and Army vehicles but, once developed, both technologies could be operated by all three services. The armed forces will use these exercises to get a better understanding of DEW, test the systems to their limits, and assess how they could be integrated with existing platforms," said the MoD.
The MoD released images of the laser weapons mounted on a Type 26 frigate and a Wildcat naval helicopter.
The new program still leaves the British playing catch-up in the deployment of laser weapons. The U.S. Navy trialed a laser weapon on an operational warship several years ago and is now planning to install a high-energy laser and integrated optical dazzler with surveillance system on the destroyer Preble in 2021.
On the land side, German defense contractor Rheinmetall has been developing a laser weapon for several years and recently undertook comprehensive trials with a weapon station suitable for mounting on a platform like a Boxer armored vehicle.
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September 24, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Pierre Tran PARIS — France renewed a pledge to speed up by two years delivery of 12 Airbus A330 multirole transport tanker jets for the French Air Force by 2023. “At the ministerial investment committee, the Direction Générale de l'Armement received the mission to accelerate the delivery of the A330 MRTT Phénix,” the armed forces ministry said in a Sept. 20 statement. A 12-strong fleet of the A330 MRTT by 2023 brings forward delivery of the air tankers by two years, the ministry said. A further three units will be ordered to bring the total fleet to 15 in the following years, the ministry added. No dates were given for a contract for the A330 MRTT or the value of the planned order. No date was set for a further batch of three more units. That boost for inflight refuelling was among the equipment modernization measures included in the 2019-2025 military budget law, formally signed by French president Emmanuel Macron just before an official garden party on July 13. The French Air Force has long lobbied for renewing the aerial capability, as the present aging tanker fleet is a key element in the airborne nuclear deterrent. French air operations in allied operations in the sub-Saharan Sahel region and the Middle East rely heavily on U.S. air tankers. The A330 MRTT will replace a mixed fleet of C-135FR and KC-135R tankers — some of which are close to 60 years old — and A310 and A340 strategic troop and transport aircraft. The A330 MRTT is a military conversion of the Airbus A330 airliner. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/21/france-wants-to-buy-airbus-tankers-sooner
June 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Julien Lausson C'est une annonce qui a été partiellement éclipsée par la présentation de la maquette en taille réelle de l'avion de combat du futur, qui mobilise la France, l'Allemagne et l'Espagne, et qui devrait vraisemblablement succéder au Rafale à l'Eurofighter Typhoon au milieu du siècle. Mais c'est une annonce qui revêt pourtant elle aussi un caractère hautement stratégique : le renseignement spatial. Profitant de l'ouverture du salon du Bourget, la ministre des Armées, Florence Parly, a officialisé lundi 17 juin la mise en chantier de deux nouveaux programmes spatiaux, qui ont été baptisés « Iris » et « Céleste ». Le premier proposera des capacités d'observation optique renouvelées , tandis que le second devra améliorer le renseignement d'origine électromagnétique, c'est-à-dire la captation de signaux en tout genre. CSO ET CÉRÈS Ces nouveaux satellites, dont l'entrée en service ne devrait vraisemblablement pas avoir lieu avant 2030, sont annoncés alors que la France est déjà en train de renouveler sa flotte de satellites militaires. Deux programmes sont en cours : « CSO », qui signifie « Composante Spatiale Optique », et « Cérès ». Le premier est spécialisé dans la prise de vue, tandis que le second s'occupe de la collecte des ondes. Fin 2018, la France a d'ores et déjà envoyé un premier satellite CSO (il y en aura trois en tout) en orbite. Il a été placé sur une orbite basse, à 800 km d'altitude. Il sera rejoint par un autre satellite en 2020 et par un troisième en 2021. L'un d'eux sera placé sur une orbite encore plus basse, à moins de 500 km d'altitude, pour générer des clichés en très haute résolution. PROTECTION RENFORCÉE Du fait de leur caractère stratégique, ces lancements de satellites militaires font l'objet d'un haut degré de protection : avions de chasse Rafale envoyés depuis la métropole, avec le soutien d'un avion ravitailleur et d'un avion radar AWACS, mais aussi navires déployés le long des côtes, hélicoptères en vol, radars à longue portée et fantassins dispatchés tout autour du centre spatial guyanais. Ces moyens renforcent de facto la bulle de protection qui est systématiquement activée à chaque tir de fusée et qui est organisée dans le cadre de l'opération Titan. C'est ce même dispositif qui sera donc renforcé pour CSO-2 et CSO-3 ainsi que pour Cérès (acronyme de (Capacité d'Écoute et de Renseignement Électromagnétique Spatiale), qui impliquera plusieurs satellites. Le premier doit être lancé en 2020. « Nos opérations ne peuvent plus se passer de nos capacités spatiales qui contribuent de façon décisive à notre autonomie d'appréciation, de décision et d'action », a observé la ministre lors de son discours. C'est aussi vrai dans le secteur des télécommunications : la France peut aujourd'hui compter sur Sicral 2, Athenas-Fidus ou encore Syracuse 3. Et demain, elle pourra miser sur Syracuse 4. La durée du service opérationnel de CSO et Cérès sera d'environ une dizaine d'années. https://www.numerama.com/politique/526882-renseignement-spatial-la-france-officialise-deux-nouveaux-programmes-de-satellites-militaires.html