December 6, 2023 | International, Land
Ukraine's latest list of U.S. weapons it says it needs to fight the Russian military includes sophisticated air defense systems, F-18 "Hornet" fighter jets, drones, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters, according to documents seen by Reuters.
October 29, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
Discover critical vulnerabilities in open-source AI tools that could lead to data theft and code execution. Update your software now!
December 11, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey plans to boost its defense and aerospace exports to $10.2 billion by 2023, from $2 billion in 2018, according to a government document. The “Strategic Plan 2019-2023,” released by the country's procurement agency, SSB, is also aiming for the annual revenue of the defense and aerospace industry to rise to $26.9 billion in 2023, from $6.7 billion in 2018. Also by 2023, domestic industry will meet 75 percent of military requirements, up from 65 percent in 2018, according to the plan. To his these targets, the government plans to restructure its defense export incentive system. In addition, Turkey is to launch a government-to-government sales scheme, whereas SSB will open defense export promotion agencies in 20 countries. Other critical targets detailed in the document include switching to a new procurement model; prioritizing programs that minimize dependency on foreign-made systems; and supporting models that bolster Turkey's ability to compete in high-tech markets internationally. Since coming to power in 2002, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sharply increased local input in defense procurement. The government's strong priority to drop off-the-shelf procurement options and instead go for indigenous design and production has produced scores of local programs including drones, naval vessels, armored vehicles, helicopters, trainer aircraft, a new-generation main battle tank and an ambitious program to locally build a fighter jet. But an Ankara-based defense analyst warned that some of the government's targets do not look feasible. “Take the export target, for instance,” the analyst told Defense News. “The original export target for 2023 was $25 billion. Now they have come down to a still-difficult $10.2 billion. That's a long way from the current level of around $2 billion.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/12/10/turkey-reveals-path-to-boost-defense-and-aerospace-exports-by-102b-in-2023
May 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The air forces of Germany, France and Spain have agreed on a set of performance benchmarks to help their governments guide the development of a next-generation fighter jet set to fly in 2040, the German military announced Tuesday in a statement. The document, approved earlier this month, is meant to help officials identify what features from a collection of 10 possible system architectures are worth keeping when the time comes to settle on a path forward for the Next-Generation Weapon System, or NGWS. That system, with the manned next-gen fighter at its heart, is slated to become the central element of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, the most ambitious and expensive weapons program in mainland Europe. As envisioned, a small fleet of attack and surveillance drones, or “remote carriers,” would accompany each jet, and all elements would be interlinked by an artificial intelligence-powered “combat cloud,” according to a project description. The 10 different system architectures for NGWS currently in the mix lean in different directions — for example, when it comes to armaments, maneuverability and range of the main jet and its companion drones, the German Bundeswehr statement explained. The three air force top officials — Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz of Germany, Gen. Philippe Lavigne of France and Javier Fernandez of Spain — also agreed on a “Common Understanding Connectivity,” a guide for connecting national systems into the future FCAS scenario. The document will enable the program's partner nations to “synchronize” their respective development programs, according to the German statement. The industry leads for the Future Combat Air System program, Airbus of Germany and Dassault of France, unveiled a mock-up of the future fighter jet at the Paris Air Show last year. The plan is to begin testing a prototype in 2026. Earlier this year, France and Germany formally kicked off the next phase of the overall program, with each government contributing $85 million toward the development of technology demonstrators. German lawmakers, who fear an overtly strong French industry influence in the FCAS program, have linked the project to progress on the Main Ground Combat System, another highly visible bilateral program aimed at building a common battle tank. France has the lead on the next-generation fighter, while Germany leads the tank project. The German parliament's strategy of keeping a close watch on the aerial program by approving only relatively small tranches of money has Dassault CEO Eric Trappier worried about the ability to hit deadlines, French newspaper La Tribune reported last week. Speaking before a French Senate committee in mid-May, Trappier proposed a Franco-German programming law to ensure a more rapid development pace, according to the newspaper. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/26/three-european-air-forces-approve-performance-benchmarks-for-next-gen-fighter-jet/