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  February 4, 2019 | International, Naval

  Italian row with France unsettles naval industry cooperation

  By: Tom Kington ROME — A series of diplomatic rows between France and Italy, culminating in the exchange of insults between leaders, is casting doubt on naval industry cooperation between the countries. Moves by France's Naval Group and Italy's Fincantieri to integrate their shipyard work has coincided with a crescendo of acrimony between Rome and Paris following the election last year of Italy's first populist government. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and French President Emmanuel Macron have battled over who should take responsibility for migrants that sail to Europe from Africa, with Salvini last month calling Macron a “terrible” president who deserved to be voted out of office. Italy's second deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, who leads the anti-establishment Five Star party, has meanwhile openly backed the so-called Yellow Vest protesters who have rioted on the streets of France in protest at Macron's government and its policies. Asked about the verbal attacks from Rome on Jan. 27, Macron replied: “Italy is a great people; the Italian people are our friends and deserve leaders worthy of their history.” Underlying the row is the Italian government's new nationalism, which has put it at loggerheads with the European Union and Macron, who is seen by Rome as a pro-globalism politician. The spat is expected to increase as both Italy's ruling parties — Five Star and Salvini's League party — get on the campaign trail ahead of European parliamentary elections in May. Pierside troubles Analysts fear fallout for defense industry collaboration between the countries, which starts with the well-established satellite and space joint venture between Italy's Leonardo and France's Thales. But the main concern is the naval deal, which was signed last October, under which Fincantieri and Naval Group created a 50-50 joint venture to build and export naval vessels. Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono said he hopes the deal is the start of wider collaboration. Speaking at the launch of Italy's ninth FREMM frigate on Jan 26, Bono played down the frictions with France, telling reporters, “We are part of the same alliance, we have common history,” and adding that the diplomatic tensions “will not influence the work we are doing with Naval Group.” But one analyst was less sanguine. “It's a complicated deal, and as it gets more complicated, external events become more influential,” said Jean Pierre Darnis, scientific adviser at Rome's IAI think tank. “If ministers from the two countries don't meet, and we are waiting for [the] next bilateral [meeting], problems won't get resolved. Right now the Italian-French business community is very concerned,” he added. The naval deal was spurred by an earlier accord for Fincantieri to take control of French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique. That deal, too, was up in the air when France and Germany referred the agreement to the European Commission for anti-trust scrutiny last month. “What has happened is extremely serious, France and Germany behaved wrongly. It throws into doubt all accords,” Italy's Salvini said. Bono said he was confident the EU would not oppose the deal, given it is “in the interests of Europe,” echoing claims that a consolidated European shipbuilding industry would enable competition since it could compete with large players outside Europe. But Europe's ability to consolidate industry was again thrown into doubt in January when Macron and German leader Angela Merkel agreed to forge closer ties between Germany and France to head off the political challenge in Europe from populist governments like Italy, Hungary and Poland. One consequence, warned Italian IAI analyst Michele Nones, was that closer Franco-German ties could squeeze Italy out of access to defense industry funding provided by the new European Defence Fund. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/02/01/italian-row-with-france-unsettles-naval-industry-cooperation

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  December 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Gripen E/F le dernier appareil suédois ?

  Yannick Smaldore Il y a douze ans, Saab annonçait la production du Gripen Demo, un démonstrateur technologique représentatif d'une nouvelle génération de chasseurs légers Gripen que le constructeur suédois entendait lancer tant sur le marché domestique qu'à l'exportation. Après un parcours parfois mouvementé, la dernière mouture de l'avion, le Gripen E/F, s'apprête à être livrée à ses deux clients. L'occasion pour DSI de revenir sur l'unique programme de chasseur de nouvelle génération actuellement en développement en Europe. En avril 2008, sur le site de Linköping, en Suède, Saab dévoile le Gripen Demo, adapté d'une cellule de Gripen D et première étape vers la prochaine génération de chasseurs légers de l'avionneur suédois. Si l'avion se rapproche extérieurement d'un Gripen biplace standard, un œil averti distingue rapidement des différences loin d'être anodines. Gripen NG, un nouvel ancien avion Le train d'atterrissage principal, qui se rétracte habituellement sous le fuselage, a été déplacé dans des logements conformes sous la voilure, permettant d'installer trois points d'emport ventraux au lieu d'un, mais aussi de combler les anciens logements de roues par des réservoirs internes supplémentaires. Les entrées d'air sont également agrandies afin d'alimenter un unique moteur F414 de General Electric, évolution 20 % plus puissante du F404 produit sous licence par Volvo pour le Gripen de base. Pour sa prochaine itération du Gripen, l'avionneur suédois propose d'intégrer dans cette cellule élargie ce qui se fait de mieux en matière de capteurs et de systèmes de combat. Le tout en respectant une enveloppe budgétaire extrêmement réduite (1) et un calendrier très serré, et en gardant comme ambition de redéfinir complètement la gestion des programmes aéronautiques militaires, rien de moins. Et une décennie plus tard, malgré quelques revers, Saab pourrait bien être en passe de tenir (presque) toutes ses promesses avec son Gripen NG (2). En 2011, la Suisse annonce son intention de commander 22 Gripen NG, ouvrant la voie à une commande de 60 exemplaires de la part de la Flygvapnet suédoise, et aux crédits de développement associés. En 2014, c'est au tour du Brésil de passer une commande ferme pour 36 appareils. Mais le programme connaît un premier coup dur, une votation populaire conduisant la Suisse à annuler sa commande d'avions de combat, ce qui force Saab à ralentir sensiblement son calendrier de développement. Avec plus d'un an de retard, en mai 2016, le premier Gripen E de présérie est dévoilé à la presse et montre immédiatement le paradoxe de ce nouvel appareil : à part une cellule plus longue de 50 cm et quelques différences extérieures, le futur de l'aviation de combat tel qu'annoncé par Saab ressemble à s'y méprendre au Gripen originel. Et pourtant, les évolutions techniques, numériques, conceptuelles et managériales sont bien là, discrètes, mais indispensables à la réussite du programme. Le Gripen E/F sur le plan technique Conserver une cellule pratiquement inchangée découle d'un choix stratégique de la part de Saab qui ne dispose pas des ressources pour développer une toute nouvelle plate-forme, et qui estime que les avancées en matière de capteurs et de travail collaboratif intra-patrouille rendent caduque la furtivité passive des avions dits de cinquième génération. Son Gripen étant déjà relativement discret et bien né, il est décidé d'en conserver l'aérodynamisme autant que possible. Avec une masse maximale passée de 14 t à 16,5 t, un emport en carburant interne augmenté de 40 % et la capacité d'emporter de nouveaux réservoirs externes plus volumineux, le Gripen NG ambitionne toutefois de s'extraire de la catégorie des chasseurs de défense légers pour marcher sur les plates-bandes des biréacteurs médians. Par rapport au Gripen C/D, les Gripen E/F voient l'intégralité de leurs systèmes évoluer vers des équipements de dernière génération. En matière de capteurs, Saab a principalement fait appel à Selex‑ES, depuis intégré à Leonardo. Ce dernier fournit le radar Raven ES‑05, variante du Vixen 1000E. Équipé d'une antenne AESA combinée à un repositionneur mécanique, le Raven possède une ouverture de 200°, contre 140° habituellement pour les radars AESA à antenne fixe. Une telle configuration permet théoriquement de continuer à illuminer une cible alors que le Gripen se trouve sur un vecteur d'éloignement, une capacité qui pourrait donc être exploitée en combat aérien à longue portée. L'IFF Mode 5 intégré au bloc radar est doté d'antennes latérales, afin de garantir une identification de la cible sur l'ensemble du champ d'action du radar, et une optronique infrarouge Skyward‑G est implantée au-dessus du radar. Cet IRST constituerait alors le principal outil de détection contre des cibles furtives. Radar, IRST et IFF sont enfin conçus pour travailler de manière collaborative, chaque équipement contribuant à construire une situation tactique unique que le pilote consulte sur son très large affichage principal, composé d'un unique écran tactile WAD (Wild Aera Display). Comme souvent avec les productions suédoises, le Gripen E/F devrait aussi se démarquer du marché par son équipement de communication et de guerre électronique. En plus des radios tactiques numériques et d'une antenne SATCOM, qui s'imposent de manière standard sur les nouveaux avions de combat, Saab propose plusieurs solutions de liaisons de données, notamment la L‑16 compatible OTAN, mais aussi son Link-TAU à grande bande passante. Fonctionnant en bande UHF, il permet aux Gripen d'une même patrouille d'échanger des données à longue distance et, dans un avenir proche, de fusionner les données issues de leurs capteurs respectifs pour affiner la qualification des pistes et la situation tactique. Pour la guerre électronique, Saab propose son système à large bande MFS-EW, dernière évolution de sa gamme AREXIS. Typique de l'état de l'art en la matière, ce système multifonction est basé sur des antennes AESA en nitrure de gallium (GaN) réparties sur la dérive et au niveau des rails lance-missiles. AREXIS s'appuie largement sur l'usage de systèmes de brouillage à mémoire de fréquence radio numérique, ou DRFM, qui analysent le signal radar adverse et émettent une onde retour modifiée. De quoi tromper l'ennemi sur sa position, sa nature ou sa vitesse, voire de disparaître complètement de certains écrans radars, en théorie. Si de tels systèmes se rencontrent déjà aujourd'hui, notamment sur le Rafale ou sur l'EA‑18G Growler, le Gripen NG innoverait par la capacité de traitement de signal offerte de ses calculateurs, sa capacité d'attaque électronique intégrée, mais aussi par la présence du système BriteCloud de Leonardo, un petit brouilleur DRFM éjecté par les lance-leurres de l'avion et spécifiquement conçu pour tromper les missiles assaillants. https://www.areion24.news/2019/11/29/gripen-e-f-le-dernier-appareil-suedois%E2%80%89/

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  May 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Here's the Air Force's plan to revolutionize the way it trains pilots

  Oriana Pawlyk, Military.com When Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson visited AFWERX's Pilot Training Next program in Austin, Texas, last year, she watched as trainees took flight from the seats in front of her — through the use of virtual reality. It piqued her interest enough to ask service officials to explore waysthat similar flight simulator programs could be introduced to high schools to get young students involved in the nation's endeavors to create more pilots. Officials with Air Education and Training Command (AETC) are now gearing up to present Wilson's successor with a business case for more widespread use of the system, within the force. The move provides a glimpse into Air Force leaders' thinking as they overhaul the pilot training curriculum, introducing one that augments time airborne in the cockpit with simulators and technology on the ground. It comes as the Air Force readies itself for the possibility of complex conflict with a peer-level adversary equipped with long-range missiles and advanced combat aircraft. It's a future that may represent a strong contrast to recent decades, in which the Air Force has flown in largely uncontested airspace supporting ground troops. The service is attempting to boost its pilot ranks amid a longterm pilot shortage, even as its trainer fleet ages. Air Force officials say they want to move away from the service's old-fashioned, "industrial" approach to training — having pilots sit in classrooms for weeks then moving on to a trainer. This means using virtual reality earlier and more frequently in the training pipeline. As the service prepares to bring its latest trainer, known as the T-X, into the fold, it is proposing a more "concentrated dose" of training to seamlessly transition from virtual reality to the trainer and, finally, to the Formal Training Unit, or FTU. The system is well poised to reform in a few ways, said Gen. Mike Holmes, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC). Using the low-cost immersive environment of virtual reality, together with "competency-based learning," and moving skillset testing at the graduate level to an earlier place in the model, "would experience our pilots much faster," he said. "Those are two things that are poised to make a revolutionary changein how well we train pilots and in how long it takes us to train pilots," Holmes said Tuesday in an interview with Military.com. "I want to see how fast and well I can produce experienced pilots." Pilots end up leaving the service if they feel dissatisfied and lack a sense of purpose, added Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, AETC commander. "You have to fly a lot to be good at what you do, and we don't have the money, and we don't have the weather, and we don't have the range space ... [because of] sequestration. And all these things that are politically driven oftentimes are frustrating the force," Kwast said in a separate interview. Airline hiring efforts are the biggest factor that drives pilot retention and production problem in the services, officials have said. Old learning mechanisms also bog down the system, often adding to pilots' frustration, Kwast said. "We would [add] layers of things over time" through the course of a pilot's service, "basically assuming, 'You can't handle the truth!' or 'You're not smart enough to be able to learn this holistically, we have to give it to you piecemeal and then you'd put it together in your brain over time.' That's why it would take seven years to make a great mission commander pilot." But now, he said "We're breaking that paradigm." Trainer fleet in trouble? The service still relies heavily on its trainer fleet for training, even though virtual reality is the new frontier, Holmes said. "There's still no substitute for being in a real airplane," he said. "I think we'll always want a mix of learning our skills cheaply, but also build on decision-making in a real airplane." The T-38 Talon has been the backbone of the Air Force's undergraduate pilot training, or UPT, program for decades. But last year, the trainer fleet was plagued with a series of crashes, two of which were fatal. Those selected to fly bombers and fighters typically receive their advanced pilot training in the T-38. The T-1A Jayhawk, meanwhile, is used in advanced training for students who are slated to go into cargo or tanker aircraft. The T-6 Texan II, used for instrument familiarization and low-level and formation flying, also has had its share of problems. Last year, the Air Force ordered an operational pause for the T-6 fleet after pilots suffered a series of unexplained physiological episodes, or UPEs. As a result, AETC on Feb. 1 ordered an indefinite operational pause for all T-6 aircraft at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma; and Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. That pause was lifted Feb. 28. A team of experts determined that the T-6's On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) filter and drain valvesfailed at higher rates than expected. The discovery led to repairs and increased inspections, but pilotscontinued to suffer from UPEs. A T-6 trainer from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, crashed just last week. The Air Force is preparing to receive new trainer jets to replace its current Northrop Grumman-made T-38s, some of which date to the mid-1960s. In September, the service awarded Boeing Co. a $9.2 billion contract to build its next aircraft for training pilots, known as the T-X program. The first T-X aircraft and simulators are scheduled to arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, in 2023. The service has committed to buying 351 T-X jets, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment. The pay ment structure, officials have said, also allows for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity option to give the Air Force the opportunity to purchase up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators. Delays to this program or other unforeseen challenges could have catastrophic consequences, said retired Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley, former Air Force chief of staff. "My anxiety over this when I was the chief [is that] we are one sortie away from this older inventory having a problem," Moseley, an F-15 Eagle pilot, said in a recent interview with Military.com. "Here we are in 2019, and we're going to fly these airplanes until 2024 before T-X starts coming in." Kwast and Holmes agreed that the T-38 fleet will continue to undergo any upgrades necessary to keep them flying as long as it makes sense. "You can make anything last longer; it just takes more money to sustain," Kwast said. "I guarantee that the T-1, the T-38 and the T-6 all can last as long as we need them to last, depending on the business case and the amount of money you want to spend. But will the T-38 or the T-1 become too expensive, and [therefore], we have to jump to a different technology? Then we would look at other options." Boeing said it stands ready to produce the T-X. "Our T-X program, including engineering, manufacturing and test, is located in long-established Boeing St. Louis facilities," wrote Rachelle Lockhart, spokeswoman for the company's T-X program, in an email. "In fact, we built and assembled our first two T-X aircraft in St. Louis prior to contract award to prove the maturity of our design, repeatability in manufacturing and performance. We're now on contract, executing on schedule as planned, as are our suppliers." She added the trainer's production schedule could be advanced at the Air Force's request. "The US Air Force plan calls for a full production rate of 48 jets a year, and we will meet the customer need," Lockhart said. "Should the Air Force request a higher rate of production, we are well positioned to accommodate it." Full article: https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plan-to-revolutionize-pilot-training-2019-5