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April 16, 2020 - Nammo has signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for delivery of small caliber ammunition worth SEK 670 million. Covering deliveries from 2020-22, the contract builds on a framework agreement signed in 2017, and will enable to Swedish Armed Forces to strengthen its levels of training and readiness. ”We are honored that the Swedish Armed Forces have placed their trust in us as their primary supplier of small caliber ammunition. Customers like Sweden accept only the best, and also have some very specific requirements that we have to fulfil, so in our view this is a major achievement by Nammo's product and manufacturing teams,” said Reijo Bragberg, Nammo's Executive Vice President for Small and Medium Caliber Ammunition. This contract is the second issued under the 2017 framework agreement, and covers six different ammunition types, both for training and combat. Going forward, Nammo is looking to expand its cooperation with the Swedish government in line with the strategic partnerships it has developed with both of Sweden's Nordic neighbors. Nammo CEO Morten Brandtzæg sees this kind of collaboration between industry and governments as essential in dealing both current and future security challenges. ”Recent events have again underscored the need to ensure security of supply in all situations, ranging from peace to crisis, conflict and even war. In our view this relies on both industry and governments cooperating more closely, and we stand ready to support from our side,” said Brandtzæg. Related / Contacts Endre Lunde Endre Lunde Press Contact Senior Vice President, Communications endre.lunde@nammo.com +4790853270 View source version on NAMMO: https://www.nammo.com/newsroom/#/pressreleases/nammo-signs-major-ammunition-contract-with-sweden-2991652

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Air Force One replacement program has hit a major development milestone, and it did so without the in-person meetings that have become more risky in the age of the novel coronavirus, the U.S. Air Force's top acquisition official said on Thursday. The Air Force recently completed the critical design review for the Presidential Aircraft Replacement program, which will replace the legacy VC-25A Air Force One planes with a new variant of the Boeing 747-8 known as the VC-25B. Although the classified portions of the review still must be done via face-to-face meetings in secure spaces, much of it was accomplished using virtual tools and applications, said Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “I was really excited that the team was able to shift their CDR [critical design review] and go virtual,” he told reporters in an April 16 teleconference, adding that more programs will shift toward using virtual meetings to conduct key reviews and milestones even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. “I don't know if it makes any sense to do CDRs, at least at an unclassified level, outside of tools like this. And we're working really hard to provide the same capabilities at the secret level,” he said. While Roper did not detail which communication tools were used by the program office to conduct the CDR, he described it as being very similar to widely used applications like Zoom, where the briefer can share PowerPoint slides and participants can share thoughts and questions via a written chat function. “It allows a greater level of productivity than a meeting itself,” he said. “In meetings, you have someone speaking and you want to get a question in, but you've got to wait for them to stop, and then everyone else wants to ask a question. It's hugely inefficient. It's just such an antiquated way of sharing information that is ingrained in us.” The Air Force One replacement drew considerable attention in 2016 after then-President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the program was too expensive at more than $4 billion and should be canceled. After Trump held numerous meetings with Dennis Muilenburg, who led Boeing at the time, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion contract to modify two 747s into VC-25B jets. However, once all costs are included — such as buying a new hangar for the aircraft and the base cost of the 747s themselves — the Air Force will pay $5.3 billion, according to Defense One. That expense includes an $84 million contract awarded to Boeing on Wednesday to modify Boeing 747 technical specifications and manuals to the VC-25B configuration. Roper doesn't project any schedule delays to the program as a result of COVID-19, which has pummeled prime contractor Boeing's commercial business and caused a temporary pause to certain defense production lines. In February, Boeing began modifying the two 747s slated to become VC-25Bs at its facility in San Antonio, Texas. During the first part of the process, Boeing will cut out large pieces of the aircraft's skin and structure and replace that with two specially designed “superpanels,” according to an Air Force release. The VC-25Bs will also receive upgrades including enhanced electrical power, specialized communication systems, a medical facility, a customized executive interior and autonomous ground operations capabilities. The new Air Force Ones are expected to be operational in 2024. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/16/a-key-milestone-of-the-air-force-one-replacement-program-was-conducted-using-virtual-tools-it-wont-be-the-last/

April 16, 2020 - Her Majesty's Armed Forces have ordered four Rheinmetall Mission Master robotic vehicles. Configured for transporting cargo, these unmanned ground vehicles will form part of the United Kingdom's Robotic Platoon Vehicle programme. This programme is designed to determine the extent to which unmanned vehicles can boost the combat effectiveness and capabilities of dismounted troops at platoon level. The four Mission Master – Cargo vehicles will be delivered throughout the spring of 2020. In addition, the scope of supply comprises two stretcher systems that can be integrated into the cargo vehicle in just 60 seconds. The order, which was placed at the end of 2019, also includes training and service support, as well as spare parts. The vehicles will be supplied by Rheinmetall Canada, with Rheinmetall BAE Land Systems providing on-location support services in its capacity as cooperation partner. Robotics is already changing the modern battlefield. A modular unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), Rheinmetall's new Mission Master enhances the combat performance of soldiers deployed on the ground in numerous ways. The Mission Master's artificial intelligence and robotic brawn mean that it can execute a multitude of dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks that troops would otherwise have to perform themselves, letting them get on with the most important thing of all: their core mission. The Mission Master – Cargo system reduces the combat load soldiers have to carry, boosting their mobility and efficiency. Its flexible stowage concept and robust design let the Mission Master – -Cargo shoulder a payload of up to half a ton of supplies, tactical kit, or medical equipment Ready for action, the Mission Master can operate in autonomous or semiautonomous mode as a fully-fledged member of the combat team. The Mission Master platform is designed for maximum flexibility, and can be readily adapted for a wide variety of different missions thanks to modular build-ons specially engineered for quick installation. Potential applications include surveillance, protection, evacuation of casualties, firefighting, and CBRN reconnaissance and detection. It can also serve as a mobile radio relay station. Speed, scalable autonomy, and proven high mobility in all types of terrain combine to make the amphibious Mission Master a powerful, highly reliable comrade of dismounted forces operating in small groups. View source version on Rheinmetall : https://rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_23616.php

April 15, 2020 - General Dynamics European Land Systems has been awarded a contract by the German procurement agency BAAINBw for the delivery of 80 highly protected EAGLE 6x6 vehicles for the German Army`s ambulance corps. First vehicle deliveries will start in 2021 and continue throughout 2024. The EAGLE was selected in a competitive tender process under the medium protected ambulance vehicle program (“mittleres geschütztes Ambulanzfahrzeug”), which will close the gap between the user´s light and heavy ambulance vehicle fleet. The EAGLE 6x6 is the latest and largest member of the proven EAGLE family of vehicles. In its 6x6 configuration, the vehicle provides a more spacious user compartment and more payload. Reduced cost of ownership is achieved through its high degree of commonality with the 4x4 version, its maintenance-friendly design, and proven support solutions. Germany is the 2nd customer for this new EAGLE version after the Swiss Army. “We would like to thank the German Army very much for its confidence in our EAGLE vehicle platform. As a reliable partner to the Bundeswehr, GDELS is fully committed to deliver the vehicles on cost, quality, and schedule,” said Dr. Thomas Kauffmann, GDELS Vice President for International Business & Services. GDELS will manufacture the EAGLE at its sites in Switzerland and Germany. For the German program, a significant part of the production will be completed in Kaiserslautern and Sembach with the involvement of dozens of German suppliers. “This contract will further strengthen our capabilities as a leading vehicle OEM and will result in a multi-million investment into our German vehicle maintenance hub in Sembach” said Dr. Christian Kauth, Managing Director of GDELS-Deutschland. The German Army and German Federal Police operate a fleet of close to 700 EAGLE vehicles; the vehicle has proven its superior performance and reliability in various national and international missions. View source version on General Dynamics European Land Systems: https://www.gdels.com/de_pr.php?news=139

While Army and Navy spending nearly double, Air Force and independent agency spending drops almost 40 percent. By THERESA HITCHENS and SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on April 14, 2020 at 4:07 PM Breaking Defense graphic from DoD data WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is asking Congress for $2.865 billion for hypersonic weapons in 2021, up not quite 14 percent from a 2020 total of $2.508 billion, according to DoD budget documents obtained by Breaking Defense. Army and Navy hypersonics spending would nearly double in 2021. Each increases by 95 percent. But that's offset by a 40 percent reduction in spending by independent defense agencies like DARPA, which are handing off much of the work to the services as programs move from basic research to prototyping, and a 35 percent cut in the Air Force, which cancelled one of its two major hypersonics programs. Hypersonic weapons fall into two main categories. The more conservative approach — relatively speaking, since these are all bleeding-edge weapons — is known as boost-glide, because it uses a conventional rocket booster to accelerate the weapon to hypersonic speed, after which the glide body containing the warhead detaches from the booster and coasts, skipping along the upper limits of the atmosphere like a stone across a pond. The Navy and Army programs are both boost-glide weapons, and the two services are using a common booster rocket, built by the Navy, and a Common Glide Body, built by the Army and lead contractor Dynetics. The Navy also plans to customize the weapon to launch from submarines, while the Army version will fire from trucks, a much simpler engineering challenge. Notional flight paths of hypersonic boost-glide missiles, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. (CSBA graphic) The Air Force had two boost-glide programs. HCSW (pronounced hacksaw), the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, which would have used a modified version of Army-built Common Glide Body. But the Air Force decided to cancel HCSW and focus its efforts on the more compact ARRW (arrow), the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. (Both HCSW and ARRW are Lockheed Martin programs). Finally, DARPA is working on an alternative to boost-glide: air-breathing hypersonic cruise missiles that spend their entire flight in the atmosphere, with their engines providing continuous thrust. That allows the engine to take in oxygen from the air as it flies, rather carrying bulky oxygen tanks — as a boost-glide weapon's rocket boosters do. But flying through the atmosphere also creates friction, heating up an air-breathing hypersonic weapon in ways a boost-glide design, which spends most of its time in a near-vacuum, doesn't have to worry about. Since the air-breathing technology is more ambitious, it remains a DARPA effort for now, with two contracts: Northrup Grumman and Raytheon are working on the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapons Concept (HAWC) and Lockheed Martin on the Hypersonic Strike Weapon air-breathing (HSW-ab). While these programs will probably transition to the Air Force in the near future, they don't yet have their own budget lines in the documents we obtained; they're almost certainly folded into the figure for independent defense agencies. Breaking Defense graphic from DoD data The documents summed up a portfolio of programs the Pentagon now refers to as “missile defense and defeat,” a euphemism which combines offensive and defensive programs. As Breaking D readers know, DoD has taken to lumping long-range strike efforts known as left-of-launch into its budget reporting on missile defense, with a total of $3.26 billion included for such activities in the 2021 request. Spending on hypersonic weapons is listed as a subcategory of “nontraditional” missile defense funding, defined as: funding for missile defeat efforts outside of the above missile defense efforts. This captures ‘left-of launch' efforts that defeat missiles before they take flight via high-speed strike (e.g. Conventional Prompt Strike) or cyber-attack operations. We combed through the document to extract the offensive hypersonics programs from traditional missile defense, directed energy (lasers), cyber warfare, and other means of neutralizing enemy missile salvos. The document broke down 2020 funding and 2021 requests for Army, Navy, Air Force and defense-wide, both for foundational science, technology, test and evaluation (STTE) as well as for each individual service's programs to develop hypersonic missiles. Meanwhile, the Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency are working on a space-based sensor to detect adversary hypersonic and cruise missiles, under the Hypersonic & Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) Prototyping program. The Navy is the big spender in 2021, with the bulk of the funds slated for the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), a submarine-launched boost-glide weapon set to enter service in 2025. Its total hypersonic budget in 2020 is set at $526 million, but jumping to just over $1 billion in the 2021 request. (DoD agencies spent $31 million in 2020 wrapping up their portion of CPS, but the whole program will be in the Navy budget as of 2021). The Air Force's 2020 budget includes $848 million, the budget documents show, but that drops in the 2021 request to $554 million due to the cancellation of HCSW. The Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) is funded at $286 million in 2020 and the service is asking for $382 million in 2021. As for the Army, the documents put 2020 spending at $441 million, and the 2021 request is for $859 million. That increase is driven by a big jump in the budget for the land-based version of the common Army-Navy boost-glide weapon, the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), from $409 million in 2020 to $801 million in 2021. (This LRHW line item also includes some work on the cancelled Mobile Intermediate Range Missile. DoD never said publicly what MIRM would be, or even whether it would be a hypersonic missile or a conventional ballistic missile, and it appears to have been stillborn). The documents also show the Army spending $19 million on the Operational Fires ground-launched hypersonic missile program in 2020, and asking for another $28 million in 2021. OpFires is a joint program with DARPA. Lockheed Martin scored a $31.9 million contract from DARPA in January to begin Phase 3 Weapon System Integration under the program. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/exclusive-dod-asks-2-9b-for-hypersonics-in-2021

By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — A struggling Philadelphia shipyard got a new lease on life April 8 with the announcement that it had been selected to build up to five training ships for the Maritime Administration destined for use by civilian mariners attending state maritime academies. The contract, issued by Alaska-based company TOTE Services, tapped Philly Shipyard to build the first two national security multimission vessels, or NSMV, for a total of $630 million, according to the trade publication Marine Log. The ships, which will feature the latest navigation and bridge technologies, will be able to accommodate up to 600 cadets but will also be available for use by the federal government for disaster relief operations. The ships come with a roll-on/roll-off ramp and a crane that can be used for moving equipment and containers. The NSMVs will be 525 feet long and about 90 feet wide, or just a little smaller than a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, according to a Maritime Administration fact sheet. MARAD Administrator Mark Buzby said the contract is a win for American shipbuilding jobs. “Investing in maritime education creates more American jobs,” Buzby, a former Navy flag officer, said in a statement. "By the selection of Philly Shipyard, Inc., as the construction shipyard for the NSMV, this effort is not only bolstering the U.S. Merchant Marine, but the U.S. economy and vital transportation infrastructure as well.” Philly Shipyard primarily makes Jones Act ships, or vessels that exist only because the Jones Act mandates that goods shipped between U.S. ports must be sent on U.S.-flagged ships built and crewed by Americans. The rule is designed to preserve the domestic shipbuilding industry as a national security asset. Without it there would essentially be no domestic commercial shipbuilding industry. “Philly Shipyard only received one order per year during the last two years and was in danger of closing during 2020 unless it received additional work,” said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who recently led a study of the domestic shipbuilding industry. “Philly is important not just because it is a significant employer in the Philadelphia area, but also because it is one of the shipyards the government depends on to build smaller auxiliary and non-combatant ships such as Coast Guard cutters, NOAA research ships, and Navy unmanned surface vessels, survey ships, and towing and salvage vessels.” The vessels could also prove useful in the Navy's quest to identify a flexible hull that can meet a number of missions as it seeks to replace its aging logistics fleet, said Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University. “I think those vessels serve as a potential hull form for maybe a hospital ship, maybe a command ship, an aviation logistics ship, a sub tender: There's potential there,” Mercogliano said. The Navy planned to develop and field two variants of a Common Hull Auxiliary Multi-Mission Platform, one for sealift purposes and one for other auxiliary ship missions such as submarine tending, hospital ships, and command-and-control platforms. But late last year, the White House blanched at a cost estimate of upward of $1.3 billion for the submarine tender variant of the CHAMP platform, planned for acquisition in 2024. For moving lots of tanks and howitzers across long distances, the NSMV isn't well-suited. But for many of the other missions the Navy needs to recapitalize, including its hospital ships, it could prove useful. “I don't think they'd be good for a roll-on/roll-off — it's not designed for a large mission bay,” Mercogliano said. “But I think for the hospital ship, a command ship, there's a lot of utility there.” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/04/14/philadelphia-shipyard-tapped-to-build-new-merchant-marine-training-ships

Une étude vient mettre en avant l'impact de l'intelligence artificielle dans les armées, à la fois sur un plan opérationnel et industriel. L'IA, facteur d'innovation. La révolution et les évolutions apportées par l'intelligence artificielle ne sont plus à démontrer. Dans le monde civil comme militaire, algorithmes et IA viennent apporter un complément d'information et représentent une plus-value, d'autant plus incontestable dans le domaine militaire. L'ensemble des armées du monde ont bien compris la nécessité de se tourner vers le big data et l'IA afin d'innover et de parvenir à conserver une supériorité opérationnelle sur l'adversaire. Les stratégies d'IA appliquées à la défense se multiplient et s'accompagnent généralement de réflexions sur les questions éthiques, dans un contexte occidental où l'emploi de SALA est vivement critiqué. Compétition internationale. Market Forecast a consacré une étude à ce sujet, et est venu analyser les impacts de l'IA au domaine de la Défense. C'est-à-dire aussi bien les apports pour les armées que la façon dont les travaux sont menés par les industriels. Nommé « Artificial Intelligence will arm defense contractors for global growth », ce rapport met en avant la façon dont les Etats se sont tournés vers cette nouvelle technologie afin de venir compléter les moyens de leurs armées. « Des nations comme la Chine ou la Russie réalisent des investissements substantiels dans l'IA pour des applications militaires, venant parfois poser des questions au regard du droit international et des droits humains », peut-on lire dans le rapport de Market Forecast. Des investissements visant ainsi à concurrencer les pays membres de l'OTAN, qui se sont eux aussi tournés largement vers l'intelligence artificielle afin de renforcer les capacités de leurs plateformes. Volet industriel. Mais l'adoption de l'IA dans les technologies de défense vient également questionner le tissu industriel. Selon Market Forecast, dans une grande majorité des cas, les Etats devront se tourner vers de nouvelles entreprises, plus petites et souvent non issues du secteur de la Défense afin de pouvoir se doter d'algorithmes performants. « Par exemple, aux Etats-Unis, plus de 60% des contrats tournés vers l'IA, inscrits dans le budget présidentiel de l'année fiscale 2017, sont menés par des acteurs non traditionnels de la Défense et des petits fournisseurs », rapporte Market Forecast. S'il n'y a aucun doute sur le fait que les géants de la défense et fournisseurs historiques continueront à mener leur activité, beaucoup s'appuieront donc sur de plus petites structures, spécialisées, afin d'intégrer la brique IA. En France, on peut ainsi penser à la petite entreprise EarthCube, qui malgré sa taille réduite et son jeune 'ge fait fortement parler d'elle et est parvenue à décrocher d'importants contrats dans la défense. Elle en a même fait son cœur d'activité. A l'avenir, les géants de la défense devront donc marcher aux côtés des plus petits et apprendre à collaborer avec ces structures qui portent elles aussi l'innovation. Car en effet, le marché de l'IA pour la défense devrait connaître un taux de croissance annuel moyen de 10,29% entre 2020 et 2028, démontrant l'importance de cette technologie qui offre d'importants débouchés commerciaux. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/lintelligence-artificielle-fait-voluer-le-paysage-de-la-dfense-22924

The Pentagon on Monday announced a $415 million contract for 60 machines that will stretch the use of dwindling N95 masks, allowing the scarce personal protective equipment to be disinfected and reused up to 20 times. The Defense Department awarded the contract for “Battelle Memorial Institute Critical Care Decontamination Systems (CCDS), that can decontaminate up to 80,000 used N95 respirators per system per day,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said in a statement. The machines — which will all be available by early May for distribution by FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services — together could sterilize up to 4.8 million masks per day and almost 34 million per week, according to Andrews. The statement added that two systems had already been delivered to New York, and one each to Boston, Chicago, Tacoma, Wash., and Columbus, Ohio. States are struggling to keep hospitals and medical centers stocked with PPE crucial to fighting the coronavirus outbreak, and the National Guard last week said a shortage of such gear might be hindering its ability to administer coronavirus tests. The Pentagon has highlighted its efforts to provide N95 masks to the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Defense Secretary Mark Esper in March first announcing that it would give 5 million respirator masks to HHS. Esper later pledged another 5 million from DOD stockpiles. And on Saturday, the Pentagon announced a $133 million project to create more than 39 million masks in 90 days under the Defense Production Act. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/492611-pentagon-awards-415m-contract-for-machines-to-disinfect-n95-masks

Boeing a effectué avec succès le premier vol du chasseur F-15QA, version la plus avancée du F-15 développée pour l'armée de l'air qatarie (QEAF). L'avion a démontré ses capacités au cours d'un vol de 90 minutes. L'appareil a décollé et a atterri de l'aéroport international Lambert à Saint-Louis. Cure de jouvence pour le F-15 Enfin une bonne nouvelle pour Boeing, même si le F-15 n'est plus vraiment ce que l'on peut appeler un appareil de première fraîcheur. L'avionneur de Saint Louis (ex division McDonnell Douglas en conséquence) a effectué avec succès le premier vol du chasseur F-15QA, version la plus avancée du F-15 développée pour l'armée de l'air qatarie (QEAF). L'avion a démontré ses capacités au cours d'un vol de 90 minutes. L'appareil a décollé et a atterri de l'aéroport international Lambert à Saint-Louis. « Nous sommes très fiers de cet accomplissement et nous nous réjouissons avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme des succès continus de ce programme », a déclaré le colonel Ahmed Al Mansoori, commandant de l'escadre F-15 de la QEAF. « Ce premier vol réussi est une étape importante qui rapproche nos escadrons d'un pas vers le pilotage de cet avion au-dessus du ciel du Qatar. » 9G L'équipe d'essais en vol de Boeing, dirigée par le pilote d'essai en chef Matt Giese, a mis en place une liste de vérification précise de la mission pour tester les capacités de l'avion multirôle. L'avion a démontré sa maniabilité lors de son décollage vertical en tirant neuf G, soit neuf fois la force de la gravité terrestre, au cours de ses manœuvres subséquentes dans l'espace aérien d'essai. Les vérifications des systèmes tels que l'avionique et le radar ont également été couronnées de succès. Une équipe d'essai qui surveillait les données en temps réel a confirmé que l'avion s'était comporté comme prévu. 6,2 MD$ pour 36 avions Le département américain de la Défense a attribué à Boeing un contrat de 6,2 milliards de dollars en 2017 pour la fabrication de 36 avions de chasse F-15 pour la QEAF. Boeing commencera à livrer des avions au client en 2021. De plus, Boeing a obtenu un contrat de vente militaire à l'étranger de l'US Air Force en 2019 pour les équipages F-15QA et la formation à la maintenance pour la QEAF. Le F-15QA apporte à ses exploitants des technologies modernes telles que les commandes de vol CDVE (commandes de vol électriques), cockpit numérique, capteurs modernisés, radars et des capacités de guerre électronique. L'augmentation de la fiabilité, de la durabilité et de la maintenance permet aux opérateurs de défense de rester en avance sur les menaces actuelles et en évolution. Vers le F-15EX pour l'USAF Gr'ce à des investissements dans la plate-forme F-15QA et un partenariat avec l'US Air Force, Boeing se prépare maintenant à construire une variante nationale du chasseur avancé, le F-15EX. Huit appareils devraient être assemblés pour commencer, les plans futurs prévoient jusqu'à 144 appareils. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/le-boeing-f-15-qa-ralise-son-premier-vol-22929