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Par Le Figaro avec AFP Publié le 02/12/2020 à 14:55 Le «fonds innovation défense», doté de 200 millions d'euros et destiné à financer des start-up et PME portant des projets innovants, sera lancé vendredi, a annoncé mercredi la ministre des Armées Florence Parly en inaugurant le Forum innovation défense. «Je signerai cette semaine avec Bpifrance l'acte de naissance du fonds innovation défense qui s'inscrit dans la stratégie de développement de l'innovation que j'ai souhaitée», a affirmé la ministre dans une allocution retransmise en ligne. Cette signature doit avoir lieu vendredi, selon l'agenda de la ministre. Le fonds, nommé Definnov alors qu'il était au stade de projet, «sera destiné à des start-up et des PME qui développent des technologies innovantes, transverses et présentent un intérêt pour la défense», a-t-elle expliqué. Il «pourra aller jusqu'à 400 millions d'euros» avec la contribution de Bpifrance et la participation souhaitée d'industriels, selon le cabinet de la ministre. «À ce stade, quelques industriels se sont manifestés, pas forcément les plus grands maîtres d'œuvre industriels de défense que l'on connaît habituellement», selon cette source, sans plus de précisions. Le fonds innovation défense sera complémentaire du fonds «French Tech Souveraineté», a par ailleurs affirmé Mme Parly. Ce dernier, doté de 150 millions d'euros, vise à défendre les start-up françaises fragilisées par la crise de l'appétit de prédateurs étrangers. Le ministère des Armées prévoit de consacrer un milliard d'euros par an à partir de 2022 aux projets d'innovation ou «études amont», contre un peu plus de 700 millions en 2017. «En 2021, nous approchons du but, en investissant 901 millions d'euros pour les projets d'innovation», a détaillé la ministre. Organisé en ligne pendant trois jours par l'Agence de l'innovation de défense, le Forum innovation défense doit notamment se pencher sur les questions d'éthique de «soldat augmenté», le militaire dont les capacités physiques ou cognitives sont stimulées afin de renforcer son efficacité. Y seront également lancés les premiers travaux de la «Red Team», une équipe réunissant une dizaine d'auteurs de science-fiction chargés de réfléchir aux scénarios de menaces et de conflits à l'horizon 2030-2060. «Ce n'est pas un gadget, le but est d'imaginer des scénarios totalement disruptifs qu'on n'aurait pas imaginés dans le travail au quotidien», explique-t-on au cabinet de la ministre. https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/le-fonds-innovation-defense-dote-de-200-millions-d-euros-lance-vendredi-20201202

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army wants its Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) Gray Eagles to have synthetic aperture radars, moving target indicators, electronic intelligence and communications intelligence capability as well as air-launched effects and radar warning receivers, according to a new market survey. Now, the Army wants help from industry with those payloads for its Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems. Specifically, the service is looking for systems that are capable of helping with joint operations across all warfighting domains against high-end threats from adversaries such as China and Russia, according to a solicitation published Dec. 2 to a government contracting website. The service's Aerial Enhanced Radar, Optics and Sensors (AEROS) product manager wants industry to “identify potential existing sources capable of providing Aerial Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AISR) payloads for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System platform that meet the JADO environment,” the solicitation posted to Beta.Sam.Gov states. These Gray Eagles payloads must be capable of increased ranges and resolutions “to support target location and Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) without the use of traditional line of site visual equipment to include Electro Optical, Infrared (EO/IR) and Full Motion Video (FMV) required for today's Counter Insurgency (COIN) mission,” the request for information stresses. Traditional COIN payloads won't hold up against peer and near-peer adversaries, the Army noted, as they will “employ anti-access, area denial strategies, posing a significant challenge to the current AISR fleet,” the solicitation states. Gray Eagles must survive against an “Integrated Air Defense System (IADS)-rich environment,” the request notes. This means the Gray Eagle would fly “racetrack patterns tangential to the IADS threat at 80 km distance” and would be capable of deploying Air-Launched Effects (ALE) forward into enemy territory to detect, identify and locate targets and take out or disrupt threats, according to the request. The Gray Eagle would also have payloads that could detect IADS threats, locate them and transfer the information to other sensor systems capable of recognizing targets and coordinating long-range fires, the solicitation describes. The Army is conducting the survey ahead of a Gray Eagle sensor payload JADO demonstration that could potentially take place in fiscal 2022 where systems will be “quantitatively compared” to find the highest performing and best value payloads based on technology readiness and production cost, the request lays out. The solicitation for more advanced payloads for Gray Eagle comes at a time when the Army is trying to design a complex architecture of helicopters and unmanned aircraft systems that would be part of tight-knit kill chain to include space and ground assets underpinned by an advanced network. The Army experimented with the kill chain to include air assets at Project Convergence at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, over the summer. The effort brings together future weapons and capabilities envisioned for a 2030s battlefield against near-peer adversaries such as Russia and China. It includes using a machine learning and artificial intelligence-enabled battle management system that is in development. Gray Eagle represented a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) surrogate. During the first mission thread at Project Convergence, which focused on the penetration phase laid out in the Army's Multidomain Operations warfighting concept, Gray Eagles and ALE partnered with space-based assets, APNT, and LRPF capabilities to locate, then degrade and destroy enemy assets modeled after the Russian Pantsir air defense systems and other weapons. The ALE pushed ingested data forward through the network to get it to the right shooters, whether that would be an Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) system on the ground or a Gray Eagle or another ALE. The Army was able to extend the ALE capability out to almost 62 kilometers, which would provide deep standoff for manned aircraft like FARA. The ALEs performed both the reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting acquisition mission and worked as a mesh network to extend the battlefield. Two ALEs were truck launched and four were air launched. Also during the final shot of the entire campaign at Project Convergence, a soldier on the ground took control of a LRPF munition surrogate (a Hellfire missile in this case) on a Gray Eagle and fired on the target. The Gray Eagle at Convergence was able to route around and avoid threat weapon systems and also fired a live Dynetics-made GBU-69 small glide munition. Previewing the future, the Army also used an open system architecture that was flexible enough for payloads and capabilities to be swapped in out of its Gray Eagles without having to rely on the original equipment manufacturer to do it. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/12/02/army-taps-industry-for-gray-eagle-payloads-for-joint-ops-against-high-end-threats/

Par Le Figaro avec AFP Publié hier à 19:55 Le Sénat a adopté ce jeudi le budget 2021 des Armées, en hausse pour la troisième année consécutive (+4,5% sur un an) à 39,2 milliards d'euros. Ce budget «pour la troisième année consécutive respecte à la lettre les engagements et la trajectoire financière de la loi de programmation militaire» (LPM) 2019-2025, a fait valoir devant les sénateurs la ministre des Armées Florence Parly. «Nous le faisons malgré la crise sanitaire et malgré la crise économique qui prévaut actuellement. Donc c'est à la fois de la continuité, de la confiance par la visibilité donnée et de la relance», a-t-elle affirmé à l'AFP peu avant le vote des sénateurs. Lors du débat, la ministre a été interrogée sur le coût du remplacement de 12 avions Rafale prélevés sur l'inventaire de l'armée de l'Air au profit de la Grèce. Athènes a annoncé mi-septembre son intention d'acquérir six Rafale neufs et douze d'occasion, pour un montant compris «entre un et deux milliards d'euros», selon le cabinet de la ministre. «Les discussions pourraient aboutir d'ici la fin de l'année», selon Florence Parly. «Si ce contrat aboutit, alors le produit de la vente des Rafale d'occasion reviendra bien au ministère des Armées» et non au budget général de l'Etat, a-t-elle déclaré. «Nous avons eu toutes les assurances du ministère de l'Economie et des Finances à ce sujet.» Pour remplacer les 12 avions d'occasion vendus à la Grèce, Paris doit commander en parallèle 12 Rafale neufs pour les besoins de l'armée de l'Air française. Florence Parly a par ailleurs indiqué aux sénateurs que les surcoûts des opérations extérieures (Opex) et intérieures s'élevaient en 2020 à 1,46 milliard d'euros. Ils «sont couverts en 2020 à la fois par la provision constituée en loi de finances initiale (1,1 milliard, NDR), ainsi que par des contributions internationales et des redéploiements internes inférieurs à 60 millions d'euros et enfin par des ouvertures de crédits (...) pour 200 millions d'euros», a-t-elle détaillé. La ministre a toutefois indiqué avoir renoncé à ce dernier financement en raison du «contexte sanitaire» et «par solidarité interministérielle». Sur le milliard d'euros de crédits gelés en début d'année au titre de «réserve de précaution», «800 millions d'euros qui étaient gelés ont été dégelés dès la mi-novembre», a-t-elle plaidé auprès de l'AFP. Le budget 2021 doit faire l'objet d'une adoption définitive par le Parlement au plus tard le 18 décembre. https://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/le-budget-defense-2021-adopte-par-le-senat-20201203

12/4/2020 By Jon Harper Business is still booming on the foreign military sales front even though the world is reeling from the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Boosting exports of U.S.-made defense equipment has been a top policy goal of the Trump administration. The government finished fiscal year 2020 with a total of $84 billion in potential FMS sales that had been approved. Roman Schweizer, an analyst with the Cowen Washington Research Group, called it a “massive” case load. “This isn't technically the ‘real' number but it's still impressive,” he said in a newsletter, noting that not all of the deals had been consummated. In 2019, $68 billion in potential FMS cases were announced, with $55 billion in actual sales reported, according to the research group. The 2020 numbers were better than many observers anticipated. “Some of the concerns that have been initially identified in April have not come to fruition,” R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told reporters in October. In July, the U.S. government processed the second highest amount of FMS case work in the history of the State Department, he noted. “On large items that would take a long train or trail in contracting and production, have we seen a change there? No,” he said. “If anything, the work toward getting significant procurement for, let's say, F-16s or a Patriot missile battery, those things have not abated.” What explains this dynamic? Some nations have had better than expected economic recoveries, Cooper said. “There has been a recommitment by states who at one point understandably could have put on park or pause their modernization plans,” he said. “Overall, if we're looking at long-term modernization plans across the board ... we're currently remaining on a trajectory of where we were in FY '19 going into '21.” That doesn't mean nothing will change, he noted. There will probably be fluctuations on payments and payment schedules, he said. Some buyers could seek foreign military financing or grant assistance, or sequence their procurements differently. While trends seem positive, government officials don't have a crystal ball when it comes to FMS in 2021 and beyond, he noted. The new fiscal year began strong, with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announcing in October that it had cleared more than $4 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan, as well as $27.2 billion worth of aircraft to Finland including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and F-35 joint strike fighters. https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/12/4/us-arms-sales-remain-robust-despite-pandemic

December 2, 2020 - Rheinmetall's advanced MK-82-EP general purpose aircraft bomb has recently scored major successes in France and Germany. France's procurement authority, the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), has already placed the first serial production orders for the MK82-EP, which are earmarked for the Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter jets. Furthermore, the German Air Force has selected the Rheinmetall MK82-EP to serve as the warhead of the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition system, destined for its Tornado and Eurofighter platforms. Together, the orders encompass more than 2,000 MK82-bomb bodies, worth over €35 million in total. In October 2020 France's DGA successfully qualified the new MK82-EP (Enhanced Performance) 500-pound bomb body. This follows a five-year programme of development and extensive testing conducted by RWM Italia SpA, Rheinmetall's airborne ordnance centre of excellence in Italy, in cooperation with explosives manufacturer EURENCO. Engineered for maximum safety during storage, handling and operations, the state-of-the-art 500-pound MK82-EP warhead is an enhanced, fully interchangeable version of the standard MK82 bomb body, delivering improved effectiveness. The MK82-EP can be deployed in free fall mode or as a precision guided munition in tandem with Paveway, Enhanced Paveway, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (LJDAM) or Armament Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) kits. Led by DIEHL Defence, the GBU-54 team supplying the German Air Force includes RWM Italia S.p.A., Boeing for the guidance kit, and Junghans Microtec for the fuse. DIEHL has recently been awarded a contract to supply several hundred of these systems during the period 2021 to 2024. Thanks to this successful start in France and Germany, the MK82-EP is seen as a likely choice to arm the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) currently being jointly developed by the two countries, as well as serving as a new baseline for all Mirage 2000, Rafale and Eurofighter users. Rheinmetall AG Corporate Sector Defence Press and Information Oliver Hoffmann Rheinmetall Platz 1 40476 Düsseldorf Germany Phone: +49 211 473-4748 Fax: +49 211 473-4157 View source version on Rheinmetall: https://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_25728.php

Oshkosh, Wis. December 1, 2020 - Oshkosh Defense, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, announced today the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal has placed an order for 2,738 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), 1,001 companion trailers, and associated kits. The Oshkosh Defense JLTVs will be supplied to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force along with a select group of NATO and non-NATO allies. This is the second largest order of Oshkosh Defense JLTVs, with a contract value of $911 million. The Oshkosh Defense JLTV is designed for the future battlefield with reconfiguration capabilities to meet the demands of the Warfighter's evolving mission requirements. It offers the world's only light tactical vehicle with the protection, off road mobility, network capability and firepower options to maneuver with combat formations. “The men and women of Oshkosh Defense take great pride in what they do,” said George Mansfield, Vice President and General Manager of Joint Programs for Oshkosh Defense. “Designing, building, and delivering the world's most capable light tactical vehicle, the Oshkosh JLTV, is one of our greatest accomplishments. And we plan to continue building the Oshkosh JLTV for many years to come.” As part of this order, 59 vehicles will be delivered to NATO and non-NATO allies – including Lithuania, North Macedonia, and Brazil. As the industry-leading tactical vehicle manufacturer, Oshkosh Defense takes great pride in working with both domestic and international customers to give the Warfighter a necessary technological edge at the best price. Oshkosh Defense strives every day to meet or exceed our customers' ever-changing needs with next-generation defense technologies and advanced mobility systems. About Oshkosh Defense Oshkosh Defense is a global leader in the design, production and sustainment of best-in-class military vehicles and mobility systems. As a pioneer of combat-ready vehicle solutions, Oshkosh develops and applies emerging technologies that advance troop safety and mission success. Setting the industry standard for sustaining fleet readiness, Oshkosh ensures every solution is supported worldwide throughout its entire life cycle. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK]. Learn more about Oshkosh Defense at www.oshkoshdefense.com About Oshkosh Corporation At Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK), we make innovative, mission-critical equipment to help everyday heroes' advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh Corporation employs more than 14,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common cause: to make a difference in people's lives. Oshkosh products can be found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG®, Pierce®, Oshkosh® Defense, McNeilus®, IMT®, Frontline™, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh® Airport Products, CON-E-CO® and London™. For more information, visit oshkoshcorp.com. ®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies. View source version on Oshkosh Defense: https://oshkoshdefense.com/oshkosh-defense-receives-911-million-jltv-order-from-u-s-army/?fbclid=IwAR3CVRkD2BaOt0-QksLVii8VvIZkXdD8IXaDELP1I4qoBoHmMFDUvZnZB-k

Le forum innovation défense, qui se tient du 2 au 4 décembre, en format digital, est l'occasion d'évoquer les ruptures technologiques en cours, dont les métamatériaux. Ces matériaux artificiels conçus au niveau atomique permettraient de rendre les avions de combats et les navires plus discrets vis à vis des radars et sonars adverses. Plusieurs projets de développement sont en cours. Le missilier MBDA mène ainsi des travaux pour exploiter cette technologie afin que ses missiles échappent aux défenses ennemies. « Pour rendre les missiles furtifs, les matériaux sont l'approche principale. Il s'agit d'éviter que des parties du missile n'émettent trop de radiations qui pourraient être détectées », explique Denis Gardin, directeur de l'innovation et des technologies futures pour MBDA. L'Usine Nouvelle du 3 décembre 2020

NAVY Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $48,699,897 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-5116 to exercise an option for AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) $42,843,613 (88%); 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) $5,656,326 (11%); and 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) $199,958 (1%) funding will be obligated at time of award, of which, funding in the amount of $199,958 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $14,782,286 modification (P00005) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee order N00019-20-F-0460 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0031 in support of the E-6B Mercury aircraft. This modification exercises options to provide sustaining engineering support and diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages management in support of the E-6B take charge and move out airborne command post aircraft. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (80%); Patuxent River, Maryland (10%); and Bellevue, Nebraska (10%), and is expected to be completed in November 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,472,683, will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. CGI Federal Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $9,849,208 modification (P00055) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract M67004-16-C-0001 for plans and data support services. This modification extends services for a one-year period. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $4,214,671 are being obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification was not competed under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1; only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Marine Corps, Blount Island Command, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. ARMY BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded a $19,226,072 modification (P00733) to contract DAAA09-98-E-0006 to expand the landfill at Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee. Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 1, 2022. Fiscal 2021 procurement of ammunition (Army) funds in the amount of $19,226,072 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2432887/source/GovDelivery/

With 9,500 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles already delivered, the Army was running out of room on its existing contracts, so it just ordered another 2,738 from Oshkosh. That'll keep production going through a re-competition scheduled for 2022. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on December 02, 2020 at 4:49 PM WASHINGTON: The Army's already shared Oshkosh's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design with rival companies, who hope to take over the program when a new competition is held in 2022. But, having announced a new $911 million order just yesterday, Oshkosh Defense is confident that it'll fend off all challengers and keep building JLTVs for years to come, general manager George Mansfield told me this morning. “This contract really shows how the Joint Program Office feels about Oshkosh,” Mansfield said. “They're very confident we build a good quality product, [and] we are on time and under budget so far.” In fact, Mansfield said, Oshkosh JLTVs were coming in so much under budget that the military was able to buy more vehicles in less time than the original contract anticipated. (And it did so despite cuts to the JLTV budget in recent years). That's why the Army — which runs JLTV on behalf of all the US armed services and seven foreign customers from Belgium to Brazil — had to issue the new contract this fall. You see, in 2015, when Oshkosh beat aerospace titan Lockheed Martin and Humvee manufacturer AM General, the Army issued a production contract with a maximum value of $6.7 billion and a maximum quantity of 16,901 vehicles. That contract was supposed to last eight years, through 2022. Before it ran out, the Army would hold a new competition, open to all comers, with the winner – perhaps Oshkosh, perhaps a rival – getting a new contract to build JLTVs after 2022. But Oshkosh kept selling JLTVs more cheaply than the 2015 contract had assumed. That meant the military could buy more vehicles more quickly, even with a reduced budget for JLTV. That meant, in turn, that it ran up against the 2015 contract's 16,901-vehicle maximum this fall, two years ahead of schedule. So, to keep production going, the Army issued the new contract: an additional $911 million for 2,738 more JLTVs, plus 1,001 trailers and other kit. That brings the total on order to 18,073 JLTVs, of which over half – about 9,500 – have already been delivered. What does a JLTV cost? That's tricky. Oshkosh doesn't divulge exact prices. The government's estimated Average Procurement Unit Cost per JLTV is $395,000 (once adjusted for inflation; it's $365,000 in 2015 dollars). If you just divide the dollar value of the new contract by the number of vehicles, the average cost per JLTV has fallen below $333,000. But the actual price per JLTV is actually a lot lower than that, because these contracts always include trailers, specialized mission equipment for different JLTV variants, spare parts and support. The new contract allows the Army to order additional JLTVs through November 2023. That keeps production going through the re-competition, which is scheduled to award a contract in the second half of 2022. Now, the re-compete is not about picking a new design. Instead, it's about giving the Army the option to pick a new manufacturer for the existing design. Under the terms of the original 2015 contract, the government bought the Technical Data Package that shows you how to build a JLTV and can give that data to any company it likes. In fact, several potential competitors have not only gotten the data package, they've actually leased JLTVs so they can reverse-engineer them. But while competitors now have the JLTV design, they don't have Oshkosh's facilities, workforce or their years of experience actually building it. “We've been manufacturing this vehicle for five years,” Mansfield told me. “We know how it's designed because we designed it, we know how to manufacture it, we've got a strong supply base. So I think we're in a very good position.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/12/jltv-new-911m-order-strengthens-oshkoshs-hand-for-recompete