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James Yeager This year is only four months old and it's already one for the history books — and not in a great way. As the defense community works in tandem with the broader government to keep citizens safe and healthy, cybersecurity threats are only becoming more aggressive. If we've learned anything about cyber adversaries, it's that they will seize on any opportunity to gain an advantage in targeting their victims, including exploiting the fears of the public during a global pandemic. As COVID-19 has moved from the East to the West, adversaries have followed suit, using lures that play into people's desperation for information on the disease. In “The Art of War,” Sun-Tzu said“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” The COVID-19 virus is infecting more than just people. The pandemic has created chaos and handed adversaries an irresistible opportunity to exploit the situation to gain entry into our networks, whether that's to steal intellectual property, disrupt operations, or gain a strategic advantage if they are a nation-state actor. Already, we are seeing an increase in phishing campaigns using COVID-19 as a hook to launch malware in emails disguised as alerts. Particularly vulnerable are the thousands of remote workers — government employees and contractors alike — who are using their own home networks, which are largely less sophisticated and secure than their work environments. The stakes are high, particularly for those in defense jobs, where an errant click can have devastating consequences. Coincidently, 2020 is the year when the DoD's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification has grown teeth and will force more than 300,000 defense contractors to up their cybersecurity game or face bottom-line consequences. Now is not the time to make mistakes. In CrowdStrike's recent Global Threat Report, we captured and analyzed real-world inputs from observed trends in cyber-attacks on commercial and government enterprises. The following are some of the notable attack vectors and trends we observed across the public sector during 2019: An escalation in ransom demands, including ransomware attacks on defense supply chain providers, schools and local municipalities. Surpassing the volume of malware attacks are malware-free attacks that use code which executes from memory or stolen login credentials. Continued state-sponsored targeted intrusions aimed at the government and defense sector. In fact, we have witnessed adversaries exploiting fear around COVID-19 to socially engineer their way to user credentials and sensitive data. In the months ahead, I contend we'll see many more of the same tactics from the same bad actors: Russia, China and newer players on the block, such as Iran, which has leveraged U.S. social media platforms to develop information operations campaigns. Amidst massive change, periodic chaos and long-term disruption, the defense community — government and industry — must put a premium on speed. Speed to detect. Speed to investigate. Speed to mitigate. We recommend that agencies and companies implement cybersecurity practices that follow the 1-10-60 Rule: detect intrusions within 1 minute; investigate and gain a comprehensive understanding of the attack within 10 minutes; and contain and remove the threatening adversary from the network within 60 minutes. This benchmark will limit the damage caused by inevitable attacks. Yes, inevitable. Cyberattacks are a constant and while building a bigger, wider and thicker wall may help keep bad actors out, they are persistent and determined enough to eventually get in, and when they do, you're on the clock. This year will only get worse as the impacts of COVID-19 will be deep, damaging and long-lasting. We're all faced with loss and uncertainty as we attempt to recover from the global pandemic. For the defense community, there is no time to recover and regroup. You are already on the clock, as those who wish to do our nation harm are already hard at work. https://www.fifthdomain.com/opinion/2020/04/24/in-chaos-theres-opportunity-and-thats-bad-news/

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sysco Raleigh, Selma, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $120,930,698 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a two-year base contract with two 18-month option periods. Location of performance is North Carolina, with an April 19, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3269). EFW Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $79,054,850 firm-fixed-price contract for hand stations, gunner hand stations and circuit cards for the Bradley fighting vehicle. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S .Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with an April 30, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0019). Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been awarded a $57,989,530 firm-fixed-price contract for engines with containers. This is a two-year four-month contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. Location of performance is Wisconsin, with an Aug. 8, 2022, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-C-0109). Thales Defense & Security Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $19,317,824 firm-fixed-price contract for airborne low frequency sonar spare parts. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year four-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland, with an Aug. 30, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPRPA1-20-C-Y025). American Water Military Services LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded an $8,704,164 modification (P00014) to a 50-year contract (SP0600-18-C-8324), with no option periods, for water and wastewater utility services at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract increasing the obligated value from $18,232,817 to $19,190,974. Locations of performance are Missouri and New Jersey, with an April 30, 2069, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2069 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Seiler Instrument and Manufacturing Co., Inc.,* St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $8,465,640 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for M119A1 light towed howitzer infinity collimators. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Missouri, with a May 24, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0091). AIR FORCE Raytheon Corp., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $117,543,944 modification (P00110) to contract FA8705-14-C-0001 to exercise the production option contract line item numbers 0005, 0006, 0009, 0050AC and 0050AF for a global aircrew strategic network terminal. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract from $542,640,854 to $660,184,798. Work will be performed in Largo, Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 24, 2022. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the amount of $117,543,944 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Material Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Fairfax, Virginia, and Des Moines, Iowa, has been awarded a $64,076,424 contract for Air National Guard operational training support. This contract provides for support of the Distributed Training Operations Center (DTOC). The primary mission of the DTOC is to provide expertise and staffing for the execution of Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) events and tests, and to provide technical and analytical expertise in support of networked operations. This effort includes technical and program management, scenario development, DMO mission execution, data collection, data reduction and analysis, technical and analytical support of networked operations, cybersecurity, test planning and reporting, requirements definition, system engineering, system software quality assurance/configuration control tasks and verification, validation and accreditation tasks. Work will be performed in Des Moines, Iowa, and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition under the Training Systems Acquisition III multiple award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract where two offers were received in response to the Fair Opportunity Proposal Request. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,119,379 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8621-20-F-6258). NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $75,141,193 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft Service Life Assessment Program and Service Life Extension Program, Phase C follow-on effort. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (50%); and El Segundo, California (50%), and provides non-recurring engineering to assess the fatigue life of the aircraft as well as its subsystems and structures to extend the service life of the F/A-18E/F beyond the original design of the 6,000 flight hour service life. Work is expected to be complete by April 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-D-0051). Hydroid Inc., Pocasset, Massachusetts, is awarded a $39,414,560 modification to previously-awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00174-19-D-0010) to exercise Option Year One for production support for the MK-18 Family of Systems – Unmanned Underwater Vehicle systems. Work will be performed in Pocasset, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by April 2024. This contract was awarded on a sole-source basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations 6.302-1(a)(2), with only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. No additional funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $67,647,172 modification (P00001) to Foreign Military Sales (India, Taiwan) contract (W52P1J-20-F-0225) for modernized target acquisition designation sight/pilot night vision sensors and its subcomponents on the Apache 64D/E helicopter. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 24, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Tabcon Inc.,* Queen Creek, Arizona, was awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for roofing repair and replacement work on various buildings at Fort Riley, Kansas. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 24, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Kansas, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-20-D-4003). Cepheid, Sunny Vale, California, was awarded a $12,075,000 firm-fixed-price contract for swabs and test kits to support COVID-19. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 23, 2021. The U.S. Army Health Readiness Contracting Office, Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K04-20-D-0008). (Awarded April 23, 2020) BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded an $8,118,623 modification (P00712) to contract DAAA09-98-E-0006 to design a flashing furnace type treatment technology, including the necessary air-pollution control systems and support building(s) for the purpose of thermal treatment of appropriate waste streams. Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $8,118,623 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Luhr Bros Inc., Columbia, Illinois, was awarded a $7,633,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide stone subaqueous paving grade stone B at six locations. These sites are considered emergency work locations where bank degradation is threatening the integrity of the levee system. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 17, 2020. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-20-F-0116). Alstom Renewable US LLC, Greenwood Village, Colorado, was awarded a $7,009,487 modification (P00005) to contract W912EF-17-C-0024 for design, fabrication and delivery of a new upper bearing bracket for the Little Goose Dam. Work will be performed in Dayton, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 25, 2022. Fiscal 2017 and 2021 blanket purchase agreement funds in the amount of $7,009,487 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, Washington, is the contracting activity. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY Global Connections to Employment Inc., Pensacola, Florida (HE1254-20-C-1001), is being awarded a fixed-price contract for custodial services and labor support in the amount of $14,376,570. The place of performance will be Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The period of performance is one 12-month base period and four 12-month option years. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $2,844,568 will be obligated on this award. This contract was awarded as a mandatory source through the AbilityOne program in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 8.7 (Acquisition from Nonprofit Agencies Employing People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled). The contracting activity is the Department of Defense Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2164680/source/GovDelivery/

After a failed attempt to replace the current missile killers, the Pentagon wants to hurry and get the new technology online. By PAUL MCLEARY WASHINGTON: The Missile Defense Agency issued a long-awaited request for proposal today for its next-generation missile interceptor, eight months after the surprise cancellation of its multi-billion dollar attempt to replace the current, aging system. The Next Generation Interceptor program will replace the Redesigned Kill Vehicle effort, the Boeing and Raytheon project that failed to get off the ground. The new competition calls for contractors to submit bids by July 31, though it will be years before anything can be built and tested. MDA chief Vice Adm. Jon Hill said last month that he wants to field the new system as soon as possible, and a timeline of 2030, is “unacceptable from a warfighter view” and “unacceptable to me as a program manager.” But it's unclear when a system will be ready for testing. “We want to deliver the first round as soon as possible,” Hill continued. “That also means we can't take shortcuts in the design or in the requirements or in the flight testing regime, because if you want to go save time that is what most programs will do, so we can't afford that, but I will tell you that timeline will be driven by who we award to.” The RKV program was part of an ambitious technology effort helmed by Boeing — though Raytheon was building the Kill Vehicles — to replace the current Exo-Atmospheric Kill Vehicle. Both are ground-based interceptors designed to defend the US against long-range ballistic missile attacks. The companies won't have to pay back any of the billion-plus dollars the government awarded them to do the work, as Pentagon officials have said some of the effort can be salvaged and used on the new program. Problems had been mounting in the program's development for years. The Missile Defense Agency said back in 2016 it expected the first RKV flight test by 2019, with fielding in 2020. The last estimate, released with the fiscal 2020 budget request, pushed the fielding date back to 2025. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/dod-tries-again-on-multi-billion-missile-interceptor/

“We want to deliver hypersonics at scale,” said R&D director Mark Lewis, from air-breathing cruise missiles to rocket-boosted gliders that fly through space. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has created a “war room” to ramp up production of hypersonic weapons from a handful of prototypes over the last decade to “hundreds of weapons” in the near future, a senior official said Wednesday. Those weapons will range from huge rocket-powered boost-glide missiles, fired from Army trucks and Navy submarines at more than Mach 10, to more compact and affordable air-breathing cruise missiles, fired from aircraft at a relatively modest Mach 5-plus. “It isn't an either-or,” said Mark Lewis, modernization director for Pentagon R&D chief Mike Griffin. “It isn't rocket-boost or air-breathing, we actually want both, because those systems do different things.” Right now, however, US combat units have neither. Inconsistent focus and funding over the years means that “we had a number of programs in the department that were very solid technology development programs, but at the end of those programs, we would have prototypes and we'd have weapons in the single-digit counts,” Lewis said during a webcast with the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute. “If you've got a program that delivers eight missiles and then stops, well, which of the thousand targets in our target set are we going to use those eight missiles against?” With hypersonics now a top priority for both Undersecretary Griffin and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the Pentagon is trying to improve that stop-and-go track record with a new “hypersonic acceleration plan” – no pun intended, Lewis said. Griffin likes to compare the effort to the Cold War, when the US had a massive nuclear weapons infrastructure capable of building complex components by the tens of thousands. “We want to deliver hypersonics at scale,” Lewis said. “That means hundreds of weapons in a short period of time in the hands of the warfighter.” Mass-production, in turn, requires production facilities – but today hypersonic prototypes are basically hand-crafted by R&D labs like Sandia. Lewis and his counterpart in the Pentagon's acquisition & sustainment directorate, Kevin Fahey, are “co-chairing what we're were calling a war room ... looking at the hypersonic industrial base,” he said. “That's not just the primes, but the entire industrial base” down to small, specialized suppliers. Controlling cost is both essential to large-scale production and a huge challenge, Lewis acknowledged. “We don't know what these things cost yet,” he said. “We've asked the primes to consider costs as they're developing.” Which hypersonic weapons the Pentagon buys also makes a major difference. “There are some technology choices we can make that lead us to more cost-effective systems,” he said. “I'm especially enthusiastic about hypersonic weapons that come off the wings of airplanes and come out of bomb bays, [because] I think those are some of the keys to delivering hypersonic capabilities at scale and moderate cost.” Likewise, “[there's] larger investment now in the rocket boost systems,” Lewis said, “[but] one of the reasons I'm so enthusiastic about scramjet-powered systems, air-breathing systems is I think that, fundamentally, they can be lower-cost than their rocket-boosted alternatives.” Why is that? Understanding the policy, it turns out, requires a basic understanding of the physics. Breaking Defense graphic from DoD data Four Types of Hypersonics “Hypersonics isn't a single thing,” Lewis said. “It's a range of applications, a range of attributes, [defined by] the combination of speed and maneuverability and trajectory.” To put it in simple terms – and I'll beg the forgiveness of any aerospace engineers reading this – there are two kinds of hypersonic projectile, based on how they fly: one is an air-breathing engine flying through the atmosphere, like a jet plane or cruise missile; the other is a rocket booster arcing to the edge of space, like an ICBM. There are also two kinds of platform you can launch from: an aircraft in flight high and fast above the earth, or a relatively slow-moving vehicle on or below the surface, like an Army truck, Navy warship or submarine. Combine these and you get four types. Lewis thinks all four could be worth pursuing, although the Pentagon currently has programs – that we know about – for only three: Air-launched boost-glide: Air Force ARRW (Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon). The Air Force also had another program in this category, HCSW (Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon), but they canceled it to focus on ARRW, which the service considers more innovative and promising. Surface-launched boost-glide: Army LRHW (Long Range Hypersonic Weapon) and Navy CPS (Conventional Prompt Strike). Both weapons share the same rocket booster, built by the Navy, and the same Common Hypersonic Glide Body, built by the Army, but one tailors the package to launch from a wheeled vehicle and the other from a submarine. Air-launched air-breathing: HAWC (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept) and HSW-ab (Hypersonic Strike Weapon-air breathing). Arguably the most challenging and cutting-edge technology, these programs are both currently run by DARPA, which specializes in high-risk, high-return research, but they'll be handed over to the Air Force when they mature. Surface-launched air-breathing: This is the one category not in development – at least not in the unclassified world. But Lewis said, “eventually, you could see some ground-launched air breathers as well. I personally think those are very promising.” Each of these has its own advantages and disadvantages, Lewis explained. Rocket boosters are proven technology, offering tremendous speed and range. The Minuteman III ICBM, introduced in 1970, can travel over 6,000 miles at Mach 23. Their one drawback is that ICBMs can't steer. Once launched, they follow a predictable course like a cannon ball, which is why they're called ballistic missiles. The big innovation of boost-glide weaponry is that it replaces the traditional warhead with an agile glider. Once the rocket booster burns out, the glide body detaches and coasts the rest of the way, skipping nimbly across the upper layers of the atmosphere like a stone across the pond. But boost-glide has some big limitations. First, once the rocket booster detaches, the glide body has no engine of its own so it just coasts, losing speed throughout its flight. Second, precisely because the rocket launch is so powerful, it puts tremendous strain on the weapon, whose delicate electronics must be hardened against shock and heat. Third, the booster is big, because a rocket not only has to carry fuel, it has to carry tanks of oxygen to burn the fuel. Breaking Defense graphic from DoD data An air-breathing engine, by contrast, can be significantly smaller. It just has to carry the fuel, because it can scoop up all the oxygen it needs from the atmosphere. That means the whole weapon can be smaller, making it much easier to fit on an aircraft, and that it can accelerate freely during flight instead of just coasting, making it more maneuverable. But while conventional jet engines are well-proven technology, they don't function at hypersonic speeds, because the airflow pours their intakes far too fast. So you need a sophisticated alternative such as a scramjet, a complex, costly technology so far found only on experimental vehicles, like the Air Force's revolutionary Boeing X-51. Even with a scramjet, you can't fly too high because the air doesn't provide the needed oxygen. That means air-breathing weapons can't reach the same near-space altitudes as boost-glide missiles. They also can't fly nearly as fast. Lewis expects air-breathers will probably top out around Mach 7, half or less the peak speed of a boost-glide weapon. (That said, remember the glider will have slowed down somewhat by the time it reaches the target). Sandia National Laboratories glide vehicle, the ancestor of the Army-built Common Hypersonic Glide Body The platform you launch from also has a major impact on performance. Warships, submarines, and long-bodied heavy trucks can carry bigger weapons than aircraft, but the weapons they carry need to be bigger because they have to start from low altitude and low speed and go all the way to high-altitude hypersonic flight. By contrast, an air-launched weapon doesn't need to be as big, because it's already flying high and fast even before it turns on its motor. All these factors suggest that the big boost-glide weapons are probably best launched from land or sea, the smaller air-breathing ones from aircraft in flight. But since boost-gliders go farther and faster than air-breathers, you still want them as an option for your bombers for certain targets. On the flipside, while a naval vessel or ground vehicle has plenty of room to carry boost-glide weapons for ultra-long-range strikes, it can also use the same space to carry a larger number of the smaller air-breathers for closer targets. “We're interested in basically the full range,” Lewis said. “We've got some ideas of things we want to put into play quickly, but we're also extremely open-minded about future applications, future technologies.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/hypersonics-dod-wants-hundreds-of-weapons-asap/

By: The Associated Press CHICAGO — Boeing announced Saturday it terminated an agreement to join forces with Embraer, prompting an angry response from the Brazilian jet maker, which threatened to seek damages. The pair had planned to work together on Embraer's commercial aviation business and to develop new markets for its C-390 Millennium aircraft. They had been working toward an agreement for two years. Boeing said it ended the agreement after Embraer did not meet conditions laid out by the deal, in which Boeing would have held majority ownership. Over the past few months, the companies had “productive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations” about the unsatisfied conditions, which was “deeply disappointing,” Marc Allen, Boeing's president of Embraer partnership and group operations, said in a news release. Embraer issued a statement saying it “believes strongly that Boeing has wrongfully terminated” the mutual transaction agreement and “that it has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments to close the transaction and pay Embraer the US$4.2 billion purchase price.” “We believe Boeing has engaged in a systematic pattern of delay and repeated violations of the MTA (master transaction agreement), because of its unwillingness to complete the transaction in light of its own financial condition and 737 Max and other business and reputational problems,” it added. “Embraer will pursue all remedies against Boeing for the damages incurred by Embraer as a result of Boeing's wrongful termination and violation of the MTA,” the company said. The collapse marked the latest mishap for Boeing. The company's best-selling plane, the 737 Max, has been grounded for more than a year after two deadly crashes that led to federal investigations. Those problems, combined with deflated demand for flights due to the pandemic, sharply reduced the company's cash. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/26/boeing-ends-deal-angering-brazilian-jet-maker-embraer/

Par Michel Cabirol Pour le PDG de Dassault Aviation la décision de l'Allemagne d'acheter 93 avions de combat Eurofighter et 45 F-18 américains est "paradoxalement plutôt une bonne chose pour la France. Au moins, l'Allemagne écarte le F35". Le patron de Dassault Aviation Eric Trappier a été très clair sur la décision de l'Allemagne d'acheter 93 avions de combat Eurofighter (BAE Systems, Airbus et Leonardo) et 45 F-18 américains (Boeing) pour renouveler sa flotte de Tornado. "C'est paradoxalement plutôt une bonne chose pour la France. Au moins, l'Allemagne écarte le F35", a expliqué jeudi le président du GIFAS lors d'une audition par la commission de la défense de l'Assemblée nationale. Clairement, ce choix, s'il est confirmé par un vote du Bundestag, permettra de poursuivre les travaux sur le futur Système de combat aérien du futur (SCAF), lancés par l'Allemagne et la France, et rejoints par l'Espagne. Ce qui n'aurait pas été le cas si Berlin avait choisi le F-35. "J'insiste sur la nécessité de prise en compte des différences de calendriers et d'organisation politique entre les deux pays. Les industriels doivent s'adapter aux calendriers politiques pour avancer. Un message peut être porté aux parlementaires allemands : il faut trouver un processus type LPM (Loi de programmation militaire, ndlr) pour cadencer avancement des projets communs. La pression des États-Unis Pour autant, pour diminuer l'appétence des pays européens à acheter américain, "il est nécessaire que l'on s'organise entre européens", a-t-il expliqué. Le chemin est très long encore en dépit de l'initiative commune entre trois grands pays européens sur le SCAF. Ainsi, la Bulgarie a signé des contrats pour des F16, la Belgique a signé des amendements pour des F35, a-t-il rappelé. "Il faut se poser la question du poids des européens face aux Etats-Unis dans l'OTAN", a-t-il également fait valoir. Et les États-Unis, qui n'ont qu'un objectif de vassaliser l'Europe en matière d'aviation de combat, ne l'chent vraiment pas les Européens. Ainsi, pour Lockheed Martin, tous les coups sont permis. Le géant américain vient d'embaucher en Finlande, l'ancien chef d'état-major des armées (CEMA) finlandais, celui-là même qui avait lancé la compétition pour l'acquisition de nouveaux appareils, a expliqué Eric Trappier. Ce qui a provoqué une polémique en Finlande. Ce projet d'achat vise à remplacer la flotte actuelle de 64 avions de combat F/A-18C/D Hornet achetés au début des années 90. Le ministre finlandais de la Défense a déclaré que le nombre de nouveaux appareils à acheter pourrait être supérieur ou égal au niveau actuel et espérait qu'il ne serait pas inférieur. Inquiétudes sur le Fonds européen de défense En tant que patron également de l'ASD (AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe), le président du GIFAS (Groupement des industries françaises aéronautiques et spatiales) a fait part de ses inquiétudes sur l'avenir du Fonds européen de défense (FED). "L'Europe de la Défense ne semble pas la priorité de l'ensemble de nos partenaires. Il faut veiller à le préserver. Elle est notamment utile pour développer de nouvelles technologies et d'abonder les programmes qui sont définis par plusieurs États européens", a-t-il rappelé. Et selon lui, un deuxième danger menace le FED. C'est "la persistance des États-Unis à vouloir faire accéder leurs sociétés à ces financements. Certains pays européens à l'Est du continent sont attentifs et sensibles aux appels américains". On n'est jamais trahi que par les siens... https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/l-achat-des-f18-et-eurofighter-par-l-allemagne-est-plutot-une-bonne-chose-pour-la-france-eric-trappier-846130.html

Tous alignés pour mener la charge. Les présidents des organisations patronales de l'aéronautique, du naval militaire et de l'armement terrestre plaident d'une seule voix afin que l'industrie de défense fasse partie des plans de relance en France, mais aussi en Europe. « C'est absolument fondamental », ont-ils affirmé, lors d'une audition devant la commission de la défense de l'Assemblée nationale. L'objectif est de préserver la Base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) avec ses dizaines de milliers d'emplois hautement qualifiés, répartis sur tout le territoire et le long du littoral. À elles seules, les 400 entreprises aéronautiques membres du Groupement des industries françaises aéronautique et spatiale (Gifas) emploient 200 000 personnes. La filière navale fait travailler 40 000 personnes et les acteurs du terrestre, 20 000. Sans oublier les salariés des milliers de PME et TPE, dont beaucoup de pépites technologiques. Il s'agit aussi d'assurer aux armées, sursollicitées à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur des frontières nationales, le meilleur niveau d'équipements. Cela, en restant compétitifs face à la concurrence internationale et en pérennisant l'indépendance stratégique militaire du pays. Face à la crise du Covid-19 qui affecte les industriels de l'armement, « nous proposons un plan de relance pour soutenir la défense, sur le modèle de celui mis en place après la crise financière de 2008 », déclare Stéphane Meyer, président du Gicat (armement terrestre) et PDG du constructeur de blindés Nexter. Le volet défense du plan de relance de 2008 représentait 2,4 milliards d'euros sur un total de 34 milliards. Compte tenu de la profondeur inédite de la crise économique attendue, il faut aller plus loin. « Il est nécessaire d'augmenter les crédits afin d'amplifier la relance de l'industrie de défense, ce qui passe par la hausse de son budget dans la loi de finance 2021 et une révision de la loi de programmation militaire 2019-2025 avec prise en compte des montants absolus et pas du pourcentage du PIB, qui s'est contracté. Cela en affermissant des commandes qui sont encore optionnelles », précise-t-il. « La commande publique est le meilleur outil pour relancer l'économie », insiste Hervé Guillou, président du Groupement des industries navales (Gican). « Avant de parler de relocalisations, rappelons que l'industrie de défense est déjà localisée en France, et qu'un euro dans le budget français va directement dans l'emploi en France », relève Éric Trappier, président du Gifas et PDG de Dassault Aviation *, constructeur de l'avion de combat Rafale. À court terme, les entreprises qui tournent avec 20 % à 30 % en moyenne des effectifs ont pour « priorité absolue » la maintenance des matériels, la dissuasion et la défense aérienne. Les grands industriels ont aussi, en liaison avec le ministère des Armées, organisé la solidarité interfilière, afin de repérer les PME les plus en difficultés, dont la défaillance « peut affecter toute l'industrie ». L'autre combat se déroule sur le front européen. Les États-Unis ont placé l'aéronautique et la défense au premier rang des industries stratégiques dans leur plan de relance. « Est-ce que l'Europe a un plan pour ces industries stratégiques ? Nous discutons avec Thierry Breton (commissaire au Marché intérieur, notamment en charge de la défense, NDLR) afin que le budget de 13 milliards destiné au fonds européen de défense ne soit pas réduit dans le prochain budget de la Commission », souligne Éric Trappier. Le président du Gifas appelle aussi à la reprise et à la réussite des coopérations européennes et à l'instauration - enfin - d'une préférence européenne en matière d'achat de matériels militaires. « Ce n'est pas le moment de baisser la garde en Europe », martèle Hervé Guillou. « Il faut espérer que la situation fera réfléchir la Direction de la concurrence sur la consolidation européenne, qui est un moyen de créer des champions capables de se défendre contre leurs concurrents étrangers et de se protéger des OPA hostiles », conclut le président du Gican. Véronique GUILLERMARD Le Figaro https://www.asafrance.fr/item/defense-les-industriels-veulent-une-relance.html

Murray Brewster Canada's ban on new arms exports to Turkey has been extended indefinitely, Global Affairs confirmed today. The Liberal government imposed a suspension on the approval of export permits last fall after Turkish forces launched an incursion into northern Syria. Charles-Marie Matte, deputy director of the export controls division at Global Affairs, said in an email that approvals have been suspended "until further notice." The government of Turkish President Recep Erdoğan has insisted the incursion was necessary to create a buffer zone against Kurdish militia forces. Turkey is on a Canadian government list of "trusted" countries where Canadian defence contractors can safely do business and sell sophisticated, restricted weapons. While some permit applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the revised notification makes it clear that certain military items "will be presumptively denied" to Turkey. In other words, companies with those goods shouldn't even bother applying for permission to sell them to Turkey. 'Exceptional circumstances' The items in question include ammunition, light weapons, armour, protective equipment and electronics. "Exceptional circumstances" related to Canada's international alliance commitments might see the government consider issuing a permit, the notice said. An example might be the export of components for "a NATO missile defence system," Matte said in an email. Turkey has said it's willing to buy U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot air defence missiles system if it gets a good price from Washington. The country's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, was quoted in international publications last week saying his country was interested in the purchase as part of a solution to the stalemate with the Trump administration over the Erdogan government's purchase of a Russian-made S-400 air defence system. Cavusoglu also repeated Turkey's offer to lead "a technical working group" with NATO to iron out concerns about his country operating the Russian system while still being part of the alliance. U.S. defence contractor Raytheon, which has a branch in Canada, manufactures the Patriot missile system. Rising tensions with Syria Since the incursion last fall, tensions between Turkey and Syria have only increased and came close to boiling over last winter. There were direct clashes between the Turkish army and Syrian government forces in late February and early March. An air strike on rebel-held territory in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on Feb 27 killed 34 Turkish soldiers. In response, Turkey shot down three Syrian warplanes and has used armed drones to carry out several attacks on forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Several other countries — including France, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain and Germany — have imposed an arms embargo on Turkey. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/turkey-canada-arms-sales-nato-1.5541714

Canadian Armed Forces members are mobilizing to help provinces and territories Emergencies are first handled by local authorities and municipal services such as firefighters, the police and medical professionals, but when first responders are overwhelmed, provinces and territories can request support from the federal government. After the request is approved, the federal government's response is managed by Public Safety Canada, who may ask the Canadian Armed Forces for help by stepping in under Operation LENTUS, the Canadian Armed Forces response to natural disasters in Canada. The same request process applies to the COVID-19 pandemic, only the CAF is responding under Operation LASER — the activation of Contingency Plan LASER “for the response to a pandemic of influenza-like disease.” Operation LASER consists of four phases. Phase one is pandemic preparedness, involving mitigation planning and monitoring of potential worldwide pandemic threats. Phase two, which began on March 2, is pandemic alert. This includes active monitoring of an evolving pandemic threat and implementing some restrictions. Phase three is the CAF's response to the pandemic. This means the CAF is able to deploy when help is requested and approved from a province or territory. Phase four is post-pandemic restoration, which is the resumption of CAF services and operations to normal levels. Phase one is also resumed. Since March 13 the CAF has been at phase three after the Chief of the Defence Staff, Jonathan Vance, approved the CAF response to the pandemic. Last month the federal government prepared 24,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, a total of one quarter of their regular and reserve members, to deploy in the event that a province requested their support. Since then, Quebec has requested the CAF's assistance. The province specified that it needed medical personnel to help nursing homes struggling with outbreaks of COVID-19 and staff shortages. Quebec's request was approved by the federal government and CAF medical personnel have arrived at five nursing homes. On April 22, Ontario also requested help from the federal government and the CAF for their long-term care nursing homes, which was approved the following day. CAF medical officers must have completed a medical degree from an accredited university before applying to the Medical Officer Training Program (MOTP). Once completed and accepted into the MOTP, officers are trained within the military to ensure their performance follows under military policies and in environments abroad. This includes the completion of the Basic Military Officer Qualification in Quebec before they can complete the Common Health Services course, which is provided by the Defence Learning Network. They also attend the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Center in Borden, Ontario, where they “are introduced to the organizational structure and history of the Canadian Forces Medical Service and the unique circumstances of practicing military medicine.” Medical officers then can choose to either specialize their medical practice or acquire advanced training in several fields of medicine. CAF members are also helping process materials for Personal Protective Equipment at Public Health Agency warehouses across Canada. In Northern Canada, they are prepared to assist remote communities to combat outbreaks. The CAF has activated three Northern Saskatchewan Ranger Patrols, gathering firewood for residents during their winter season as the pandemic continues. https://runnermag.ca/2020/04/explainer-what-the-canadian-military-is-doing-for-canadians-during-the-pandemic/