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Tony Osborne LONDON—For decades, the top role as Chief of Air Staff in Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) has been the preserve of either pilots or aircrewmen. But that tradition could be turned on its head. Senior officers are undertaking a transformation plan called Astra that aims to better harness the RAF's personnel and prepare the air arm for new technologies and multidomain warfare. This includes those in space and cyberspace as the service strives to be ready for the 2040s. And one of the most tangible changes could be a move away from pilots taking up the most senior command posts. Since 1950, only one Chief of the Air Staff has not had a background flying either fighters or bombers, said Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, who served in the role from 2013 to 2016 with a background as a helicopter pilot. The current air chief, Air Marshal Michael Wigston, previously flew the Panavia Tornado. Before 1950, some of the most famous chiefs, including Sir Hugh Trenchard—often described as the father of the RAF—and Sir Arthur Tedder served in the infantry. “In the old days, predominantly it was what the pilots said that mattered. That's because we operated in a domain that was an exclusive preserve of pilots,” said Air Vice Marshall Ian Gale, assistant chief of the air staff for strategy. He spoke to journalists here on Feb. 24 as the air arm gears up for its annual Air and Space Power conference in July. “We have quite significant amounts of untapped cognitive diversity that we are trying to break into and give a voice to.” Always selecting pilots for the top job is seen by those in other air force posts as a career-limiting glass ceiling. But Gale argues the role should in the future should go to the “best person for the job,” and that could be a “battlespace manager, a cyber specialist or a space specialist.” Selection of a nonpilot for the role of Chief of Air Staff would, Gale said, “send a zero-message outside the air force, but a huge message inside it ... knowing that they may have a role in directing the future of the organization.” Other benefits of Astra will be the introduction of greater automation into tasks, with Gale hinting at new approaches to air traffic control. This is an issue of particular relevance as the RAF is suffering personnel shortages in this area, which is impacting training operations at some bases. This may suggest the RAF is looking at remote tower operations for some of its quieter airfields. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/astra-transformation-could-enable-nonpilots-command-raf

Federal government tables figures showing what it's spent on the projects to date Murray Brewster The federal government has spent slightly more than $1.01 billion over the last seven years on design and preparatory contracts for the navy's new frigates and supply ships — and the projects still haven't bought anything that floats. The figures, tabled recently in Parliament, represent the first comprehensive snapshot of what has been spent thus far on the frequently-delayed project to build replacement warships. It's an enormous amount of money for two programs that have been operating for more than a decade with little to show for their efforts to date. It will be years before the Canadian Surface Combatant project — which aims to replace the navy's frontline frigates with 15 state-of-the-art vessels — and the Joint Support Ship program for two replenishment vessels actually deliver warships. The numbers and details for each advance contract were produced in the House of Commons in response to written questions from the Conservative opposition. The money was divided almost evenly between the federal government's two go-to shipyards: Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, the prime contractor for the new frigates, and Seaspan of Vancouver, the builder of the supply ships. The breakdown raises critical questions about at least one of the programs, said a defence analyst, but it also shines a light on promises made by both Liberal and Conservative governments to keep spending under control for both of these projects — which could end up costing more than $64 billion. "I think there should be a level of concern [among the public] about whether or not what's being delivered in practice is what was advertised at the outset," said Dave Perry, a procurement expert and vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. A design still in flux Most of his concerns revolve around the new support ships, which the Liberal government says are in the process of being built now. The written responses, tabled in Parliament, note that the projected cost for the two supply ships — $3.4 billion — remains under review "as the design effort finalizes." Perry said he was astonished to learn that, "seven years and half-a-billion dollars into design work on an off-the-shelf design," the navy doesn't have the support ships, even though "the middle third of the ship is built" — and officials now say "the design effort isn't finished." Usually, he said, ships are designed before they're built. The head of the Department of National Defence's materiel branch said most of the preparatory contracts were needed to re-establish a Canadian shipbuilding industry that had been allowed to wither. 'A lot of patience' "I think we have to look at the totality of everything that's being accomplished under" the national shipbuilding strategy, said Troy Crosby, assistant deputy minister of materiel at DND. "Over that period of time, and with these expenditures, we've built a shipbuilding capability on two coasts, not just through National Defence but also through the coast guard, offshore fisheries science vessels. I understand it has taken a lot of patience, I suppose, and probably some uncertainty, but we're really getting to the point now where we can see delivering these capabilities to the navy." The largest cash outlays involve what's known as definition contracts, which went individually to both shipyards and were in excess of $330 million each. They're meant to cover the supervision of the projects and — more importantly — to help convert pre-existing warship designs purchased by the federal government to Canadian standards. The choices on each project were made at different times by different governments, but ministers serving both Liberal and Conservative governments decided that going with proven, off-the-shelf designs would be faster and less expensive than building from scratch. Now, after all the delays, it's still not clear that choosing off-the-shelf designs has saved any money. "I would be completely speculating on what it would cost to invest to develop the kind of expertise and capacity inside the government, inside National Defence and everybody involved, to be able to do something like that in-house," said Crosby. "The approach we've taken at this point, by basing both the Joint Support Ship and the Canadian Surface Combatant on pre-existing designs, allows us to retire a lot of risk in the way forward." When Crosby talks about "retiring risk," he's talking about the potential for further delays and cost overruns. Among the contracts, Irving Shipbuilding was given $136 million to support the drawing up of the design tender for the new frigates and to pay for the shipbuilding advice Irving was giving the federal government throughout the bidding process. Years ago, the federal government had enough in-house expertise to dispense with private sector guidance — but almost all of that expertise was lost over the past two decades as successive federal governments cut the defence and public works branches that would have done that work. The last time Canada built major warships was in the 1990s, when the current fleet of 12 patrol frigates was inaugurated. The federal government has chosen to base its new warships on the BAE Systems Type-26 design, which has been selected by the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The hull and propulsion system on the new frigates will be "largely unchanged" from the British design, but the combat system will be different and uniquely Canadian, said Crosby. The project is still on track to start cutting steel for the new combat ships in 2023. Crosby said he would not speculate on when the navy will take delivery of the first one. Delivery of the joint support ships is expected to be staggered, with the first one due in 2024. There will be a two-year gap between ships, said Crosby, as the navy and the yard work through any technical issues arising with the first ship. If that timeline holds, the first support ship will arrive two decades after it was first proposed and announced by the Liberal government of former prime minister Paul Martin. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigates-joint-supply-ships-navy-procurement-canada-1.5474312

NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, was awarded a $233,036,890 firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract action for the procurement of Mk 41 Vertical Launching System vertical launcher module assemblies, modernization kits and spare components. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (74%) and the governments of Korea (18%), Finland (4%), and Germany (4%) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (40%); Indianapolis, Indiana (36%); Farmingdale, New York (9%); Saginaw, Michigan (5%); Waverly, Iowa (2%); Thomaston, Connecticut (2%); Chaska, Minnesota (2%); St. Peters, Missouri (1%); Hampstead, Maryland (1%); Santa Rosa, California (1%), and Peachtree City, Georgia (1%), and is expected to be completed by March 2025. Fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) and foreign military sales funding in the amount of $46,607,377 was obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5310). (Awarded Feb. 14, 2020) Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded an $11,967,528 modification (P00003) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-19-F-2972) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-19-G-0029). This modification provides non-recurring engineering to replace existing subsystems, such as the Data Transfer Unit, Defense Electronic Countermeasure System and ARC-210 radio, with the CH-53K production aircraft. Non-recurring engineering efforts include investigation, systems engineering support, risk analysis, integration development, weight impact, publication updates including maintenance, training, update tooling and qualification testing. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (55.82%); Stratford, Connecticut (35.7%) and Fort Worth, Texas (8.48%), and is expected to be completed in August 2021. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,967,528 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. Bath Iron Works, Bath Maine, is awarded an $8,462,959 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-2305 to exercise an option for accomplishment of post-delivery availability work items for Guided Missile Destroyer 118. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (93%), Brunswick, Maine (6%), and other locations below 1 % (collectively totaling less than 1%) and is expected to be completed by February 2021. Fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) and fiscal 2013 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,462,959 will be obligated at time of award and funding in the amount of $1,962,124 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Dark Wolf Solutions LLC, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $75,000,000 blanket purchase agreement for cyber innovation services. This award was made from GSA Professional Services Schedule number: GS-00F-086GA. The contractor is a Phase III, Small Business Innovation and Research program participant. The location of performance is Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The work to be conducted includes software penetration testing and adversarial assessment. The work is expected to be complete by Oct. 19, 2020. Fiscal 2020 research development test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,093,286 are being obligated at the time of award via task order FA7014-20-F-0041. Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA7014-20-F-0041). Williams Aerospace & Manufacturing (formerly Merex Aircraft Co.), a Kellstrom Defense company, has been awarded a $40,000,000 ceiling indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the acquisition of A-10 Speed Brake assemblies. This contract provides for upper and lower left speed brakes assembly and upper and lower right speed brakes assembly. Work will be performed in Camarillo, California, and is expected to be complete by February 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Consolidated sustainment activity group working capital funds in the amount of $10,501,432 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8212-20-D-0001). Chemring Energetic Devices Inc., Downers Grove, Illinois, has been awarded a $24,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for supply of various Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices for various U.S. and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) aircraft. Work will be performed in Downers Grove, Illinois, and is expected to be completed by August 2027. The contract involves foreign military sales to Greece, Taiwan, Thailand, Switzerland, Uruguay, India, Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Denmark, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, South Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Bahrain, Tunisia, Egypt and The Netherlands. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force fiscal 2018 funding in the amount of $1,882,272; Air Force fiscal 2019 funding in the amount of $1,065,552; U.S. Navy fiscal year 2019 funding in the amount of $134,032; Foreign Military Sales funding in the amount of $2,539,705 are being obligated at the time of award under delivery order FA8213-20-F-2525. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8213-20-D-0002). C. Martin Company Inc., North Las Vegas, Nevada, has been awarded a $7,462,086 option exercise modification (P00007) to previously awarded contract FA8601-18-D-0004. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for additional facility and equipment support under the basic contract. The location of performance is Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research development test and evaluation funds are being obligated shortly after award on a task order. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $21,941,348. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Stonewin LLC,* New York, New York, has been awarded a minimum $59,678,523 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for marine gas oil. This was a competitive acquisition with 41 responses received. This is a 56-month base contract with one six-month option period. Locations of performances are Alabama, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and South Carolina, with an Oct. 31, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Coast Guard and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE608-20-D-0350). EMIT Corp., Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $20,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 104 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with a Feb. 19, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-20-D-0030). ARMY K S Ware & Associates LLC, Nashville, Tennessee, was awarded a $12,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for value engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 19, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-D-0012). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2089858/source/GovDelivery/

Une nouvelle campagne d'essais en vol du démonstrateur technologique de drone de combat furtif nEUROn vient de s'achever à DGA Essais en vol (Istres). Le drone furtif de Dassault Aviation s'est essayé au combat collaboratif. A Paris ce 20 février, la ministre Florence Parly recevait les délégations allemandes et espagnoles pour la signature du contrats de développement des démonstrateurs du SCAF. Ci-dessus: une vue d'artiste datant de plusieurs années montrant un drone de combat aux côtés du Rafale - Dassaut Aviation La DGA (Direction générale de l'armement) a annoncé la fin de la cinquième campagne d'essais en vol du démonstrateur nEUROn. Mandatée par elle-même au profit de l'Etat, elle "a été menée en coopération avec Dassault Aviation pour la mise en œuvre du vecteur aérien et avec la participation des forces. Un de ses objectifs était d'étudier l'utilisation d'un drone de combat furtif dans un contexte opérationnel, impliquant également une réflexion sur les tactiques de défense face à un tel vecteur." L'information principale concernant cette nouvelle campagne est la réalisation d'un vol d'essai en ambiance de combat collaboratif réalisé avec 5 Rafale et 1 Awacs, "dans des configurations tactiques multiples". Les résultats sont en cours d'analyse approfondie. Ils apporteront selon la DGA des éléments majeurs pour aiguiller les choix d'architecture et de technologie du SCAF. Programme à - seulement - 450 millions d'euros entamé il y a une douzaine d'années, le Neuron prouve une nouvelle fois toute la pertinence d'une politique active dans le domaine des démonstrateurs. Et si l'on parle aujourd'hui surtout des "remote carriers" dans le cadre du SCAF (système de combat aérien futur), il ne fait pas de doute qu'un drone de combat furtif aura toute sa place dans cette architecture, aux côtés du Rafale, du futur chasseur européen, et autres effecteurs déportés... Signature du contrat de démonstrateur du SCAF Et ce 20 février à Paris, près d'une semaine après l'aval du Bundestag (voir lien ci-dessous), la ministre des Armées Florence Parly recevait les autres parties au programme SCAF, à savoir les Allemands et les Espagnols, pour la signature du contrat de démonstrateurs. Lire aussi: Lancement de la phase de démonstrateur du SCAF Comme convenu, Dassault Aviation (qui pour l'occasion exhibait des maquettes du "NGF") hérite de la maîtrise d'ouvrage pour le futur chasseur, avec Airbus DS comme "main partners". Airbus est maître d'oeuvre pour les remote carriers, avec la collaboration de MBDA, collaboration qui était déjà affichée au Bourget en juin 2019, et est également en charge avec Thalès du "Air combat cloud" (ACC), à savoir l'architecture numérique du SCAF. Safran et MTU s'occuperont de la motorisation, mais le démonstrateur du chasseur utilisera lui vraisemblablement les moteurs M88 du Rafale. Le tout est chapeauté par la DGA, manager du programme. Si les démonstrateurs, dont l'avion, doivent voler en 2026, et qu'environ 150 millions d'euros ont été apportés au programme pour ces études préliminaires, il s'agira de trouver 4 milliards d'euros d'ici 2025, et 8 au total d'ici 2030. S'agissant de la participation espagnole, qui doit se clarifier durant les prochains mois, trois entreprises s'ajoutent à la participation de Madrid, principalement sur les drones. Il s'agit de GMV, SENER Aeroespacial et Tecnobit Grupo Oesia, qui ont annoncé ce 17 février un accord dans le cadre du plan industriel coordonné par le ministère espagnol de la Défense. La problématique Indra, que l'Espagne insiste pour intégrer au développement de l'ACC en dépit des réticences d'Airbus, reste à régler cependant. http://www.paxaquitania.fr/2020/02/fin-dune-5eme-campagne-dessais-pour-le.html

Airbus et Thales ont signé un accord afin de mener conjointement le développement de l'Air Combat Cloud du SCAF. Qui dit système de systèmes, dit connectivité. En effet, le SCAF rime avec combat collaboratif et échange de données entre les différentes plateformes intégrées. Airbus et Thales ont donc signé un accord le 20 février, officialisant leur collaboration sur le volet Air Combat Cloud du SCAF. Une première phase de démonstrations sera conduite au cours des 18 prochains mois, dans le cadre du contrat Phase 1A du SCAF. Les travaux qui seront réalisés lors de cette première étape serviront de base aux développements futurs. Données. Un travail important attend donc désormais les deux industriels, au regard de l'avancée technologique qui caractérise les vecteurs du SCAF. Que ce soit le NGF (nex generation fighter), les remote carriers (drones d'accompagnement) mais également toutes les plateformes d'ores et déjà existantes, ces aéronefs collectent une quantité de plus en plus importante de données. Celles-ci doivent être triées, traitées et analysées, afin de fournir une information enrichie aux opérationnels et les aider dans leur prise de décision. « Au sein du SCAF, l'Air Combat Cloud va, en temps réel, connecter et synchroniser toutes les plateformes et permettre de traiter et distribuer l'information afin d'améliorer la connaissance situationnelle et permettre la conduite d'opérations en collaboration », détaille Thales. https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/scaf-la-connectivit-des-systmes-sera-assure-par-airbus-et-thales-22622

Jen DiMascio The Pentagon is in the midst of a massive upgrade of its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, designed to protect the U.S. against an attack by an ICBM. The new Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI) would modernize GMD, arming it with an all-up round that can counter more sophisticated ICBMs. In pursuing the new program, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will end the planned purchase of 20 current-generation GMD Ground-Based Interceptors (GBI), after already having canceled a key aspect of that system, the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV). While it works on NGI, the MDA also intends to supplement its defense of the U.S. against ICBMs with shorter-range interceptors that provide regional defense. The change in course will not be cheap. GMD itself has cost more than $68 billion over its lifetime. In its fiscal 2021 budget request, the MDA is asking for $664 million in fiscal 2021 for NGI and another $4.3 billion through fiscal 2025.It is an amount that will grow over time and that some worry could pull funding from other urgent priorities, as the type and number of missile threats from other countries evolves to include more sophisticated ballistic missiles and hypersonic weaponry. The MDA is poised to issue a classified request for proposals to sponsor two contractors through a preliminary design review (PDR) of a new interceptor and kill vehicle—the part of the interceptor that defeats an incoming missile while in space. MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill says the agency plans to award contracts by the end of 2020, with the intention of starting testing in the mid-2020s and putting NGIs in silos by 2027, 2028 or beyond. “Right now we're funded through PDR, and you know there's plenty of arguments out there that you [have] got to go all the way to the [critical design review (CDR)]. We'll have that conversation when the time is right,” says Hill. The release of the budget solidifies a plan that has been slowly percolating in the background. Last March, Boeing was put on notice after the RKV—a projectile launched by the GBI booster that is tasked with locating and defeating the incoming ICBM in space—did not meet the needs of its CDR. The Government Accountability Office noted problems with the program meeting its cost and schedule goals “with no signs of arresting these trends.” By August 2019, Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's top research and engineering official, stopped work on the RKV after the MDA had spent more than $1 billion to develop it, as it was not proving to be reliable. These RKVs were to ride atop the next 20 GBIs, a project overseen and integrated by Boeing, which Congress had approved in 2018 after a spate of North Korean missile tests. In concert with ending the RKV, Congress rerouted that funding to the NGI, and the MDA conducted a review of options for the interceptor. Coming out of that assessment, budget officials say they will not buy the 20 new GBIs as the military embarks on NGI development. New NGIs are so far being planned to be placed in silos that were to be inhabited by GBIs, according to Hill. “The current intention is for the Next-Generation Interceptors to be able to work with both current and future sensor systems,” says MDA spokesman Mark Wright. From a security standpoint, existing GBIs will still protect the U.S. from foreign missile threats, says Hill, but he adds that over time their reliability will begin to fall off. While the NGI program works its way through development, the MDA plans to supplement GMD with a layered network of theater-range systems—the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) and the Aegis Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 2A—to fill any gaps in defending the U.S. from North Korean missile attacks. “What this budget really does for us is it starts to say, ‘Let's take advantage of these regional systems that have been so successful and are very flexible and deployable,'” Hill says. In 2020, the MDA will test the SM-3 Block 2A missile against an ICBM. “When we prove that we can take out an ICBM with an Aegis ship or an Aegis Ashore site with an SM-3 Block 2A, then you want to ramp up the evolution of the threat on the target side, right? We'll want to go against more complex threats,” Hill says. That will require upgrading the combat system used by Aegis ships so it can process data from new sensors and engage with a missile. Adding the ability to launch SM-3 Block 2A missiles on ships or from Aegis Ashore sites will give combatant commanders the additional flexibility they have sought, he adds. A future commander could then choose to launch a GBI, THAAD, SM-3 or, when it is ready, NGI. Such an interim solution using regional systems is still far from a reality. The Pentagon is requesting $139 million in its fiscal 2021 budget to “initiate the development and demonstration of a new interceptor prototype to support contiguous U.S. defense as part of the tiered homeland defense effort,” the MDA's budget materials state. That involves developing hardware and software and conducting demonstrations leading to a flight test in fiscal 2023. One other potential gap in the missile defense architecture is in Pacific-based radars that would have cued GBIs to protect against an attack on Hawaii. The “Pacific radar is no longer in our budget,” Hill says. Today, forward-deployed AN/TPY-2 radars and a deployable (sea-based X-band) radar work with the GMD system in that region. Plus, Aegis ships can be repositioned, he adds. “We realize we need to take another look at that architecture,” he says, which will focus on the Pacific region. Missile defense experts are not unsupportive of the effort to build a new NGI. But they do question whether the cost will leach funding for other important priorities. Frank Rose, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, points out that GBIs are built using 1990s technology and as a development prototype tasked for an operational mission. That means that requirements such as reliability, survivability and suitability were afterthoughts. Despite the sound logic involved in moving toward a new interceptor, “I see a couple of challenges,” he says. That includes that the Pentagon's budget request was flat for fiscal 2021, a trend likely to continue. In the years ahead, the military will have big bills for its nuclear modernization budget and to recapitalize its conventional forces, which will hit about the time budgets for NGI would need to swell to support procurement of the system. Meanwhile, in the near-to-midterm, the U.S. is likely to be dealing with a limited North Korean threat. Over time, the threats will grow in number and sophistication. Given challenges with the budget—not to mention technical challenges with developing a successful kill vehicle—Rose wonders if that money could be applied elsewhere. Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association, is skeptical the MDA can deliver an NGI on its current timeline. “Congress must be extremely wary of allowing the Pentagon to repeat the mistakes that have plagued the GMD system in the past,” he says. “In particular, the development, procurement and fielding of the NGI should not be schedule-driven but based on the maturity of the technology and successful testing under operationally realistic conditions. Accelerating development programs risks saddling them with cost overruns, schedule delays, test failures and program cancellations—as has been the case with the GMD program and other missile defense programs to date.” The expansion of U.S. homeland missile defense may be viewed as a provocation by Russia and China “and likely prompt them to consider steps to further enhance the survivability of their nuclear arsenals in ways that will undermine the security of the United States and its allies,” Reif says. “The costs and risks of expanding the U.S. homeland defense footprint in this way greatly outweigh the benefits.” But like all proposals, it will be up to lawmakers to decide and is likely to be a point of interest in the year ahead. “This is the single biggest muscle movement in the 2021 budget proposal, and Congress will be scrutinizing carefully whether the administration has a compelling vision and realistic funding stream for the short, medium and long term,” says Tom Karako, director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/missile-defense-weapons/mda-embarks-new-generation-missile-defense

Budget has $9.8 billion for cyber security and cyber warfare; $3.2 billion for hypersonics; and $800 million for artificial intelligence (AI) research. THE MIL & AERO COMMENTARY – The 2021 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) budget proposal is out, and it looks like several years of consistent growth driven by the Trump Administration may be leveling off. A closer look, however, may indicate a pivot to new leading-edge technologies and away from legacy systems. DOD leaders in their fiscal 2021 budget request to Congress, which was released last month, are asking for $705.4 billion, which is down about 1 percent from this year's level of $712.6 billion. Before you conclude that the Pentagon budget has turned flat, however, take a look at where the money's going. First, the bad news: procurement. This is where big-ticket items like aircraft, combat vehicles, and ships get funding. The DOD's procurement budget request for 2021 is $136.9 billion, down nearly 7 percent from this year's level of $147.1 billion. Contained in the DOD budget for procurement, moreover, are aggressive cuts to legacy weapons systems. The U.S. Air Force, for example, will retire 24 RQ-4 Block 20 and Block 30 Global Hawk Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Block 30 multi-intelligence aircraft UAVs next year. Related: Army researchers eye fuel cells to provide power for infantry wearable electronics on the leading edge The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, will retire four Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers. The U.S. Army plans to eliminate 13 programs involving munitions, fires, protection, sustainment, mobility, mission command, and cyber programs that no longer are priorities. Additional cuts are expected. Next year the Navy plans no additional purchases of P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft; the MQ-4 Triton long-range maritime patrol UAV; or the MQ-25 Stingray UAV. The counterweight to these procurement cuts, however, is in the DOD's budget for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). As procurement spending is going down, the research budget is headed in the other direction. The Pentagon is asking for $106.6 billion, which is up about 1 percent from this year's research budget of $106.6 billion. Revealing is money is going. The DOD next year plans to spend $9.8 billion for cyber security and cyber warfare -- up 81 percent from $5.4 billion this year; $3.2 billion for hypersonics; $1.5 billion for military microelectronics and 5G networking; and $800 million for artificial intelligence (AI) research. Related: The new era of high-power electromagnetic weapons The Pentagon hypersonics budget will pay for research and development initiatives to develop the Army Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon; Navy Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS); and Air Force Advanced Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). Research money also would include $1.1 billion for the Navy's next-generation frigate; $4.4 billion for the future Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine; and $464 million for two Large Unmanned Surface Vessels. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is asking for $3.6 billion in 2021, a 3 percent increase from the $3.5 billion the agency received this year. DARPA has asked for $322.7 million for electronics research in 2021 -- a 1.7 increase from the 317.2 million the agency received this year. For sensors research, DARPA is asking for $200.2 million in 2021 -- a 26 percent increase over the $158.9 million the agency received this year. Related: Military researchers host industry day briefings for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning So, in short, it sounds like out with the old, and in with the new at the Pentagon. Four Navy cruisers that are at least 30 years ago are heading for retirement. Large, slow, and vulnerable Global Hawk UAVs are to be taken out of service, and Army programs no longer relevant amid today's global threats will be taken off the board. At the same time, enabling technologies considered crucial for today's military needs are on the upswing: hypersonic munitions and aircraft, cyber security and cyber warfare, 5G networking, and artificial intelligence. Perhaps the DOD has been due for a house cleaning like this for a while. Getting rid of obsolescent weapons systems makes sense because they're past the point of diminishing returns. Pumping more money into technologies for tomorrow's battlefield makes sense, too. These kinds of realignments are painful, yet essential. https://www.militaryaerospace.com/defense-executive/article/14168362/dod-budget-leadingedge-technologies-research

As part of its commitment to NATO, Canada also must be prepared for high-tech warfare in Europe. by David Axe Follow @daxe on TwitterL Key point: Canada, like Switzerland, likely can't afford to fail again to buy new planes. Canada for the third time in a decade is trying to replace its aging F/A-18A/B Hornet fighter jets. With every year the acquisition effort drags on, the condition of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fast-jet fleet grows direr. “The politically-charged competition to replace Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets will rocket forward at the end of May [2019] as the federal government releases a long-anticipated, full-fledged tender call,” Murray Brewster reported for CBC News. Four companies are vying for the multibillion-dollar contract for as many as 88 fighters that would replace the RCAF's 1980s-vintage Hornets, which in Canadian service are designated “CF-18.” Saab, Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin all are in the running, respectively offering the Gripen, Eurofighter, F/A-18E/F and F-35A. The manufacturers will have until the end of 2019 to submit bids, CBC News reported. But the RCAF hardly can wait. The RCAF acquired 138 F/A-18A/Bs from McDonnell Douglas starting in 1982. In early 2019, 85 of the original Hornets, all more than 30 years old, comprise Canada's entire fighter fleet. The Canadian Hornets are unreliable and lack modern systems. In 2010, Canada's Conservative Party government announced plans to acquire 65 new F-35 stealth fighters by 2020. But the government never fairly compared the F-35 to rival fighter types such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Auditor General of Canada concluded in a 2018 report. "National Defense did not manage the process to replace the CF-18 fleet with due diligence." In 2015, Liberal Party candidate Justin Trudeau made the F-35 a major issue in his campaign for prime minister. Trudeau won. And in 2017, Ottawa backed off its proposal to purchase F-35s and, instead, launched a new competition to acquire 88 fighters. The aircraft would enter service in 2032, meaning the old Hornets would have to continue flying 12 years longer than the government originally planned. Ottawa briefly considered acquiring 18 F/A-18E/Fs from Boeing in order to bolster the early-model Hornets, but the government canceled the plan during a U.S.-Canada trade dispute in 2017. Canada was left with its original Hornets. In December 2017, the government announced it would spend around $500 million buying up to 25 1980s-vintage F/A-18s that Australia was declared surplus as it acquired its own fleet of new F-35s. The RCAF would add some of the Australian Hornets to the operational fleet and use others as sources of spare parts. But the government has no plan to keep its Hornets combat-ready as they enter their fourth and even fifth decade of service." We found that the CF-18 had not been significantly upgraded for combat since 2008, in part because [the Department of] National Defense expected a replacement fleet to be in place by 2020," the government auditors found. "Without these upgrades, according to the department, the CF-18 will become more vulnerable as advanced combat aircraft and air-defense systems continue to be developed and used by other nations." Against this backdrop, Brewster assessed the current fighter contenders, in particular, the Swedish Gripen and the American F-35. “There has been a rigorous political and academic debate about whether Canada should choose a legacy design from the 1990s, such as the Gripen, or the recently-introduced Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter,” Brewster wrote. “The Swedish air force is about the same size as the Royal Canadian Air Force,” Brewster pointed out, adding that Sweden and Canada also share geographic concerns. “The Gripen is intended for operations in rugged environments, such as Sweden's Arctic region,” Brewster wrote. “Canada's CF-18s occasionally operate from forward bases in the north, but those deployments are infrequent compared with the routine activity of the Swedes.” As part of its commitment to NATO, Canada also must be prepared for high-tech warfare in Europe. The Gripen lacks the radar-evading stealth features that in theory allow the F-35 to penetrate the most dangerous Russian-made air-defenses. But Brewster cited a March 2019 Swedish study that claimed Russian defenses are less fearsome than many observers believe. “Besides uncritically taking Russian data at face value, the three cardinal sins have been: confusing the maximal nominal range of missiles with the effective range of the systems; disregarding the inherent problems of seeing and hitting a moving target at a distance, especially targets below the horizon; and underestimating the potential for countermeasures against [anti-access area-denial]-systems,” Robert Dalsjo, Christopher Berglund and Michael Jonsson explain in their report "Bursting the Bubble." The stakes are high. If Canada fails a third time to buy a new fighter, it might find itself in the same unfortunate situation in which Switzerland has found itself. In April 2019 the Swiss air force is down to just 10 ready fighters with full-time pilots. The crisis is the result of the Swiss public's decision in a 2014 referendum to reject the air force's proposal to buy 22 new fighters to begin replacing 40-year-old F-5 Tigers. The Swiss air force in 2019 plans to remove from service 27 Tigers. The 26 Tigers that remain will perform limited duties. With the F-5 force shrinking and flying part-time, the Swiss air force increasingly relies on its 30 F/A-18C/Ds. To last that long, the F/A-18s need structural upgrades. The upgrade work has sidelined more than half of the Hornet fleet. Switzerland like Canada has relaunched its fighter competition. The same companies and designs that are competing in Canada, plus Dassault with the Rafale, are in the running in Switzerland. Intensive flight testing began in April 2019. Canada like Switzerland likely can't afford to fail again to buy new planes. The old Canadian Hornets probably won't last much longer. "The CF-18 will be disadvantaged against many potential adversaries, and its combat capability will further erode through the 2020s and into the 2030s," Ottawa's auditors warned. David Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix, War Is Boring and Machete Squad. (This first appeared last year.) https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/canada-needs-new-aircraft-could-f-35-fit-bill-125556

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian military is investigating potential problems with brakes on its new armoured vehicle fleet which may have contributed to a number of incidents, including where one of the 18-tonne vehicles hit a car near Petawawa. There have been eight reported incidents involving problems with stopping or issues with brakes affecting the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles, or TAPVs. A formal safety advisory was issued Feb. 12 to the army units using the $600-million TAPV fleet. But the use of the vehicles is not being restricted at this time. The brake issues started being reported in January 2018 and the intermittent problem has only occurred at speeds in the range of five to 15 kilometres an hour, according to the Canadian Forces. “We are working with experts to try and determine if there is a problem with the vehicles braking performance at low-speed, and if the problem is isolated to a few vehicles or the result of something that may affect the wider fleet,” noted army spokesman Lt.-Col. Doug MacNair. So far, the Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence has been unable to replicate the reported problem, nor have inspections uncovered any obvious causes. There have been no injuries as a result of the incidents. Among the eight incidents is a Feb. 3 accident during which a TAPV rolled through a red light and hit a civilian vehicle near Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. No injuries were reported, and Ontario Provincial Police issued a ticket to the TAPV driver for failing to stop at a red light. Driver error was the “apparent problem” according to the Canadian Forces. But sources point out the driver in question reported problems with the TAPV brakes. During a change of command parade in Halifax in November 2019 a TAPV hit a wall causing minor damage after the brakes failed to stop the vehicle. A soldier near the vehicle had to “take evasive action to avoid being struck,” according to the Canadian Forces. In one case the brakes on a TAPV caught fire. In the aftermath of several other incidents involving brake failure large amounts of ice were found in the brake drums. In another case a TAPV hit the side of a bridge during training. “Following each of these incidents, technicians were unable to locate a problem with the brakes after they conducted technical inspections,” the Canadian Forces added. In 2016 the TAPV fleet had brake issues. At that time it was determined the anti-lock braking system on the vehicles was engaging erratically at higher speeds. A retrofit was introduced across the entire fleet to deal with that problem. The military says there is no evidence to suggest a connection between the 2016 braking issues and these latest incidents. Last year this newspaper reported on a series of rollovers and fires affecting the TAPV fleet. Between April 2014 and January 2019 there had been 10 incidents when Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles have tipped on to their sides, six where they have rolled over completely, and four where they have caught fire. Pat Finn, then the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at the Department of National Defence, said at the time there have been no serious injuries as a result of the incidents. Finn suggested the rollovers might be caused because of the high centre of gravity the vehicles have. Training was improved to deal with the issue of rollovers. No explanation was provided at the time for the cause behind the fires. The TAPVs have also faced other problems, according to DND documents obtained by this newspaper using the Access to Information law. The TAPV program has “experienced a number of significant technical issues, particularly affecting vehicle mobility,” then-Conservative defence minister Rob Nicholson was told in August 2014. There have been problems with the suspension, steering and other items on the vehicle, according to the briefing document for Nicholson. The technical issues significantly delayed the test program for the vehicles, the document added. The Conservative government announced the TAPV contract in 2012 as part of its re-equipping of the Canadian Army. Canada bought 500 TAPVs from Textron, a U.S. defence firm, at a cost of $603 million. The TAPV is a wheeled combat vehicle that will conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, security, command and control, and armoured transport of personnel and equipment. The TAPV project cost taxpayers a total of $1.2 billion, which not only includes the vehicles but also includes the building of infrastructure to house them, as well as the purchase of ammunition and service support for the equipment. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/new-armoured-vehicle-fleet-faces-more-problems-civilian-vehicle-hit-near-petawawa