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By: Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould WASHINGTON – Following a wave of criticism from the defense industry and members of Congress, the Pentagon on Monday backed off proposed changes to how companies receive cash flow on their contracts. In a statement released at the unusual time of 7:19 PM, Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said the decision to withdraw the proposed acquisition changes stemmed from a lack of “coordination” inside the department. “Recently, proposed amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) were prematurely released, absent full coordination,” Shanahan's statement read. “As a result, the Department will rescind the proposed amendments. In coordination with industry, the Department will create a revised rule to implement section 831 of the FY2017 NDAA.” "The department will continue to partner closely with Congress and industry to examine all reform opportunities, ensuring we provide the best value to taxpayers and critical capabilities to military personnel who defend this great Nation,” Shanahan said. Unsaid in the statement: that since word of the proposed changes got out, the defense industry has been loud and unanimous in its opposition, and has enlisted its supporters on the Hill to help fight against the plan, put forth by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord. As part of a broader set of changes to the acquisition rules, Lord hoped to change how companies receive their cash flow based on performance measurements, to act as an incentive for good behavior. In a Sept. 5 interview with Defense News, she laid out the rationale, saying “I believe the lifeblood of most industry is cash flow, so what we will do is regulate the percentage of payments or the amount of profit that can be achieved through what type of performance they demonstrate by the numbers.” However, three major trade groups — The National Defense Industrial Association, Professional Services Council and the Aerospace Industries Association — objected to the proposal, which would slash the payments on work to be performed from 80 percent to 50 percent, with incremental increases for maintaining quality or on-time delivery — and decreases for companies that have committed fraud. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, sent a Sept. 21 letter to Shanahan calling the proposal “fundamentally flawed" and asking that it be rescinded and revisited. “We should not make it harder to do business with the Department of Defense than it is to do business with other parts of government — and that's exactly what this regulation does,” Thornberry told reporters last Tuesday. “We try to streamline acquisition, we try to make it easier to do business with these small companies; and then something like this comes out.” The Pentagon had hoped to implement the rule changes by the end of the year and had planned to hold a public meeting on Oct. 10, before the public comment period ended on Oct. 23. Whether that event will still happen is unclear. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2018/10/02/facing-industry-pressure-pentagon-backs-off-contract-payment-changes

UAS Centre of Excellence Press Release On Sept. 25 and 26, more than 150 key influencers of the drone industry have gathered at Alma's UAS Centre of Excellence for the first ever Tech Demo annual edition. With the objective of sharing the latest trends and capabilities of the drone industry, the trade show hosted conferences, discussion panels and drone flight demonstrations. The attendees had a chance to learn more about data integration in the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry, UAS traffic management, the niche of excellence in UAS as part of the Accord initiative and the establishment of a pre-qualification centre. ‘ Furthermore, the event presented the latest developments by Nav Canada, Transport Canada and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The participants also attended presentations on sale and marketing of airborne and space systems and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's various programs. The two-day event allowed people to attend two discussion panels during which they shared ideas about certifications and operations beyond line of sight. People were also given the opportunity to share knowledge with other experts and watch two drone flight demonstrations on giant screens. According to the UAS Centre of Excellence's director general, Marc Moffatt, an event such as Tech Demo is crucial for the industry. “The drone community needs such gathering events,” he said. “We are obviously very pleased with the first edition's success, but what we are most proud of is the quality of the participants. Many of the key actors in setting the regulation for drones in Canada were among us to hear what the community had to teach them and to learn more about the UAS Centre of Excellence's potential.” Moffatt also spoke of how Tech Demo had once again proven the strategic role the UAS CE can play in the drone regulation and technology in Canada. “People of the industry from all over the world came to our trade show,” he said. “The UAS CE succeeded in gathering our own local influencers who understand the CE's strategic role. In recent years, the CE and its partners have built a regional hub that will allow the drone industry to break new ground in Canada but also here in our region of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean,” he concluded. Alain Fortin, the CE's president, said: “Whereas the UAS CE is used to organize events with people from the drone community, Tech Demo was more technically oriented. The UAS CE invited representatives from various sectors in order to demystify the possible uses of drones and to inform participants of the rules and technical aspects of unmanned aerial systems. I'm happy to see that people came from all over the world to discuss the issues arising with the integration of drones in our lives.” https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/drone-community-comes-together-for-tech-demo

FABRICE WOLF Avec plus de 4000 avions de combat modernes de tout type, l'OTAN dispose de la plus formidable force aérienne au monde, très supérieure aux forces russes (1300 appareils) et chinoises (1500 appareils). Consciente qu'elle ne pourra jamais rivaliser numériquement avec cette force, la Russie a développé une stratégie de défense aérienne multi-couches reposant sur des systèmes de défense anti-aérienne à longue, moyenne et courte portée, intégrée dans un réseau global et coordonnant ses actions avec l'importante flotte de chasseurs russes de plus de 800 appareils Su27-30-35 et MIG-29, et les 130 intercepteurs MIG-31. Ainsi organisée, la défense anti-aérienne russe représente un challenge important pour les forces aériennes occidentales, qui doivent utiliser des avions de brouillage ou des appareils furtifs pour espérer garder la supériorité aérienne. Pour articuler cette puissance aérienne, qui représente aujourd'hui 80% de la puissance de feu de l'Alliance selon le British Defense Comittee, l'OTAN déploie un nombre important d'appareils de veille aérienne AWACS, de surveillance électronique, et une flotte massive d'avions ravitailleurs. Le missile à longue portée hypersonique R37M a été développé pour engager et abattre ces appareils, avec une portée supérieure à 300 km et une vitesse supérieure à Mach6. Destiné à équiper les intercepteurs rapides MIG-31 et les chasseurs lourds furtifs Su-57, le R37M permettra de repousser les appareils de soutien de l'OTAN très loin de la zone d'engagement, limitant de fait très sensiblement leurs performances. Un appareil qui, comme le F-35 américain, n'a qu'un rayon d'action de 1000 km, sera ainsi largement contraint s'il doit se ravitailler à 500 km de ses objectifs. En outre, les forces russes auront la possibilité de mener des « raids tactiques », des incursions rapides destinées à porter le danger au plus profond du dispositif adverse, suivi d'un retour rapide dans la zone de supériorité alliée. Au delà des AWACS et ravitailleurs, le nouveau missile menacera donc l'ensemble des appareils lourds de l'alliance atlantique, incluant les avions de transport en charge du train logistique transatlantique indispensable, ainsi que les appareils de patrouille maritime, surtout ceux évoluant à moyenne altitude comme le P8 Poséidon, très exposés dès qu'ils évolueront à moins de 2000 km d'une base aérienne russe. Les mêmes causes ayant les même conséquences, la Chine a elle-aussi développé un missile à très longue portée, estimée à 400 km, et destiné à abattre les appareils de soutien occidentaux. Le nouveau missile, dont la nomenclature est encore floue, a déjà été aperçu sous les ailes des J-11 et des J-16 de l'Armée Populaire de Libération. Ce type de missile n'a pas d'équivalent en Occident. En effet, les forces aériennes chinoises et russes dépendent beaucoup moins des appareils de soutien que leurs homologues occidentaux. En revanche, les états-majors de l'OTAN ont privilégié des missiles d'une portée inferieure, de l'ordre de 150 km, mais très efficaces contre les agiles chasseurs adverses, comme le missile européen Meteor. L'entrée en service du R37M devra donc engendrer une rapide évolution des doctrines aériennes de l'OTAN, comme dans la conception des appareils lourds, qui devront nécessairement être équipés de systèmes d'autodéfense performants capables de détecter, brouiller et leurrer de tels missiles. https://analysedefense.fr/blogs/articles/le-missile-air-air-tres-longue-portee-russe-r37m-entrera-bientot-en-service

By: Kyle Rempfer If China goes forward with plans to establish another Air Defense Identification Zone in the region, the U.S. could be forced to change its military posture in Asia, a senior national security official said this week. “We oppose China's establishment of an ADIZ in other areas, including the South China Sea,” Evan Medeiros, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said in an interview with Japan Times. “We have been very clear with the Chinese that we would see that [setting of another ADIZ] as a provocative and destabilizing development that would result in changes in our presence and military posture in the region." An ADIZ is airspace over land or water in which the identification, location and control of aircraft is jointly performed by civilian air traffic control and military authorities in the interest of a country's national security. China set up one ADIZ over the East China Sea in 2013, which many viewed as an attempt to try and bolster its claims over disputed territories, like the uninhabited Senkaku islands. China began to elevate its claims to the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the 1970s after studies indicated there may be vast oil reserves in the surrounding sea bed, according to Japan Times. The United States is obligated to defend aggression against territories under Japanese administration under Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed in 2017 that the defense obligation extends to the Senkakus. “I made clear that our longstanding policy on the Senkaku Islands stands,” Mattis said, according to a Pentagon transcript. “The United States will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands.” U.S. officials have also criticized China for setting up an ADIZ that overlaps with similar zones operated by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan without prior consultation. The Chinese have labeled recent missions by nuclear-capable U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers over the South China Sea as “provocative." Two separate B-52s also flew over the East China Sea this week. The Pentagon called all of these flights routine. “If it was 20 years ago and had they not militarized those features there, it would have been just another bomber on its way to [Naval Support Facility] Diego Garcia or wherever,” Mattis told the press, according to a Pentagon transcript. “So there's nothing out of the ordinary about it." China has also been accused of militarizing the South China Sea — which includes important shipping routes, fisheries and hydrocarbons. The Chinese military has built islands on existing reefs and placed airstrips, radars, missiles and other military equipment on them. Multiple other countries in the region, to include Vietnam and the Philippines, claim portions of the South China Sea as well. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2018/09/28/us-military-posture-in-asia-could-change-if-china-declares-another-air-defense-identification-zone

By: Todd South MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va., ― Last year at the annual military expo here, Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller told industry his vision for simulations is a kind of Star Trek-like holodeck in which any Marine could fight any battle on any terrain in virtual reality. Since then, Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said that close combat infantry units should fight 25 battles before they ever taste real combat. This year one of the Marines in charge of bringing those simulation dreams to reality laid down some of the tangible needs of the Corps now and in the near-term. Lt. Col. Byron Harder, with Training and Education Command's capabilities division, told the audience at this year's Modern Day Marine military expo that while live training will always remain the standard against which a unit's readiness is measured, even live training has its limits. It costs a lot of money to ship Marines out to Twentynine Palms or other areas. It costs money to fire munitions. Some of those munitions can't be fired in most areas. Some of the advanced weapons, such as cyber and electronic warfare types, can't be used for fear of damaging civilian networks or facilities in the United States. And some really advanced weapons can't be demonstrated where just anyone can see them in action, thus revealing our tech to adversaries. And that is where simulations can help bridge the gap. But first, there's a list of things that must come to fruition. Much of that is going to be software and bandwidth, basically getting better versions of terrains and simulations that are more realistic and can accommodate as much as a division's worth of players and an equally complex, simulated adversary. But some items are smaller and more hands-on, like better virtual reality and augmented reality headsets. Those headsets are key since the Marines want them to work not as they do now, with pounds of cabling in bulky indoor shooting simulators but light with long-lasting batteries that can be taken in the field and on deployment. Harder said a goggle that is about twice the weight of existing eye protection, perhaps with its power source somewhere on the body, is likely five to 10 years away based on his survey of the field. There's another an ongoing need: better drones. But instead of longer flying, large-scale drones that can coordinate complex fires and sensors for the operational environment, what Harder said simulations needs are smaller drones that can fly lower, giving Marines a street-level, detailed view of the battlespace so they can create their own terrain maps and fight the simulated fight in the areas they'll really be operating in. And those video feeds that are now on every ISR platform in the real world? Simulations need them too, to be realistic. That means game designers have to have human-like activity going on in areas instead of some digital “blob” representing enemies. That way, when a commander wants to zoom in on a tactical frame in the game, they'll be able to do it just like in theater. Which brings it to one of the more ambitious items beyond terrain and hardware: getting simulations to act more like humans. As it works now, unit commanders set up their forces, work their mission sets and then the virtual “forces” collide and often a scripted scenario plays out. Not too realistic. What's needed is both civilian simulations to act like civilian populations might act in the real world and the same for the enemy, taking advantages, fighting and withdrawing. But one step further is key: The enemy has to talk back. When a commander finishes the fight, they should be able to query the virtual enemy and figure out why it did what it did, how it gained a certain advantage. And it shouldn't take a programmer to “talk” with the simulation. Units communicate via voice and chat. That's how simulations users must be able to talk with their simulated civilians, allies and enemies, in plain language. These pursuits are not happening in a vacuum. This April for the first time Marine pilots at both Yuma, Arizona, and Camp Pendleton, California, ran flight simulations coordinated with ground units at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. Those were done at a battalion level with a short prep time, far different than the large-scale Marine Expeditionary Unit or Marine Expeditionary Brigade-sized training that is typical. That is part of a larger effort to create a “plug-and-play” type of training module that any battalion, and later smaller units, can use at home station or on deployment to conduct complex, coordinated training. What made that work new was pairing legacy systems with a variety of software and operating systems between them. That's another example of what needs to be fixed. Marines and other services are, in many cases, using systems that were designed decades apart and creating a labyrinth of patchwork methods to get the hardware to work together when it wasn't built for that type of operation. The new systems must be open architecture so that new tech, new weapons and new terrain can be added on the fly. But also secure enough to operate across networks and not be spied upon by those who would want a peek at our tactics. Across the infantry battalions Marines received new gear last year called Tactical Decision Kits. These allow for squad to company-sized elements to do video game-play for their unit exercises, complete with NFL-style replay of engagements and decisions. That's a low-level example of one thing that's lacking in current training, Harder said. Right now the main piece of tech for a Marine commander conducting an after action review is a pen and paper pad. But with ISR drones, body cams and sensors, Marines in the near-term future should be able to monitor individual Marine's energy and hydration levels, where they pointed their weapon, when they fired, how many rounds, if they hit their target, even where their eyes were looking while on patrol. And, if on deployment, Marines can't rely on a cadre of civilian contractors back home to run their hardware. To that end, the Corps began two courses last year, the Simulation Professional Course and the Simulations Specialist Course. Both give Marines in infantry units experience setting up simulations and running the games for their units. They input training objectives and can understand and put together training for the unit staff or just for their fire team back in the barracks. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/09/28/here-is-the-current-checklist-for-marine-corps-simulations-training

By Oriana Pawlyk The U.S. Air Force will soon need to make a decision on whether or not its plan to grow to 386 operational squadrons should focus on procuring top-of-the-line equipment and aircraft, or stretching the legs of some of its oldest warplanes even longer, experts say. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced in September that the service wants at least 74 additional squadrons over the next decade. What service brass don't yet know is what could fill those squadrons. Full article: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/09/30/new-or-used-air-forces-two-tricky-paths-386-operational-squadrons.html

By: Pierre Tran PARIS — A European arms procurement agency has chosen Airbus Helicopters to conduct de-risking studies for the Tiger attack helicopter's upgrade to the MK 3 standard, the company said. “OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation) has commissioned Airbus Helicopters, on behalf of the French, German and Spanish armament agencies DGA, BAAINBw and DGAM, to perform de-risking studies aimed at providing the Tiger with next-generation battlefield capabilities,” the company said Sept. 27. The studies will help in development and retrofit preparation of avionics and mission and weapon systems for the Tiger, the company said. Electronics specialist Thales and missile-builder MBDA will take part in the studies. “We are proud to be preparing the future of the Tiger as it represents a major program for the European defense cooperation initiative,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she is trying to persuade her German counterpart to opt for the same missile as France for the Tiger, rather than make its own order for the the Rafael Spike missile. The de-risking studies may consider various options, such as Spike, Brimstone and MMP missiles, and will note the changes that might be required, such as fitting an antenna for radio data link to deliver pictures to the cockpit right up to impact, an industry executive said. The French Army is drawing up requirements for a future tactical air-to-surface missile, dubbed MAST-F, which would arm the upgraded Tigers. Rafael has pitched its extended-range Spike ER2 missile to Germany for the Tiger, hoping Berlin will follow the flight path of Spain, which arms its Tiger helicopters with the Israeli weapon. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/09/28/airbus-to-help-determine-path-forward-for-tiger-helo-upgrade-missile-options

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Boeing is the biggest aircraft manufacturer in the world, but the losses of the joint strike fighter program and Air Force's long range strike bomber still weigh heavily on the company's defense unit, and had prompted some in industry to wonder if the company's days of making cutting edge combat aircraft were numbered. Conventional wisdom held that Boeing needed to win either the Navy's unmanned tanker drone or the Air Force's next-generation trainer aircraft contract to keep its St. Louis, Mo.-based facility building tactical aircraft into the 2030s. a contract for the Air Force's Huey replacement helicopter was seen as out of reach as the service had formerly expressed a preference for sole-sourcing Black Hawks. But in a matter of weeks, Boeing racked up all three contracts, shocking the defense establishment. First came the MQ-25 Stingray award for the Navy's unmanned tanker drone on Aug. 30. An initial $805 million contract covers the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray drones, but Navy acquisition boss James Geurts said the entire program could be worth up to $13 billion for 72 aircraft. “It is a big win on a high-visibility competition/program and gives Boeing a franchise unmanned program,” wrote Roman Schweizer of Cowen Washington Research Group on Sept. 4. Boeing defeated Lockheed Martin and General Atomics to win the program — and that victory allows Boeing to cement its own status as the Navy's premier manufacturer of fixed-wing aircraft. “A Lockheed Martin win would have cemented its position as the builder of ‘next-gen' naval aviation platforms while Boeing would have been relegated to manufacturing fleet workhorses,” Schweizer said in his assessment of the award. “General Atomics would have a been a one-off, but we thought they would been a favorite for a low-cost, low-risk design.” Then on Monday, Boeing won another big competition — this time worth up to $2.38 billion — for the Air Force's UH-1N replacement helicopter. Boeing and Leonardo were immediately obligated $375 million for the initial four MH-139 helicopters, which will be built at Leonardo's commercial AW-139 production plant in Philadelphia. It was huge news for Leonardo, a large Italian defense contractor that had been attempting to break into the U.S. market with a major program for about a decade. But for Boeing, it was still a relatively small aircraft procurement program, with Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, writing that there were probably few opportunities for Boeing-Leonardo to sell the MH-139 to other users in the U.S. military. However, Boeing on Thursday won the major opportunity it had been seeking: the Air Force's T-X program. Boeing's clean sheet design beat out Lockheed and Leonardo to win a contract worth up to $9.2 billion. It's likely the actual program will be worth considerably less — Boeing would be obligated a total of $9.2 billion over time if the Air Force decides to execute all options on the contract for 475 training jets, and the services' program of record sits at 350 jets. But its importance to Boeing extends past the award's total contract value. Winning T-X was “possibly critical” for Boeing's St. Louis plant and for its defense business to remain a competitive player in tactical aircraft design, said Callan. “The MQ-25 win helps sustain production at that facility, which now builds F/A-18s and F-15s,” he wrote after the Sept. 27 announcement. “However, the F/A-18 and F-15 lines may end by the mid-2020s. T-X enables Boeing to keep that facility humming and therefore in the hunt for Penetrating Counter Air and other new military aircraft programs.” Analysts like Callan and Schweizer had speculated that Boeing would bid very aggressively to try to win the contract, but the question was whether the company could possibly offer a new purpose-built design at a significantly lower price point than competitors Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, which both proposed aircraft designs already in production and use by foreign militaries. It appears Boeing may have been able to do just that. Richard Aboulafia told Defense News in 2017 that the Lockheed and Leonardo trainers came with a price tag of about $25 million, although both companies were expected to bid lower than that to be competitive. Meanwhile, Jim McAleese of McAleese & Associates pegged the unit cost of Boeing's T-X at an “eye-watering” $19 million, far below the Air Force's $45 million per plane expectation. That low price “establishes an extremely high burden for disappointed offerors of Lockheed or Leonardo” to launch a successful protest with the Government Accountability Office, he stated in a Sept. 28 email, although Lockheed and Leonardo could potentially argue that the Air Force's cost and schedule risk assessments are too optimistic, given that Boeing offered a new airframe. Callan also pointed out that the MQ-25 and T-X wins could be advantageous to Boeing's commercial business. In the past, the defense sector has developed new materials that have later been adapted for use by the airline industry. With Boeing acquiring autonomy-focused businesses like Liquid Robotics and Aurora while investing in startups through its HorizonX organization, it is possible advances in military unmanned tech could give way to autonomous commercial cargo planes or other future concepts. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/09/28/boeings-big-month-capped-off-with-hat-trick-of-new-contracts

BRUNO TREVIDIC La demande militaire devrait permettre à Airbus Helicopters d'atteindre ses objectifs en 2018, estime le nouveau PDG, Bruno Even. Arriver de l'extérieur pour prendre les commandes d'une entreprise sur un marché en crise n'est pas chose facile. Encore moins quand votre prédécesseur est susceptible de devenir votre patron. Tel est le défi relevé par Bruno Even, le nouveau patron d'Airbus Helicopters . Transfuge de Safran Engines, Bruno Even, 49 ans, a succédé il y a sept mois à Guillaume Faury, parti chez Airbus commercial aircraft. Sa mission ? Poursuivre la restructuration de l'ex-Eurocopter. Le NH90 reprend des couleurs « L'année 2018 est celle de la reprise des commandes militaires, se félicite Bruno Even. Ces derniers mois, nous avons sécurisé plusieurs opportunités, dont une commande de 28 NH90 pour le Qatar. Nous avons également reçu la confirmation d'une nouvelle commande de NH90 et de 50 hélicoptères légers Lakota pour l'armée américaine... En 2018, nous devrons avoir plus de commandes militaires que de livraisons ». Marché civil stable A l'inverse, le marché civil, sur lequel Airbus Helicopters a b'ti son succès, est toujours atone. « La remontée des cours du pétrole ne s'est pas traduite par une reprise des commandes, du fait des surcapacités accumulées. Environ 30 % de la flotte mondiale d'hélicoptères lourds dédiés au marché off-shore est au sol. La situation devrait perdurer un an ou deux », juge Bruno Even. Plan de transformation Pour faire face à cette situation, Airbus Helicopters a déjà dû en passer par deux plans de départs volontaires (800 postes au total). Surtout, l'hélicoptériste s'est engagé dans une vaste réorganisation industrielle , qui prévoit de spécialiser ses principaux sites de production en France, en Allemagne et en Espagne. Un chantier engagé il y a deux ans, mais qui est loin d'être achevé et que Bruno Even va devoir mener à bien s'il veut atteindre l'objectif de 10 % de marge d'ici cinq ans. « Dans un marché difficile, l'optimisation des sites et des coûts reste une priorité, souligne-t-il. Nous avons engagé la spécialisation des sites avec le programme H160, nous allons la poursuivre avec les programmes plus anciens. Cela passera par des transferts de production entre les sites. Nous sommes en discussion avec les partenaires sur les moyens d'y parvenir d'ici trois à quatre ans ». Le processus ne doit rien modifier à la répartition de la charge de travail entre la France, l'Allemagne et l'Espagne, assure-t-il. Aucun plan social n'est envisagé, les départs naturels devant permettre de réduire les sureffectifs en douceur. Les sous-traitants sollicités La réduction des coûts passera également par un sacrifice des fournisseurs, ajoute le dirigeant. « 70 % de la valeur d'un hélicoptère provient de la chaîne de sous-traitants, il est normal que chacun fasse un effort, estime Bruno Even. Nous nous remettons en cause, nos fournisseurs pourraient eux aussi revoir leur organisation ». Améliorer la satisfaction client Autre priorité de Bruno Even : la satisfaction client, mise à mal par des taux de disponibilité jugés trop faible sur les hélicoptères militaires et le crash d'un H225 en Norvège sur les engins civils. « Nous travaillons à ce sujet depuis plusieurs années, mais nous ne sommes pas encore là où les clients nous attendent », reconnait-il. Airbus Helicopters entend améliorer de 15 % la disponibilité des Caracal de l'armée française dès 2018, et faire revoler les H225 cloués au sol par les compagnies pétrolières. Quitte à leur trouver de nouveaux usages ou de nouveaux clients, comme l'Ukraine. Priorité au H160 En revanche, Bruno Even n'aura probablement pas de sitôt à gérer un nouveau programme , la gamme étant largement renouvelée. « La priorité, c'est de livrer le H160, dit-il. Nous sommes en phase avec le calendrier initial, avec une certification prévue pour fin 2019. Nous avons rentré les premières commandes, une dizaine, ce qui correspond à la trajectoire fixée. Nous avons également validé avec la DGA la première phase d'études de levée de risques, en prévision du lancement des versions militaires du H160, appelé à devenir l'hélicoptère multirôle de l'armée française. Le lancement du programme militaire devrait intervenir en 2023, pour des livraisons à partir de 2028 ». Bruno Trévidic https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/air-defense/0302322607770-airbus-helicopters-mise-sur-la-reprise-des-commandes-militaires-2209518.php