Acting Navy chief takes over a fleet on the cusp of major changes

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  10 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  German spat over Airbus could spoil fighter fest at Paris Air Show

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — A lingering dispute between German lawmakers and Airbus could nix immediate plans to move forward with a future Franco-German-Spanish fighter aircraft, Defense News has learned. The kerfuffle goes back to a February request for information by members of the Bundestag's Budget Committee. Citing the government's role as a major shareholder in the company, lawmakers called on the administration to provide in-depth information about Airbus locations, programs and management equities throughout Europe. Airbus is one of two prime contractors for the Future Combat Air System, an ambitious project to field a sixth-generation fighter aircraft by 2040. The envisioned weapon also includes new sensors, drones and a complex data infrastructure, making it Europe's preeminent industrial project for decades to come. Lawmakers in Berlin are worried that German defense-industry interests, presumably channeled through Airbus, could get the short shrift once substantial contracts are up for grabs amid French competition, led by Dassault. The Budget Committee reiterated its request for the company deep dive on June 5, when members approved the initial batch of funds for the FCAS program: $37 million for a study on propulsion options. Lawmakers inserted a note into their approval text that makes answering the February request a condition for entering into follow-on agreements with France. Meanwhile, officials in Paris and Berlin have been planning signing ceremonies for such pacts with Ursula von der Leyen and Florence Parly, the German and French defense ministers, respectively, at the Paris Air Show in mid-June. It's expected the pair will ink the concept study plan and a key governance document called the framework agreement. Meanwhile, the Spanish defense minister, Margarita Robles, is expected to be on hand to sign the program's memorandum of understanding, a more high-level, vague text beginning Madrid's road to full participation. As of Friday, lawmakers had yet to receive the requested information on Airbus, which is to include an analysis of management personnel down to the third tier throughout different locations, separated by programs and individual job functions. As June 10 is federal holiday in Germany, that leaves four business days next week before the Paris Air Show begins. An Airbus spokesman told Defense News on Friday the company is working to resolve the issue and is coordinating with the government. A Defence Ministry spokesman did not immediately return an emailed request for comment. Documents obtained by Defense News suggest that a previous back-and-forth between the Budget Committee and Airbus, through the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, left a bit of bad blood, raising the question of whether the company will comply at all. While executives provided some information — forwarded in a confidential letter to the Bundestag by the ministry on April 26 — Airbus largely claims the detailed data demanded by the committee would needlessly reveal competitive secrets. “Airbus, in return, asks for information about the background of the request,” the company's written response states. “The question must be raised whether other companies where the German government is a shareholder, like Deutsche Bahn [the German rail service], is subject to similar requests.” The company claims to have given the administration a detailed personnel breakdown by subsidiary and nationalities in 2018, which was also offered to committee members. According to Airbus, no lawmakers were interested. Airbus Defence and Space, which would lead the conglomerate's work on FCAS, is based in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany. As of December 2018, roughly 40 percent of the subsidiary's employees were based in Germany, around 22 percent in France, 27 percent in Spain and 12 percent in the United Kingdom, the company wrote to lawmakers in April. As the FCAS program progresses, Budget Committee members want the government in Berlin to safeguard a 50-50 cost and workshare plan with France. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/06/07/german-spat-over-airbus-could-foil-fighter-fest-at-paris-air-show/

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  4 décembre 2019 | International, Autre défense

  NATO’s London meetings are off to a rocky start

  By: Sebastian Sprenger LONDON — U.S. President Donald Trump landed Tuesday in London with a splash, decrying French President Emmanuel Macron's recent description of NATO as brain dead, calling it a “nasty” assessment and unfair to the alliance. Trump's remarks on the eve of a meeting of government leaders here on Wednesday come as NATO members are already on edge about myriad internal differences. Clashing views have become so pronounced in the last few weeks that some observers fear the worst for what has been billed as NATO's 70th birthday bash. “You just can't go around making statements like that about NATO,” Trump said of Macron in a joint news conference with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “It's very disrespectful.” The U.S. president's words are remarkable not for their tone — he also delivered an en passant bashing of French politics and economy — but for the substance of the argument. Trump, who has shown a deep disdain for the mere principle of multilaterlism, appears to be shielding NATO from Macron's critique, which in turn was partly aimed at himself. Talk about the three-dimensional chess of geopolitics. Or something like that. Stoltenberg, for his part, sought to downplay any cracks within the alliance, arguing in typical fashion that healthy squabbling should be expected in any group of countries working together. “If you look at the substance, you can see that the alliance is delivering,” he said at the NATO Engages think tank event in central London. He named ongoing operations to secure the eastern flank against Russia, the training of security forces in Iraq and an uptick in defense spending by all allies in recent years as examples of an alliance that continues to be operationally relevant. Stoltenberg was noncommittal, however, on the latest curveball thrown by member country Turkey. The Turks want their perception of a terrorist threat posed by YPG Kurdish units to their border with Syria recognized by all of NATO as a quid pro quo for backing the alliance's bolstering of the Baltics. Such a deal could cause a significant rift. Trump is an admirer of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and will likely get more deeply involved in the issue during meetings here. “Turkey does not question the alliance, but rather Turkey expects an understanding of the threat of terrorism to one of its allies,” Gülnur Aybet, Erdogan's senior adviser on foreign policy, told the NATO Engages audience. “We don't question the credibility of Article 5. On the contrary, we expect it to be fulfilled,” she added, referring to the alliance's creed that an attack on one member will prompt a response by all. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/nato-2020-defined/2019/12/03/natos-london-meetings-are-off-to-a-rocky-start/

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  14 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Deadline Tomorrow: USAF B-21 Training Systems Futures Challenge

  Innovators, The USAF is in the process of inviting selected prototypes from the first challenge! Don't miss the next opportunity to potentially be selected as a viable future concept for integration into B-21 Training Systems. Deadline is TOMORROW Wednesday 14 April 2021 at 7:00PM EST. Submit your innovations in Vulcan . U.S. Air Force B-21 Training Systems Futures Challenge Deadline: WEDNESDAY 14 April 2021 The U.S. Air Force opportunity expiring TOMORROW is for transformative and future capabilities that can significantly enhance and/or accelerate cost savings, flight time optimization, and human performance within USAF training cycles. U.S. Air Force end users and program personnel will select compelling concepts for virtual demonstration and potential integration into future technology roadmaps. IT TAKES A NETWORK!