15 juin 2020 | International, Naval
Par Michel Cabirol | 13/06/2020, 8:00 |
L'Italie va vendre deux frégates FREMM à l'Égypte, autrefois cliente de l'industrie d'armement française. Rome souhaite également vendre de 12 à 24 Typhoon au Caire.
L'erreur majeure de la France en Égypte continue d'exploser à la figure de Paris. Comme prévu, l'Italie va réussir à vendre au Caire deux frégates FREMM, qui était initialement destinées à la marine italienne, pour un montant de 1,2 milliard d'euros. Depuis la visite du 28 janvier 2019 d'Emmanuel Macron en Égypte où il s'était autorisé à donner la leçon sur les droits de l'homme au maréchal Abdel Fattah Sissi chez lui, la France s'est fait complètement sortir du marché de l'armement égyptien au profit notamment de l'Italie et de l'Allemagne. Les nouvelles ventes de Rafale et de corvettes Gowind semblent définitivement enterrées.
La vente de deux FREMM italiennes va se concrétiser alors que l'affaire entre Le Caire et Rome portant sur l'étudiant italien Giulio Regeni, retrouvé mort et atrocement mutilé et torturé, n'a jamais été résolue en dépit des demandes de l'Italie. Quelle ironie du sort pour la France, qui a joué la carte des droits de l'homme début 2019 alors que l'Italie a quant à elle préféré la realpolitik même si elle tente de ménager son opinion publique : "Le gouvernement et les institutions italiennes continuent d'exiger la vérité des autorités égyptiennes par le biais d'une coopération réelle, efficace et effective", a assuré mercredi aux députés le ministre des Affaires étrangères Luigi di Maio.
"La vente des frégates est une opération commerciale qui n'a rien à voir avec la recherche de la vérité sur la mort de Giulio Regeni. Au contraire, c'est seulement en maintenant les canaux ouverts que nous pouvons penser obtenir quelque chose de l'Egypte", ont pourtant expliqué des sources gouvernementales relayées par le quotidien La Repubblica.
Le gouvernement italien a donné jeudi soir son feu vert à la vente des deux frégates à l'Égypte. Ces deux frégates seront prélevées sur le programme de la Marina militare (9e et 10e) : Spartaco Schergat et Emilio Bianchi. Fincantieri s'est notamment appuyé pour cette vente sur un intermédiaire proche de Sissi, l'homme d'affaires Ahmed Elsewedy. Il ne reste plus que l'accord formel d'une administration en charge des exportations d'armements pour rendre définitive cette vente. Le feu vert pourrait être donné ce dimanche, selon nos informations.
Le projet est financé à 100% par un crédit comme le souhaitait Le Caire. Il est piloté par Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) associé à la banque...
7 décembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
If space was the 'new frontier' of the 1960s, there is no doubt that today it is a 'new front' on the battlefield.
19 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
HALIFAX, Canada — NATO member Slovakia is on track to purchase 14 Lockheed Martin F-16V fighters to replace its MiG-29 jets in a wider effort to break from Russia, the Slovak Ministry of Defence's No. 2 official said Saturday. In an interview on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum, MoD State Secretary Róbert Ondrejcsák said of the Russian defense industrial relationship: “We are cutting off as quickly as we can. “The most important connection with Russia is still the MiG-29, which is still Russian manufactured, and it's what we are cutting now with the decision about the F-16s,” Ondrejcsák said. “There several are other smaller systems.” In the same vein, Slovakia also expects to receive five more Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, which completes its planned purchase of nine. (Long-term plans call for at least 18 multi-role helicopters to replace Soviet-designed Mi-17 rotorcraft, though no platform has been selected as yet.) “By replacing them, we are also cutting those ties with Russia,” Ondrejcsák said, adding that Slovakia will fly the UH-60 and Mi-17 for several years while the UH-60 is phased in. Slovakia was a part of the Soviet bloc during the Cold War but joined the European Union and the NATO military alliance in 2004. Slovakian officials understand the purchase of American hardware strengthens their strategic relationship, but Ondrejcsák emphasized — on the anniversary of Czechoslovakia's velvet revolution in 1989 — the partnership is based on faith in liberal democratic values. “We want to see America as a leader in the free world, as they did for 70 years,” Ondrejcsák said. “We hear a lot here [at Halifax] about the values-based international order, but it's very real for us.” Beyond the U.S., leaders of Slovakia and the Czech Republic announced in September the two countries will cooperate on joint purchases of weapons and military equipment. Both have moved to increase their respective defense budgets following Russia's alleged military intervention in Ukraine's eastern part and its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. As to the F-16s, Ondrejcsák said the intent is for his government to finalize the legislative vehicle and contract in the coming months to ensure timely delivery of the first F-16s in 2022 or 2023. In part driven by maintenance costs, Slovakia decided to make a switch from the MiG-29 and ultimately chose the F-16V over the Saab Gripen based on price and internal analysis, according to Ondrejcsák. The announcement came in July after U.S. State Department in April approved the potential sale of 14 Block 70/72 F-16Vs for Slovakia. Otherwise, negotiations are also underway for the U.S. to further improve Slovakian air fields in Sliač, which is in central Slovakia and in Malacky, which is in in Western Slovakia. “We take it as a win-win situation because they are investing in infrastructure, which will be crucial for us too,” Ondrejcsák said of the U.S. military. “Of course its good for them (the U.S. military) because in case of potential operations, they (the airfields) are available.” The U.S. Air Force has ramped up investments that would enable it to deploy to allied bases in Eastern Europe and operate close to Russia's western flank. U.S. air field improvements have already included partner air bases in Hungary, Estonia and elsewhere. As Slovakia upgrades its heavy mechanized units, it is also exploring the modernization of its existing fleet of T-72 main battle tanks, Ondrejcsák said, rather than wait for the next generation of MBT to be developed. No platform has been selected. “We will upgrade them to the highest possible standards which will allow them to operate in the framework of the mechanized brigade,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/11/18/with-f-16-buy-slovakia-cutting-off-russian-hardware
2 août 2021 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
Shield AI just bought Martin UAV. Here's how the artificial intelligence and autonomy technology company will transform the flagship drone - V-Bat - that has caught the eye of operators across the military services.