27 janvier 2021 | International, Naval
By: Nigel Pittaway
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's defense minister announced initiatives Monday that will fund early development work on a range of advanced guided weapons and new mine countermeasures/hydrographic ships for the Royal Australian Navy.
The guided weapons program, to be developed under Project Sea 1300, is part of a 20-year, AU$24 billion (U.S. $19 billion) investment in maritime weapons that will deliver long-range anti-ship missiles, extended-range surface-to-air missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes and maritime land-strike capabilities to the Navy.
Under Project Sea 1300, the Australian government will continue to invest in the international development program for the Evolved Seasparrow Block 2 surface-to-air missile. Funds will also be used to further develop the SM-2 Block IIIC and SM-6 Block I missiles.
The weapons upgrades will be integrated into the Navy's current and future major surface combatant fleet, beginning with the eight Anzac-class frigates, which are undergoing a series of upgrades via a midlife capability assurance program.
“All of these new weapons will enhance the protection of our maritime resources and also our nation's border. They will also hold potential adversaries out to much greater distances — up to 1,500 kilometers [932 miles],” Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said.
Reynolds added that the investment is in line with the recent Defence Strategic Update, which noted that “a number of nations” in the Asia-Pacific region are developing maritime capabilities, including sophisticated long-range strike weapons.
“These announcements are not about any one nation in particular. They are about ensuring Australia has the sovereign capability in the maritime, land and air domains to protect our nation from any potential threats,” she said.
Reynolds also announced that the government will acquire eight new, role-adaptable ships for mine countermeasures and hydrographic missions under Project Sea 1905. The new ships will be a variant of the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels currently under construction for the Navy and will be built at Henderson in Western Australia.
The government previously promised to build three vessels for the mine countermeasure and hydrographic roles; the new commitment for five more ships will attract an additional investment of AU$5 billion.
“[The Department of] Defence has also released an invitation for Australian industry to provide us with a toolbox of robotic and autonomous systems for these eight new vessels,” the minister said. “And I would encourage all Australian companies — and we have many companies who are at the leading edge of autonomous systems, vehicles and vessels — to have a look at this and to work with Navy to develop options,” she said.
20 janvier 2022 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
Improved range calculation, infrared vision, target tracking and more await troops in the new optic recently chosen for the Next Generation Squad Weapon.
10 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon would have $758 million to help mid-tier defense firms weather the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic as part of the annual defense spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. But the aid, which was part of the panel's proposed $694.6 billion bill, falls short of the “lower double-digit billions” Pentagon officials say defense firms will claim under the stimulus bill Congress passed in March. As Congress debates the next stimulus, the defense industry has been urging lawmakers to appropriate enough to reimburse the Pentagon's suppliers for pandemic-related disruptions. Under Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, contractors can seek to recover such costs, but Congress has yet to appropriate money for it. “While helpful and our industry appreciates the recognition of the need in the HAC mark and all the support we have received from the Pentagon and Congress to date, this level is insufficient to provide the support indicated previously by [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] and also by company leaders who have been communicating with the Pentagon, the Congress and the White House, including [the Office of Management and Budget],” said National Defense Industrial Association Vice Chairman Arnold Punaro. “We are urging that the next stimulus bill provide the needed funds particularly to support section 3610, the reasonable adjustments due to disruptions, and the added costs of protecting the workforces and doing business in a COVID-19 environment,” he added. Not all of the details of the defense bill were available Wednesday, but a committee summary says it provides “$758 million to mitigate the impacts of COVID on second, third, and fourth tier suppliers in the Defense Industrial Base.” Such support would supplement $688 million for the defense-industrial base that the Department of Defense previously set aside as part of the $10.5 billion it got from the coronavirus relief fund created under the CARES Act. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord warned Congress last month that the DoD's pandemic-related costs, which include 3,610 claims, may nonetheless force it to dip into modernization and readiness accounts if Congress doesn't backfill the money. “The department does not have the funding to cover these costs,” she said. The House Appropriations Committee's bill is not the last word, and Republicans, who control the Senate and the White House, will negotiate over the final numbers. “FY21 appropriations bills must be changed before they have any chance of becoming law,” the panel's top Republican, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, said Tuesday. This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., began to outline a forthcoming GOP-drafted coronavirus relief package, but it was not immediately revealed what the Pentagon's share might be. House Democrats are reportedly seeking $250 billion in emergency spending for an array of issues, to include rural broadband and transportation infrastructure to health care and global coronavirus relief. As lawmakers reconcile these many priorities, at least one one influential lawmaker on defense ― House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash. ― has said repeatedly that the Defense Department should draw from its existing budget. The Project on Government Oversight's Mandy Smithberger said the Pentagon has yet to make the case that payments to the defense industry will be the best means to stimulate the economy. “Even though they often don't act like it, resources are still limited to a degree and Congress has to consider fairness as part of that distribution, including who needs the government's help most, and which sectors are going to do the most to help the country,” Smithberger said. “These companies have much better access to capital than a number of other industries and individuals. Even from a reviving-the-economy perspective, this sector has always been one of the poorer performers per dollar for job creation.” The health care and education sectors create more than twice as many jobs per $1 million than the military, and the energy and infrastructure sectors create 40 percent more, according a 2019 analysis by the Costs of War project at Brown University. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/08/house-panel-isnt-giving-defense-industry-all-the-covid-aid-it-wants/
7 décembre 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
FSB spyware implanted on a detained programmer’s Android device reveals covert surveillance tactics.