Australia to buy Lockheed aircraft amid mounting tensions with China

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  26 octobre 2017 | International, Aérospatial, Sécurité

  Le Symposium OACI sur l’identification des voyageurs souligne le rôle clé de l’aviation dans la lutte contre le terrorisme et la criminalité transfrontalière

  ​Mme Liu, Secrétaire générale de l'OACI, a prononcé l'allocution d'ouverture du 13e Symposium sur la stratégie du Programme d'identification des voyageurs (TRIP) de l'OACI, qui se tient au siège de l'institution onusienne à Montréal. Rendez-vous mondial portant sur la gestion des documents de voyage et de l'identité, ce tout dernier Symposium TRIP est considéré comme une étape importante pour maintenir l'élan mondial à l'égard des priorités de lutte anti-terroriste qu'a récemment suscité le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. Montréal, le 26 octobre 2017 – La lutte contre les mouvements terroristes et criminels internationaux a franchi une étape cette semaine, alors que des experts et des hauts fonctionnaires se sont réunis à l'occasion du 13eSymposium sur la stratégie du Programme d'identification des voyageurs (TRIP) de l'OACI. « La stratégie TRIP de l'OACI renforce la ligne de défense mondiale contre les mouvements terroristes internationaux, la criminalité transfrontalière et les nombreuses autres menaces qui pèsent sur la sécurité et la sûreté de la société civile et de l'aviation internationale », a fait valoir Mme Liu, Secrétaire générale de l'OACI, dans son allocution d'ouverture. « La majorité de nos travaux dans ce domaine sont principalement réalisés conformément à l'Annexe 9 à la Convention de Chicago – Facilitation. Les activités de facilitation appuient résolument les Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations Unies et la Stratégie TRIP de l'OACI contribue de manière importante aux Résolutions 2178 et 2309 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. » Rendez-vous mondial portant sur la gestion des documents de voyage et de l'identité, ce tout dernier Symposium TRIP est considéré comme une étape importante pour maintenir l'élan mondial à l'égard des priorités de lutte anti-terroriste qu'a récemment suscité le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. Mme Liu avait présenté un exposé général de la sûreté de l'aviation au Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies en septembre, après avoir été invitée à la réunion du Comité contre le terrorisme (CTC) en juillet 2017. Outre le renforcement des inspections/filtrages et des contrôles de sûreté, le CTC a souligné l'importance du rôle des compagnies aériennes dans le suivi des déplacements dans le monde des passagers présentant un risque plus élevé. « Le CTC a expressément reconnu l'importance du partage des renseignements préalables concernant les voyageurs (RPCV) par les autorités nationales », a noté Mme Liu. « Bien que de nombreux États n'aient toujours pas mis en place des programmes relatifs aux RPCV, je tiens à leur rappeler que le partage des RPCV est obligatoire depuis le 23 octobre dernier, en vertu de l'Annexe 9 de l'OACI ». Les séances tenues dans le cadre du Symposium TRIP 2017 ont permis aux participants de s'informer sur les dernières mesures d'inspection/filtrage et de sûreté fondées sur les risques, tout en soulignant l'importance des partenariats et du renforcement des capacités alors que les États œuvrent à renforcer leurs lignes de défense respectives. « La mise en œuvre par les États de la stratégie TRIP nécessite une action coordonnée entre de nombreux États et entités de l'industrie, mais nous sommes aussi conscients que les divers gouvernements ne disposent pas des mêmes capacités à mettre en œuvre le Programme TRIP. L'OACI et les États s'emploient à résorber cet écart en favorisant la coopération entre les États et l'industrie, en renforçant la coordination régionale et locale, et en obtenant la contribution de donateurs », a indiqué Mme Liu. La question des orientations approfondies dont ont besoin les États pour la planification et la mise en œuvre du programme TRIP a été abordée plus en détail dans le cadre du lancement du Recueil TRIP de l'OACI. Ce nouveau document de référence exhaustif présente les initiatives connexes de partenaires tels que l'Office des Nations Unies contre la drogue et le crime (ONUDC), INTERPOL, l'Union européenne, l'Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en Europe (OSCE) et l'Organisation mondiale pour les migrations (OIM), et rassemble divers éléments indicatifs de l'OACI supplémentaires. Le Symposium TRIP 2017 a coïncidé avec deux ateliers OACI importants sur le Répertoire de clés publiques (RCP) et l'adoption de nouvelles approches en matière de RPCV, tenus en parallèle et en partenariat avec la Direction exécutive du Comité contre le terrorisme (DECT) des Nations Unies et d'autres organisations internationales. Si le Panama est récemment devenu le 59e État à tirer profit de la validation encryptée du RCP, qui maximise les avantages de la sûreté des passeports électroniques, Mme Liu a souligné que l'OACI s'attend à ce que davantage d'États adhèrent au RCP dans les mois à venir. « S'il est vrai que plus de 80 % des passeports électroniques en circulation dans le monde sont délivrés par des États qui participent déjà au RCP, de nombreux États ne s'en prévalent toujours pas pour authentifier les données contenues dans la puce », a-t-elle réitéré. Le Symposium TRIP 2017 était centré sur le thème « Renforcer la sûreté et l'efficacité du transport aérien », pour refléter le fait que des technologies de sûreté bien conçues contribuent aussi à l'amélioration de l'expérience des passagers et, de manière plus générale, de l'efficacité des processus de facilitation. « C'est uniquement en nous assurant d'équilibrer ces deux priorités que les solutions que nous proposons seront véritablement durables », a conclu Mme Liu. Outre le Symposium et ses ateliers, les participants à l'édition 2017 ont pu visiter une exposition éclectique présentant les dernières innovations de l'industrie en matière de technologies et de processus. Le Symposium a rassemblé près de 600 fonctionnaires venant de 82 États et de 14 organisations internationales et prendra fin aujourd'hui à l'OACI. https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/FR/ICAO-traveller-identification-event-highlights-key-aviation-role-in-combatting-terrorism-and-cross-border-crime.aspx

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  5 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  The defense industry needs new entrants, and a supportive government during crises

  By: Venture capital community leaders The COVID-19 health crisis is quickly leading to an economic meltdown, throwing millions of Americans out of work and forcing strategic reevaluations across industries. The defense industry is no exception. We are praying for a swift end to the crisis, but its effects will linger, shaping the Pentagon's priorities, organizational structure, military operations, logistics, supply chains and interactions with the defense-industrial base for years to come. In the past few weeks, we have had numerous conversations with government officials about our venture and growth equity investments in the defense sector. These discussions have centered on the eligibility rules of the CARES Act's Paycheck Protection Program and the risk of foreign capital seeking entry into defense technology startups desperate for investment in these trying times. But these are secondary questions. The primary question is this: How can the Pentagon best preserve its innovation base and develop the most competitive and advanced technologies? The answer is simple: Buy commercial. New and emerging defense startups — and our men and women in uniform — don't need symbolic gestures. What they need is concerted action to bring the latest and most advanced technologies — many of which are routinely used in industry — to dangerously antiquated defense weapons systems and internal IT infrastructure. This was true before COVID-19, it is true now and it will be true when the next crisis strikes. All too often the government has responded to crises by circling wagons around incumbent firms — the large prime contractors, whose political connections afford them bailouts in the name of “ensuring ongoing competition.” This process is already underway. After announcing its hope for a $60 billion relief package for the aerospace manufacturing industry, Boeing successfully lobbied for $17 billion worth of loans for firms “critical to maintaining national security.” The CARES Act also announced provisions to streamline the Defense Department's contracting process, which sounds promising, except for the fact that these provisions apply only to contracts worth over $100 million. This discriminates against smaller, more nimble innovators and providers of cutting-edge technology. This isn't how things have always been. After complaints about large horse dealers monopolizing military contracts during the Civil War, the government allowed quartermasters to purchase horses and mules from any dealer on the open market. In World War II, Congress created the Smaller War Plants Corporation, which awarded tens of thousands of contracts to small, competitive firms. Today, through innovative use of Small Business Innovation Research money, other transactional authorities, rapid work programs and the like, the Pentagon is certainly signaling interest in emerging technologies. But let us be clear: We are not advocating continuing to invest larger dollar amounts into never-ending, short-term pilots and prototypes. The key to sustaining the innovation base through this crisis and any future crises is transitioning the best of these companies and products into real production contracts serving the day-to-day needs of the mission. Host tough, but fair competitions for new innovations, and then rapidly scale the winners. America's technological supremacy has afforded our country nearly a century of military hegemony, but it is not a law of nature. Sovereign states and peer competitors like Russia and China will quickly outpace us if we take our prowess for granted. We need new entrants into the defense industry more than ever, but without government support through crises like this one, the talent and capital simply won't be there. Why do investors say defense isn't a safe bet? As the Department of Defense readily acknowledges, its mission is fundamentally changing. Breakthroughs in technological fields like artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, robotics, resilient networks and cyberwarfare mean that future conflicts will look nothing like those we have seen before. The DoD of tomorrow needs a fresh wave of technical expertise to understand and respond to these new kinds of threats. That is not to say that legacy defense contractors are not needed; their expertise in large air and sea vehicles is currently unparalleled. But the expertise to build these new technologies resides in pockets of talent that the big and bureaucratic incumbents, who made their names with 20th century technology, lost access to decades ago. The DoD has publicly exalted the importance of innovative defense startups for years. That is partly why we are so excited to invest capital into the defense sector at this moment in history. Silicon Valley has a chance to live up to its oft-ridiculed but sincere ambition to make the world a better place by investing in American national security. However, we as venture capitalists and growth equity investors also have a duty to our limited partners who have entrusted us to invest and grow their capital. If we see the same old story of the government claiming to support small businesses but prioritizing its old incumbents, those investment dollars will disappear. Times of rapid and unprecedented change, as COVID-19 has precipitated, also provide opportunities. The DoD and Congress can reshape budget priorities to put their money where their mouths have been and support innovative defense technologies. Each dollar awarded to a successful venture capital and growth equity-backed defense startup through a competitively awarded contract attracts several more dollars in private investment, providing the DoD significantly more leverage that if that same dollar was spent on a subsidy or loan to a large legacy contractor. This leverage of private capital means that every contract a startup receives accelerates by up to 10 times their ability to build technology and hire talent to support the DoD's mission. The bottom line is this: There's no reason to let a health crisis today become a national security crisis tomorrow. The DoD has an opportunity to not only sustain but grow its innovation base, and give contracts, not lip service, to innovators. We, the undersigned, hope they do. The contributors to this commentary are: Steve Blank of Stanford University; Katherine Boyle of General Catalyst; James Cham of Bloomberg Beta; Ross Fubini of XYZ Capital; Antonio Gracias of Valor Equity Partners, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX; Joe Lonsdale of 8VC, who also co-founded Palantir; Raj Shah of Shield Capital, who is a former director of the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit; Trae Stephens of, Founders Fund; JD Vance of Narya Capital; Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures; Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital; Hamlet Yousef of IronGate Capital; and Dan Gwak of Point72. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/05/04/the-defense-industry-needs-new-entrants-and-a-supportive-government-during-crises/

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  16 juillet 2018 | International, Terrestre

  The Army’s next machine gun could fire caseless ammo — and one of these companies might build it

  By: Todd South The replacement for the Army's 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon could be an entirely new type of light machine gun that fires not only a different caliber round, but caseless ammunition. That's because one of the five companies recently awarded contracts to produce a weapon prototype by this time next year has been building weapons to fire that type of ammo for the past 14 years. A notice posted Thursday included the identities of the five companies: AAI Corporation Textron Systems in Hunt Valley, Maryland. FN America LLC.in Columbia, South Carolina. General Dynamics-OTS Inc. PCP Tactical, LLC. in Vero Beach, Florida. Sig Sauer Inc. in Newington, New Hampshire. The companies were awarded a contract to provide a prototype for the Army's Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle, or NGSAR. The light machine gun is the first planned major overhaul of small arms in decades. Based on the notice, it appears that FN America has been granted an award to provide two prototypes, while the other four companies will provide a single prototype. Those prototypes will help the Army decide what's possible given their extensive requirements for the new weapon. There will then be an open competition following those submissions, where more companies can try to get in on the weapon that will utlimately replace the M249 SAW and influence the M4 replacement, as well. It is also the first weapon of its type that could mean a dramatic shift in all small arms, with follow-on changes planned for an individual carbine that will likely incorporate the machine gun changes, officials have said. Current efforts include work on a lighter machine gun that fires a government-designed 6.8mm round, which falls between the lighter 5.56mm and heavier 7.62mm used in heavy machine guns. But submissions can include other calibers, so long as they meet accuracy and lethality requirements for the new weapon, officials have said. In the Textron release, the company says the prototype will be based on their cased-telescoped weapons and ammunition portfolio. The company has designed both a carbine and light machine gun variant, which have been displayed publicly in recent years. The NGSAR will be an “intermediate caliber, high-velocity, magazine-fed system,” according to the release. It will weigh less than 12 pounds with ammunition that weighs 20 percent less than the traditional brass case ammo. The weapon will be at most 35 inches long and be able to fire 60 rounds per minute for 15 minutes without a barrel change. Accuracy matters too. A shooter must be able to hit standard targets at 50 meters while standing, with three- to five-round bursts at least 70 percent of the time. The companies also received awards for advanced weapons and fire control technologies, for the Next Generation Squad Weapons Technologies, the umbrella program for advancing small arms, and for the fire control capability. Wayne Prender, vice president of Applied Technologies & Advanced Programs at Textron Systems, told Army Times Thursday that he couldn't discuss details of their fire control submissions configuration. But he did talk about some of the capabilites they plan to provide. “We're offering up a solution set, day/night system optics with a laser range finder, integrated ballistic computer for computation of the target,” Prender said. Last year Textron unveiled a 6.5mm carbine using their ammunition. The NSGW program aims to use an intermediate caliber, likely in the 6mm range, such as their 6.8mm ammunition development. But Prender said he couldn't discuss details of the caliber submission for the weapon prototype. Army leaders have said that advancements will come in stages and initial fire controls will be a part of the first fielded system, but that improved fire controls with additional upgrades will be incorporated into the system. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/07/12/the-armys-next-machine-gun-could-fire-caseless-ammo-and-one-of-these-companies-might-build-it/