B-21 Raider makes public debut; will become backbone of Air Force’s bomber fleet

Sur le même sujet

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  15 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  Greece looks to France for new arms amid spat with Turkey

  Christina Mackenzie PARIS – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Sept. 12 that Athens would buy 18 Rafale combat aircraft from France, a combination of new and pre-owned planes. According to Greek media, six of the aircraft would be new and 12 would be second-hand from the French air force. French media put the ratio at 10 (Rafale F3Rs) and eight, respectively. Contacted by Defense News, manufacturer Dassault Aviation declined to confirm the figures, saying it was up to the client to communicate. The Rafales will replace Greek Mirage 2000s of the 332 Squadron “Gerakia.” Misotakis also said Greece would procure guided missiles for its air force. Given Greece's long history with Dassault – it purchased 40 Mirage F1s in 1974, 40 Mirage 2000s in 1985 and 15 Mirage 2000-5s in 2000 – this means Athens is likely to buy its guided missiles from MBDA as these older Dassault aircraft are armed with that company's missiles (Exocet, Scalp, Mica). The prime minister added that Athens would also purchase four Romeo naval helicopters from Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky, unspecified antitank weapons for the army, torpedoes for the navy. There is also a plan to refurbish four MEKO frigates and, over the next five to seven years, buy four new frigates. Speaking on the grounds of the Thessaloniki International Fair, Mitsotakis also said that over the next five years the Greek armed forces would be recruiting an additional 15,000 young men and women. The defense procurements come against a background of heightened tensions between Greece and Turkey. “Ankara is now adding to the provocations in the Aegean, the undermining of peace in the entire Mediterranean. It is threatening the eastern borders of Europe, and it is undermining security in a sensitive crossroads of three continents,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by ekathimerini.com, the website of Greek daily Kathimerini. A French defense ministry statement said negotiations over the next months should lead to a contract signature for the Rafales, possibly before the end of 2020. Greece is the first European client for the aircraft which, apart from the French air force, has been procured by Egypt (24) Qatar (24) and India (36). The other major procurement announced – four frigates – has France's Naval Group interested. France has been negotiating the sale of frigates to Greece for several years but given the length of time it would take for a ship to be delivered to the Hellenic Navy, Mitsotakis has opted to procure more immediately available aircraft first. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/14/greece-looks-to-france-for-new-arms-amid-spat-with-turkey/

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  9 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Safran contributeur majeur du projet « OCEAN2020 » retenu par la Commission Européenne pour l’Action Préparatoire de Recherche de Défense

  Boulogne-Billancourt, le 7 février 2018 Safran est l'un des principaux membres du consortium OCEAN2020 qui a remporté l'appel d'offres majeur associé à l'Action Préparatoire de Recherche de Défense (PADR) de la Commission Européenne pour 2017. Doté d'un montant de 35 millions d'euros, le projet de la Commission Européenne porte sur un démonstrateur technologique attestant de la valeur opérationnelle de systèmes de drones de tous milieux (drones aériens, de surface et sous-marins) dans un environnement maritime. Le consortium OCEAN2020, mené par Leonardo, a remporté cet appel d'offres en fédérant des industriels de toutes tailles, des partenaires académiques et des représentants étatiques de 15 pays de l'Union Européenne. L'équipe gagnante réalisera deux démonstrations de mise en oeuvre de nouveaux moyens de surveillance et de systèmes intégrés de traitement de l'information dans le cadre d'exercices navals européens, en Méditerranée en 2019 puis en mer Baltique en 2020. Au cours de ces opérations navales, Safran déploiera son drone Patroller dans une configuration de surveillance maritime. Seul drone à voilure fixe de longue endurance engagé dans ces démonstrations, le Patroller sera équipé d'une nouvelle chaîne de mission comprenant un radar de surveillance maritime, un système d'identification automatique des navires (AIS) et la boule optronique EuroflirTM 410 de Safran déjà présente sur sa version terrestre. Les informations recueillies par cet ensemble multi capteurs seront transmises aux systèmes de combat de plusieurs navires et aux centres d'opérations. Safran contribuera aux innovations du projet OCEAN2020 en développant une fonction d'autonomie de mission pour drones navals. Des traitements embarqués permettront au Patroller de détecter et de suivre automatiquement un navire suspect dans sa zone de recherche et de réunir de l'information (vitesse, trajectoire, taille, immatriculation, images-preuves...) afin de faciliter le travail des opérateurs de mission. Ces nouvelles capacités fonctionnelles sont déterminantes pour mener à bien les opérations de surveillance des Marines et agences européennes réalisées avec des drones. Thierry Dupoux, directeur de l'innovation chez Safran Electronics & Defense, a déclaré : « Nous sommes fiers de poursuivre notre feuille de route sur les chaînes de mission drone pour les applications de surveillance maritime. C'est une chance de déployer nos compétences pour contribuer à construire un projet européen d'envergure dans la R&D de défense. » L'Action Préparatoire de Recherche de Défense est un programme de recherche de 3 ans de la Commission Européenne visant à tester, à travers plusieurs projets, les mécanismes de financement de la R&T de Défense par le budget de l'Union Européenne. Elle préfigure le lancement d'un programme-cadre de soutien de la recherche de défense à partir de 2021. https://www.safran-electronics-defense.com/fr/media/safran-contributeur-majeur-du-projet-ocean2020-retenu-par-la-commission-europeenne-pour-laction-preparatoire-de-recherche-de-defense-20180207

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

  House progressives demand Pentagon cuts, citing pandemic

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― More than two dozen Democrats are demanding that House Armed Services Committee leaders cut defense spending in the 2021 defense policy bill, saying the money would be better spent combating the coronavirus pandemic. A May 19 letter, mostly from Congressional Progressive Caucus members, marked a prelude to what could be complicated efforts to pass the National Defense Authorization Act in the Democrat-led House. The panel is expected in the coming weeks to introduce and mark up a draft, in line with the $740 billion top line set by the 2019 budget deal. But 29 Democrats ― led by House Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Rep. Barbara Lee, a senior appropriator and California progressive ― said the defense spending should be lower than last year's $738 billion top line. With Americans dying from COVID-19 by the thousands, tax dollars would be better spent on an expansion of testing, contact tracing, treatment and vaccine development, they said. “Congress must remain focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and distributing needed aid domestically,” the lawmakers wrote. “In order to do so, appropriators must have access to increased levels of non-defense spending which could be constrained by any increase to defense spending.” “Right now, the coronavirus is our greatest adversary. It has killed more than 90,000 Americans, far surpassing the number of casualties during the Vietnam War,” the letter read. “America needs a coronavirus cure, not more war. We need more testing, not more bombs." How the loss of support from 29 House Democrats will factor into passage of the NDAA remains to be seen. In a note accompanying the letter, the organizers noted that if Republicans held back support ― which they did last year ― only 19 Democrats would need to vote “no” this year for the bill to fail. Last year, House Republicans resisted an early version of the 2020 bill written by House Democrats, but even after many of their priorities were stripped out in negotiations with the Republican-controlled Senate, the compromise bill still passed the House without them, 377-48. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found common ground with the White House on an eleventh hour paid parental leave provision that attracted most Democrats. This year, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., has spoken in favor of working to protect the defense-industrial base through stimulus funding. But with a stimulus bill caught in a partisan deadlock, it's unclear whether lawmakers will see the NDAA as a potential vehicle for defense industry aid. If so, that could be a sticking point. Last month, Smith told reporters that public health needs were more pressing and that within the Pentagon's existing $738 billion budget, defense officials "have a lot of money and ought to spend that money to meet those needs” before Congress considers more. HASC ranking member Mac Thornberry, who led early Republican opposition to last year's bill, has said he is hopeful this year's bill will be more bipartisan. Thornberry, R-Texas, also opposed the idea of cutting defense to fund health care needs. “I bristle a bit at the notion, ‘well, of course [the Department of Defense has] got to get their budget cut,' " he said, “because the world's not going to be safer on the other side of COVID.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/05/19/house-progressives-demand-pentagon-cuts-citing-pandemic/