Boeing confirme l'intérêt de Berlin pour l'hélicoptère d'attaque AH-64 Apache... aux dépens du Tigre MK3

Sur le même sujet

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  11 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Tech maturing too fast for multiyear drone buys, Army’s Bush says

  Locking in on the same drone year after year may not make sense amid rapidly changing circumstances, he said.

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  25 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  General Atomics Advances SeaGuardian Systems

  by David Donald - January 20, 2021, 6:53 AM General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has revealed that it has completed the development and testing of a self-contained anti-submarine warfare (ASW) package, the first such equipment for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The package comprises podded sonobuoy dispenser systems (SDS) and a sonobuoy management and control system (SMCS). GA-ASI has been studying unmanned ASW capability for some years, demonstrating sonobuoy remote processing capability from an MQ-9A Reaper in 2017. Subsequently an SMCS has been added, and the SDS has been developed. It employs a pneumatic launch system, and each pod can carry up to 10 A-size sonobuoys or 20 G-size buoys. On November 24 last year GA-ASI carried out a trial at the U.S. Navy's Pacific range in which a company-owned MQ-9A Block 5 released seven SSQ-53G Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) and two SSQ-62F Directional Command Activated Sonobuoy System (DICASS) sonobuoys, and a single SSQ-36B bathythermograph buoy. Using a General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada UYS-505 processing system the trial successfully tracked an MK-39 expendable mobile ASW training target (EMATT) for three hours, data being relayed by a satcom link to the Laguna flight operations facility at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The ASW capability is being developed for the SeaGuardian configuration of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, which can carry up to four SDS pods under its wings. The SeaGuardian is intended to perform as a stand-alone maritime patrol asset or to act with traditional maritime patrol aircraft as part of a manned-unmanned team. A key part of the SeaGuardian mission set is a surveillance radar, and GA-ASI is working with Leonardo to integrate the Seaspray 7500E V2 AESA radar into the UAS's centerline pod. The radar offers a variety of modes, including inverse synthetic aperture radar that works with the automatic identification system (AIS, a form of maritime IFF) to provide accurate identification of detected surface targets. It can spot submarine periscopes and humans in the water during search and rescue operations. A high-definition optical/infrared full-motion video capability is also included. Another option from Leonardo is the SAGE electronic surveillance system. GA-ASI reports that two undisclosed export customers have ordered the SeaGuardian capability, which was included in the recently approved request for up to 18 MQ-9Bs from the United Arab Emirates. In its standard SeaGuardian configuration the MQ-9B has an endurance of more than 18 hours and can mount an eight-hour patrol at a radius of 1,200 nm. Another store that has recently been trialed by GA-ASI is the Legion Pod, in this case, the carrier being the company's jet-powered Avenger remotely piloted aircraft. The Legion Pod, which is carried by F-15 Eagles, features a Lockheed Martin IRST21 infrared search and track sensor in its nose and datalinks to network the sensor and carrier with other platforms. n early January GA-ASI was selected to support the U.S. Air Force's Skyborg Vanguard program that is developing artificial intelligence/machine-learning autonomous capabilities for future combat aircraft. Two company-owned Avengers are being modified with updated links and the Skyborg System Design Agent software to support this activity, which will test the ability of manned aircraft to control the Avengers in flight and to pass critical mission information between them. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2021-01-20/general-atomics-advances-seaguardian-systems

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  19 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  New joint ventures hint at ‘burgeoning relationship’ between Israel and India

  By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israel and India are deepening defense industry ties as Israeli companies seek long-term partnerships through India's efforts to encourage products to be locally produced under joint ventures. Earlier this month, Israel Aerospace Industries and India's Bharat Electronics Limited signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a new center for technical and maintenance support for India's air defense systems. In addition, IAI on Feb. 5 signed a strategic collaboration memorandum with Indian firms Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Dynamatic Technologies Limited to work on UAVs that will be made in India. Sales have historically surpassed more than $1 billion annually, making India not only a core country for Israel's defense sales, but also strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership. IAI deals in 2017 included a $2.5 billion deal for Barak 8 missiles and $1.3 billion for surface-to-air missiles, with further deals in 2018, according to the company. In the wake of the early February defense expo in Lucknow, India, IAI stressed that the Asian nation is one its main partners. “The important partnership is characterized by long-term collaboration, joint development and production, energy transfer, and technical support over many years,” according to Nimrod Sheffer, IAI's president and CEO. The sentiment was echoed in interviews across Israel's major defense companies. Elbit Systems sees India is a strategic market, noting that it is “involved in a range of programs across the Indian defense sector.” Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said it has been doing business in India for more than two decades “supporting the Indian Armed forces with state-of-the-art systems.” As part of bilateral relations, trade may be boosted to $20 billion in the coming decades from the $5 billion level at which it currently stands, according to the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. India has been a consumer of Israeli arms exports for several decades, accounting for 49 percent of Israeli arms exports from 2013 to 2017, according to one count at Israeli media outlet Calcalist. And India was Israel's largest purchaser of arms in 2017 alone, though purchases here decreased in 2018. India is one of the core countries involved in the International Defense Cooperation Directorate under Israel's Ministry of Defense. Known by its acronym SIBAT, the directorate in the government's outreach arm to the defense industry. Of $7.5 billion in defense exports in 2018, 46 percent went to Asia, Globes reported. Israeli companies have not divulged what percent of that went to India, but it is considered to be substantial. Last year's trade numbers are still being calculated, according to Israel's MoD. “My sense is that both India and Israel see this as a burgeoning relationship, not just arms trade," Jonathan Spyer, a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, told Defense News. "After Russia, Israel is India's second-largest source for defense [acquisition] — there is a strong sense of shared challenges in the area of terrorism.” Spyer, who has taken part in recent policy discussions and roundtables about India-Israel relations in Tel Aviv and New Delhi, says India admires Israeli defense companies' speed and lack of bureaucracy that has helped their growth in the the markets of air defense and UAVs. However, as the Center for a New American Security think tank notes, “India's weapons procurement is complex and slow in no small part because of India's desire to indigenize production.” ‘The sky is the limit' Still, the relationship between India and Israel is evolving. India's economic policy “Make in India” means that foreign companies wanting business in India must work alongside domestic companies and develop products locally. And Israeli companies have indeed partnered with Indian firms via joint ventures. For instance Elbit established a joint venture with Adani Defence in Hyderbad for the production of Hermes drones in 2018. Adani Defence noted that the 50,000-square-foot facility is the first outside of Israel for manufacturing the Hermes 900 medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV. Another joint venture with Alpha Design Technologies was also launched with Elbit in recent years, and the Israeli firm also works with Bharat Electronics in the field of electronic warfare and electro-optics. And IAI inked MOUs with three Indian companies this month. Bharat Electronics' marketing director said Feb. 5 that the collaboration would enhance its offerings and provide an immediate and optimized maintenance solution for air defense systems. “The sky is the limit,” said Ze'ev Mivtzari, IAI's corporate vice president of marketing for India. “It's a big change from five years ago.” Mivtzari, a former Israeli defense attache to India, pointed to the strengthening of bilateral ties seen in recent years. It's Israel's advanced technology that attracts India as it seeks to upgrade its armed forces. High-altitude and medium-altitude UAVs such as the Heron and multimission tactical Searcher could help India protect its border and sensitive sites. The same is true for air defense systems. India has acquired the Israel-developed Barak missile line for its medium-range surface-to-air missile requirement. Working with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, IAI hopes to increase sales of the missile by setting up production lines in India. “If you want to work in India, you don't just sell products, you need to create your own ecosystem,” the Israeli firm said. It's that ecosystem that Israeli companies are targeting. The ecosystem for IAI now includes more than 100 local Indian companies with which it works. Like IAI, Rafael's interaction with India goes back decades and involves the Asian nation's Army, Navy and Air Force. Rafael's ecosystem is in Hyderbad, where it's focusing on missiles, air defense systems, communications technology and electronic warfare capabilities. “The common ground for all our programs, with the Army, Navy and Air Force, is modernization. Some of them are upgrades to existing equipment, some are procurement. The Indian market is big and will remain big,” Rafael has said. The company currently works with India on the SPYDER air defense system and Spike missiles, and it showcased its sea-based air defense system C-Dome, based on the Iron Dome, at a recent defense expo in Lucknow. Rafael is also discussing its Drone Dome system, which protects against smaller drones. A recent test showed the system can use lasers to simultaneously stop multiple drones. In the market of communications systems, Rafael seeks to increase sales of its BNET system is India, and it's also pushing its Typhoon remote controlled weapons system for naval platforms. UVision, an Israeli company that makes loitering munitions, also signed a deal this month with India's Aditya Precitech to set up a joint venture to manufacture the PALM (precision attack loitering munition) Hero system. UVision's company in India is called AVision. Pivot east Israel's MoD characterizes the bilateral relationship as meaningful and involving “vast cooperation” between the two defense industries. The deepening defense and strategic relationship is part of India's multi-decade political and strategic shift, as it moves away from its former link to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and improves ties with Israel and the United States. This complement's Israel's pivot eastward. But there are differing security priorities between New Delhi and Jerusalem. India is more concerned about China, while Israel is wary of Iran. Though the bilateral relationship has still grown under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and their meetings in 2017 and 2018 that resulted in government-to-government agreements. The ecosystem built by joint ventures between Israeli and Indian defense companies is complex and involves sensitive defense technology, know-how from which India hopes to acquire to lessen its dependence on foreign defense imports. Spyer, the analyst out of Israel, said there is bipartisan consensus in both countries to advance the existing relationship. “It is a really important element of Israel's strategic stance and the broader pivot to Asia. No other burgeoning relationship, whether Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore or Japan, has the dimensions, depth and shared interests as India does for Israel.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/02/18/new-joint-ventures-hint-at-burgeoning-relationship-between-israel-and-india/