8 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON — Britain has lifted a yearlong ban on the export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, the government announced July 7.
Weapon sales to Saudi Arabia were banned in June 2019 after a U.K. Court of Appeal ruled that the government may have contravened international humanitarian law by approving weapon sales to the Saudis that might have been used in the civil war in Yemen.
Britain is one of the largest exporters of defense equipment in the world, largely thanks to Saudi Arabia's purchase over more than 30 years of Tornado and Typhoon combat jets as well as Hawk jet trainers. Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bombs, partly built in the U.K., are also among the list of recent significant sales to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia leads a coalition of Middle Eastern nations in a protracted and bloody war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels trying to seize Yemen.
In an action brought by anti-arms trade campaigners, the court ruling forced the British government to reassess whether previous export licenses had been issued on the correct legal basis, given alleged violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi military, specifically reported airstrikes that hit civilian targets.
“The incidents, which have been assessed to be possible violations of international humanitarian law, occurred at different times, in different circumstances and for different reasons,” said International Trade Secretary Liz Truss.
“In retaking these decisions, I have taken into account the full range of information available to the government. In the light of all that information and analysis, I have concluded that, notwithstanding the isolated incidents, which have been factored into the analysis as historic violations of international humanitarian law, Saudi Arabia has a genuine intent and the capacity to comply with international humanitarian law,” she added. “On that basis, I have assessed that there is not a clear risk that the export of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Truss said exports will resume after the government completes the court-ordered review of defense export licences to the Middle East's largest buyer of military equipment. The ban only halted new approvals for weapons sales. Work on existing deals, like BAE System's deals to support Typhoon and Tornado jets, have continued unaffected.
The British government will now “begin the process of clearing the backlog of licence applications for Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners that has built up since 20 June last year,” Truss told Parliament. “It may take some months to clear this backlog.”
In a statement, BAE said: “We note that the UK Government has implemented a revised methodology regarding licences for military exports. We continue to provide defense equipment, training and support under government to government agreements between the UK and Saudi Arabia, subject to UK Government approval and oversight. We work closely with the Department for International Trade to ensure our continued compliance with all relevant export control laws and regulations.”
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/07/britain-lifts-ban-on-saudi-weapons-exports/
2 mai 2022 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
The multi-day event is typically conducted under intense conditions, simulating a spreading crisis that ropes in the military and civilian worlds and the public and private sectors.
3 février 2021 | International, Naval
February 1, 2021 - announces the signing of three significant contracts valued at over $100 million USD, in which it will supply loitering munitions systems to several countries. The contracts include winning an international tender for the sale of the multi-purpose ROTEM system to a foreign country, sale of the naval version of the HAROP system to the navy of a country in Asia and sale of the ground version of the HAROP system to another customer in Asia. Boaz Levy, IAI's President and CEO, said: “IAI is a global pioneer in developing the operational concept of a loitering munitions systems, which has ripened to a family of unique and accurate attack systems. These systems, which have added impressive achievements to the operational capability of fighting forces around the globe, constitute central and decisive attack components for advanced battlefields of the future. These contracts are further proof of the importance and confidence modern armies place in accurate munitions systems as part of their arsenal, and may be harbingers of additional business activity in this field. IAI will continue to develop and improve a range of strike systems in order to give its clients around the world a precise operational solution.” The Maritime HAROP system provides an operational solution for a range of vessels, from off-shore vessels to fighting frigates in the naval theater. In a complex naval theater, the HAROP system gives mission commanders in a fleet of ships the capability to independently and organically collect intelligence, assess targets and strike. The intelligence gathered by the HAROP is directly integrated in the vessel's control room and allows for quick, accurate and lethal decision-making. Use of the HAROP on naval platforms is an operational alternative and complementary element to using sea-sea missiles, with a wide range of uses and with optimal cost-efficiency for the navy. The maritime and land combat-proven HAROP provides an operational solution for a range of low and high-intensity conflict scenarios and for anti-terrorism activity. The HAROP is equipped with day/night cameras and has the ability to search, find and attack with maximum precision both static and moving targets, on land or at sea and at a long-range. A strike can take place from any direction and at any angle of attack. ROTEM is the first Vertical Take-Off & Landing (VTOL) Tactical Loitering Munition combat-proven and used in operations by several of the world's militaries as a small loitering device based on a drone platform and is a power multiplier for tactical forces in a range of fighting scenarios, including security operations and maneuvers. The system provides a reconnaissance, observation and attack envelope with maximum autonomous performance, integrating a simple and intuitive operation interface that can be used by a single fighter from a touchscreen tablet. The ROTEM VTOL Tactical Loitering Munition carries day/night cameras and a warhead weighing up to one kilogram and is optimally designed to carry out combined missions of intelligence gathering and attack. The system incorporates a unique safety mechanism that enables its safe return to the fighter on the ground if an attack was not carried out. The ROTEM system has proven its operational effectiveness for precise, surgical strikes against a range of different targets. The loitering munitions family developed by IAI includes the Harpy-NG – a third generation of the system homing against radiating targets, the HAROP, a second-generation of a precision electro-optical attack system, the Mini-Harpy, dual (Electro-optical day&night + Anti-Radiation seeker) tactical advanced munitions system and the tactical loitering Green-Dragon system, as well as the ROTEM VTOL Tactical Loitering Munition. IAI is a focal point of national and global technological know-how in the field of attack systems, air defense, radars, satellites, remotely operated aircraft, civilian aviation and cyber. View source version on IAI: https://www.iai.co.il/iai-to-provide-loitering-munitions-to-asian-countries-deals-worth-over-100-million-usd
7 décembre 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Mark Pomerleau Air Force leaders are reorganizing the service's primary IT office. As part of the change, leaders are dividing job responsibilities from the chief information officer to a new combined intelligence/IT shop and a deputy CIO. In addition, the Air Force's top IT position — the chief information officer — will become an undersecretary for the service. It's not immediately clear why Air Force leaders want to make the changes, which will take place at the beginning of 2019. Bill Marion, the Air Force's deputy CIO, said during a Dec. 4 event hosted by AFCEA that the service will move the offensive, defensive and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance elements of the staff into a new office. “Think offense, defense and ISR, think 24th [Air Force], 25th [Air Force], think bringing those two communities together in a total full-spectrum [information operations]/[information warfare] fight,” Marion said. The other side of the reorganization will be a pure IT play. Marion, in his role as the deputy CIO, will focus on the IT and associated workforce development components for the Air Force. As part of the changes, Brig. Gen. Kevin Kennedy will serve in a dual-hatted role spanning both aspects of the reorganization, Marion said, serving as a bridge during the transition. https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2018/12/04/the-air-force-is-reorganizing-its-primary-it-shop