7 mai 2019 | International, Naval, Sécurité
By: Jeff Martin and Geoff Ziezulewicz
From home port inspections to transiting the Taiwan Strait, down to Antarctica and through riverine waterways, the Coast Guard has arguably the most diverse mission set of the armed services.
But despite these responsibilities, the Coast Guard remains a red-headed stepchild of sorts, a military branch that falls under the Department of Homeland Security.
That designation resulted in a lack of payment for Coasties during the 35-day government shutdown of December 2018 and January 2019.
But in a chat during the 2019 Sea-Air-Space conference, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said his service is back on track, even as it grapples with the same readiness challenges faced by other services. He also opined on why the Arctic matters more than ever, as well as the difference between the current heavy icebreaker and the coming polar security cutter.
The Coast Guard was hit hard during the government shutdown. What is the service doing to recover?
The shutdown was a shutdown. Obviously going 35 days without pay was tough on our members. Not having appropriations challenged us from a readiness standpoint. I think we have recovered.
Some of the things like boat maintenance periods, dry dock availabilities, we lost some calendar days on that. That's tough. But going forward, the Coast Guard's ready to do the nation's business.
What's the main message you try to convey to lawmakers on Capitol Hill regarding the last shutdown's impact on the Coast Guard?
I've been on the same message since I did my Hill visits before my confirmation hearing in April 2018. The Coast Guard's challenge is readiness. In a budgeting environment we've been flatlined for the good part of eight-plus years. The president rolled out a conversation about national security. It's fantastic and good for [the Department of Defense], they got a 12 percent [funding] bump in 2018.
Being in DHS, we weren't part of that conversation. We are a capital-intensive organization like the other armed forces, and we've got some bills. We've got some maintenance we've been kicking the can on, so since before I even assumed the duties of commandant I've been having this conversation about the readiness of the Coast Guard and testified recently about being at a readiness tipping point. We just need to enhance the understanding, the fact that it's a readiness conversation. We need to take ownership of it, and I need to convince folks that this is important for the nation.
Your predecessor hammered the need for icebreaker capacity. Where is the Coast Guard at regarding its next icebreaker?
Two weeks ago today, we award the contract to [VT Halter Marine] down in Mississippi to build the first polar security cutter. We used to talk about heavy icebreakers, now we talk about a polar security cutter. We just rolled out in April what we call the Arctic Strategic Outlook. It's a refresh on what was our Arctic strategic plan in 2013.
We talk about the Arctic through a different lens now. We talk about the Arctic as a competitive space. We've seen China, we see Russia investing extensively. China built icebreakers in the time since we updated our strategy. China's been operating off the Alaskan Arctic for a good part of the last six years on an annual basis. We're championing increased capabilities in the Arctic, we're championing better communications, better domain awareness, we're talking about innovation, we're talking about resiliency, we're talking about rule-based order. I want to see the Arctic remain a peaceful domain. China's a self-declared Arctic state. They're not one of the eight Arctic nations, so for me, for the service, its presence equals influence.
Right now, with one 43-year-old heavy icebreaker, Polar Star, that ship is basically a one-trick pony. It goes down to [McMurdo Station, the U.S. scientific outpost in Antarctica] every year and does the breakout, so the National Science Foundation can maintain their operations down there. The first polar security cutter, which probably hits the waterfront late 2023, 2024, is going to be almost a one for one. It's when we get to the second or third polar security cutter that we start to have some capacity. And again, presence equals influence. I'd like to see us in the Arctic, I'm not saying a fully annual basis, but on a lot more persistent presence up there. That's where we need to be as a nation.
What's the difference between today's heavy icebreaker and the future polar security cutter?
It's a designation change, it's the lexicon of adding “security” to the title. We thought it was more artful to capture the reflecting reality in how we talk about that ship. I think that narrative helped raise the bar in understanding.
3 février 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
India announced its new defense budget Tuesday that will see $13.84 billion go toward promoting self-reliance among local businesses and reducing the country's import dependency under its $22.26 billion fund for acquisitions of new weapons and military platforms.
12 mai 2024 | International, Terrestre
The Army tapped Thales Defense and Security and L3Harris Technologies to furnish combat net radios. Initial orders totaled tens of millions of dollars.
31 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial
January 29, 2020 UVision Air Ltd. - a global leader in the area of Loitering Munitions Systems of all sizes for a variety of missions‒ strengthens its presence in India and announces a joint venture with Aditya Precitech, an Indian company, for the manufacture and marketing of loitering munitions under the brand PALM (Precision Attack Loitering Munition) Hero Systems. These systems are already in service and combat-proven. AVision, the company formed under the joint venture agreement, addresses the needs of the Indian defense and paramilitary sectors. AVision will explore various opportunities in India for Loitering Munitions Systems with the intention of initiating a full range of activities including the design, manufacture, sales, maintenance, support, upgrading, and lifecycle management. The partners will also maintain a supply of spare parts for the warranty and post-warranty periods for current and future versions of the smart munitions systems. AVision will be responsible for and will provide the following: design, development manufacture and maintenance support for all PALM Hero series, marketing strategy development and implementation; facilities for the new company's operations; human resources and personnel; supply chain creation and implementation; platform integration; and, after-sale training and customer support services. Commenting on the Joint Venture, Shane Cohen, VP Sales & Marketing at UVision and AVision Board Member, said, “We are very pleased to have partnered with Aditya, a highly respected company with extensive experience as development partner for many of India's Defense Research and Development Organization's (DRDO) most important projects. Aditya has a skilled team able to produce a wide range of complex components, and is an ideal partner for our innovative, cost-effective loitering munitions systems designed for the battlefield of the future.” Regarding this partnership, Aditya's representative and Avision's CEO, Col. (ret.) Anil Yadav, remarked, “This Joint Venture is a major step forward enabling India to achieve significantly higher levels of self-sufficiency in the defense sector with the transfer of state-of-art cutting-edge technologies for the futuristic loitering munitions. We look forward to producing the full range of loitering munitions, which will be offered to India's military, paramilitary forces as an effective response to multiple threats with minimal collateral damage.” The PALM HERO Series and Simulation System will be showcased at the AVision booth Hall 1 R48 At Defexpo, we will also display the entire PALM HERO Series of Lethal Loitering Systems highlighting the high-precision PALM Hero-30 and the Long-Range PALM Hero-400EC as well as the recently launched PALM Hero-120 a modular, customizable loitering weapon system fitted for a variety of missions. The company will also demonstrate its advanced, user-friendly simulation system, allowing a hands-on experience for visitors. The PALM HERO Simulator is used for training forces on the HERO systems, thus avoiding the costs, risks and constraints inherent in live-fire missions. About UVision Air Ltd. UVision Air Ltd. designs and manufactures innovative, cost-effective, unmanned loitering munition systems for customers worldwide. With cutting-edge technology and 30 years of extensive field experience by a professional management team, UVision delivers highly unique aerodynamic platform configurations. The Hero series is comprised of advanced loitering munitions systems (Hero-20, Hero-30, Hero-70, Hero-120, Hero-250, Hero-400EC, Hero-900, Hero-1250), designed for different missions at various ranges using warheads of various types. The company's solutions are tailored for unique flight qualities, precision attack munitions, advanced airborne guidance and navigation systems, and C4 stations fully integrated with communication links. Extensive R&D has yielded a versatile series of loitering munitions systems that are suitable for tactical and strategic targets ‒ whether for short, medium or long ranges – and with a variety of warheads to ensure maximum mission effectiveness. With units deployed and field-proven by the Israel Defense Forces and other customers – including leading NATO countries – UVision is fully committed to providing its extensive network of partners and customers located around the world with high quality and fast-response support. About Aditya Precitech Aditya Precitech Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian MSME company which has been involved in almost all missile projects of the DRDO as a development partner to provide prototypes of critical subsystems and undertake serial production of the same. Over the years, Aditya has developed a core design and development team capable of independently developing components based on customer specifications in mechanical, electro-mechanical and electronic segments. Some of the innovative products from Aditya include Electro-Mechanical Actuators (Rotary as well as Linear), DC – DC convertors and Brushless DC Motors, apart from a whole range of fins, wings, control surfaces and motor casings for all types of missiles and rockets as well as some satellites. For more information on AVision, please visit www.avisionsystems.com Contact Details: Ms. Ronit Konfidan Marketing Communications Manager UVision Air Ltd. Email: ronit.k@uvisionuav.com Mobile: +972-52-3786665