Del Toro dubs robotics specialists next step in ‘truly hybrid’ fleet

Sur le même sujet

• 

  29 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Export constraints emerge as sticking point for future German-French combat aircraft: report

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — French-German plans for a joint fighter aircraft project may be off to a rocky start, as reports emerged last week about fundamental disagreements between the two partners over export restrictions for such a weapon. According to a report on the website of the German magazine Der Spiegel, French negotiators made unlimited exportability of the so-called “Future Combat Air System” a prerequisite for getting started on the project. The position is at odds with a more restrictive policy by Berlin, where arms deals to sensitive countries traditionally are more heavily scrutinized for the potential of human-rights abuses by the recipient government. The Spiegel based its report on a four-page confidential cable from Germany's ambassador in Paris, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, describing the outcome of a Sept. 21 “crisis meeting” in the French capital. So deep ran the diverging views at the gathering that Claire Landais, the French secretary-general for defense and national security, threatened to cancel further planning unless Germany would agree to French demands for unconstrained exports of the future combat aircraft, according to the Spiegel. Airbus CEO Tom Enders, whose company is involved in the planning alongside Dassault Aviation, criticized the reported German insistence on export caveats. “Berlin can't urge greater European cooperation in its Sunday speeches and then refuse it when concrete projects are taking shape,” he told the magazine. The idea behind the Future Combat Air System program is to create a sixth-generation aircraft that would eventually help wean European air forces from U.S.-made hardware. A development contract is eyed for the mid-2020s following years of concept studies. The future weapon is envisioned as a collection of aerial capabilities built around a new fighter aircraft. Supporting systems are eyed to include unmanned aircraft of various types plus a datalink architecture connecting all elements. German arms exports outside NATO and EU countries have come under renewed fire here since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by regime agents in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. The Saudi government initially denied knowing about the crime but was forced to acknowledge Khashoggi's death following weeks of international pressure. The reported French-German disagreement on the exportability of FCAS comes on the heels of an interview by Airbus Defence and Space chief Dirk Hoke in the French business journal La Tribune on Oct. 18. Hoke said Airbus would take leadership of the overall system package of FCAS while Dassault would spearhead the fighter aircraft — a position that has the potential to create additional friction in the project. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/28/export-constraints-emerge-as-sticking-point-for-future-german-french-combat-aircraft-report

• 

  21 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre

  Australia seeks industry input on infantry fighting vehicle project

  Jon Grevatt Key Points Australian DoD seeks industry advice on tender timeline for Land 400 Phase 3 procurement project Industry feedback intended to support better planning and to reduce the cost of tendering The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) is looking to engage with local industry on the schedule to issue a tender in support of a multi-billion dollar programme to procure close combat capability under Project Land 400 Phase 3. The DoD said on 20 June that it is inviting local companies to review and comment on the timeline for project through which it will replace the Australian Army's M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with up to 450 modern infantry fighting vehicles and 17 manoeuvre support vehicles. A draft request for tender (RFT) document for the programme has also been issued as part of the engagement. According to the DoD's 2016 Integrated Investment Program, which identifies defence investments in the decade to 2026, the Land 400 Phase 3 acquisition is worth between AUD10-AUD15 billion (USD7.4-USD11 billion). The DoD issued a request for information (RFI) for the project in November 2015, while government gave ‘first pass' or preliminary approval for the procurement in March 2018. Commenting on the decision to seek industry's advice on the tender schedule, Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said that it would lead to a better informed tender process and reduce the cost of tendering for local industry. “The proposed tender timeline identifies key milestones in the tender evaluation,” said Pyne. “We welcome industry's feedback on the timeline to better enable both industry and [the DoD] to plan for this significant boost to capability.” The DoD indicated that the move to seek industry advice on the Land 400 Phase 3 tender timeline was requested by local companies during the programme to acquire more than 200 combat reconnaissance vehicles under Land 400 Phase 2. http://www.janes.com/article/81187/australia-seeks-industry-input-on-infantry-fighting-vehicle-project

• 

  14 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

  France, Germany aim to unify their clashing weapons-export rules

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German Cabinet has approved a new, high-level pact with France that calls for a common approach to weapons exports in all joint programs. The objective is included in the so-called Aachener Vertrag, slated to be signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the German city of Aachen on Jan. 22. The document is meant to be a milestone agreement complementary of the Élysée Treaty, signed 56 years ago, further cementing ties on all levels between the former World War II foes. Berlin and France previously clashed over the question of export limitations for the Future Combat Air System, a sixth-generation warplane envisioned to take flight sometime around 2040, Germany's Der Spiegel reported last fall. France generally is open to exporting arms to many governments willing to pay for them. German leaders profess to take a more cautious approach when human rights concerns crop up, though the government has a history of making arms deals through the back door anyway. The different philosophies came to a head following the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Oct. 2, which some have alleged was orchestrated by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi ruling family has denied the allegations, buoyed by the Trump administration's decision to play down the matter. The allegations led Merkel to publicly call for halting weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, a move that drew a sharp rebuke from Paris, where officials fumed about what they perceived as German sanctimoniousness. France and Germany's diverging export policies are based on their respective “strategic cultures,” said Wolfgang Rudischhauser, vice president of the Federal Academy for Security Policy in Berlin. Germany considers itself a “peace power,” whereas France models its policies on the premise of an “intervention army,” he said. Asked whether the section on harmonizing export policies in the Aachener Vertrag was aimed at least in part at the future combat aircraft program, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry pointed out that no projects were explicitly mentioned in the draft treaty text. That program, together with a future main battle tank and a future combat drone, forms the backbone of Franco-German defense ambitions, with tens of billions of dollars at stake. With a concrete objective toward harmonizing arms-export rules now on the books between Paris and Berlin, Rudischhauser argued that a European Union-wide regime would be needed in the end. “That would require ceding certain authorities to the EU, for which neither Germany nor France have shown an appetite,” he told Defense News. To oversee the the new treaty's defense provisions, the pact establishes a bilateral defense and security council, which would “convene regularly at the highest level.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/01/11/france-germany-aim-to-unify-their-clashing-weapons-export-rules