Drones, jammers in Ukraine signal new era of warfare, Del Toro says

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  24 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Airbus keen to play key role in ‘European answer’ to new NATO rotorcraft program

  BY OLIVER JOHNSON | NOVEMBER 23, 2020 Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even says the OEM “should play a key role” in a recently-announced program to develop Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capabilities signed by five NATO member countries. France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom announced the launch of the program on Nov. 19. One of NATO's “high visibility projects,” it seeks to develop a replacement for medium multirole helicopters currently in operation that are expected to reach the end of their lifecycle around 2035 to 2040. “I'm convinced that there should be a European answer,” Even told journalists during a recent conference call. “I'm convinced that we have the competencies, the capability in Europe, to answer to the requirement and the need of our European customers.” The program echoes the origin of the NHIndustries NH90, which was developed collaboratively by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters, and Fokker Aerostructures in response to a NATO requirement for a medium multi-role helicopter. “We like to come at open level, which means that as we did with NH90, Airbus Helicopters should play a key role, but should also be ready to partner, and to cooperate for such a future European program,” said Even. “I think it's fair to consider that there should be a European answer, not only because we have the competence and the capability . . . but it's also a question of [the] strategic autonomy of Europe.” Over 420 NH90s have been delivered to 18 customers in 13 countries — including France, Germany, Greece and Italy. However, Even said he did not see the newly-announced program necessarily providing a replacement to the NH90 itself. “The need could be also to complement some of the [customer fleets'] existing capability — the NH90, Tiger and so on — which will continue to fly through 2040/2050,” he said. “The need could be to complement these platforms/programs with a new type of architecture in order to bring a new capability, either in terms of autonomy, connectivity, speed, [or] range.” Experts from the five participant nations are to meet to define a statements of requirements and a multi-phase cooperation plan, beginning a multi-year program of work. “I think it's good to see that reflection not only for short- or medium-, but also for long-term requirements,” said Even. “As an industry, you need this long-term view on the evolution of the requirement in order to have time not only to mature technologies, but also to mature [the] architecture, and to be in position to launch the program when the need will be there.” https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-keen-to-play-key-role-in-european-answer-to-new-nato-rotorcraft-program/

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  19 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Russian drones can jam cellphones 60 miles away

  By: Kelsey D. Atherton Russia's Defense Ministry announced Nov. 6 that the nation had extended the range on its drone-carried jammers to 100 km, or over 60 miles. Drones as a platform for, and not just the target of, electronic warfare means that the sight of a flying robot overhead could signal incoming strikes as well as a sudden inability to call for help. “Russia has been using a UAV-mounted cellphone jammer for a number of years now,” said Samuel Bendett, a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. The drones operate in a two- or three-vehicle pod with a ground station, collectively grouped as a “Leer-3” system. “When these UAVs fly in teams, one acts as a signal-and-comms relay while another acts as a jammer,” Bendett said. “These Leer-3 systems have been around for about two years at this point.” What is changed is the range of the jammer. The Orlan-10 drones already have a range of 75 miles, which means that, with the latest update on the jammer, the drone pod can interfere with signals up to 135 miles away from where the drone was launched. TASS reports that the 60-mile range is a 3.5 times increase in distance from the initial range. In addition, Bendett said there's a chance this capability, or an earlier version of it, has already been witnessed in conflict. “Ukrainian forces claim to spot Leer-3 systems in eastern Ukraine, while there is potential evidence that Leer-3 was used in Syria as well,” Bendett said. “Russian forces are constantly training with Leer-3 UAVs as they practice adversary signal and cell comms suppression, identification and eventual destruction of the enemy force. In fact, this kind of training is part of the official [tactics, techniques and procedures] in electronic warfare and other forces across the Russian military.” Advancements in electronic warfare are one of the key components guiding the development of autonomous systems for the military. For now, drones are conducting electronic warfare against cellular communications, but it's not hard to imagine the same doctrines applied with new technology. In that scenario, it easy to picture other vehicles transforming into jamming machines on future battlefields ... and maybe even present ones. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/unmanned-systems/2018/11/16/russian-drones-can-jam-cell-phones-60-miles-away

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  24 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Two French defense heavyweights scoop up Dolphin chip designer

  By: Pierre Tran PARIS — European missile company MBDA and microchip maker Soitec said Aug. 21 they are acquiring Dolphin Integration, a design firm for low-power chips which has fallen into receivership. The two companies will buy through a joint venture the chip maker, which filed for insolvency July 24. Dolphin Integration has designed chips which are “indispensable” for certain highly classified sectors, including the French nuclear deterrent, a defense source said. MBDA will acquire 40 percent, while Soitec will own 60 percent. MBDA and Soitec will pay a total of some €6 million (U.S. $7 million) to acquire most assets of Dolphin Integration, pay some of the liabilities and inject a significant amount of cash to meet working capital requirements, the companies said. Further details of how the acquisition amount will be shared were not immediately available. All the business and staff will be kept on, but the sale price will not cover all amounts owed to creditors, Dolphin Integration said in an Aug. 21 statement. MBDA is a strategic customer of Dolphin Integration for defense applications since 2004, the missile company said. The acquisition will strengthen its industrial collaboration and long-term commercial pipeline for application specific integrated circuit and system-on-chip products, the company added. “With the support of MBDA, Dolphin Integration will be able to advance its positions in aerospace and defense design,” the missile company said. Other key clients include Airbus Defence & Space, Safran and Thales, besides MBDA, the defense source said. Soitec specializes in chips drawing on fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology, running on low power and at high speed. The acquisition can be seen as an “offensive” move by securing a market upstream for FD-SOI, while MBDA takes a "defensive " step by protecting a strategic supplier, the defense source said. Soitec played an active role in an industry group which lobbied the Elysée president's office to support a European Project of Common Interest, the source said. Such projects are backed by the European Commission for cross-border work on infrastructure and energy. Soitec will seek to strengthen Dolphin Integration in the semiconductor market, to develop and promote products and services in strategic sectors such as mobile devices and infrastructure, data centers, and space and industrial applications, the chip specialist said. Dolphin Integration had annual sales of €17 million for the year to March 31, 2018 and employs 155 staff, of which 130 are design engineers. The company is based in Grenoble. MBDA's interest in semiconductors has sharpened since the U.S. blocked the sale of American chips for the Scalp cruise missile sought by Egypt to arm its fleet of Rafale fighter jets. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/08/23/two-french-defense-heavyweights-scoop-up-dophin-chip-maker