24 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre

Enjeux de l'exportation française d'armements

A l'occasion du Paris Air Forum, une table-ronde sur la question des exportations françaises a réuni Thierry Carlier, directeur du développement international à la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), Philippe Keryer, directeur général adjoint, Stratégie, Recherche et Technologie chez Thales, Alexandre Ziegler, directeur de l'international et des relations institutionnelles de Safran, et Cédric Perrin, vice-président de la commission des affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées du Sénat. Thierry Carlier souligne que l'exportation d'armements représente pour la France, qui est capable de fournir l'ensemble du spectre de matériel militaire, la manifestation d'une volonté politique et l'expression d'une politique étrangère. C'est aussi le moyen de garder les compétences et une industrie dans le pays : un point de vue partagé par Philippe Keryer, qui estime que l'exportation permet notamment de lisser les cadences et de rentabiliser l'innovation, tout en maintenant en France de l'emploi qualifié. Pour Alexandre Ziegler, il est indispensable de trouver des clients à l'étranger en l'absence de préférence européenne. Le sénateur Cédric Perrin insiste sur la nécessité de l'exportation pour garantir la pérennité de la BITD, indispensable à l'autonomie stratégique. Les intervenants se sont montrés optimistes sur le développement des programmes européens de défense : le lancement du SCAF ou de l'Eurodrone, notamment, permettront de mettre en place des règles communes, et de gagner en autonomie stratégique.

La Tribune du 24 novembre

Sur le même sujet

  • Airbus A330 delivery brings dedicated tanker capability to South Korean Air Force

    14 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

    Airbus A330 delivery brings dedicated tanker capability to South Korean Air Force

    By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia ― The first Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport for the Republic of Korea Air Force has landed in South Korea for its acceptance tests. According to a news release from the manufacturer, the aircraft, which was piloted by a joint Airbus and Air Force crew, arrived at Gimhae Air Base in Busan after a ferry flight from the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Getafe, Spain, with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. It will now undergo ground and flight tests in Gimhae. The Air Force will be supported by a team from Airbus, which will be based in South Korea for the duration of the tests and until the aircraft is officially handed over to the customer. Airbus did not specify how long the acceptance tests will last, and referred questions about the specifics of the test program to the Air Force. This aircraft is the first of four ordered by South Korea. Its arrival marks the second regional customer of the A330 MRTT to receive its first aircraft this year, with the first of Singapore's six aircraft having been delivered in August. Another customer, France, had also taken delivery of its first MRTT in October. The A330 MRTT marks the introduction of a dedicated tanker capability for South Korea's Air Force, and it will allow the service's fighters to increase their persistence during missions. The service is currently operating the Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle and the Lockheed Martin KF-16C/D Fighting Falcon as its primary combat aircraft. South Korea has also ordered the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, with the first one for the Air Force rolling out earlier this year. South Korea selected the A330 MRTT for its $1.26 billion KC-X program in 2015 after evaluating competing proposals from Boeing, with the KC-46 Pegasus, and Israel Aerospace Industries, who proposed converting 767 airliners in a tanker aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/11/13/airbus-a330-delivery-brings-dedicated-tanker-capability-to-south-korean-air-force

  • US Space Force to launch more integrated units to boost efficiency

    27 février 2024 | International, Aérospatial

    US Space Force to launch more integrated units to boost efficiency

    Lt. Gen. David Miller says the service is weeks away from announcing plans to expand the construct beyond its initial pilot phase.

  • Should the Air Force spend even more on missile warning satellites?

    18 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

    Should the Air Force spend even more on missile warning satellites?

    By: Nathan Strout Senate appropriators have a message for the Air Force: Make early warning missile satellites a priority. The Senate Appropriations Committee expressed concern over the Air Force's plan for funding the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system in a report on their annual defense spending bill. While the Pentagon requested $1.4 billion for the program in fiscal year 2020, the Senate spending committee noted that the request was $630 million short of what the program needs. With such a gap, senators questioned whether OPIR was a priority for the Air Force. OPIR is the next-generation early warning missile defense satellite system that will ultimately replace the Space Based Infrared System. The Pentagon has contracts with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to build three satellites in geosynchronous orbit and two covering the polar regions, respectively. In order to close the funding gap, the Air Force has made a number of reprogramming requests. But according to Senate appropriators, that's not a responsible path forward. “If the program is to have any chance of success, the department cannot continue to rely on reprogramming requests for its funding,” the committee's report read. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a far larger budget of $1.9 billion for OPIR. While that is still less than the program need, it represents an increase of $535.5 million. Those funds are in addition to reprogramming requests that could meet the more than $2 billion program need. Lockheed Martin representatives told reporters at the annual Air Force Association conference Sept. 17 that the requested increase in fiscal year 2020 funding doesn't represent a growth in costs for the program, but is the result of the rapid acquisition approach to the OPIR program. “This shouldn't be perceived as cost growth,”said Kay Sears, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager for military space. “But it is an accelerated schedule, so it comes with an accelerated budget.” “Next Gen is an absolutely critical capability. We've been asked to deliver that capability in a ‘go fast' environment by 2025 and we are planning to do that. That comes with a funding profile that is a little bit different than a traditional defense program,” she added. Part of that go fast approach, which Sears says results in higher up front costs, includes a payload competition between a Northrop Grumman/Ball team and a Raytheon team. “There's a lot of spending that can happen at all of those companies at the same time,” explained Sears. “That is what is driving the funding profile ― it's the payload development and the fact that (...) we have two payload developers and two capabilities that we're going to have to choose from in that critical mission area.” Senate appropriators noted in their report that OPIR is breaking ground for how to provide rapid prototypes for programs in the future and needs to be fully funded as an example. “The Committee believes the program will be an exemplar for rapid acquisition of space programs, whether the program succeeds or fails,” read the report. “Failure will have implications for Congress's willingness to fund future programs using the National Defense Authorization Act section 804 rapid prototyping and fielding authorities for similarly large, or even middle tier programs, for years to come.” OPIR has been a point of contention between the House and Senate as they work through the two annual defense bills. Earlier in the summer the House balked at the massive increase in what the Pentagon wanted for OPIR in fiscal year 2020. While the $1.4 billion Pentagon request is $630 million below what the program needs, it's $459 million above what the Pentagon projected it would need for the program in fiscal year 2020 in the previous years' budget. The House Armed Services Committee ultimately authorized just $1 billion for the program in their National Defense Authorization Act citing unexplained growth, prompting a letter from the White House arguing that a failure to fund the Pentagon's full budget request now would lead to delays and higher costs over time. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2019/09/17/should-the-air-force-spend-even-more-missile-warning-satellites/

Toutes les nouvelles