17 mai 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
La ministre des Armées, Florence Parly, accorde une interview à La Tribune. Elle aborde notamment le programme SCAF, soulignant : « les négociations qui sont aujourd'hui en phase finale concernent la réalisation de travaux qui se dérouleront sur la période 2021-2027 et qui visent à mettre en vol un démonstrateur commun à cet horizon. C'est un jalon majeur pour assurer une entrée en service d'un nouvel avion opérationnel en 2040 ». Au sujet du Rafale, la ministre se félicite du choix récent de l'avion de combat de Dassault Aviation par la Grèce et l'Egypte, rappelant que « d'autres compétitions sont encore en cours ». Ces contrats représentent « une bonne nouvelle en termes de visibilité pour la continuité de la chaîne industrielle de Dassault Aviation, Safran et Thales et les plus de 500 sous-traitants, PME et ETI, de l'écosystème Rafale. Nous pouvons placer nos commandes nationales dans un échéancier cohérent au plan opérationnel et par rapport à ce que nous avions budgété ». En matière d'exportations, « l'année 2021 sera exceptionnelle, elle l'est déjà avec 48 Rafale exportés. La dynamique est bonne », souligne la ministre. Florence Parly se félicite par ailleurs de l'attention croissante portée à la souveraineté européenne en matière de défense : l'Europe « commence à s'interroger sur la prise de participation et le rachat de groupes européens par les groupes chinois notamment », estime-t-elle.
La Tribune du 14 mai
14 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial
DARPA believes nuclear-powered propulsion could enable rapid maneuver in space — a capability that is difficult to achieve with current electric and chemical propulsion systems.
27 novembre 2023 | International, Sécurité
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană addressed the Responsible Innovation Defence and Security Conference in Brussels on 27 November 2023 and thanked Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg for organising the event, together with the NATO Emerging Security Challenges Division. He said that new technologies can transform our lives for the better in countless ways, but like any new technology, they bring risks, including to our security. Mr Geoană said that it is vital to develop these technologies responsibly and respecting our values - freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
12 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Plans for a Senate-crafted version of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a new military fund to boost deterrence against China in the Pacific, is one step closer to becoming law. The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved nearly $6 billion for the fund in its version of the annual defense policy bill, the panel announced Thursday. It authorizes $1.4 billion in fiscal 2021, which would be $188.6 million above the administration's budget request, and $5.5 billion for fiscal 2022. The bill also directs the defense secretary to create a spending plan for all of the funds. “The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but, after years of underfunding, America's ability to do so is at risk,” the committee's summary stated. “The FY21 [National Defense Authorization Act] establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific. “PDI will enhance budgetary transparency and oversight, focus resources on key military capability gaps, reassure U.S. allies and partners, and bolster the credibility of American deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.” Though not all details of the fund were immediately made public, SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., previously said they would sponsor a measure to enable U.S. military operations in the region, beyond supporting new weapons platforms. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said China is his department's top adversary, but said Congress has worked to sharpen the Pentagon's spending and focus in the region. The PDI would follow the form of the multiyear European Deterrence Initiative, which has consumed $22 billion since its inception after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Congress will have to internally negotiate the final dollar amount for PDI and what those funds would buy, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have expressed support for the idea. Though the Senate's approach differs, Thornberry has also proposed spending $6 billion―all in FY21―on priorities that include air and missile defense systems as well as new military construction in partner countries; Smith hasn't released his own plan. Once approved by the full Senate, its version of the NDAA would be reconciled with the House's version, which the HASC is expected to make public late this month before it goes through markup July 1 and advances to the House floor. With an eye on China beyond the PDI, the SASC bill also encourages the Air Force to establish an operating location in the Indo-Pacific region for F-35A fighter jets and to allocate “sufficient resources and prioritize the protection of air bases that might be under attack from current or emerging cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic missiles, specifically from China." There are also a number of provisions aimed at safeguarding America's technology and industrial base from Chinese intellectual property theft and “economic aggression,” according to the summary. The bill would also require reports from the Pentagon on how to mitigate the risks from vendors like Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE when basing U.S. troops overseas. The SASC summary said its proposed PDI would: Increase lethality of the joint force in the Pacific, including by improving active and passive defense against theater cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles for bases, operating locations and other critical infrastructure. Enhance the design and posture of the joint force in the Indo-Pacific region by transitioning from large, centralized and unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient and adaptive basing; increasing the number of capabilities of expeditionary airfields and ports; enhancing pre-positioning of forward stocks of fuel, munitions, equipment and materiel; and improving distributed logistics and maintenance capabilities in the region to ensure the sustainment of logistics under persistent multidomain attack. Strengthen alliances and partnerships to increase capabilities, improve interoperability and information sharing, and support information operations capabilities with a focus on countering malign influence. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/11/senate-panel-oks-6-billion-military-fund-to-confront-china/