29 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Christina Mackenzie
PARIS – France has decided that by 2025 it will invest another €700 million ($780 million), in addition to the €3.6 billion ($4 billion) already earmarked, to boost its space capabilities, strengthening its means of surveillance and acquiring the means to self-defend in space.
“If our satellites are threatened, we will blind those of our adversaries. We reserve the right to choose the time and means of the riposte: it could imply using powerful lasers deployed from our satellites or from patroller nano-satellites,” explained Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly on July 25.
The announcement comes on the heels of the one made by President Emmanuel Macron on July 13 that a Space Command would be created on Sept. 1 in Toulouse, south-west France. Initially staffed by 220 people, it will be subordinated to the Air Force whose name will change to become the Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace).
“Eventually, this command will be responsible for all our space operations, under the orders of the chief of staff of the armed forces,” Parly said at the Air Defense and Air Operations Command (CDAOA) on Airbase 942 in Lyon-Mont Verdun.
She explained that “today our allies and our military adversaries are militarizing space. [...] We must act. We must be ready.” To this end she announced a new weapons program called “Mastering Space” with two major components: surveillance and active defense.
France is one of the few countries to have its own space surveillance system thanks to the Graves and Satam radars and the telescopes deployed by the Ariane Group and the CNRS (the state-funded scientific research center). “The successor of Graves must be able to detect satellites 1,500 kilometers away that are no bigger than a shoe-box,” she declared.
Actions would be taken to protect satellites, such as adding surveillance cameras to the Syracuse communications satellites and procuring patroller nano-satellites from 2023, according to the defense minister.
Officials stress that this new strategy falls entirely within international legal framworks, which guarantee freedom of exploration and use of space as well as the principle of self-defense. However, France's own National Space Law will have to be adapted within an inter-ministerial framework in order to take account of the specifics of military space.
3 août 2021 | International, Aérospatial
The German air force recently completed flight tests for its newest air-to-air missile, the Meteor, and have deemed the weapon ready for use aboard the nation’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.
15 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By Allen Cone July 11 (UPI) -- Raytheon was awarded a $17.8 million contract to deliver 114 computers to launch the U.S. Navy's high-speed anti-radiation missiles. The contract for the system, known as HARM, will include two pre-production units, one first article test unit and 111 production units in support of the Navy, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. Work will be performed at Raytheon's plant in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed in October 2021. Naval working capital, and fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the full amount will be obligated at time of award, $6.2 million of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The CP-1001B/C HARM Command Launch Computer is an electronics subsystem installed on the airframe to interface with the AGM-88 A/B/C HARM Missile. "Continued hardware and software upgrades have allowed HARM to counter advanced radar threats. HARM has proven itself in both reliability and combat performance," Raytheon said on its website. HARM's primary mission is designed to suppress or destroy an enemy's surface-to-air missile radar and radar-directed air defense artillery systems. When it is airborne, the 800-pound missile can operate in preemptive, missile-as-sensor and self-protect modes. The AGM-88 HARM is a joint U.S. Navy and Air Force program developed by the Navy and Raytheon. The system is employed on a variety of Navy, Air Force and Marine Corpsaircraft, including the EA-6B, F-16 and F/A-18. In addition, the HARM is available to nations through foreign military sales. The AGM-88 HARM was first involved in combat against Libyan targets in the Gulf of Sidra in 1986. During Operation Desert Storm, U.S. aircraft fired 1,961 missiles against Iraqi targets. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/07/11/Raytheon-awarded-178M-for-computers-to-launch-Navys-anti-radiation-missiles/9561562846921/
6 janvier 2024 | International, Terrestre
The agreement also included a purchase option up to 70 vehicles of which the Finnish Defence Forces now redeems 40 vehicles.