10 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Pierre Tran
PARIS — British and French defense ministers will meet twice a year rather than just once, reflecting a deepening of bilateral relations despite Britain's impending exit from the European Union, said French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly.
“We have with the United Kingdom very close and deep relations in defense,” she told Defense News at a Sept. 6 event with AJPAE, an aeronautics and space journalists association. “That was formalized with the Lancaster House Treaty and will not be be called into question by the decision that the United Kingdom has taken to leave the European Union.
“In defense, there is a shared determination to pursue and deepen this relationship.”
The more frequent ministerial meetings reflected that intent. “This cooperation is precious and necessary for the security of the European continent,” she added.
Britain has put at French disposal the much-needed Chinook heavy transport helicopter in the Sahel theater, reflecting a close operational cooperation and shared experience in overseas deployment, she noted.
Britain has asked for what started as a technology demonstrator for a combat UAV to refocus toward a study of “technology areas,” she said. That left the door open for the technology to be applied for large programs, such as the Franco-German Future Combat Air System, she added.
“The story is not yet written,” she said. “Perhaps in the next few years the British could be by our side on the FCAS project. But maybe I am just dreaming. We're not there yet.”
The January meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May, and their governments, also reflected close ties, particularly for the defense ministries, she said. That cross-channel summit closed without a pledge to build the demonstrator for a combat drone, disappointing French industry.
France is the lead nation on the FCAS project, which aims to field a future fighter jet flying in a system of systems, linking up drones, tankers, future cruise missiles and swarms of drones.
The departure of Britain from the EU, known as Brexit, is due to take place in March.
31 mai 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
U.S. President Joe Biden’s first budget request for the Department of Defense slashes procurement by $8 billion, whacking scores of legacy weapons and systems as a way to deliver a $5.5 billion boost for the development and testing of cutting-edge technologies that could deter China.
13 mai 2024 | International, C4ISR
Two Air Force fighter jets recently squared off in a dogfight in California. One was flown by a pilot — the other wasn’t.
11 octobre 2018 | International, Naval
By: Tom Kington ROME – Italian firms Leonardo and Fincantieri have announced tighter cooperation on naval systems work to help them build better ships and get ready for an expected Italo-French team-up in warship construction. The two firms said they would relaunch Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, an existing joint venture between them, to develop naval combat systems. Leonardo, which holds 49 percent of the joint venture, has long supplied radars, guns and systems to ships built by shipyard Fincantieri, which holds a majority 51 percent stake. OSN was created in 2002 to integrate the work of the two firms on Italy's Horizon frigates, Cavour carrier and FREMM frigates, but was not used for the more recent construction of Italy's new PPA frigates. In its new form, OSN will “assume responsibility for the development of the combat systems and the definition of subsystem requirements and individual components' architecture, including the Combat Management System (CMS),” in new vessels, the firms said in a statement. “Fincantieri will act as prime contractor, the single interface to customers and hold responsibility for the warship as a whole (Whole Warship Design Authority), therefore in charge, on behalf of OSN, of the architecture of the ship system concerning both the platform and the combat system. Leonardo will be the preferred partner for the Combat Management System and the equipment and systems of the ship,” the statement reads. An Italian industrial source said the deal was designed to make systems integration more central to shipbuilding by the two firms. “Until now a lot of work on integration took place during the ship building process. Now, integration should happen earlier in the process,” the source said. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/10/italian-shipbuilders-tout-systems-engineering-chops-ahead-of-french-merger-talks