14 juillet 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Who is buying Israeli counter-drone systems in South Asia?
South Asia generally consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
11 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
French aviation rescue plan bets on defence helicopters, drones and tankers
The French government has pledged to buy new military heavy-lift helicopters and accelerate plans for naval drone, ISTAR and tanker aircraft programmes as part of a wider economic stimulus package, worth €15 billion ($17 billion), aimed at protecting the country's aviation industry from faltering under the strain of COVID-19.
Based on the PlanAero initative, a decision to specifically issue the defence industry with funding of €600 million means that eight H225M rotary platforms will be ordered, while orders for three A330 MRTT and one Beechcraft King Air 350 ALSR will be expedited. VSR700 rotary-wing UAS and Aliaca mini drone plans have also been brought forward.
The H225M order confirms that Paris will opt for it as a replacement for legacy French Air Force Puma helicopters while the new A330 MRTT arrangements will lead to retirement of the A340 being reset from 2028 to this year. A310s will similarly be taken out of service in 2021 – two years earlier than scheduled.
The ALSR is under contract with Thales and Sabena Technics with a host of additional French suppliers contributing to the programme, including Ecrin, Aquitaine Electronics, Arelis, Avantix, Elvia and Protoplane, although a 9 June announcement from the French Ministry of Armed Forces does not mention a delivery date for the aircraft.
PlanAero unmanned details include the addition of a second VSR700 demonstrator as part of the French Navy's SDAM programme but new commitments for the effort and the navy's SMDM mini drone programme stop short of exact order quantities.
SDAM has been contracted to Airbus and Naval Group who have designed the in-development VSR700 from the Cabri G2 light helicopter, while SurveyCopter supplies the Aliaca for SMDM.
'This additional SDAM demonstrator will enable the programme to further secure the next steps, and in particular the development of technologies and the refinement of specifications to meet the French Navy's operational requirements,' an Airbus spokesperson told Shephard.
The VSR700 is due to enter service in 2028 and boasts a 500-1,000kg MTOW capability. In November 2019, Airbus announced the platform had undergone tethered flight testing with future free flight trials anticipated.
A VSR700 demonstrator phase. to include ship-based flights off French Navy frigates, has been laid out as part of risk reduction activities that were originally due to be completed by 2021. Shipborne deployments from the future FTI medium frigate are a longer-term target.
Following on from France's aviation support plan, the European Commission warned on 10 June that budgetary pressures stemming from COVID-19 could impact member states, calling on them to 'spend better together'.
In a joint statement Josep Borrell, VP of the European Commission and Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said that common capabilities, critical technologies and infrastructure must be strengthened but they questioned if Europe had given itself 'the means to do so'.
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4 octobre 2022 | International, C4ISR, Autre défense
Artificial intelligence 'Bill of Rights' unveiled by White House
The document is intended as a call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital and civil rights in an AI-fueled world.
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15 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Greece looks to France for new arms amid spat with Turkey
Christina Mackenzie PARIS – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Sept. 12 that Athens would buy 18 Rafale combat aircraft from France, a combination of new and pre-owned planes. According to Greek media, six of the aircraft would be new and 12 would be second-hand from the French air force. French media put the ratio at 10 (Rafale F3Rs) and eight, respectively. Contacted by Defense News, manufacturer Dassault Aviation declined to confirm the figures, saying it was up to the client to communicate. The Rafales will replace Greek Mirage 2000s of the 332 Squadron “Gerakia.” Misotakis also said Greece would procure guided missiles for its air force. Given Greece's long history with Dassault – it purchased 40 Mirage F1s in 1974, 40 Mirage 2000s in 1985 and 15 Mirage 2000-5s in 2000 – this means Athens is likely to buy its guided missiles from MBDA as these older Dassault aircraft are armed with that company's missiles (Exocet, Scalp, Mica). The prime minister added that Athens would also purchase four Romeo naval helicopters from Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky, unspecified antitank weapons for the army, torpedoes for the navy. There is also a plan to refurbish four MEKO frigates and, over the next five to seven years, buy four new frigates. Speaking on the grounds of the Thessaloniki International Fair, Mitsotakis also said that over the next five years the Greek armed forces would be recruiting an additional 15,000 young men and women. The defense procurements come against a background of heightened tensions between Greece and Turkey. “Ankara is now adding to the provocations in the Aegean, the undermining of peace in the entire Mediterranean. It is threatening the eastern borders of Europe, and it is undermining security in a sensitive crossroads of three continents,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by ekathimerini.com, the website of Greek daily Kathimerini. A French defense ministry statement said negotiations over the next months should lead to a contract signature for the Rafales, possibly before the end of 2020. Greece is the first European client for the aircraft which, apart from the French air force, has been procured by Egypt (24) Qatar (24) and India (36). The other major procurement announced – four frigates – has France's Naval Group interested. France has been negotiating the sale of frigates to Greece for several years but given the length of time it would take for a ship to be delivered to the Hellenic Navy, Mitsotakis has opted to procure more immediately available aircraft first. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/14/greece-looks-to-france-for-new-arms-amid-spat-with-turkey/