24 septembre 2020 | International, Terrestre

French forces to get new batch of Jaguar, Griffon armored vehicles

PARIS – The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has announced a firm order for a second tranche of the Jaguar and Griffon armored vehicles that lie at the core of its ambitious Scorpion program to reconfigure how its army wages war.

This second tranche is for 42 Jaguar combat and reconnaissance armored vehicles and 271 Griffon multirole armored vehicles. The first tranche, ordered in 2017, was for 319 Griffons and 20 Jaguars.

So far the Army has received 105 Griffons and earlier this month took two of them to Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. Forces there are testing them in hot, desert conditions before the first vehicles are deployed to Mali next year in support of France's Barkhane anti-terrorist operation.

The first four Jaguars are scheduled for delivery to the army before the end of this year.

The Griffon and Jaguar are both manufactured by a conglomerate of three major French defense industries: Nexter, Arquus and Thales.

The latest delivery of 13 Griffons was to the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment which received them in July. The regiment's Scorpion officer, described in an army video only as “Major Laurent” in keeping with French security protocol for lower-ranking officers, praised the vehicle for its speed, precise firing system and armor. “So far, we have trained 16 pilots and eight instructors. They will then be responsible within the Regiment for training our pilots and our gunners,” the officer said.

Other regiments that have already received the Griffon are the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment, the 13th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins and the 1st Infantry Regiment.

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According to Col. Tugdual Barbarin, commander of the 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (RPIMA), his formation will not be equipped with the Griffon as planned but, instead, will be getting the Serval, the third of the new vehicles being developed in the Scorpion program. This decision, he said, was made by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard earlier this month.

France's 2019-2025 military program law has imposed an acceleration in deliveries of the Scorpion vehicles, establishing that 50 percent of the 1,872 Griffons and 300 Jaguars which the Ministry of the Armed Forces expects to order in total must be delivered by 2025. That means the army will have 936 Griffons and 150 Jaguars by the end of 2024.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/23/french-forces-to-get-new-batch-of-jaguar-griffon-armored-vehicles/

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18 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial

Greece Approves $14B 5Yr Modernization Plan, to Receive Rafales in Mid-2021
Greek lawmakers have approved a $14 billion five-year military modernization plan including purchase of Rafale jets, first of which it would receive around mid-2021. Athens is expected to sign the $3.04 billion deal for Rafale jets with French manufacturer Dassault Aviation later this month. It would cover delivery of 12 jets previously used by the French Air Force and 6 new ones. A dozen of the ordered fighters for the Hellenic Air Force would reportedly be upgraded to the latest F3R standard featuring Talios (TArgeting Long-range Identification Optronic System) new-generation laser designator pod. First of the ordered jets would arrive in the country in the first half of this year while the remaining will be delivered over the next two years. In September, a team from French MBDA reportedly went to Greece to discuss the supply of missiles and other munitions for the Rafales. The fighter can be armed with state-of-the-art missiles such as Meteor, Mica NG and SCALP. The introduction of the fully equipped Rafale would help the Greek air force to confront Turkey's air and naval force that is protecting its hydrocarbon prospecting vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean. Under its modernization plan, Greece wants to buy new helicopters, drones, frigates and upgrade its existing F-16 fighters. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28779#.YAXP--hKiUk
13 août 2024 | International, Aérospatial

Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics to build their own rocket motors
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with peer General Dynamics to build solid rocket motors, which propel missiles, amid surging demand driven by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Efforts to replenish U.S. inventory are also driving the global demand for missiles and a shortage of rocket motors could pressure production. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/lockheed-martin-general-dynamics-announce-pact-build-rocket-motors-2024-08-13/
19 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

Russian drones can jam cellphones 60 miles away
By: Kelsey D. Atherton Russia's Defense Ministry announced Nov. 6 that the nation had extended the range on its drone-carried jammers to 100 km, or over 60 miles. Drones as a platform for, and not just the target of, electronic warfare means that the sight of a flying robot overhead could signal incoming strikes as well as a sudden inability to call for help. “Russia has been using a UAV-mounted cellphone jammer for a number of years now,” said Samuel Bendett, a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. The drones operate in a two- or three-vehicle pod with a ground station, collectively grouped as a “Leer-3” system. “When these UAVs fly in teams, one acts as a signal-and-comms relay while another acts as a jammer,” Bendett said. “These Leer-3 systems have been around for about two years at this point.” What is changed is the range of the jammer. The Orlan-10 drones already have a range of 75 miles, which means that, with the latest update on the jammer, the drone pod can interfere with signals up to 135 miles away from where the drone was launched. TASS reports that the 60-mile range is a 3.5 times increase in distance from the initial range. In addition, Bendett said there's a chance this capability, or an earlier version of it, has already been witnessed in conflict. “Ukrainian forces claim to spot Leer-3 systems in eastern Ukraine, while there is potential evidence that Leer-3 was used in Syria as well,” Bendett said. “Russian forces are constantly training with Leer-3 UAVs as they practice adversary signal and cell comms suppression, identification and eventual destruction of the enemy force. In fact, this kind of training is part of the official [tactics, techniques and procedures] in electronic warfare and other forces across the Russian military.” Advancements in electronic warfare are one of the key components guiding the development of autonomous systems for the military. For now, drones are conducting electronic warfare against cellular communications, but it's not hard to imagine the same doctrines applied with new technology. In that scenario, it easy to picture other vehicles transforming into jamming machines on future battlefields ... and maybe even present ones. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/unmanned-systems/2018/11/16/russian-drones-can-jam-cell-phones-60-miles-away

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