25 avril 2024 | International, Terrestre
27 novembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial
France and Spain are also slated to send aircraft for training visits, putting a "European face" on the summer deployment, the German air force chief said.
26 juin 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Danica Kirka, The Associated Press LONDON — Aviation giant Airbus is threatening to leave Britain if the country exits the European Union without an agreement on trade relations, underscoring the concerns of business leaders who say the government is moving too slowly. Airbus, which employs about 14,000 people at 25 sites in the U.K., said it needs to know by the end of the summer what rules will govern its operations, or the company will “reconsider its long-term footprint in the country.” Airbus also says a proposed transition deal that runs through December 2020 is too short for the company to reorganize its supply chain. “While Airbus understands that the political process must go on, as a responsible business we require immediate details on the pragmatic steps that should be taken to operate competitively,” Tom Williams, CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, said in a statement. “This is a dawning reality for Airbus. Put simply, a no-deal scenario directly threatens Airbus' future in the U.K.” While many business leaders have demanded clarity about the future with Britain set to leave the EU in nine months, Airbus' sheer size and role in the economy make it an influential voice in the Brexit debate. Airbus is the U.K.'s largest commercial aerospace company, a leading provider of military satellite communications and the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the Royal Air Force. It also has a significant impact on other companies, funneling an estimated £5 billion (U.S. $6.6 billion) to 4,000 U.K. suppliers, including big names like Rolls-Royce, as well as many smaller businesses. Darren Jones, the member of Parliament for the community where Airbus makes wings, attacked the government for listening to those who want the most hard-line form of Brexit and “not to the businesses that employ thousands of British workers, including Airbus.” “Thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs are now on the line because of the shambolic mess the government have created over the Brexit negotiations,” he said. Airbus, the biggest rival to U.S.-based aircraft-maker Boeing, has been a prime example of how European cooperation could lead to success in business. The German, French and Spanish governments own 26.4 percent of Airbus, which was created through the merger of German, French and Spanish aerospace companies. Prime Minister Theresa May's government reacted quickly to the Airbus statement, saying it was confident of getting a good deal and “we do not expect a no-deal scenario to arise.” But Williams said Airbus is frustrated after it tried to discuss its concerns with the government for 12 months and made little progress. “We've got to get clarity,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “We've got to be able to protect our employees, our customers and our shareholders, and we can't do that in the current situation.” The comments came as Airbus published an assessment of the risks Brexit poses to the company. The report shows that Airbus, like many modern companies, is particularly vulnerable to Brexit because of its international supply chain. Plants in several countries make specialized components, which are shipped back and forth across international borders as aircraft are assembled. Britain's membership in the EU makes this easy because goods move freely between the 28 member states, with no tariffs or other trade barriers. That will change after Brexit because Britain will not be a member of the EU's single market and customs union. While the U.K. government says it wants trade to be as frictionless as possible after Brexit, manufacturers are running out of time to plan for the future. Airbus said it is facing a variety of decisions, including whether to invest in future manufacturing capacity, the need to build up stocks of components in the event of border delays and how to ensure parts are certified by aircraft regulators in the future. Delays caused by a no-deal scenario could cost Airbus as much as €1 billion euros (U.S. $1.2 billion) of revenue a week, according to the risk assessment. “This scenario would force Airbus to reconsider its investments in the U.K., and its long-term footprint in the country, severely undermining U.K. efforts to keep a competitive and innovative aerospace industry, developing high-value jobs and competences,” Williams said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/06/22/airbus-threatens-to-leave-britain-over-brexit-trade-relations/
4 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
RAF Typhoons are to be equipped with next generation radar thanks to a £317 million investment, Defence Minister Jeremy Quin today announced. The new contract will secure over 600 jobs and make sure the UK remains at the forefront of radar technology development. The RAF is also one step closer in bringing its ORCUS technology into force, which can jam radio signals from drones and has already been successfully deployed during drone sightings at airports. Confirming the news at the Defence Procurement, Research, Technology & Exportability (DPRTE) 2020 event, the Minister, said: It is vital that our Armed Forces are equipped with the latest technology to counter emerging threats from our adversaries. Today we announce the investment in the latest in radar technology for our fighter jets and pioneering new defence systems to counter threats from drones. This demonstrates our commitment to maintaining security in the air whilst supporting highly-skilled jobs across the UK. Typhoon radar The new Typhoon radar investment will ensure the aircraft are equipped with world-class technology. Crown copyright. Typhoon aircraft will be equipped with next-generation radar thanks to £317 million investment that will allow it to locate, identify and suppress enemy air defences using high-powered jamming. The integration of the new European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2, which is based on Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology, will provide a capability edge in the increasingly contested battlespace. Currently fitted with mechanically-scanning radar, the Typhoon is designed to be continuously upgraded to meet operational demand no matter the challenge or threat. The ECRS Mk2 will allow the aircraft to simultaneously detect, identify and track multiple targets in the air and on the ground in the most challenging environments. Planned to be in service by the mid-2020s, the radar development programme will sustain hundreds of highly skilled jobs, including more than 300 at Leonardo's Edinburgh site and 100 at their Luton site; 120 at BAE Systems' site in Lancashire and 100 at their site in Dunfermline, Fife; and 50 at sub-contractor Meggitt in Stevenage. Counter-drone technology ORCUS counter-drone technology is part of the RAF's SYNERGIA research and development programme. Crown copyright. The Royal Air Force's SYNERGIA counter-drone research and development programme has reached a significant milestone with the ORCUS counter-drone capability achieving initial operating capability (IOC). IOC was achieved after ORCUS completed successful testing of a full range of integrated detect, track, ID, and defeat technologies. Vital to protecting UK air bases from hostile drone activity, ORCUS will enable the RAF to evaluate a range of capabilities including advanced radar, electro-optic and radio frequency sensors, plus an electronic attack countermeasure. The device looks similar to a camera module placed on top of a tripod, allowing for unparalleled versatility in operations. The technology is part of the RAF's Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) research and development programme with Leonardo to establish the most effective way to detect, track, identify and defeat hostile drones. Elements of Leonardo's C-UAS equipment played a supporting role in RAF Force Protection in 2018 and 2019, following drone sightings at Gatwick and Heathrow airports, allowing airport operations to resume. The current phase of the programme, which started in 2019, supports more than 50 highly skilled jobs with over 20 at Leonardo, with the primary integration work undertaken at its Basildon and Southampton sites and real-time testing taking place at several MOD locations within the UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/counter-drone-tech-and-state-of-the-art-radar-for-the-raf