14 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre
Last month, in an appearance before the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley provided a notably upbeat assessment of the state of his service.
“The Army is on the mend. I can report out to you today, after two and a half years as the chief of staff of the Army, we are in significantly better shape than we were just a short time ago. And that is through the generosity of this Congress and the American people,” he said.
Clearly, some of the credit for the Army's improved state of affairs is a result of the recently passed two-year budget, which provided a much-needed increase in resources. The Army has been able to grow its end strength, purchase needed munitions and spare parts, increase training activities, and recapitalize older and damaged equipment. More resources have also enabled the Army force to expand its presence in Europe, increase, albeit modestly, procurement of upgraded Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Strykers, and acquire the new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.
But much of the credit goes to the Army chief of staff himself. About a year and a half ago, I wrote a blog for the National Interest titled “Perhaps the Most Remarkable CSA in More than Half a Century.” It was Gen. Milley who made modernization the measure of success for his tenure as the Army chief of staff. This change in strategic direction came just in time, ahead of the reappearance of great power competition as the greatest threat to this nation's security.
Gen. Milley is not alone in his quest. In fact, it is a troika consisting of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, Under Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarty and the chief that is fashioning a new Army in record time and doing so while simultaneously transforming the Army's acquisition system. This is the proverbial case of changing the car's tires while speeding down the road.
The early signs are that the Army modernization is on the mend and the acquisition system is being changed. An important example of these improvements is the Army's Rapid Capabilities Office. Established by the secretary and the chief in August 2016, the RCO is tasked to expedite critical capabilities to the field to meet combatant commanders' needs using alternative contracting mechanisms to deliver technologies in real time to the war fighter.
One of the RCO's initial projects was to bring the Army back into the game with respect to electronic warfare. In 12 months, the RCO developed an initial integrated mounted and dismounted EW sensor capability that has been deployed with U.S. forces in Europe. A second phase of the project is underway that will add aerial sensors, additional ground-unit sets and improve functionality.
Another program that is proceeding rapidly is a vehicle-mounted, jam-resistant positioning, navigation and timing capability for GPS-challenged environments. Prospective solutions are currently undergoing testing.
The chief has directed the RCO to address several new areas. The RCO is working on a long-range cannon concept that may be able to double the range of 155mm howitzers, as well as optical augmentation technology to detect an adversary's anti-tank guided missile day/night sights and loitering munitions that can strike air-defense and artillery emplacements.
The Army has been moving rapidly to address many of its critical capability gaps. To meet the challenge posed by hostile aircraft and drones, the Army intends to deploy the first battery of the Maneuver Short Range Air Defense launcher on a Stryker armored vehicle by 2020, five years ahead of schedule. Additional sensors and weapons, including a tactical laser, could be integrated into the new turret by the early 2020s.
Tank-automotive and Armaments Command did a rapid assessment of active protection systems. The current plan is to equip at least four brigades of Abrams tanks with the Israeli Trophy system while testing continues on a number of solutions for other armored fighting vehicles.
The Army also has used other rapid procurement organizations within the Pentagon. One of these is the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, created in 2016 to push rapid innovation based on leveraging commercial companies. Recently, DIUx led a prototype contract involving upgrades for Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The first production items from it will soon be delivered to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
There are other examples of advances in cyberwarfare, soldier systems, networking and long-range precision fires. The central point is that Gen. Milley's vision of the Army's future is turning out to be right.
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/06/13/gen-milley-is-right-the-us-army-is-on-the-mend/
22 novembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial
En Allemagne, Boeing a actuellement plusieurs fers au feu. Ainsi, l'industriel américain est en lice pour fournir à la Bundeswehr au moins 40 hélicoptères de transport lourd [HTL] dans le cadre du programme Schwerer Transporthubschrauber [STH], lequel a été relancé en janvier après avoir été an
16 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Britain has pitched a range of strategic and industrial tie-ups to the Belgian government as part of a bid to secure a deal to supply Eurofighter Typhoon jets to replace the country's aging F-16 fleet. “The proposal includes 34 Typhoon aircraft, underpinned by the offer of a deep strategic, defence and industrial partnership between the Governments of Belgium and the U.K.,” the British Ministry of Defence said in a statement. Feb. 14 was the deadline date for the submission of best and final bids for the Belgian air combat capability program. A decision on the winning contractor is expected later this year with the fleet being delivered starting 2023. British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, in Brussels for a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting, said the jets offer Belgium a “formidable capability which forms the backbone of European air power, as well as a comprehensive long-term defense and industrial partnership with the U.K. A unique partnership with the RAF and integration with our world-leading support service mean Belgium's selection of the Typhoon would be a powerful demonstration of us working together to support security across the continent.” The British are leading the Typhoon bid on behalf of the Eurofighter nations in a formal competition with the Lockheed Martin F-35A to replace 54 F-16s. Germany, Italy and Spain are also part of the Eurofighter partnership. The U.S. State Department said last month it had approved a possible foreign military sale of 34 Lockheed Martin F-35 jets to the Belgians in a deal which could be worth up to $6.5 billion. Earlier this month the U.S. confirmed it had responded to the request for final offers. “The F-35 Joint Program Office invested considerable effort to craft an offer that enables our Belgian allies to acquire the F-35's unmatched capabilities well within the budget specified by the [Belgian] Strategic Vision for Defense 2030,” said the U.S. government. Speaking recently to an audience of alliance and industry partners, US Charge d'Affaires, , Matthew Lussenhop said a F-35 purchase would pay big dividends for Belgium. “Joining the F-35 program provides access to technology that support all of Belgium's essential security interests and opens the door to related projects with potential returns well in excess of the initial investment — just like the F-16 program has in the past,” he said. Lockheed Martin and engine maker Pratt & Whitney both have memoranda of agreement with a number of Belgian companies. It may not be a two-horse race though. The French government and Dassault are also somewhere in the mix. They declined to formally respond to requests for proposals, claiming they had more to offer than bid requirements which, they said, were too restrictive. Instead the French have been offering Belgium what has been described as a deep and structured economic and military partnership. Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier on Feb. 13 signed 13 cooperation agreements with Belgian companies as part of an offer of the Rafale in a proposed government-to-government deal. That signing is “part of the proposal of the Franco-Belgian strategic partnership concerning the jet fighter,” Dassault said in a statement. The French proposal of the Rafale falls outside the Belgian tender, as Paris seeks to build a broad bilateral relationship aimed mainly to counter an offer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.Those cooperation agreements bring to more than 30 contracts signed with Belgian partners for activities including service for the Rafale, training of aeronautical engineers and work on drone projects, the company said. Other areas include automating production lines, simulation, research on advanced material and predictive maintenance. Among the local partners were Sabca, Safran Aero Booster and Thales Belgium. The former is the Belgian unit of Dassault Aviation.Following an order, Dassault, Safran and Thales are committed to investing in Belgium at least €20 billion over 20 years, and supporting more than 5,000 high technology jobs, the aircraft builder said. Dozens more agreements with local partners would be signed as part of a campaign by French companies to invest in the Belgian economy, Trappier said. The status of the French bid is unclear at this point. The French decision was not the first left field move by expected bidders. Boeing pulled the F/A 18 E/F Super Hornet from the contest last April citing issues with the fairness of the bidding process. Not long after that Saab unexpectedly withdrew the Gripen E saying they could not meet Belgian operational support requirements without a change of Swedish Government foreign policy. For their part the British are, on the military front, offering to further strengthen co-operation between the two air force, integrate the Belgians into Royal Air Force support arrangements and form a training partnership which involves training and exercising together. The British are also offering to help establish a National Network Cyber Centre, a Cyber Innovation Centre and a Cyber Research Partnership, underpinned by a partnership between the two governments. U.K. Typhoon lead contractor BAE Systems and others, have been signing industrial co-operation deals with Belgian industry. As of Feb. 7 BAE said it had signed agreements with more than 20 Belgian companies to explore potential collaboration opportunities as part of a wide-ranging Eurofighter industrial proposal. Despite the efforts by the Europeans to entice the Belgians with attractive strategic and industrial offers Doug Barrie, the senior air analyst at the International Institute of Strategic Studies reckons the F-35 remains the aircraft to beat. “My money is on the F-35, particularly if the Belgians insist on retaining the ability to deploy B-61 freefall nuclear weapons to match the capability they have on the F-16,” said Barrie. “The F-35 is the only aircraft in the competition presently able to do that. Rafale is wired to deploy nuclear free fall weapons but they are French.” Pierre Tran in Paris contributed to this story. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/02/15/uk-submits-bid-for-belgium-fighter-competition-pitting-typhoon-against-f-35/
14 avril 2023 | International, Terrestre
For Rheinmetall, the total value of the order comes to ?129 million?if Norway exercises the option to procure additional Leopard 2 tanks, the order will be worth an additional ?44...