10 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial

German spat over Airbus could spoil fighter fest at Paris Air Show

COLOGNE, Germany — A lingering dispute between German lawmakers and Airbus could nix immediate plans to move forward with a future Franco-German-Spanish fighter aircraft, Defense News has learned.

The kerfuffle goes back to a February request for information by members of the Bundestag's Budget Committee. Citing the government's role as a major shareholder in the company, lawmakers called on the administration to provide in-depth information about Airbus locations, programs and management equities throughout Europe.

Airbus is one of two prime contractors for the Future Combat Air System, an ambitious project to field a sixth-generation fighter aircraft by 2040. The envisioned weapon also includes new sensors, drones and a complex data infrastructure, making it Europe's preeminent industrial project for decades to come.

Lawmakers in Berlin are worried that German defense-industry interests, presumably channeled through Airbus, could get the short shrift once substantial contracts are up for grabs amid French competition, led by Dassault.

The Budget Committee reiterated its request for the company deep dive on June 5, when members approved the initial batch of funds for the FCAS program: $37 million for a study on propulsion options.

Lawmakers inserted a note into their approval text that makes answering the February request a condition for entering into follow-on agreements with France.

Meanwhile, officials in Paris and Berlin have been planning signing ceremonies for such pacts with Ursula von der Leyen and Florence Parly, the German and French defense ministers, respectively, at the Paris Air Show in mid-June. It's expected the pair will ink the concept study plan and a key governance document called the framework agreement.

Meanwhile, the Spanish defense minister, Margarita Robles, is expected to be on hand to sign the program's memorandum of understanding, a more high-level, vague text beginning Madrid's road to full participation.

As of Friday, lawmakers had yet to receive the requested information on Airbus, which is to include an analysis of management personnel down to the third tier throughout different locations, separated by programs and individual job functions. As June 10 is federal holiday in Germany, that leaves four business days next week before the Paris Air Show begins.

An Airbus spokesman told Defense News on Friday the company is working to resolve the issue and is coordinating with the government.

A Defence Ministry spokesman did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.

Documents obtained by Defense News suggest that a previous back-and-forth between the Budget Committee and Airbus, through the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, left a bit of bad blood, raising the question of whether the company will comply at all.

While executives provided some information — forwarded in a confidential letter to the Bundestag by the ministry on April 26 — Airbus largely claims the detailed data demanded by the committee would needlessly reveal competitive secrets.

“Airbus, in return, asks for information about the background of the request,” the company's written response states. “The question must be raised whether other companies where the German government is a shareholder, like Deutsche Bahn [the German rail service], is subject to similar requests.”

The company claims to have given the administration a detailed personnel breakdown by subsidiary and nationalities in 2018, which was also offered to committee members. According to Airbus, no lawmakers were interested.

Airbus Defence and Space, which would lead the conglomerate's work on FCAS, is based in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany. As of December 2018, roughly 40 percent of the subsidiary's employees were based in Germany, around 22 percent in France, 27 percent in Spain and 12 percent in the United Kingdom, the company wrote to lawmakers in April.

As the FCAS program progresses, Budget Committee members want the government in Berlin to safeguard a 50-50 cost and workshare plan with France.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/06/07/german-spat-over-airbus-could-foil-fighter-fest-at-paris-air-show/

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6 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

Ligado would be banned from DoD contracts under House plan
Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Lawmakers took another apparent jab at Ligado Networks on Wednesday as the House Armed Services Committee passed a ban on the Pentagon awarding contracts to firms that interfere with Global Positioning System signals. The panel adopted an amendment from House Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner to bar the Department of Defense from contracting with an entity that engages in commercial terrestrial operations using certain frequency ranges ― unless the defense secretary certifies the operations do not cause harmful interference to a the military's GPS devices. Ligado is not specifically named. However, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the plan from Ligado to use the bands identified in the amendment: the 1525–1559 MHz band and the 1626.5–1660.5 MHz band. The FCC's decision in April came despite objections from the DoD and a number of nondefense industry trade groups, which argue that Ligado's plan would create wide-ranging disruptions for GPS usage. During the markup, the panel approved a separate amendment from Turner that would bar DoD from spending any money to mitigate impacts from Ligado's potential interference with the military's GPS signals. The moves by lawmakers during the HASC's markup of its version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is the latest salvo from lawmakers on Congress' defense committees. Earlier this month, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., offered legislation that would require the company to cover the costs of any GPS user — government or commercial — hurt by its spectrum use. Turner, a defense hawk in Congress, is among 22 HASC members who called on the FCC to reverse its support for Ligado's plan. He has called for an inspector general to probe consulting company Roberson and Associates, the firm that determined Ligado's plan wouldn't cause GPS interference. https://www.c4isrnet.com/congress/2020/07/01/ban-on-dod-contracts-to-ligado-approved-by-house-panel/
15 août 2023 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

Adacel joins CAE-led Team AUStringer to pursue RAAF’s Future Air Mission Training System - APDR
CAE Australia announced that Adacel, a global leader in air traffic control training and simulation solutions, has joined the CAE-led Team AUStringer in response to the Commonwealth of Australia’s Project AIR 5428 Phase 3, for RAAF’s Future Air Mission Training System (F-AMTS).
29 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

Bell pitches Viper attack helo to replace Japan’s Cobra copters
By: Mike Yeo TOKYO — American company Bell is promoting its AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter at the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo as its entrant for Japan's attack helicopter replacement program. The East Asian U.S. ally is seeking a new helicopter to replace the approximately 70 Bell AH-1S Cobra helos currently in use by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The country had released a request for information in May seeking a new helicopter. Speaking to Defense News at the show, retired Lt. Gen. George Trautman, a former U.S. Marine aviator and commander of all Marine Corps aviation who now works as an adviser for Bell, said the company responded to the RFI through the U.S. government with 50 AH-1Z helicopters. John Woodbury, Bell's director of global military business development in the Asia-Pacific region, added that the RFI called for an attack helicopter with “marinization and shipboard compatibility,” with Trautman asserting that the AH-1Z can “operate onboard ships far better than the competition.” The representatives from Bell said there's more to marinization than additional corrosion protection from saltwater. They said this also includes foldable rotor blades and other measures that reduce the stowage footprint onboard the limited space on ships, as well as a design that minimizes electromagnetic interference. The requirement for the new attack helicopter to operate from ships suggests Japan plans to use them on Izumo-class helicopter destroyers or the smaller Hyuga-class of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which are equipped with a long flight deck to operate multiple helicopters. Japan will likely require at least a degree of technology transfer and local production for the new helicopters. Bell's relationship with Japan reaches across 65 years, including the company's partnership with Fuji Heavy Industries (now Subaru) for production of Japan's AH-1S helicopters. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/japan-aerospace/2018/11/28/bell-pitches-viper-attack-helo-to-replace-japans-cobra-copters

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