20 juin 2019 | International, Autre défense

Government watchdog finds 3 issues disrupting US nuclear modernization efforts

WASHINGTON — The U.S. agency responsible for making explosive materials used in nuclear weapons is facing challenges that could impact the country's planned modernization of its nuclear arsenal, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, a semiautonomous agency within the Energy Department, is facing three main challenges, according to the report: a dwindling supply of explosive materials, aging and deteriorating infrastructure, and difficulty in recruiting and training qualified staff.

This report comes amid congressional debate over the cost of modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal, an effort driven by President Donald Trump.

NNSA's supply of materials, which are “highly specialized” with specific chemical and physical characteristics, are in low supply, the report says. Furthermore, the NNSA is lacking the knowledge base to produce the materials, as the recipes to make them were not well-documented, or the processes themselves infrequently practiced, the report notes.

Challenges in obtaining materials is not a new issue for the NNSA, the watchdog notes. The agency experienced a similar situation with a material known as “Fogbank,” and the GAO reported in March 2009 that the NNSA lacked the knowledge to manufacture the material — leaving the process for Fogbank “dormant for about 25 years."

Fogbank is used in the production of the W76-1, a warhead for the Navy's Trident ballistic missile. Under the Trump administration's plans for a new low-yield nuclear weapon, the U.S. is making a W76-2 variant, which entered production earlier this year.

The GAO notes that when the NNSA is actually able to replicate formulas for materials, procuring those materials has proved challenging, given the irregular and small order specifications to contractors.

But the GAO identifies aging infrastructure as the greatest risk to the NSSA.

“The NNSA 2019 Master Asset Plan states that 40 percent of the explosives infrastructure of NNSA's sites is insufficient to meet mission needs, which can lead to contamination of explosive products or limit the use of facilities,” the report says. It notes that contamination has already occurred from rust falling off rafters and grass blowing through cracks in the walls, contaminating batches of explosives.

Aging facilities must receive updates to modern safety standards to protect employees, the GAO says. The Los Alamos High Explosives Chemistry Laboratory, for example, was built in the 1950s and has struggled to adopt to modern instrumentation, according to the report.

Facilities also deal with limited storage, the report says, meaning explosives can be stored in a single location where they could potentially cause a chemical reaction.

The report also cites NNSA documents that describe challenges in recruiting qualified staff, who often must have a security clearance. For example, Pantex, a contractor hired by the agency, in 2018 estimated it would need 211 full-time staff members. However, in November that year, it reported only 172 full-time employees. Officials with agency contractors told the GAO that the problem is largely due to the competitive industry; in particular, Pantex competes with oil and gas companies in Texas. The company has now expanded its recruitment efforts to include local colleges and universities, the report says.

In a written response to the report, the head of the NNSA, Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, said the “GAO's observations and recommendations are consistent with [the Department of Energy]/NNSA's recent efforts to centralize management of energetic material."

The Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations previously identified many of the infrastructure data issues presented in the report and developed a series of actions aimed at improving the accuracy of asset data,” she wrote. “These efforts have already resulted in improved data quality, and the accuracy and consistency of data will continue to improve as additional actions are completed.”

https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2019/06/19/government-watchdog-finds-3-issues-disrupting-us-nuclear-modernization-efforts/

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16 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial

UK submits bid for Belgium fighter competition, pitting Typhoon against F-35
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/
2 juin 2020 | International, Terrestre

Armement : les prises de commande à l'exportation de l'industrie française se sont élevées à 8,3 milliards d'euros en 2019
Le bilan des exportations d'armement françaises 2019 atteint le montant de 8,3 milliards d'euros, selon les chiffres de La Tribune. Les ventes d'armes françaises baissent de 11,1% par rapport à 2018 (9,1 milliards), une année où la France avait enregistré sa troisième meilleure performance en 20 ans ; toutefois les prises de commande en 2019 consolident la place de la France dans le top 5 des exportateurs mondiaux. La Tribune rappelle que sur 10 ans, l'industrie d'armement française a vendu pour plus de 86 milliards d'euros d'armements à l'exportation. La part des achats de systèmes d'armes français par des pays européens progresse par rapport à 2018 (25%), avec 45 % du total des prises de commande de 2019, gr'ce notamment à la signature de trois grands contrats : Naval Group en Belgique, Airbus Helicopters en Hongrie (hélicoptères H225M et H145M) et Thales et Airbus en Espagne (satellites de communication sécurisée, Spainsat NG I et II). La Tribune du 2 juin
5 octobre 2023 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR

Another order for Rheinmetall in the field of automated reconnaissance systems for Ukraine – order in the two-digit million-euro range
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